Henry Vogel examines the true value of a cover letter. • Join the discussion...
Kersley Fitzgerald goes back to the beginning, and asks, “was it good?” • Join the discussion...
Guy Stewart sold a short story to Cast of Wonders: The YA Sci-fi & Fantasy Audio Magazine . • Listen to the podcast online, or download Ep20: Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Guy Stewart (Part 1)...
Arisia wins The Tellurian Shower challenge, by showing, telling, and being brave enough to enter in the face of the holiday rush. • Join the discussion...
All this and more, as M breaks in a new fountain pen on Letter Writing Day, and the inmates discuss the view from their respective places in the asylum.
Parklife
As of this morning, we have received the following entries for our current challenge:
An enthusiastic “Huzzah” to all who have entered! The judges are considering your submissions, and a winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 11 December 2011.
A Reindeer to Remember
And now it is time for this week's Friday Challenge, inflicted by M:
We've had a few successively slow weeks. In fact, this is the fourth... and I think I know why! If, like me, your heart is ten sizes too small and you must annually force yourself into the holiday spirit with animated infusions of Christmas cheer, you probably haven't had an abundance of emotional energy to invest in writing/presenting that brilliant challenge entry that's been slowly percolating in the back of your head.
This week, we'll try something simple. An exercise for those atrophying green-and-red muscles, so to speak!
Give me a character sketch of a Reindeer.
“Wait,” I can hear you complain, “that's kind of limited! We only have enough for nine entries. There are Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, and Sniffles.”
Not so fast, kids. If there's one thing the old Rankin/Bass stop-motion Animagic specials taught us (well, besides the fact that Santa is kind of an a$$hole), it's that there are a lot of Reindeer at the North Pole. They're sort of like the Three Stooges: Everyone can name Moe, Larry and Curly, although most of the world forgets about Shemp, Joe Palma, Joe Besser, Curly Joe, Emil Sitka, Purley Stebbins, and Hicky Burr.
But if Santa can remember all the naughty and nice kiddies in the whole wide world, the least we can do is acknowledge a few of the “supporting cast” Reindeer stuck in the less glamourous roles, at the North Pole. I want to hear about Rudolph's sister Natasha, who had a shiny red tail. I want to hear about Chlamydia the Reindeer, who absolutely hated his name. I want to hear about Venison the Reindeer, who... well, come to think of it, no one has seen Venison since the Donner party last Christmas. I wonder how he's doing?
At any rate, that is this week's challenge! Give me a character sketch, in 120 words or less, of a Reindeer your think we should remember.
You may post your entries as comments below, post on your personal blog and give a link below, or add to The Friday Challenge Yahoo Group in our current directory.
Anyone can enter, with no restrictions, and you may enter as many times as you wish.
As of now, we are playing by the loosely enforced and slightly modified rules of The Friday Challenge. All entries are due by 6 AM Eastern time on the morning of Friday, 16 December 2011. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 18 December 2011.
Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.
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