World Enough, and Time

Where do stories come from?

As a science fiction/fantasy/horror writer, I often am asked “where you get your ideas?”

Bruce has touched on this question on several occasions, and my honest answer is “I dunno.”

My story starters come from lots of places.  I’ll see a weird street sign or business name, or a bug in a strange location, or a reflection of something that seems weird and outlandish.  Tim Burton said that the idea for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” came from seeing a store pulling out their Halloween stock to make room for Christmas decorations, and seeing the two side-by-side sparked something in his brain.  That’s a pretty good example.

But it’s not an “immediate” reaction.  I can’t always say “this image conjured up that story.”

More often than not, these images drop into my subconscious mind, and ferment for a while...and what comes out may bear no relation at all to the original image that triggered everything.

I do know that when I’m stressed or tired, my subconscious absolutely refuses to offer up any story images or fragments.  It doesn’t matter how hard I stare at the screen, my fingers refuse to crank out any text.

I also know that when my brain reaches a certain boiling point, then those ideas and concepts start hammering on the inside of my forehead, demanding to be written down.  That’s when I start dreaming scenes of my current work in progress almost as soon as I close my eyes.  “Neither Bang Nor Whimper,” my latest Friday Challenge entry, came from a dream.

So, my questions to you, for further discussion...where do your ideas come from?  How hard is it to write when your brain isn’t in the mood, and how hard is it to stop writing when your brain decides it’s time to let the story out?

-=ad=-

Time Stops for the Silver Princess - R.I.P., Jean Wells

She left the game for far more important pursuits (family and health), but the game never left her. Jean Wells, TSR pioneer and author of the notorious Palace of the Silver Princess has passed on.

Requiescat in pace.

Ruminations of an Old Goat

The Goat is running behind and doesn't have a column ready for Monday morning. One will be up Tuesday morning at the latest.

Update: A column will not be up on Tuesday morning after all. Life intervened last night and I was unable to get a column written. Next week.

The New Web Thingy...

Lo and behold, I finally have a web thingy! The place is still sort of a work in progress, but my very own writerly website is now online.

Some stuff will more appropriately fit here, and some will inherently belong there, so there shouldn't be too much overlap between the two... aside from the occasional PSA about death ray-wielding zombie alligators. Because, you know, restricting something like that to just one site would simply be wrong.

VintageSeason.com

Open Mic Saturday

Good morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did you make this week?

Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?

The Friday Challenge — 1/27/2011

This week in The Friday Challenge:

Henry Vogel begins the promised future column(s), and swings a bit of synergy. • Join the discussion...

Kersley Fitzgerald gets all moony about the future. • Join the discussion...

Allan Davis wins our Catastrophes-R-Us challenge, by pointing out a few bugs in the program. • Join the discussion...

All this and more, as Chocolate Cake Day arrives just when we've shed those unwanted holiday pounds, and the inmates discuss the view from their respective places in the asylum.


It's something in the water...

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As of this morning, we have received the following entries for our current challenge:

• “Autonomick” by Jack Calverley
  
  
• “Job Planning” by Ryan Jones
  

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, 29 January 2012.


Conan, Icehawk, and Vidad Walk Into a Bar

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And now it is time for this week's Friday Challenge, courtesy of Allan Davis:

Okay, FC’ers, time to let it all hang out. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to pick three characters who don’t generally get the chance to hang out together, put them together, and watch for the sparks to fly. They can be mythological, fictional, historical, hysterical, you name it, anything goes.

“I would like to report a stolen...potion,” Snape said, keeping his voice level and calm despite the rage he was feeling at having his most valuable potion disappear out of his home. The muggle behind the desk taking his statement looked like an obvious idiot.

“A stolen potion?” Drebin raised his eyebrows. “Surely you can’t be serious?”

“He’s not serious,” said a voice from across the room, and Snape barely kept the words Aveda Kedavra from his lips. “I’m Sirius. Sirius Black. Nice to meet you.”

“Ignore him,” Snape said to the policeman, in a threatening voice barely above a whisper. “And if you call me Shirley again, I will turn you into a blast-ended skrewt.”

Go for the laughs if you must, but depending on the characters, there can be serious moments, too. Just imagine Bruce Wayne and Bruce Banner attending anger management classes run by Bruce Lee.

You can always reach for the teen angst, too. Picture the scene when Edward Cullen discovers he’s the forgotten love child of Dazzler and Blade (or was that Tinkerbell and Dracula?).

Bonus points: Change characters, keep the actor!

“Welcome to Celebrity Deathmatch!” The announcer waited for the fireworks and cheering to subside a bit. “Today’s match is a no-holds barred battle to the death between Severus Snape and Hans Gruber.”

“Our special guest referee is no stranger to death matches. I’d like to welcome The Honorable Judge Turpin!”

There was the sound of liquid being splashed, and swallowing. “I will be your ring announcer today. I am Metatron, your voice from on high.” He covered up the microphone. “...here serving up my penance for having the nerve to laugh at His platypus design.”

“At least you’ve got a job,” said the color commentator.

“Ah, yes, I’d nearly forgot,” said Metatron. “Here on color commentary, I would like everyone to welcome Alexander Dane, from a long forgotten hit television show that no one seems to remember anymore.”

“Watch it,” Dane said, before returning to his depressed muttering. “I was an actor once. I did Lear. I had three curtain calls. Now I’m reduced to babbling nonsensically about death duels between clay warriors.”

“At least you’re...functional,” Metatron said, sneaking another swig from the bottle of tequila he had hidden under the table. From the tone of his voice, most of the bottle was already gone. “Ken, but with wings,” he said.

“Oh, look, the fight’s starting,” Dane added, with zero enthusiasm.

“Gruber whips out a machine gun. This could be a really short match—no, Snape waved his wand, and now he has the machine gun!”

Dane scoffed. “I wonder how well he could fight with that wand shoved up his—”

“It looks like Severus never learned how to handle a gun! Gruber rolls for cover. Bullets everywhere!” Metatron paused for another sip.

“There go the cheap seats,” Dane added. “No big loss there.”

So...let your hair down. Let the ideas run free (and the blood, too, if the story requires it).

Give those characters a voice. Let Scooby Doo, Dobby, and Gollum argue over who is the best computer-generated character. Watch the fun when He-Man tries to get a date with Penny. Imagine the deep philosophical discussions between Harpo Marx, Marcel Marceau, and Vin Diesel.

And above all...have fun!

Anyone can enter, with no restrictions.

Everyone is asked to vote, and to say a few words about what they liked, and why. Or to say a few words about what they disliked, as the case may be; by submitting an entry, you implicitly agree to accept criticism, because there will probably be some handed out, and no one is immune. When voting, please rank a work as either “0” (not so good), “1” (not as bad), “2” (could have been better) or “3” (pretty good stuff!). If you give either a “0” or “3” vote, feel free to argue in support of your reasoning.

Don't like the negativity? Feel free to think of the levels as “0” (Not bad for a first attempt), “1” (Right on!), “2” (Holy cow, I wanna buy this now...) or “3” (Sweet mother of God, how did you write something this awesome?!!). The point is to clearly differentiate, and rank according to your own preference.

For the purposes of this challenge, Allan Davis will be serving as Ye Olde High Marker, Voluntarily Walking th' Plank.

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, 3 February 2012. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 5 February 2012.

Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.

Critical Thinking

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American."

Once I picked myself up from the car floor where I'd fallen, laughing, I raised my hand and said aloud, "Pick me! I'll go!"

"We will have commercial near-Earth activities that include science, tourism and manufacturing, because it is in our interest to acquire so much experience in space that we clearly have a capacity that the Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to matching."

Is he off his rocker? Channeling Kennedy? Serious?!

So here's my question. Without getting too far into politics, is it in the best interest of America to dedicate significant resources to the space industry? What exactly is in it for us besides Teflon and Velcro? And Tang? Is there a significant, intangible advantage? Or is it hubris?

The moon by 2020? The Creature will be starting college. Maj. Tom and I will need something to keep us busy. And it would be a crying shame to waste such a classic nickname.

Deadline Reminder

The deadline for the current Friday Challenge — It's something in the water... — was extended to 6 AM Eastern time on the morning of Friday, 27 January 2012... less than twenty-four hours away.

Entries may be added to The Friday Challenge Yahoo Group (see the appropriate directory within the "Files" section), hosted on your personal blog(s) and linked within the comments for the challenge, or copied directly into the comments section as a post.

In previous challenges, we have accommodated late entries. This time, we have no such luxury; if you post an entry much later than 6 AM Eastern time, there is a chance the judges will not be able to properly consider your work. Should you anticipate a need to snowdog, please mentally back the deadline up as much as necessary. If the deadline hits and you are very, very close, please publicly announce your intention to enter.

A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 29 January 2012.

Ruminations of an Old Goat

Last week, I kicked off a series on storytelling by giving a general overview of the current state of storytelling in America. I wrapped up the column by mentioning that storytelling is a useful skill for writers to acquire, promising to delve into my reasoning in a future column. Welcome to the future column. Or maybe I should say columns, since this topic will take more than one.

I'm sure you all recognize that there is a connection between writing and storytelling. Both share the same goals; entertainment, education, and preservation. The first two goals are pretty obvious, but preservation sometimes surprises people. By "preservation," I mean the preservation of stories, allowing them to be passed on from generation to generation. Once again, that's a topic for a future column. So, returning to the original topic, how does storytelling benefit writers?

Perhaps the single greatest benefit writers will realize is immediate feedback. Writing, by its very nature, is a solitary activity. The image of the writer working late into the night, alone with his computer (or typewriter, or pen, or whatever), a single light illuminating his work, is practically a cliché in movies, on television, and even in stories. A writer only receives feedback if an editor chooses to provide it as part of a rejection letter, if the writer's spouse can be counted on for objective criticism, or if the writer joins a writing group and actively seeks out feedback from other writers.

Storytelling, by its very nature, is a social activity. A storyteller without an audience is not a storyteller. The audience is not just a passive mass of humanity, either. They bring their own energy and add it to the overall performance. I know that may sound like New Age mystical nonsense, but it's completely true. If you're not convinced, try telling your favorite joke out loud when you're alone. Even the funniest joke isn't that funny in this situation. Then tell it again to at least one friend who hasn't heard it before. Suddenly, the joke is funny again. It's the energy brought by the audience which makes all the difference.

The energy from the audience translates into immediate feedback for the storyteller. Since the storyteller has no manuscript to read from, he can make eye contact with everyone in his audience. Bored listeners are easy to spot. They'll be looking elsewhere, speaking with the person next to them, have their eyes closed, or have a fixed look of polite interest plastered on their face. None of that matters, though, because the eyes tell it all. A storyteller can tell when the audience is with him, interested in the story and wondering what will happen next. A storyteller can tell when he loses the audience, as well. Perhaps your opening is fine but the story wanders or gets too complicated in the middle, leaving the audience bored or confused. Or perhaps your opening and middle are great, but the ending is anticlimactic, leaving the audience unsatisfied with the story. All of that feedback is present for a storyteller to see and feel during the telling of the story. You don't have to wait weeks or months for an editor to respond, a relative or friend to find the time to read your story, or for the next writers' group meeting.

You'll know your funny lines are funny if the audience laughs. You'll know your tense bits are tense if the audience looks tense. You'll know your ending is a good one if the audience looks satisfied when you finish telling the story. This level of immediate feedback helps writers learn what works for them and what doesn't, not only in that particular story but with your writing in general. It also doesn't matter whether you're telling an original story of your own or telling a folk or fairy tale. The feedback from the audience will tell you which parts of the story are working and which parts are not. As you might guess, what succeeds for one storyteller may not succeed for another storyteller. Just like some writers are very good at action scenes and other writers are very good at dialogue. You'll not only learn what works in stories, you'll learn what works best in your stories. You'll also learn what parts of your writing need the most work.

This is invaluable information for writers (and storytellers). You can learn it elsewhere, but I have yet to find more brutally honest, pinpoint specific feedback than what I receive from an audience I'm performing for.

Next time, I'll touch on some other benefits writers can gain from storytelling. Meanwhile, any questions?

And the winner is...

“Get sick, get well, hang around an ink well, ring a bell, hard to tell if anything is goin' to sell. It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...”

If any of you are able to take a second look at your own work, and see ways in which to improve a concept so that it can be more successfully developed, the effort will be worthwhile.

Those of you who vote are allowed to assign a range of “0” to “3” points, per entry. Since challengers may not vote for their own stories, a bonus of 2 points is given to a participant's highest-ranked work, if that participant also takes the time to numerically vote on the other entries.

Official judges receive a 30 point allocation, to assign as they see fit. The only restriction is that at most, only half of those points may be given to any single entry (unless there is only one entry, in which case the silly restriction is lifted!), and there is no requirement for a judge to use the entire 30 point allocation.

M is about to put on the “Editor Hat.” It's sort of like the “Sorting Hat” they use at Hogwarts (“Wait a minute. Weren't those the lyrics to ‘We Didn't Start the Fire’?”), but a little less sarcastic.


Catastrophes-R-Us

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“It's not all that bad... Really” by Watkinson

M: Oh, Watkinson, Watkinson, Watkinson... if you'd played up the Terry Pratchett-esque characterization of Death, or gone for the notion that the end of the world comes for each individual when that individual ends, I might have given this the edge! As it is, your piece reads as far too optimistic to be apocalyptic.

Interesting form of optimism, though. I dig the notion that even if we wipe ourselves out, we won't have truly “ended” the world.

Arisia: 2.4
M: 3
Total: 5.4

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“Neither Bang Nor Whimper” by Allan Davis

M: You didn't believe me about the Mayans running out of room on their calendar, did you? Well, if you had to go there, at least you threw me an interesting narrative... and you sort of tied it in with that other great pyramid-building civilization, since your bugs reminded me of another fictionalized incarnation of magical, flesh-eating scarabs. The ending was slightly unexpected, which was a plus.

In a way, it feels like this one was assembled from vignettes of a longer story you planned to write, but didn't quite have time to flesh out. Given that you only have eleven months until the Mayan angle will be of questionable interest, I'm not sure I'd give this one any further effort.

Arisia: 2.4
M: 4
Total:


Wrap-up...

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With only a single point separating them, surely the victor can take pride in such a close contest?

1st Place: 6.4 points — “Neither Bang Nor Whimper” by Allan Davis

Congratulations, Allan Davis! As winner, you are hereby invited to propose next week's challenge, scheduled to be announced the morning of Friday, 27 January 2012.


Afterword...

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It was actually sort of difficult to select this week's winner, because although clear that both entries had received a fair investment of time and typing, neither quite fit my expectations. But then, those were my expectations, and if the world ever ends, I doubt if I'll be the one to see it coming. Well done, both of you!

Open Mic Saturday

Good morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did you make this week?

Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?

The Friday Challenge — 1/20/2011

This week in The Friday Challenge:

Henry Vogel kicks off a new series, on the subject he knows best. Uh, no... not that subject! The other subject he knows best. • Join the discussion...

Daniel Eness opens a discussion on the all-time greatest use of a false document, in any context, and no one shares the story of their first kegger. • Join the discussion...

Kersley Fitzgerald buys a story that hit a little too close to home. • Join the discussion...

M drops the ball (lolwut? srsly? oopers...) and forgets to declare a winner in our Catastrophes-R-Us challenge, or even post a reminder for the It's something in the water... challenge! On the bright side, he sent out three submissions this week. • No discussion, unless you want to do it here...

All this and more, as Opus, Chilly Willy, and Tux get their due with Penguin Awareness Day, and the inmates discuss the view from their respective places in the asylum.


Catastrophes-R-Us

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Since this one has not yet been judged, and to get things back on track, here is a reminder of the entries under consideration for our previous challenge:

• “It's not all that bad... Really” by Watkinson
  
  
• “Neither Bang Nor Whimper” by Allan Davis
  

If you haven't voted in that one yet, you have until Sunday afternoon to give feedback.


It's something in the water...

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As of this morning, we have received the following entries for our current challenge:

• “Autonomick” by Jack Calverley
  

But since M did not remember to post a Deadline Reminder yesterday, we'll extend this one a week. After all, a few of you were considering entries, and just ran out of time to write them down. Right?

Here is a reminder of the parameters for our current Friday Challenge, courtesy of Tyler Tork:

Especially around election season, which it seems nowadays is nearly all the time, I get to thinking that it would be great if people weren't so... or if they just had a little more...

If I could just tweak humanity a little, put some drug in the reservoir, I don't know what, I'm convinced things could be much better.

But of course, systems are complicated, and as everyone in Congress repeatedly fails to learn, changing the rules can have unintended results. People are perverse. (Oh. Perhaps we could fix that!)

Write a story, or a news piece, or something, to illustrate how you might change people if you could reach inside their brains, or bodies if you prefer, and adjust one setting. Would you make them smarter? (And about what, exactly? Intelligence isn't one thing.) Stronger? Less whiny? Happier? Consider the likely side effects of your change. Make us see why it might work out that way.

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, except for Tyler Tork. You may enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must be independent of the others, and you may not build on anyone else's work.

Everyone is asked to vote, and to say a few words about what they liked, and why. Or to say a few words about what they disliked, as the case may be; by submitting an entry, you implicitly agree to accept criticism, because there will probably be some handed out, and no one is immune. When voting, please rank a work as either “0” (not so good), “1” (not as bad), “2” (could have been better) or “3” (pretty good stuff!). If you give either a “0” or “3” vote, feel free to argue in support of your reasoning.

Don't like the negativity? Feel free to think of the levels as “0” (Not bad for a first attempt), “1” (Right on!), “2” (Holy cow, I wanna buy this now...) or “3” (Sweet mother of God, how did you write something this awesome?!!). The point is to clearly differentiate, and rank according to your own preference.

For the purposes of this challenge, Tyler Tork will be serving as Ye Olde High Marker, Voluntarily Walking th' Plank.

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, 20 January 2012 Friday, 27 January 2012. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 22 January 2012 Sunday, 29 January 2012.

Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.

Critical Thinking

Inconsequential things

I was perusing the children's section of the ol' B&N the other day, waiting for the Creature to realize he is 10 and therefore legally allowed to read novels with fewer than one picture per page, when a book caught my eye--Wildwood. I think I noticed it because the illustration looks a bit like Edward Gorey. So I opened the cover and read:

Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. At least until her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows. And then things get really weird.

Kidnapped by crows is good.

Then I read:

You see, on every map of Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable Wilderness.” No one’s ever gone in—or at least returned to tell of it...

Serious? Portland? Impassable Wilderness? That could only mean Forest Park, across the river from where I grew up!

So I flipped to the map section. There it all is--Forest Park, the Arboretum (all renamed). But also the railroad bridge? Wait, is that St. Johns? Nobody knows St. Johns. Look more closely.

The protagonist's house is literally four blocks from my childhood home. The library she frequents is my library. The "Park" is the playground of my grade school.

So I did what I had to do. I went home and bought it on my Kindle.

Writing isn't the greatest, but who cares?! It's a very singular experience to read a book and know exactly where everything is. Has that every happened to you?

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Dear Stupefying Stories contributors,

If I have to read one more story with the plot "nerd meets beautiful woman; nerd and woman make passionate love; woman turns into a monster that kills/enslaves/sucks the life force out of man," it had darn well be the most brilliantly written story every written. There are other venues for such stories. But I think you have to change the first line to, "I never thought something like this would happen to me..."

Sincerely,
Your Slushie

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In other news, SyFy channel has a new show out. It's called Lost Girl. It's about a woman who discovers she's Fae. Then she discovers she's a Succubus. Explains why every time she has an "encounter," the guy winds up dead. Really? Really?

Ugh.

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How cool is that?

Ultimate Geek Fu

“I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation.” - Fox Mulder

Fiction is at heart, fake.*

One of the more fascinating (when done well) or tedious (when done poorly) fakeries of fiction is the "false document."

Stephen King's Carrie was punctuated with newspaper clippings of the infamous prom tragedy, at once making the psychic rampage more realistic for the reader while also leaving much of the mechanics to the imagination.

The Watchmen has a fictional comic book as a key prop (and sub-plot) within its "real" comic pages.

World War Z consists of a lot of realistic interviews of survivors/combatants/etc. of the global zombie outbreak.

The Name of the Rose relies on the existence of a no-longer-in-existence work of Aristotle's to serve not only as the core Macguffin, but also as thematic architecture for the "real" book's plot.

It isn't just books that rely on false documents. Back in the bad old days of brilliant text adventures, companies like InfoGames often packaged their floppy disks with trinkets that, in some cases were critical or useful to gameplay (like maps). The best one to my recollection was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which came with printed orders for the demolition of Arthur Dent's house and, importantly, "no tea."

Movies have used false documents a lot, some to the point of being false documents from stem to stern: Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity. I happen to prefer the false documents to have a little more artistic editing: like the newsreel footage in Forrest Gump or the board game advertisement in RoboCop.

Hoaxes, conspiracies and bizarre amusements have all factored into the creation of other false documents. I still don't completely understand what, exactly, motivated the creator of the Codex Seraphinianus to create that monstrosity, but I'm sure glad he did.

So - you're a geek, and certainly must have a modicum of fu in this category.

Real quick:

What is the all-time greatest use of a false document in any context: book, screen, stage, hoax, conspiracy or otherwise?

Let the arguments begin!

*This is a lie - er - a part of a campaign of misinformation. Fiction is at heart, true. It just packages its heart in fakery so that you are tricked into unwrapping it.

Ruminations of an Old Goat

In last week's column, I asked for topic suggestions for this column. The two suggestions which will eventually end up being covered in the column involve ideas inspired by the Stupefying Stories slush pile and the ancient art of storytelling. (For those who haven't been hanging around the Friday Challenge for a long time, I've been a professional storyteller for the last six years.)

While I have some ideas for slush-based columns, I'm going to start with a series on storytelling. I don't know how long the series but have a fairly good idea of what we'll end up covering by the time it's over. I hope to have columns inspired by your comments and questions concerning these columns, so please don't be shy about posting comments.

I believe storytelling is the oldest art form known to mankind. There are jobs which are probably older; hunter and gatherer, certainly, and definitely parent if you consider parenting to be a job. (God knows it's a lot of work!) Storytelling came after those but before pretty much everything else mankind has done on this planet. In fact, I expect the art of storytelling started shortly after the first hunt ended, when one of our most ancient ancestors told the other hunters about the "big one" that he almost got.

In ancient times, the storyteller was the keeper of his peoples' history, their accumulated knowledge and wisdom, and the teachings which were passed on to each new generation. That changed somewhat when written language was developed, but storytellers -- or poets and bards, if you prefer -- remained important as long as most people remained illiterate. Many of the best known folk and fairy tales originally served as cautionary tales, meant to teach the children of the day the rules of survival. Little Red Riding Hood, for example, taught young girls to beware of wolves, meaning men who would take sexual advantage of girls given the chance. Other tales were mostly for entertainment, though there was almost always some nugget of wisdom to be found within those stories.

The oral tradition of storytelling began to fall by the wayside as the various folk and fairy tales were recorded and published in books. In the 19th century, traveling shows began to replace storytelling as a primary source of entertainment. The 20th century, with radio, movies, television, and eventually video and computer games, should have been the death knell for storytelling as an art form. That didn't happen, though it may have been a close run thing. Storytelling thrived in rural areas, places where electricity was late to arrive, where radio and television signals were faint, and where cable television never caught on due to the cost of running cables. By the time satellite television made it possible for television signals to reach just about everywhere, storytelling had begun a resurgence.

Libraries discovered that storytelling helped build an interest in reading. Schools discovered that students learned better through stories than through traditional lectures (not that this little tidbit has done much to change how school is taught). Libraries and schools host storytelling festivals, bringing storytellers in from the area to tell stories and help promote both storytelling and reading. On an October weekend in 1973, the first National Storytelling Festival was held in Jonesborough, TN, drawing no more than 60 people (including the storytellers). Since then, the festival has grown into a four day event with attendance topping 30,000.

Storytelling is making a comeback because it is a thoroughly people-oriented art form. At least, that's my opinion. More and more, popular entertainment has allowed us to become isolated from each other. Radio and television have always come into our homes. Since the advent of the VCR, movies have also begun coming into the home. With MP3 players, portable video, tablet computers, and smart phones, entertainment is more individualized than ever. It's entirely possible for a family to sit in the same room, all be tuned into some form of entertainment, yet each family member is being entertained by something different than the others.

Storytelling is different. Everyone in the audience hears the same story, but they can still personalize it. They use their imagination to create the scene and the characters, each picturing the story in their own way. Even familiar stories will vary from storyteller to storyteller (and usually from telling to telling by the storyteller), which keeps the stories fresh for the audience.

I know someone out there is thinking, "Yeah, storytelling is like reading a book out loud to an audience, except the reader will get the story exactly right every time." Every storyteller has had at least one conversation with someone who thinks professional storytellers are getting paid to read books aloud or who doesn't think there is really any difference between a reader and a teller. It's a common misconception, made worse because the big difference between reading and telling seems to be very minor.

The difference is eye contact. When you're reading a book aloud, it's hard to make eye contact with your audience. Sure, you can glance up briefly and catch eye of someone, but you've got to return to the book quickly or risk losing your place and upsetting the flow of the story. In other words, the book is a barrier between the reader and the audience. The storyteller has no book and, therefore, no barrier. The storyteller can make eye contact with everyone in the audience or, in the case of a very large audience, with many people in the audience. The contact, however brief, forges a connection between the storyteller and each member of the audience. For one moment, each person feels as if the storyteller is telling the story directly to them.

It's that brief connection between people that makes storytelling so much more than simply reading aloud. And it's that connection which makes storytelling a useful skill for writers to learn. But that's a topic for a future column.

Open Mic Saturday

Good morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did you make this week?

Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?

The Friday Challenge — 1/13/2011

This week in The Friday Challenge:

Bruce Bethke uses the “Slushpile Survival Guide” to ask a practical question of our contributors... and a surprising number select option “C.” • Join the discussion...

Henry Vogel demonstrates himself to be a glutton for punishment throws open the floodgates and asks for suggestions. • Join the discussion...

Allan Davis performs a post-mortem, and realizes the patient ain't dead yet (in fact, it's feeling much better!). • Join the discussion...

Kersley Fitzgerald seeks ways the literary community could assist Mom & Pop. • Join the discussion...

Tor.com opens the nominations for their new award, and the current standings are interesting, although some of us are unsure whether “interesting” is good or bad. • Join the discussion...

Tyler Tork wins our “And now, for the next century and a half...” AND Higglety Pigglety Pop! challenges, by overcoming unbelievable odds. • Join the discussion...

All this and more, as animals everywhere prepare for the indignity of Dress Up Your Pet Day, and the inmates discuss the view from their respective places in the asylum.


Catastrophes-R-Us

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As of this morning, we have received the following entries for our current challenge:

• “It's not all that bad... Really” by Watkinson
  
  
• “Neither Bang Nor Whimper” by Allan Davis

An enthusiastic “Huzzah” to all who have entered! The judges are considering your submissions, and a winner will be declared by the evening of Monday, 9 January 2012. (Monday instead of Sunday, since I'll be participating in illogiCon panels all weekend...)


It's something in the water...

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And now it is time for this week's Friday Challenge, courtesy of Tyler Tork:

Especially around election season, which it seems nowadays is nearly all the time, I get to thinking that it would be great if people weren't so... or if they just had a little more...

If I could just tweak humanity a little, put some drug in the reservoir, I don't know what, I'm convinced things could be much better.

But of course, systems are complicated, and as everyone in Congress repeatedly fails to learn, changing the rules can have unintended results. People are perverse. (Oh. Perhaps we could fix that!)

Write a story, or a news piece, or something, to illustrate how you might change people if you could reach inside their brains, or bodies if you prefer, and adjust one setting. Would you make them smarter? (And about what, exactly? Intelligence isn't one thing.) Stronger? Less whiny? Happier? Consider the likely side effects of your change. Make us see why it might work out that way.

Anyone can enter, except for Tyler Tork. You may enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must be independent of the others, and you may not build on anyone else's work.

Everyone is asked to vote, and to say a few words about what they liked, and why. Or to say a few words about what they disliked, as the case may be; by submitting an entry, you implicitly agree to accept criticism, because there will probably be some handed out, and no one is immune. When voting, please rank a work as either “0” (not so good), “1” (not as bad), “2” (could have been better) or “3” (pretty good stuff!). If you give either a “0” or “3” vote, feel free to argue in support of your reasoning.

Don't like the negativity? Feel free to think of the levels as “0” (Not bad for a first attempt), “1” (Right on!), “2” (Holy cow, I wanna buy this now...) or “3” (Sweet mother of God, how did you write something this awesome?!!). The point is to clearly differentiate, and rank according to your own preference.

For the purposes of this challenge, Tyler Tork will be serving as Ye Olde High Marker, Voluntarily Walking th' Plank.

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, 20 January 2012. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 22 January 2012.

Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.

Deadline Reminder

The deadline for the current Friday Challenge — Catastrophes-R-Us — is 6 AM Eastern time on the morning of Friday, 13 January 2012... less than twenty-four hours away.

Entries may be added to The Friday Challenge Yahoo Group (see the appropriate directory within the "Files" section), hosted on your personal blog(s) and linked within the comments for the challenge, or copied directly into the comments section as a post.

In previous challenges, we have accommodated late entries. This time, we have no such luxury; if you post an entry much later than 6 AM Eastern time, there is a chance the judges will not be able to properly consider your work. Should you anticipate a need to snowdog, please mentally back the deadline up as much as necessary. If the deadline hits and you are very, very close, please publicly announce your intention to enter.

A winner will be declared by the evening of Monday, 9 January 2012. (Monday instead of Sunday, since I'll be participating in illogiCon panels all weekend...)

Critical Thinking

So, here's the deal.

A friend of mine (IRL--yes, I do too have...some. Maybe a couple.) is opening an independent bookstore. She's said that she will welcome author readings and signings.

Do you see where this is going?

How do we, as authors of ebooks, support our local, indy bookstore? I guess Google has a deal set up where bookstores can sell ebooks through their store, but it doesn't support Kindle. I just don't think it's fair to stand up in the bookstore, give a reading, and then say, "Use the bookstore's wifi to download my book from Amazon!"

So I'm trying to think of something else. Some token the reader could buy from the bookstore to show their support. Something super cheap to make, so it would only cost $1 or so, retail.

Of course, my first scheme was to make an ereader cover that has a clear pouch in front. The reader could buy a printed copy of the ebook cover and slip it in the pocket. Buy a new cover for every ebook.

Yeah, that starts getting complicated around the seventh word.

There's always bookmarks, but do people devoted to their ereaders use bookmarks? Stickers would appeal to a narrow fan-base. And some kind of ereader-cover flare would probably not interest people who like to keep their nice things looking nice; or men.

Chapbooks! What do you think of chapbooks? Every author could make up a cheap brochure of just their story. Adoring fans could buy it for a buck, authors would have something to autograph, and it would still directly plug SS. (Who prints it? Who formats it? Do authors use the color illio or come up with their own?)

Of course, I could just make up a bunch of Stupefying Stories t-shirts and go kinda macro--buy one shirt instead of a doodad for each individual edition. But I thought $1 doodads wouldn't seem as financially intimidating.

In addition, I may be going to my first con later this month. It will be small and hopefully not intimidating. For those more experienced, is it bad form to pass out cards or stickers (or chapbooks) publicizing our fine publication? Again, how do you publicize something made of 1s and 0s?

Discuss! If you were at a reading for an ebook, what kind of token would you be willing to buy from the bookstore that would represent the ebook and support the store? Should it be sign-able? Edible? Made with alien technology? Breathing? I'd love to hear your ideas.

(Answers given by Vidad do not reflect the views of The Friday Challenge, Stupefying Stories, or Rampant Loon Media. But we still love him.)

---

Plot offer: The movie Serenity showed the effects of trying to drug the human race into becoming a peaceful society. Could the reality be far behind?

Nominations Open: Tor.com 2011 Readers' Choice Awards

As of this morning, nominations are being taken for the Tor.com 2011 Readers' Choice Awards.

Why should you vote? This “award” is completely determined by readers' write-in recommendations. From Tor.com:

What were the best science fiction/fantasy stories you read this past year? Or the best comics? Or the best covers?

Forget about “the best,” really, what new releases in 2011 did you enjoy the most?

For more information, and to cast your own vote(s), go here.

---

Full Disclosure: I am thoroughly chuffed that a couple of readers already suggested "Absinthe Fish" by M. David Blake (Bull Spec #5)... but regardless of how you felt about that one, if you read anything at all that was first published in 2011, nominating suitable candidates would be a great way to show support for the authors and artists you most enjoyed.

World Enough, and Time

End of the Year/Beginning of the Year Edition


It’s that time of year again.  Yes, it’s time to look back over 2011, counting blessings, learning lessons, and getting ready to start anew.

Nano Post-Mortem

It’s a personal November tradition that I try my hand at Nano.  I’ve entered for seven years running now.  It’s also a December tradition that I post a “Nano follow-up” of some kind, either to my blog or here on the Friday Challenge.

Unfortunately, it’s also a personal tradition to burn out whole banks of brain circuits trying to complete my Nano novel, and leaving myself without enough spare IQ points to write a grocery list, let alone articles and blog posts.  So, my Nano post-mortem is a bit late.

But, I can announce that I have broken with one very solid personal tradition--the annual Nano failure.  I have finally--on the seventh try--managed to crank out fifty thousand words of novel in the month of November.

Word of advice:  If you want more time to work on your Nano novel, land a temp contract doing phone tech support on a quiet overnight shift.  

Oh, and one more piece of advice.  Double-check your word count, because the Nano word counter doesn’t count the same way the Google Docs word counter does.  It’s very surprising to reach 50,073 words (per Google Docs), only to upload your novel into the Nano website and discover you’ve really only written 49,436...with forty minutes left before the deadline.

I have a very strong suspicion that those last seven hundred words or so will be cut from the final draft.  In fact, I’m pretty sure those last seven hundred words don’t make any sense at all.

Now, I still need to finish the novel.  I’m only about halfway through the story.


Quill

I had a girlfriend once who convinced me to join a writer’s group.  I had not written anything in over a decade, though she had read some of my really old stuff, and wanted me to start writing again.  When that writer’s group announced their annual Halloween short story contest, she pushed me to write something for it.  I wrote two stories.

The second one was called Screwy Lewis and the Rabid Ferocious Undead Overstuffed Poodle.  You’ll have to wait for Five for Frightening to come out to read that one.  

The first one, though, was called Quill, and it won the contest.

Thanks to Bruce, and the whole staff at Stupefying Stories, Quill has a home.  The story I wrote solely because my girlfriend asked me to write again for the first time in over a dozen years has been published by someone, and I wanted to take the time to send out a sincere and honest “Thank you!!!” to the Stupefying crew.

Oh...and that girlfriend...?  I married her.


Challenges

Which leads to...

...what are your goals and challenges for the year...?

That former-girlfriend-now-wife has challenged me to hit some publishing milestones this year.  Top of the list is Five for Frightening, which has been “nearly done” for some months now.  After that, I have a humor compendium lined up called “Nickel at a Time” just waiting for some humorous illustrations before it’s ready to go live.  After that, I’m looking at a sci-fi collection, and I think I’ve got enough horror stories for a second set there, too.

I want to quit missing Friday Challenges because I’m too busy to write, and I want to see a dozen of my short stories published this year...which of course means I need to actually submit them--and submit them to other places besides the Stupefying Stories crew (no offense intended; you guys already get lots of stories, no sense my piling more on you!).

All of which ties to one key factor--and one which Bruce has hammered home on more than one occasion--”Go Thou And WRITE!”

I’ve grumbled about not having enough time to write.  I’ve complained that “real life” interferes with my writing goals.  Heck, I started writing this column to work out these issues inside my head, and entertain (or annoy?) the rest of you with my meaningless meandering nonsense while I did so.

But, a long time ago, I came to the conclusion that “if you could write fifty thousand words in a month, you can do pretty much anything.”

I can write fifty thousand words in one month.  

Not only that...I *DID* write fifty thousand words in a month.

So...what else can I do...? And what else are all of you going to do...?

-=ad=-

The Slushpile Survival Guide

A question about publication philosophy has come up in a behind-the-scenes discussion, and rather than hypothesize further, I've decided to present the question to you. When I launched STUPEFYING STORIES, I specified some initial directives:

1. We would always treat authors as we ourselves would want to be treated.

2. We would be a pays-on-publication market, at least for the first two years.

3. We would be very relaxed about "first rights" considerations and simultaneous submissions, based on the assumption that our turnaround time would render those points moot.

4. [CLASSIFIED] We would never adopt the usual "pays on publication" market practice of accepting far more material than we could ever realistically hope to publish in a reasonable amount of time.

I'm particularly sensitive to Directive #4, as early in my career I was badly burned by a publisher who I later learned made a practice of sending out acceptance letters and contracts by the bale, just so that he'd have plenty of material to cherry-pick from when he assembled his anthologies. Some of my early stories were tied up for years because of this practice, and ultimately published only when I finally got the rights back and submitted them elsewhere.

As we dig out from under the the massive storydrifts left by the Great Submissions Blizzard of December 2011, though, it's becoming apparent that a lot of other writers have had similar experiences. They are nervous about committing to having their stories published by us, especially when we're looking at a publication and payment date that might be months off. We believe that we are different, but it's going to take time for us to establish a reputation as being better than the usual pays-on-publication market.

Ergo, it has been proposed that we switch to payment-on-acceptance.

IF we were to make this change, it would not be simple. For one thing, we'd have to switch to requiring a lock on exclusive worldwide English-language First Rights, as we have zero interest in buying a story only to see it published somewhere else before we can get around to publishing it.

Secondly, it would slow down our already slightly overloaded submissions and acceptance process even further, as a whole lot more deliberation would have to go into each acceptance. We'd have to start pre-planning and budgeting each issue months out, instead of merely weeks out, which would deprive us of a lot of the flexibility that we value.

So here's the question for you. As an author, which would you rather deal with? A publisher who:

1. Pays on publication, but responds quickly and is relatively relaxed about contract rights, or one who

2. Pays on acceptance, but responds ponderously and has a very restrictive contract?

To make this easier, I've put a survey widget in the upper right-hand corner. The survey will run through the end of January.

Thanks for thinking about this,
~brb

And the winner is (Special “Catch-Up with 2011” Edition!)...

Happy New Year! (What? Why are we still celebrating? Well... after this post, we'll be caught up with the old year. That's a reason to celebrate.)

If any of you are able to take a second look at your own work, and see ways in which to improve a concept so that it can be more successfully developed, the effort will be worthwhile.

Those of you who vote are allowed to assign a range of “0” to “3” points, per entry. Since challengers may not vote for their own stories, a bonus of 2 points is given to a participant's highest-ranked work, if that participant also takes the time to numerically vote on the other entries.

Official judges receive a 30 point allocation, to assign as they see fit. The only restriction is that at most, only half of those points may be given to any single entry (unless there is only one entry, in which case the silly restriction is lifted!), and there is no requirement for a judge to use the entire 30 point allocation.

M is about to put on the “Editor Hat.” It's sort of like the “Sorting Hat” they use at Hogwarts (“Two challenges at once? You'll give me a split personality!”), but a little less sarcastic.


“And now, for the next century and a half...”

---

“Solstice” by Tyler Tork

M: This proposal reads like an odd cross between Steven Soderbergh's treatment of Stanisław Lem's Solaris, and Event Horizon. A bigger surprise was that my initial reaction was not to associate those two titles, but to double-check the details of Isaac Asimov's 1989 novel, Nemesis! (Even though your proposal doesn't bear any real similarity to the novel, my mnemenic association was strong enough that the use of that name overrode other correlations.)

Those associations aren't necessarily bad; Event Horizon is one of my favorite SF/H films, and I enjoyed Solaris, despite what Soderbergh did to it. You might want to alter the name of your “ancient enemy” and retitle your work, though.

In terms of the actual treatment, your first three paragraphs are good for maybe ten to fifteen minutes of film, at most. That final section has to carry the weight of another hour and three-quarters!

As for meeting the challenge, SF and H are clearly evident. I'm struggling to extrapolate F from what you've written. I'm willing to allow "the one who failed" to be your lovable character, assuming his anguish is believable and the presumed sacrifice genuinely heart-wrenching.

Bonus points for anyone who can point out which episode(s) of Doctor Who would provide the closest parallel.

Arisia: + / M_Nicole_Cunningham: 2 / Tyler Tork: voted! / xdpaul: 2 (with a request for the full treatment)
M: 9
Participation bonus: 2
Total: 15+

---

“The Christmas War” by xdpaul

M: For some reason, this one put me in mind of Miracle on 34th Street... but with magical time travel (for which I'll acknowledge both SF and F). I'm not quite willing to give you H, because although there is a promise of violence, the perspective strikes me as more Dogma-versus-The Santa Clause, implying a level of serious/artistic intent somewhere between the two.

Who is the lovable character? At this point I'm rooting for one of the drunken revelers, begging for a can of beer.

Arisia: + / M_Nicole_Cunningham: 1 / Tyler Tork: 1.5 / xdpaul: voted!
M: 6
Participation bonus: 2
Total: 10.5+


Higglety Pigglety Pop!

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“Monsters” by Tom

M: Your premise lost me, from the very first line, when you proclaimed, “Sendak was gay.”

Yes, he was (by his own admission), but I fail to see what that has to do with his worth as a human being, or as an artist. David Gerrold is also gay (again, by his own admission), but he's done an admirable job with his own son (adopted, for the record, but again not a factor that makes any difference).

The one aspect of the challenge I am able to recognize in your entry is that it did, indeed, “pop.” Of course, that may have just been a blood vessel in my throbbing temple...

Tom: voted!
M: 0
Participation bonus: 2
Total: 2

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“Pounce” “Higgelty Pigglety – Zero G Edition” by Tyler Tork

M: First of all, I apologize for not properly recognizing the title of your entry when you first pointed out its existence. “Pounce” is clearly the moniker of your blog... and my only excuse is that, given the subject, it also seemed like an appropriate designation for the story.

Kittens in zero gravity? I'l give you both higglety and pigglety for the concept, alone. The mental imagery also “pops” adequately; I could easily imagine this as an interstitial snippet on The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour.

Tom: 2
M: 15
Total: 17


Wrap-up...

---

Never before have we seen such outright domination, such an overwhelming display of prowess, and such uncompromising literary excellence in two simultaneous challenges, while faced with such odds! For a combined total, we have:

1st Place: 32+ points — “Solstice” and “Higgelty Pigglety – Zero G Edition” by Tyler Tork

Congratulations, Tyler Tork! As winner, you are hereby invited to propose next week's challenge, scheduled to be announced the morning of Friday, 13 January 2012.


Afterword...

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As a reminder, over the past few weeks we were engaged in a few smaller, lighter challenges, while the holidays swirled us about. Now that the holidays are safely past, we'll return you to your regularly scheduled Thunderdome.

Ruminations of an Old Goat

On February 9, 2009, I posted my first column on the Friday Challenge site. It was part one in what would become a 12 part series on writing comic books. When I finished that series, Bruce kindly turned me loose to write about anything I felt like writing and this column was born.

Over the last three years (where has the time gone?), I've written about all sorts of things but have tried to keep the topic at least tangentially associated with writing. I've written about mining history for ideas, how many times you can pull a rabbit out of a hat in a story, the problems with dropping political opinions into the middle of non-political stories, which emotions are easiest to evoke, which emotions are hardest to evoke, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I've written the odd movie review, ranted a few times, and dropped the periodic emotional purge pieces.

The problem is, I've pretty much run out of ideas for columns. Well, I guess that's not entirely true. It's probably more fair to say I've run out of ideas for columns I think those of you who frequent the Friday Challenge will want to read.

Normally, this is where the author regretfully tells his readers that he is hanging up his keyboard and getting out of the column writing business. But normalcy is not something I'm accused of very often and I see no reason to embrace it now. Instead of giving up the column, I'm going to ask for suggestions from you. These can be suggestions for individual columns, a series of columns, or an entirely new column going off in some direction I haven't yet considered. I'm not promising I'll use any or all of the suggestions, but I will consider them. Even if I don't use a suggestion, it may lead me off in a new direction.

So, please use the comments and offer suggestions -- any suggestions. Help me keep writing the column by letting me know what you would like to read about in the column.

Go. Comment. The Old Goat is depending on you!

And the winner is...

... still about fourteen hours away from being announced. My daughter's new bicycle arrived this afternoon... so numerous evening training-wheel circles around the cul-de-sac were followed by building a tent in her room (since she has been begging for a week to be allowed to sleep in one).

Open Mic Saturday

Good morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did you make this week?

Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?

The Friday Challenge — 1/6/2011

This week in The Friday Challenge:

The first annual STUPEFYING STORIES year-end roundup is posted! (Seriously, we do plan on being able to post one again next year.) • Join the discussion...

Bruce Bethke preempts the usual Open Mic Saturday post with glad tidings, good wishes, and an abundance of hope. • Join the discussion...

Daniel Eness takes inspiration from Bruce Bethke's recent offering, and self-publishes a bit of apocalyptic science fiction. • Available via Smashwords...

John Scalzi slings the opening pitch of Silly Season, and several Friday Challengers come out swinging. • Join the discussion...

All this and more, as the fifteen days of Christmahanukwanzakastivus come to a dignified close, with only a brief interruption from Fruitcake Toss Day, and the inmates debate the value of New Year's resolutions.


“And now, for the next century and a half...”

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As a reminder, the following entries are under consideration for our previous challenge:

• “Solstice” by Tyler Tork
  
  
• “The Christmas War” by xdpaul
  

If you have not yet left feedback for this “Thunderdome: Christmas Edition” challenge, there's no time like the unopened present.


Higglety Pigglety Pop!

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As of this morning, we have received the following entries for our current challenge:

• “Monsters” by Tom
  
  
• “Pounce” by Tyler Tork
  

An enthusiastic “Huzzah” to all who have entered! The judges are considering your submissions, and winners for both of our outstanding challenges will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 8 January 2012.


Catastrophes-R-Us

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And now it is time for this week's Friday Challenge, once again inflicted by M:

Happy 2012! We've debated the worth of resolutions, but with only a few practical exceptions, we've been surprisingly reticent about sharing any of them this year.

Understandable. After all, half the world expects everything to end in only eleven and a half more months because the Mayans didn't have room to inscribe a longer calendar, and the other half hasn't quite accepted the fact that it didn't already end once or twice last year. What would be the point in actual resolutions, in the face of such fatalism?

Let me relieve your fears. I absolutely, unequivocally, and irrefutably promise the world will not end in 2012 (and I'm willing to take side bets on this)... but if it did, how would it happen?

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, 13 January 2012. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 15 January 2012.

Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.

Deadline Reminder

The deadline for the current Friday Challenge — Higglety Pigglety Pop! — was extended to 6 AM Eastern time on the morning of Friday, 6 January 2012... less than twenty-four hours away.

Entries may be added to The Friday Challenge Yahoo Group (see the appropriate directory within the "Files" section), hosted on your personal blog(s) and linked within the comments for the challenge, or copied directly into the comments section as a post.

In previous challenges, we have accommodated late entries. This time, we have no such luxury; if you post an entry much later than 6 AM Eastern time, there is a chance the judges will not be able to properly consider your work. Should you anticipate a need to snowdog, please mentally back the deadline up as much as necessary. If the deadline hits and you are very, very close, please publicly announce your intention to enter.

A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 8 January 2012. A winner for the previous challenge (“And now, for the next century and a half...”) will be announced at the same time.

Stupefying Stories Year-End Roundup: 2011

During 2011, STUPEFYING STORIES published twenty-seven stories and two poems. Which were your favorites, and why? Considering the contents of our first three issues, are there any contributors from whom you would particularly like to see a return appearance?

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1.1 - October 2011

Kindle | Nook | iTunes | Kobo

• “Ode” (poem) by Amy E. Helfritz
  
• “The Window” by David Yener Goodman
  
• “The Deported” by Vox Day
  
• “Picky” by Anatoly Belilovsky
  
• “The Cursed Wail” by Caileigh Marshall
  
• “S&M Vampire Grrlz: The Movie” by Chris Bailey Pearce
  
• “Quill” by Allan Davis, Jr.
  
• “Revival” by Daniel Eness
  
• “Dave’s Fright” (poem) by Kersley Fitzgerald
  
• “Other Sister” by Rich Matrunick
  
• “Return to Earth” by Ryan M. Jones

1.2 - November 2011

Kindle | Nook | iTunes | Kobo

• “First Impressions” by Aaron Bradford Starr
  
• “The Bamboo Garden” by Clare L. Deming
  
• “Home Security” by Gary McKenzie
  
• “Borrowed Feathers” by Sarah Frost
  
• “If This Be Magic” by Anatoly Belilovsky
  
• “The Oily” by E. A. Black
  
• “In Fall, After the Harvest” by S. Travis Brown
  
• “The King of Ash and Bones” by Rebecca Roland
  
• “Watch This!” by Henry Vogel

1.3 - December 2011

Kindle | Nook | iTunes | Kobo

• “Oogie Tucker’s Mission” by Gary Cuba
  
• “Highly Unlikely” by Ron Lunde
  
• “The Cowrie” by Tyler Tork
  
• “Snow Blind” by Trent Zelazny
  
• “Sennacherib” by David Landrum
  
• “The Strange Machinery of Desire” by Justin A. Williams
  
• “Secret Santa” by Kersley Fitzgerald
  
• “Seven Minutes to Bangor” by Aaron Bradford Starr
  
• “The Consolidated Brotherhood of Truly Bearded Santas” by Bill Ferris