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AUGUST -- Caption the Picture: Extended Edition -- Closed
klb685
Posts: 3,388 Member
SEPTEMBER'S EDITION Join us!
A Monthly Story Contest
People love to read stories. Writing them, however, seems a daunting laborious task best left to ... well, anyone else.
Captioning a picture is much less intimidating. A one liner? No problem! This contest falls somewhere in between.
** July's Edition
** June's Edition
I want you to write a story about this picture.
You can include the events leading up to, the current goings on, the future consequences of its happening, or any combination of the three. Feel free to make up names for the characters and places, and take any artistic liberties you think necessary. Tell me what's happening, why it's occurring, where it takes place, who's involved, when does it take place, how does it turn out. Remember: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. You don't have to include answers to all of the questions but keeping them in mind might help your story writing process.
A Monthly Story Contest
People love to read stories. Writing them, however, seems a daunting laborious task best left to ... well, anyone else.
Captioning a picture is much less intimidating. A one liner? No problem! This contest falls somewhere in between.
** July's Edition
** June's Edition
I want you to write a story about this picture.
You can include the events leading up to, the current goings on, the future consequences of its happening, or any combination of the three. Feel free to make up names for the characters and places, and take any artistic liberties you think necessary. Tell me what's happening, why it's occurring, where it takes place, who's involved, when does it take place, how does it turn out. Remember: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. You don't have to include answers to all of the questions but keeping them in mind might help your story writing process.
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Comments
Rules and Prizes
Rules:
* Each story MUST be at least one paragraph long. There is no maximum length.
* Post your story or a link to your story in this thread.
* Keep it friendly. Constructive criticism is beneficial but don't be mean or rude.
* All stories must be submitted by the end of the month. Anything posted after August 31st, midnight CST will not be counted.
* You may submit as many stories as you like.
Judging Criteria:
Creativity: 15
Flow: 10
Story Matches the Picture: 10
Clear Beginning and End: 5
Prizes:
* Prizes may be given to another person.
* Prizes may increase but will not decrease.
1st: 700
2nd: 500
3rd: 200
and two honorable mentions worth 50 each
Thank you, Blythelyre, for volunteering to sponsor!
Entries
Completed Stories:
Hello83433
Erja888
Drbigt
murfeel
PixieKicks
olive337337
jezebelthenun
-- Not an Entry Blythelyre
-- Not an Entry ciane
Interested:
Evalen
Winners
I thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of your stories again this month! G&G truly has a vast array of talented people - builders, CASers, hosts, CAStylers, and STORY TELLERS!
1st: 700 sp awarded by KLB
murfeel - A missing plumbob! Such a unique take on the picture. And, when I reached "ladden with gadgets and gizmos aplenty", I nearly choked with laughter and my brain immediately went into song. Thank you for the brief return to childhood and for your fantastic writing.
2nd: 500 sp awarded by Blythelyre
jezebelthenun - Touching. Incredibly creative. I love that the man was "safe" the entire time, that he was letting his demons out and claiming himself. The phone call at the end ... wow.
3rd: 200 sp awarded by KLB
Drbigt - A tale of rescue. I'm glad that, despite his injuries, he went back like his dream instructed him to and found the chest. So glad that the fish (mermaid) was released.
Honorable Mentions: 50 sp each awarded by KLB
Erja888 - It was only a dream! Blast! Perhaps one day Eric will get to go on a real adventure.
PixieKicks - "...completely oblivious to the life changing encounter he’d just experienced." Isn't that how it always goes. You emerge from an experience, your life changed, and nobody else notices because it didn't happen to them. Life goes on.
One Fine day in Isla Paradiso, Thomas(Tom) Jessinton walked outside his houseboat to the finest surprise, scuba gear! He had always wanted to go scuba diving and see what these crystal clear waters contained in the depths below them. So, Thomas drove his houseboat around the sea before finding the perfect spot for diving. Looking down to see what he could see from the surface, he saw the most beautiful coral and rocks and the perfect tan shade of sand. Thomas thought that he should paint the scene he saw in the clear water, he always had a thing for art and colors. He decided against it when he thought of his incredible luck with the scuba gear. "What if it disappears in the time i use to paint this incredible scene? I really should use this opportunity to do what I've always wanted to do!" Tom said with confidence in his eyes. So with that in mind, he quickly yet carefully took the scuba gear in hand and went into his floating home. After 15 minuets of figuring out what is this? what does that do? and how do i put this on?, Tom finally emerged from his room fully dressed in the gear. He slowly walked over to the edge of the houseboat, as he had never worn scuba fins in his entire life!(An embarrassment for having grown up on an island filled with opportunities to go scuba diving) Took one look into the water and jumped in!
After the array of bubbles cleared from around him, Tom looked all around him to see everything that was so beautiful in the water! He saw the coral, but it seemed much more beautiful once he was under the ocean waves. He saw caves that had a few tentacles lurking right inside them. That scared Tom a little, but he still thought it was beautiful, even though he didn't get any closer to it. But what awed Tom the most wasnt the coral, it wasnt the huge craken waiting patiently inside its home for a meal to swim by, it wasn't the sharks that occasionally stopped by to see him.(Although he thought that was pretty cool too) It was the mermaids that he saw not 100 feet from him. They took his breath away, he could have never imagined such a graceful creature as he watched them swim from place to place, occasionally spinning or flipping in the water. After a moment or two, Tom regained his breath and continued to look at the beauty this place possessed, and kept all for itself. He didn't realize it, but one of the mermaids was swimming up to him, and when she placed a hand on his shoulder, it was a feeling he would always remember.
"Hi, my name is Melinda! You not from here, are you?"She questioned. Tom shook his head no. "I could see that, so what a you doing down here in the depths of the ocean when you have so much up there?!? Rally, why would you give that up? This woman loved questions, didn't she. Tom tried to explain to her about what he had always wanted to do was dive in the clear waters of Isla Paradiso and see all the beauty the underwater possessed and how glad he was that he did that! But it was kind of hard when he was being interrupted by more and more questions from Melinda. Eventually he got tired of her and started to swim away when....
"Wait Tom! I can tell you something, I promise no more questions, just information." Tom knew he would regret this, but swam back over to Melinda anyways. He asked her what she could tell him about the place and she didn't disappoint when she told him of a big treasure hiding in the depths of Isla Paradiso oceans, and how no one has found it yet! Tom stared at her with pure awe as she told him of the treasure lying here. He took her advice and followed the "landmarks" she set for him to follow.He couldn't believe his luck! A treasure with riches beyond wild imagination all for him! He would be share to come back and thank her. After about 3 hours of going in circles, Tom found the chest with the lock broken. He looked around not once, but twice just to see that no one was around. After seeing no one, Tom continued on to the chest. But someone was around and couldn't wait to see his reaction. Melinda had followed him here, to make sure he actually got here. Now she was hiding behind a rock, peeking out and watching, silently.
Tom walked on the sandy surface of the sand, feeling the little bit that seeped through his fins. He got closer and closer and closer to the chest until he was right over it, and then prepared to open it. Now Tomas Denim Jessinton would be rich! Melinda was waiting for this moment her whole life! Tom put his hands on the grips of the chest lid and, with all his might, opened it to see..... nothing. absolutely NOTHING! Melinda snickered from behind the rock and swam off happy to see her shannanagins finally pay off. Tom was so disappointed in everything. He swam back up to his houseboat, took off the gear, and threw it of the side of it. He then drove it to the nearest island, where he sold it for less than half price, and then built a small, old looking cottage that no one would go near, and became the island grouch. Thomas Jessinton stayed there until today, and still resides there. There are rumors that some teens stepped on his property and never returned, but they are only rumors...
Good to see that people are still interested in writing stories this month!
When he’d answered the ad in the Daily Trident, he’d thought he’d be doing grunge work on a yacht. Instead, on his second day onboard, the diver had swum up raving about a sea monster and refusing to go back down. Like an idiot, he’d mentioned his past diving experience in his interview. The captain of the ship had cornered him after dinner that night and pressed him into agreeing to take the diver’s place.
Armani hadn’t dived in over five years, not since he’d had that terrible confrontation. Shaking his head he reached for a handle of the chest and tugged. Nothing. He tugged again, this time leaning back a little for extra leverage, which was like saying finding traction on the moon. He felt the chest move a little. This was supposed to be an easy extraction, but he’d been down here for thirty minutes already. Surrounded by trillions of gallons of sea water. Oh and let’s not forget the sea predators, like sharks.
Something brushed by his leg and he almost let go of the chest. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before looking down. His sigh of relief was loud in the enclosed space of his diving helmet and he was glad he’d turned the microphone off of his intercom. It was just a school of fish curious at the intruder to their world. It only made sense that some of the inhabitants of the sea floor would come to see what was disturbing their environment. He just hoped that the only curious animals were the fish.
Last time he was in the ocean, he’d encountered a merman who had not been pleased with a human stealing from him. The merman had dragged him several yards deeper into the sea and the diving suit he’d been wearing had started to crack from the deepening pressure of the water. Fearing for his life, Armani had begun to struggle violently, using his heavy boots to kick at the fishman and gain his freedom. He had barely escaped with his life and had sworn off diving. Yet here he was.
He hated this job.
Finally, after several more tugs, the chest slid from it’s dirt pocket and he was able to reach the other side. Turning on the intercom, he said, “Dispatch, come in dispatch, this is Armani. Over”
Dispatch here. Did you find it? Over.
He rolled his eyes. Clearly, otherwise why else would he be calling? “Yeah. I got it. I’m attaching the cables to the handles now. You’ll feel a tug in three minutes. Over.”
He worked as he spoke, making sure the cables that would raise the chest up to the surface were secure. He worked fast, wanting to get out of this ocean as soon as possible. He gave the cords a sharp tug and watched as the cables tautened, before the chest started its slow ascent from the ocean floor.
With his attention no longer focused on the cable, he finally noticed the tentacle that had wrapped itself around his right ankle and was now tightening…
He REALLY hated this job.
Since Blythe's isn't an judged entry I'm allowed to comment on hers. Horray!
I love that it was sort of mundane; no real action and adventure but plenty of intrigue - "He met a merman that dragged him away once!" "Phew, just a school of fish!" "Oh no! He didn't notice the tentacle, I hope he'll make it to the surface ok."
Don't worry, Armani, I'd totally hate that job too. *cringe*
Eric Portland's life has always been unlucky: His parents liked his little sister more than him, he wasn't doing good at school, he had nobody to talk to, he had zero friends. His parents kicked him out of their house when he was 16. He did not finish school. With the last coins in his pocket he bought a ticket to Barnacle Bay.
First he was checking out the beach. He loved water ever since we was a kid! While swimming in the ocean Eric sees a kid whose air mattress had sunken, but the kid could not swim. The girl was trying to stay at the surface of the water, which was difficult. Eric saved her and brought her back to the shore.
It happened that the young girl was mayor's niece. The mayor thanked Eric and gave him the job as a lifeguard. He also got a small house near the beach. Eric was really happy as he loves swimming, surfing, snorkeling and scuba diving.
The beach he worked at was very busy as many tourists came to Barnacle Bay. Families with kids enjoyed dining at an old pirate ship, young men and women took scuba-diving courses hoping to find Pirate Hook's sunken ship and treasures. However, Eric did not have much to do until a young lady in the water screamed for help. Undaunted by death he ran into the water and brought her back to the land. Suddenly she collapsed. The crowd told Eric to do mouth-to-mouth-resuscitation. Something he had never done his life. He tried it, but the woman was only pretending.
It happened: Eric was kissed for the first time!
When the mayor heard about the fake rescue he fired Eric. As the young lady who kissed him was a tourist she left the island a week later. There he was: No girlfriend and unemployed! Eric took his old scuba-gear and asked one of the fishermen to take him far out on the ocean. While the fisherman was trying to catch some fish Eric went scuba-diving. Suddenly he spoted a tresure chest. Was this Pirate Hook's treasure? He tried to open it several times, but he had no luck. His oxygen was getting near to empty. He decided to try one more time. 1, 2, 3, pull... and the treasure chest popped open. Eric could not believe his eyes: Gold, silver, gems and jewelry! He was so fascinated by the valuables that he did not realise the Kranken coming near. Suddenly a tentacle grabbed his foot. His oxygen supply went empty...
"Eric! Eric" - He hears someone shouting at him. Eric opens his eyes. "Young man, within 32 years of teaching I have not experienced that a student falls asleep while I tell the tale of Pirate Hook.", his History teacher says angrily.
This is fun! I'm going to write mini stories as often as I can!!
Blythe, mini stories are fun, right?! Not nearly as daunting as a legacy ... (speaking of, I need to pick Tia's story back up now that I'm home from vacation).
Story which is totally unrelated to this contest:
My brother and I have nicknames for each other. I call him Little Brother (because he's younger) and he calls me Little Sister (because he's taller). My younger sister and I couldn't use that sort of nickname because we're the same height so we had to think of something else. I called her "sister" strangely one day and it sounded like Sea Star. EUREKA! My sister is Sea Star and she calls me Starfish because a sea star is a starfish.
The monster (alien) corner bookmarks were a big hit in June's thread ... how about an octopus corner bookmark this time?
Ben Freshly was a normal man, a man in his late 20's. He had always been a fan of mythological and fantasy, reading stories about dragons, fairies, and such. His favorite fantasy race however, was mermaids. The elegant, graceful beings that were legendary in their beauty and enough to make even the saltiest of the sailors fall in love.
It had been this love for these sefaring tales and such that he had begun scuba diving in his late teens with group of friends and this last for several years, him and his friends going around, spending weekend get together, scuba diving and enjoying life.
That all came to screeching halt one day as Ben was with his friends, a shark would suddenly appear. As his friends began to make their way back and yelling for Ben to follow, the boy would look back and saw the giant mouth of shark heading for him. Everything went dark.
"Ben?"
A serene voice called for his name. It had to have been a voice of an angel, he must have had died.
"You are okay now. Open your eyes."
The male's eyes shot wide open and he was greeted with a sight of a mermaid, stroking her hair in front of her. She had narrow blue eyes that were like two sapphires. Her fine, curly, blonde hair would flow freely in the water in a way that reminded him of a drifting cloud. Unlike most stories he had read however, this mermaid was slightly plump and her skin was ruddy. Make no mistake, she was a beautiful girl and she was certainly gorgeous, her human body leading to a multi-colored tail that was of dark blue scales.
"Go back into the ocean, near where the shark attacked you lies a coral reef. Near a big formation of rocks, is a burried chest. Go find this chest, do it for me..."
Just then Ben gasped as he woke up, in a hospital.
"Oh doctor, it's a miracle! He's awake!" a girl would soon gasp.
The hospital staff would swarm all over, making several tests on Ben. Apperanttely, he had been in coma for three days and had it not been for his helmet, he probably would have died the doctors said. However, despite the fact that the staff were talking about him having great luck and it being a miracle, most of his thoughts were elsewhere as the male gazed away from the window of the sterile hospital, over to the blue sea. He knew what he had to do. He had to put his mind to ease.
Several days later, after having been finally left out of the hospital, he went back to find his diving suit as he'd make his way to the very spot he was attacked at. The shark was gone so he ventured to the coral reef until he'd find the stone formation, which he was sure the mermaid had been talking about. Ben nodded to himself as he'd start to scout the area until he'd find something hard in the soil and he'd start to dig it up, finding a burried treasure.
When he opened the chest, it appeared to be empty but just then a single fish would swim out from it, a plump little fish with beautiful dark blue scales...
Thanks for your entry, Drbigt.
Hi, Blythe! Feel free to browse all you like.
Another whale bookmark idea.
Half a month left.
Oh, as if!
I looked at this before and walked away and thought of a whole story for the pic and well...now I've forgotten it!
Great stories y'all
Send me a friend request for Simport