A new fan fiction contest?, Should we try one?

No, I'm not announcing that there's going to be a fan fic contest...though hopefully it may soon come to that.

What I'd like to do is explore some possible themes for such a contest. This is a chance for you regulars to vote for your favorite ideas and pet projects.

Give it some thought, create some robust debate, and maybe we can shake things up here.

You mean along the themes of Space, Water, Time, Other dimensions, etc?? Or something more specific like characterization, dialogue, writing skills? Or different organizations that fight evildoers?

Now why you gotta be like that? Just make some suggestions, youse.

hmmm ... what about an "IMPACT" fan fic contest?

Limit the whole story to prologue length. Say 2000 to 3000 words.

The story can be about ANYTHING

The idea is to captivate, excite and enthrall the reader for maximum IMPACT!

All entries are judged by a panel on an impact scale from 1 to 10

The story that was written here has been moved to my www.tonym5.net website and the working title is Opaline Cat. I may come up with a better title later. But the story just flowed out of me so easily without thought to any guidelines/formula set by the forum. -tonym5

Thanks for taking down the story. There'll be a time and place, but I want to entertain lots of input before this is a contest.

This post has been edited by Nick Kismet on Oct 1 2008, 03:14 AM

I agree with Tony - I think that'd make for some pretty exciting submissions!

I have another angle that I'll submit to your scrutiny:

VILLAINS

Every good adventure story needs a bad guy, and some of Clive's best stories have been the ones that had a really good(?) villain. Typically, early on in his books, he introduces the villain with a chapter that fills in the backstory, even as we get our first glimpse of the nemesis du jour. And the villain doesn't always have to be cookie-cutter evil. Sometimes, the best bad guys are the ones that you kind of feel sympathetic toward...Fawkes from Vixen 03 for example, or Brian Shaw from Night Probe. Then again, it takes real imagination to come up with a villain as gritty and intense as Foss Gly, or as utterly ruthless as Min Koryo Bougainville. And some of the most memorable villains are the one's that didn't get a lot of face time--the sadistic Melika from Sahara for example.

So my suggestion would be a short chapter length introduction to a villain that Pitt (or any of the other Cussler heroes, including Bell) might face. Part and parcel of this would be, at the very least, a glimpse into the villain's master plot, but of course, you don't have to give away everything.

If this is the direction we go, I might also have an interesting "prize" to offer, but I don't want to say any more about that just yet.

So what do you say readers and writers? How does the "Villains contest" rate on the interest scale?

I Agree wholeheartedly because I have created some myself and will try to outdo anyone else.

You'll have a headstart advantage then, but don't be too eager. Remember, this is only a suggestion.

Let me add a further suggestion to avoid any confusion. We'll take the rest of October to consider exactly what the competition (if any) will be, and also formalize rules, judging, prizes, etc.

In any event, don't post your specific ideas or stories until further direction is given.

Sounds like a fun perspective to go from. I'd be interested in entering a submission for it.

So, who out there has a diabolical imagination? Who out there can plant evil thoughts onto paper and create the ultimate villain?