Monday, September 20, 2010

NPR’s Three-Minute Flash Fiction Contest

Okay, despite my checkered past with National Public Radio, it has sponsored something of which I whole-heartedly approve -- a flash fiction contest! Dubbed Three-Minute Fiction, it has (naturally) three requirements: Participants must 1) write a short short no longer than 600 words that 2) starts with the sentence "some people swore that the house was haunted" and 3) concludes with "Nothing was ever the same again after that." Pulitzer winner Michael Cunningham (The Hours), who will judge the competition, says that he chose opening and closing lines because he loves ghost stories. Read all about the rules and rewards at NPR.org. FYI, the submission deadline is Sunday, September 26th.

(Picture: CC 2010 by
julianlimjl; Hat Tip: Bill Gozansky Photography)

10 comments:

C. N. Nevets said...

Oh great another deadline. lol

Thanks for the headsup, Loren!

B. Nagel said...

Fantastic! I love the final bit of advice from Cunningham: "Please amuse me. Amaze me. Let's go."

pattinase (abbott) said...

Geez, I just wrote a 4000 word story that would work. Can I get it down to 600 words?

Loren Eaton said...

Nevets,

Optional deadline, sir. That is the (oh so very) key word.

Loren Eaton said...

B.,

That reminds me of ChiZine's submission guidelines, which are essentially: "Dark. Well-written. 4,000 words or less. Go to it."

Loren Eaton said...

Patti,

I have faith in you. Didn't you pare one down from 10,000 to 1,000 once with very pleasing results?

Tony said...

Fun, I'm definitely in... thanks for the heads up, Loren!

Scattercat said...

Welp, I gave it a whirl. Lawd, but them was some awful lines to work with...

Loren Eaton said...

Tony,

Huzzah!

Loren Eaton said...

SC,

I've been wondering how I could give them a creative twist of some kind. Alas, the well's a bit dry right now.