Thursday, December 10, 2009

A Steampunk Short Story Contest

Photo by Orla


It is officially here!! Our second Steampunk Short Story Contest. The first contest was a great success and a fantastic way to launch my blog. Since it was so much fun, I think it's time for another! There's nothing better than a short story to get your creativity going.

Though the first contest didn't have any sort of theme, this time around, I'd like to try for one, and since I write steampunk romance and I'm evil, you guessed it! Now, I can already picture all the guys cringing, but WAIT! I'll make this easy for everyone... it just has to be a hint of romance, not necessarily the theme of the story. Hell, I'd even settle for a simple sultry look in another's direction or a bit of chemistry or flirting between two characters (or three!), and have that be the entirety of the romance. I'm an easy girl to please. If you want to take it to the other extreme and submit steampunk erotica, I'm game for that too.

So hear are the rules:

* All entries must be emailed and received by Dec. 28th, 8 am EST. Please send to asteampunkreverie@gmail.com
* Your story must be original, and have a MAXIMUM of 1000 words.
* There must be steampunk elements and also a romantic element, though I'll be a bit more lax on the latter (see above).
* Entries will be posted so that readers can vote on them. The winner will be the entry with the most votes.
* There will be a prize. I have no idea what it will be, though I am open to suggestions (and no, I'm afraid it is not in my budget to steampunk your house or car if you win).

So there you have it. I think I've covered everything, however feel free to comment or email with any questions. Can't wait!

17 comments:

Sara {Rhapsody and Chaos} said...

OMG soooooo cool!!!! I've been wanting to try my hand at steampunk - and this might be the best way to venture into it! I'm super excited :-)

Lindsey said...

Perfect timing! I've been reading the Steampunk anthology and been hankering to try my hand at a story. Count me in! (If I can get my act together in just a few weeks!)

Anonymous said...

So much fun. My mind is thinking right now. Hmm, what should I write?

(YolaRamunno)

Jemi Fraser said...

Okay - after the short/long writing preference over at my blog & Simon's blog, this is something I probably should do! I've just got to find the time!! Great idea, Calista :)

Denise Grover Swank said...

This might be just what I need to occupy my time until I can edit my book.

Anonymous said...

I've been told I should enter. So I shall, despite having never written steampunk before. I'm always up for a challenge though, so let's see what I can come up with!

Anonymous said...

Never written steampunk, but I have written a sultry look or two, so I might just give this a whirl.

Sounds fun, and if nothing else, will provide good reading while voting on the winners!

Thanks for throwing down the super-enhanced spiro-gyrating gauntlet!

Cali MacKay said...

I'm so excited!!! This is shaping up to be a fantastic contest. I can't wait to read all the entries!

J. Lea Lopez said...

wait, you mean you can't build me one of those cool airships from your stories where I can have romantic evenings with sultry scotsmen?? well phooey. i suppose i can still enter. romance i can do. i'll just have to work on that steampunk part.

Cali MacKay said...

Jen, if I could build an airship for romantic evenings with sultry scotsmen, I'm afraid I wouldn't have time to run a contest. lol.

Glad you'll be joining the fun!

rklewis said...

Hmmm... ya know, I might just have to pull out my hydrometer pants and give this a shot. Sounds like MUCH fun, Youngin'!

Jemi Fraser said...

Hi Calista! I "tagged" you over at my blog. If you don't have time, don't worry, it's just for fun :)

Cali MacKay said...

Sounds like fun!! Thanks, Jemi.

Unknown said...

Are you looking for any particular format for the contest?

Cali MacKay said...

K.L., I'm not really looking for any particular format, but I'll be cutting and pasting from whatever you send, so you may want to make sure it's in the format you want seen.

For example, if there aren't any spaces between paragraphs in the email, I'll do my best to sort it out, but I'll likely have to guess where you intended paragraphs to go. lol.

Other than that, I'm easy, and I'll do my best to make sure it's easily readable.

J. Lea Lopez said...

bah! i totally missed the deadline. had a good idea in my head, just never got around to writing anything haha. oh well. i might still write it just to try the steampunk thing and keep it on file for the next contest. can't wait to read the entries!

Cali MacKay said...

The entries are now posted! Be sure to check them out and vote!