Authors, write and win money in StoryMash's creative writing contests!
StoryMash, the future of collaborative storytelling. And the future has cash prizes! To reward the authors and amateur writers of our creative writing community and encourage collaborative writing, StoryMash holds periodic creative writing contests. This is one such contest.
Welcome to StoryMash's sixth writing contest!
This is a FIVE round contest. There is one winning author per round. Each round lasts a total of fourteen days. There are no designated subjects, topics or genres.
There is a panel of designated judges, initially selected by StoryMash.
Katrina Robinson
StoryMash Username: Katrina
Katrina Robinson has been the community manager and blogger extraordinaire at StoryMash.com since April 2008. She is a full-time freelance writer and editor as well as an undercover fiction writer—undercover because she has yet to try to be published. Katrina has been a contributing writer for Graffiti, Diamond Magazine, ANF Magazine, and Pure Times Magazine. When she’s not writing and working on one of her many projects, Katrina can be found soaking up the rays on the Charleston beaches and reading anything she can get her hands on.
Melissa Monks
StoryMash Username: Honeygloom
Melissa has been a member of StoryMash since December 9th, 2007. She grew up writing. Her first ever story, written in 3rd grade, was about a little boy who got attacked by a Vampire who also happened to captain a schooner. Since then, she’s written more, read a few books, and earned a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Utah. When not reading, writing, or hanging out on StoryMash, she knits, beads, or pensively walks along the beach thinking of reading, writing, StoryMash, etc.
Teresa Brown
StoryMash Username: tabr0wn
Teresa Brown has authored and published three books. (She got great advice from an expert that long subtitles up to no more than 30 words have more keywords for search engines to crawl both in Amazon.com and anywhere else online so if these subtitles are a mouthful, don’t choke!) Adoption Records Handbook: Birth Family Searches Made Easier with Self-Help Tips, Registries, Search Angels, Pro Se Legal Forms, etc.; Business Security: Save Money While Protecting Your Family and Small Business Against Theft, Workplace Violence, Fraud, Hostage Situations and More; and My Father’s Daughter: A Romantic Historical Adventure. For her fiction novel she goes under the pseudonym of Teresa Marotta. Her books can be ordered at Amazon.com as well as BarnesandNoble.com, through bookstores and libraries. More information can be found at www.CraryPublications.com.
Rebekah Tiemens
StoryMash Username: Shadinah
Rebekah was introduced to Storymash a little over a month ago. She hadn't written fiction since high school, but, as she has been an avid reader all her life, writing comes fairly natural. She has a wealth of experiences to draw from, having lived in three states, eight cities and over a dozen houses within the last decade. Three kids and a full time job complete the busy picture and writing is one of her few creative outlets.
Cyndi Bishop
StoryMash Username: Aggeloi
Cyndi joined Storymash about two months ago, having discovered the site through Craig's List. She has been writing since childhood, and has been a full-time writer for the last two years. Brio, a magazine for teen girls, has published several of her articles, and she has worked on two ghostwriting projects, with a third underway. She is also trying to find a publisher for her first two completed novels. When she isn't writing, she loves reading, knitting, crocheting, and playing brain-cell-destroying video games.
Jim
StoryMash Username: nashvillebecker
Jim learned typing in seventh grade by playing a tutorial video game. If a student scored one million on said game, Mr. Hayes, the typing instructor, would give them A's for the rest of the year. Due to time constraints, such a score was impossible for anyone who didn't cut their next two classes. Like Jim cared about math or social studies. He finds typing therapeutically calming, and maintained over fifty mail correspondences before he ever opened an email account. However, typing didn't mean much without decent (or better) ideas to write. He thinks he sounds important when he addresses himself in third person. He has been published and continues submitting articles and stories to a variety of magazines. He has written scripts, children's books, songs, and driving directions. A member of StoryMash since he joined, he promotes idiocy in real life and quality in writing. Lastly, Jim thrives on the opportunity to write new profiles about himself, especially since his verb tenses aren't corrected.
StoryMash Username: Katrina
Katrina Robinson has been the community manager and blogger extraordinaire at StoryMash.com since April 2008. She is a full-time freelance writer and editor as well as an undercover fiction writer—undercover because she has yet to try to be published. Katrina has been a contributing writer for Graffiti, Diamond Magazine, ANF Magazine, and Pure Times Magazine. When she’s not writing and working on one of her many projects, Katrina can be found soaking up the rays on the Charleston beaches and reading anything she can get her hands on.
Melissa Monks
StoryMash Username: Honeygloom
Melissa has been a member of StoryMash since December 9th, 2007. She grew up writing. Her first ever story, written in 3rd grade, was about a little boy who got attacked by a Vampire who also happened to captain a schooner. Since then, she’s written more, read a few books, and earned a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Utah. When not reading, writing, or hanging out on StoryMash, she knits, beads, or pensively walks along the beach thinking of reading, writing, StoryMash, etc.
Teresa Brown
StoryMash Username: tabr0wn
Teresa Brown has authored and published three books. (She got great advice from an expert that long subtitles up to no more than 30 words have more keywords for search engines to crawl both in Amazon.com and anywhere else online so if these subtitles are a mouthful, don’t choke!) Adoption Records Handbook: Birth Family Searches Made Easier with Self-Help Tips, Registries, Search Angels, Pro Se Legal Forms, etc.; Business Security: Save Money While Protecting Your Family and Small Business Against Theft, Workplace Violence, Fraud, Hostage Situations and More; and My Father’s Daughter: A Romantic Historical Adventure. For her fiction novel she goes under the pseudonym of Teresa Marotta. Her books can be ordered at Amazon.com as well as BarnesandNoble.com, through bookstores and libraries. More information can be found at www.CraryPublications.com.
Rebekah Tiemens
StoryMash Username: Shadinah
Rebekah was introduced to Storymash a little over a month ago. She hadn't written fiction since high school, but, as she has been an avid reader all her life, writing comes fairly natural. She has a wealth of experiences to draw from, having lived in three states, eight cities and over a dozen houses within the last decade. Three kids and a full time job complete the busy picture and writing is one of her few creative outlets.
Cyndi Bishop
StoryMash Username: Aggeloi
Cyndi joined Storymash about two months ago, having discovered the site through Craig's List. She has been writing since childhood, and has been a full-time writer for the last two years. Brio, a magazine for teen girls, has published several of her articles, and she has worked on two ghostwriting projects, with a third underway. She is also trying to find a publisher for her first two completed novels. When she isn't writing, she loves reading, knitting, crocheting, and playing brain-cell-destroying video games.
Jim
StoryMash Username: nashvillebecker
Jim learned typing in seventh grade by playing a tutorial video game. If a student scored one million on said game, Mr. Hayes, the typing instructor, would give them A's for the rest of the year. Due to time constraints, such a score was impossible for anyone who didn't cut their next two classes. Like Jim cared about math or social studies. He finds typing therapeutically calming, and maintained over fifty mail correspondences before he ever opened an email account. However, typing didn't mean much without decent (or better) ideas to write. He thinks he sounds important when he addresses himself in third person. He has been published and continues submitting articles and stories to a variety of magazines. He has written scripts, children's books, songs, and driving directions. A member of StoryMash since he joined, he promotes idiocy in real life and quality in writing. Lastly, Jim thrives on the opportunity to write new profiles about himself, especially since his verb tenses aren't corrected.
All registered StoryMash users are encouraged to rate and comment on competing chapters. All registered StoryMash users are eligible to win, except for judges and StoryMash staff.
Contest #6 rules are explained and discussed in one of Katrina's blog posts.
Discuss the current writing contest in our blog.
The Panel of Judges:
View the panel of judges
Katrina Robinson
StoryMash Username: Katrina
Katrina Robinson has been the community manager and blogger extraordinaire at StoryMash.com since April 2008. She is a full-time freelance writer and editor as well as an undercover fiction writer—undercover because she has yet to try to be published. Katrina has been a contributing writer for Graffiti, Diamond Magazine, ANF Magazine, and Pure Times Magazine. When she’s not writing and working on one of her many projects, Katrina can be found soaking up the rays on the Charleston beaches and reading anything she can get her hands on.
Melissa Monks
StoryMash Username: Honeygloom
Melissa has been a member of StoryMash since December 9th, 2007. She grew up writing. Her first ever story, written in 3rd grade, was about a little boy who got attacked by a Vampire who also happened to captain a schooner. Since then, she’s written more, read a few books, and earned a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Utah. When not reading, writing, or hanging out on StoryMash, she knits, beads, or pensively walks along the beach thinking of reading, writing, StoryMash, etc.
Teresa Brown
StoryMash Username: tabr0wn
Teresa Brown has authored and published three books. (She got great advice from an expert that long subtitles up to no more than 30 words have more keywords for search engines to crawl both in Amazon.com and anywhere else online so if these subtitles are a mouthful, don’t choke!) Adoption Records Handbook: Birth Family Searches Made Easier with Self-Help Tips, Registries, Search Angels, Pro Se Legal Forms, etc.; Business Security: Save Money While Protecting Your Family and Small Business Against Theft, Workplace Violence, Fraud, Hostage Situations and More; and My Father’s Daughter: A Romantic Historical Adventure. For her fiction novel she goes under the pseudonym of Teresa Marotta. Her books can be ordered at Amazon.com as well as BarnesandNoble.com, through bookstores and libraries. More information can be found at www.CraryPublications.com.
Rebekah Tiemens
StoryMash Username: Shadinah
Rebekah was introduced to Storymash a little over a month ago. She hadn't written fiction since high school, but, as she has been an avid reader all her life, writing comes fairly natural. She has a wealth of experiences to draw from, having lived in three states, eight cities and over a dozen houses within the last decade. Three kids and a full time job complete the busy picture and writing is one of her few creative outlets.
Cyndi Bishop
StoryMash Username: Aggeloi
Cyndi joined Storymash about two months ago, having discovered the site through Craig's List. She has been writing since childhood, and has been a full-time writer for the last two years. Brio, a magazine for teen girls, has published several of her articles, and she has worked on two ghostwriting projects, with a third underway. She is also trying to find a publisher for her first two completed novels. When she isn't writing, she loves reading, knitting, crocheting, and playing brain-cell-destroying video games.
Jim
StoryMash Username: nashvillebecker
Jim learned typing in seventh grade by playing a tutorial video game. If a student scored one million on said game, Mr. Hayes, the typing instructor, would give them A's for the rest of the year. Due to time constraints, such a score was impossible for anyone who didn't cut their next two classes. Like Jim cared about math or social studies. He finds typing therapeutically calming, and maintained over fifty mail correspondences before he ever opened an email account. However, typing didn't mean much without decent (or better) ideas to write. He thinks he sounds important when he addresses himself in third person. He has been published and continues submitting articles and stories to a variety of magazines. He has written scripts, children's books, songs, and driving directions. A member of StoryMash since he joined, he promotes idiocy in real life and quality in writing. Lastly, Jim thrives on the opportunity to write new profiles about himself, especially since his verb tenses aren't corrected.
StoryMash Username: Katrina
Katrina Robinson has been the community manager and blogger extraordinaire at StoryMash.com since April 2008. She is a full-time freelance writer and editor as well as an undercover fiction writer—undercover because she has yet to try to be published. Katrina has been a contributing writer for Graffiti, Diamond Magazine, ANF Magazine, and Pure Times Magazine. When she’s not writing and working on one of her many projects, Katrina can be found soaking up the rays on the Charleston beaches and reading anything she can get her hands on.
Melissa Monks
StoryMash Username: Honeygloom
Melissa has been a member of StoryMash since December 9th, 2007. She grew up writing. Her first ever story, written in 3rd grade, was about a little boy who got attacked by a Vampire who also happened to captain a schooner. Since then, she’s written more, read a few books, and earned a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Utah. When not reading, writing, or hanging out on StoryMash, she knits, beads, or pensively walks along the beach thinking of reading, writing, StoryMash, etc.
Teresa Brown
StoryMash Username: tabr0wn
Teresa Brown has authored and published three books. (She got great advice from an expert that long subtitles up to no more than 30 words have more keywords for search engines to crawl both in Amazon.com and anywhere else online so if these subtitles are a mouthful, don’t choke!) Adoption Records Handbook: Birth Family Searches Made Easier with Self-Help Tips, Registries, Search Angels, Pro Se Legal Forms, etc.; Business Security: Save Money While Protecting Your Family and Small Business Against Theft, Workplace Violence, Fraud, Hostage Situations and More; and My Father’s Daughter: A Romantic Historical Adventure. For her fiction novel she goes under the pseudonym of Teresa Marotta. Her books can be ordered at Amazon.com as well as BarnesandNoble.com, through bookstores and libraries. More information can be found at www.CraryPublications.com.
Rebekah Tiemens
StoryMash Username: Shadinah
Rebekah was introduced to Storymash a little over a month ago. She hadn't written fiction since high school, but, as she has been an avid reader all her life, writing comes fairly natural. She has a wealth of experiences to draw from, having lived in three states, eight cities and over a dozen houses within the last decade. Three kids and a full time job complete the busy picture and writing is one of her few creative outlets.
Cyndi Bishop
StoryMash Username: Aggeloi
Cyndi joined Storymash about two months ago, having discovered the site through Craig's List. She has been writing since childhood, and has been a full-time writer for the last two years. Brio, a magazine for teen girls, has published several of her articles, and she has worked on two ghostwriting projects, with a third underway. She is also trying to find a publisher for her first two completed novels. When she isn't writing, she loves reading, knitting, crocheting, and playing brain-cell-destroying video games.
Jim
StoryMash Username: nashvillebecker
Jim learned typing in seventh grade by playing a tutorial video game. If a student scored one million on said game, Mr. Hayes, the typing instructor, would give them A's for the rest of the year. Due to time constraints, such a score was impossible for anyone who didn't cut their next two classes. Like Jim cared about math or social studies. He finds typing therapeutically calming, and maintained over fifty mail correspondences before he ever opened an email account. However, typing didn't mean much without decent (or better) ideas to write. He thinks he sounds important when he addresses himself in third person. He has been published and continues submitting articles and stories to a variety of magazines. He has written scripts, children's books, songs, and driving directions. A member of StoryMash since he joined, he promotes idiocy in real life and quality in writing. Lastly, Jim thrives on the opportunity to write new profiles about himself, especially since his verb tenses aren't corrected.
The Prizes and Winners
StoryMash is rewarding its authors' best writing with over $500 in prizes! The author of the winning chapter for each round will win $100, or $200 for the final round.
Round One - shadinah won $100 for "The Unknown"(display judges' votes)
| honeygloom | tabr0wn | Katrina | Total | Avg. | |
| "The Unknown" by shadinah | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 4.7 |
| "A Modern Horror" by Aggeloi | 4.5 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 12.0 | 4.0 |
| "Amanda" by wendyboop | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 11.5 | 3.8 |
| "Rainy Days and Mondays (Allow Me to Bunker Down)" by nashvillebecker | 4.8 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 11.3 | 3.8 |
| "Witch: The Beginning" by mandycrum | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 3.7 |
| "Paul is Dead" by crystalfoo | 4.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 10.5 | 3.5 |
| "Behind Door Number One - Please Mash!!!" by Eternal_Flame | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 9.5 | 3.2 |
| "Dear Father Ch.1" by Cal_3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| "Skin Hounds (for the H.A.C. project)" by Persephonie | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 2.7 |
| "Happy Birthday Jeremy" by zatoichi | 3.5 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 2.5 |
(display judges' votes)
| honeygloom | tabr0wn | Katrina | Total | Avg. | |
| "The Unknown 2: Shadows" by Aggeloi | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 14.3 | 4.8 |
| "Chapter Two: The Zero Effect" by crystalfoo | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 12.7 | 4.2 |
| "The Unknown - Meetings Unmet" by wolfram | 4.8 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 11.5 | 3.8 |
| "The Unknown - 2" by writerwannabe | 4.2 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 11.5 | 3.8 |
| "The Unknown: Caged Hens Don't Fly" by zatoichi | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 | 3.7 |
| "The Unknown: Chapter 2" by raspberrywafer | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 3.7 |
| "The Unknown: Trust" by nashvillebecker | 4.0 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 10.3 | 3.4 |
| "The Unknown - Chapter 2" by Wandering_Rian | 3.5 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 10.2 | 3.4 |
| "The Unknown: Children" by annalia | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 2.8 |
| "Chaotic Focus" by hebe6405 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 2.7 |
(display judges' votes)
| shadinah | Aggeloi | Katrina | honeygloom | Total | Avg. | |
| "The Unknown 3: Phantom Memories" by nashvillebecker | 4.9 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 18.6 | 4.7 |
| "The Unknown - Uncovered" by wolfram | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 18.3 | 4.6 |
| "The Unknown 3: Horror Show" by dogdeity11 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 17.3 | 4.3 |
| "The unknown: The stowaway" by chloe | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 15.9 | 4.0 |
| "Agents United" by writerwannabe | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 14.7 | 3.7 |
| "The Unknown 3: Inquisition" by Eternal_Flame | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 14.6 | 3.7 |
| "False Facades and Handcuffs" by WBScott | 3.7 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 12.5 | 3.1 |
| "The Unknown: No Escape" by annalia | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 12.3 | 3.1 |
| "The Unknown Chapter 3 - The Escape?" by politeditor | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 11.5 | 2.9 |
| "The Unknown - Chapter 3 - Bus Stop" by sword | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 10.8 | 2.7 |
(display judges' votes)
| nashville becker | shadinah | Aggeloi | honeygloom | TOTAL | AVG. | |
| "The Unknown 4 - Duplicity" by wolfram | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 17.8 | 4.5 |
| "Chapter 4: Revelations of a Liar" by crystalfoo | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 15.9 | 4.0 |
| "The Unknown 4: Knowing is Half the Battle" by Cheeseliker | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 15.1 | 3.8 |
| "The Unknown 4: Déjà Vu" by writerwannabe | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 13.1 | 3.3 |
| "The Unknown 4: The History" by sumedh007d | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 12.1 | 3.0 |
| "The Unknown - Chapter 4: Familiar Faces" by sword | 3.5 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 11.6 | 2.9 |
| "The Unknown 4: Revelations" by Wisper78 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 11.5 | 2.9 |
| "The Unknown 4: Field of vision" by jerryw1812 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 2.6 |
| "''The Unknown'' Chapter 4: The Antiserum" by lickgoldsky | 2.0 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 9.3 | 2.3 |
| "The Unknown- Clones" by I_Ninja_Rye | 2.5 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 9.2 | 2.3 |
Round Five Finalists
The Round Five deadline was January 6th. After a full day of community voting, the judges have three days to select the final winner who will be announced after January 10th, 2009.
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4.3/5.0 - published Dec 29, 2008 - 23 comments - start of story (preview)
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4.1/5.0 - published Jan 06, 2009 - 15 comments - start of story (preview)
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3.9/5.0 - published Jan 06, 2009 - 17 comments - start of story (preview)
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3.7/5.0 - published Jan 01, 2009 - 11 comments - start of story (preview)
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3.7/5.0 - published Jan 05, 2009 - 5 comments - start of story (preview)
No Peter, Paul and Maribel this time.
Tags: proofed. |
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3.6/5.0 - published Jan 02, 2009 - 6 comments - start of story (preview)
When Maribel goes to stop Pete from hurting the children she gets more than she bargained for as a revelation of lies is laid before her, and her reaction will decide her entire future.
Tags: conspiracy, customer, government, gun, hitman, knife, mccarthy, patriot-act, pistol |
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3.5/5.0 - published Jan 04, 2009 - 14 comments - start of story (preview)
The rush to save the children and get some answers.
Tags: unknown |
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3.5/5.0 - published Jan 02, 2009 - 5 comments - start of story (preview)
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3.4/5.0 - published Dec 26, 2008 - 6 comments - start of story (preview)
Jake stepped out of line to approach me. “We came from all over the world, Ms. B. We all gathered together here on this night because it’s time for the awakening. It’s time to go, Ms. B. Will you come with us, Ms. B? Will you be comi-al-lm maah....”
Tags: children, clones, duplication, ending, ethics, finish, mystery, question, replicate, school, sci-fi |
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3.3/5.0 - published Dec 24, 2008 - 9 comments - start of story (preview)
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No contest would be complete without some legalese:
Void where prohibited! This is a peer-reviewed, skill-based, time-limited, contest. No cheating. No plagiarism. All StoryMash dates and times use the UTC timezone.
Past writing contests:
October 20, 2008 - Creative Writing Contest #5 created "Thou Shalt Not Kill".
June 20, 2008 - Contest #4 creative writing contest was the debut of the crazy clocks!
April 20, 2008 - Trifecta creative writing contest was identical to our second contest since that one worked so well.
February 20, 2008 - The second creative writing contest was the first to require entries to continue an existing story.
December 20, 2007 - Our first creative writing contest ever, over $500 won!
