Wednesday, January 20, 2010

"Silhouette" Short Fiction Contest




**THE CONTEST IS CLOSED**

Click HERE for the winners announcement.

Click HERE for the contest announcement and rules.


Index
Adams, Jean M., An Unsuccessful Suicide (#115)
Aditya, The White Crow (#108)
*Aerin Rose, Reconnaisance (#236)
*Agnew, Patricia, The Passing (#181)
Aizaz, Spread Your Wings (#176)
*Allinotte, Chris, Not A Dove (#12)
Altaba, D., The Bald Eagle’s Swift Flight (#179)
Amias, The Metamorphic Of A Blur (#4)
Ashby, Ken, The Truth About Trees (#78)
Banerjee, Ranee Kaur, En-lightening (#42)
Barber, David, Nature Is Cruel (#62)
*Beetner, Eric, The Debt Collectors (#118)
Bell, Christian, Watching the House Burn (#205)
*Bernita, The Tower (#22)
*Bhatia, Amrita, Sill-Love-Hate (#204)
Biswas, Sourabh, The Nuisance of Necessity (#209)
*Black, Terry, In Every Bite Of Chicken (#228)
*Blanton, David, A Note About Bums on the Street (#77)
Blodeuedd, The Trickster’s Bride (#64)
Boisard-Beudin, Nathalie, Flight (#50)
Branch, Jared, The Superimposed Killer (#143)
Brazill, Paul D., The Last Supper (#17)
Brent, Ragna, Carrion (#187)
Bridger, Ryan, Watchers (#203)
Callico, Jeffrey S., Window Seat (#137)
*Cameron, Sally-Jane, Guardian’s Gift (#220)
Carmichael, Isaac, The Dead Satellite (#191)
Cenni, Alexandra, By Chance (#20)
Chambers, Stacy, As the Crow Flies (#128)
*Chen, Curtis C., Tricksy (#198)
Childs, Lily, Take Me Down, Sir (#189)
*Chingangbam, Anupama, The Eagle and The Mice (#166)
Clevenger, Carrie, The Missing Piece (#158)
Coleman, Angela L. F., One Is For Sorrow (#95)
Collins, Patsy, No One Can See Where There Is No Light (#90)
Conley, Walter, On the Way to Merry Mills (#109)
Connors, Anne Elizabeth, Night Terrors (#63)
*Cooper, Annemaria, Just Another Day (#222) HONORABLE MENTION
*Courtland, Linda, The Inevitable Loss of Burnt Sienna (#44) 4TH PLACE and READERS' CHOICE 2ND PLACE
Cricket, Ryn, Snake Charmer (#195)
Crisman, Robert, Winter Hawk Jack (#218)
*Culpepper, Jared, In the Shadows on the Lake (#28)
Davidson, Peter, Death's Courier (#170)
Deeti, Sai Charan, Destiny’s Lonely Child (#160)
DeLeo, Bernard Lee, Flight Interrupted (#175)
*Desikan, Kartik, A Patient Tale (#93)
Dhanke, Prashant, Eight Seconds (#211)
*Dhingreja, Tarun, The Hunt (#141)
Diaz, Melissa, Hungry (#227)
Dickson, Donna, One Crow Sorrow (#101)
*Dragon, Louise, Seed Of Evil (#162)
Drama, In the Graveyard (#193)
Drehmer, Aleathia, The Anchoring of Frigid Ships (#71)
Drouin, Roger, Snow Fort (#57)
*Dudley, Peter, Alone (#27)
*Dunlop, Scott, As the Crow Flies (#226)
Durfee,Mark C., Form to Form (#157)
*Eaton, Loren, Lammergeier (#25)
*Edwards, Dean Clayton, Reality, TV (#237) HONORABLE MENTION
Edwards, Tessa, Night Flight (#46)
*Eldin, Chris, Other Places (#2) HONORABLE MENTION
*Ellis, Susan, Segregation (#88)
Emeraldcite, Prayer Circle (#3)
Ennis, Scott, Silhouetted Volta (#10)
Evans, Jason Trajectory (Your Host)
Flynn, Claire, Taunting Sally (#151)
Ford, Herrad, The Pitch Lake (#96)
*Fouquet, Kristin, For Eliza (#43)
*Four Dinners, Bird Brain (#6)
*Fox, Gef, The Orchard and the Crow (#135) HONORABLE MENTION
*Fritz, Aidan, Chasing Manhood (#120)
*Gabrukiewicz, Thom, The Raven (#163) HONORABLE MENTION
*Gallenberg, Elizabeth, Defender of the City (#79)
Gordon, Betty, A Love Letter (#165)
*Gradowski, Janel, Losing Numbers (#52)
Graves, Randal, Concerto Grosso (#206)
*Green, Rachel, The Flock of Deconstructed Reality (#18) HONORABLE MENTION
*Green, Stephanie, Survivor (#230)
Greenberg, KJ Hannah, Synecdoche with References to a Previous Life in Iowa City (#23)
Griffiths, Alan, The Eton Rifles (#100)
Groppi, Jesse, As The Crow Flies (#233)
*Gully, Anton, .43 Magnum (#207)
Gunn, Barbara L., Man in Her Dream (#102)
*Haller, Alisa Rynay, The Choices We Make (#171) 5TH PLACE
*Harar, Beth, Ice (#41)
Heidt, Yvonne, On The Eve of My Destruction (#51)
*Hendricks, Kurt, Get Ready For The Weirdness (#150) 2ND PLACE
Hickman, Michelle, Feathered Concerto (#5)
*Hill, Stephen, Unspoken (#60) HONORABLE MENTION
Hirschi, Nicole E., A Fear Brought Into Perspective (#124)
Holczer, Tracy, The Other Side (#58)
Hood, Rohan, The Victim (#125)
*Hughes, Lee, The Mending of the Broken (#67) HONORABLE MENTION and READERS' CHOICE 3RD PLACE
*Iduma, Emmanuel, Wailing Wall (#74)
Irons, Will, Homecoming (#202)
*Iyer, Preeti, The Dying Prologue (#33)
*Jackson, James Montgomery, The Message (#114)
*JaneyV, Fear of Flying (#39)
Jansen, Pennycandy, April in Paris (#30)
*Jasmine, The Willow (#199)
Johnson, Richard M., Dusk Till Dark (#85)
*Jones, D. Smith Kaich, Into the Night (#186)
*Jones, Samuel, Evermore (#232)
*Joos, Catrina, First Kill (#104)
*Joshi, Roma, Missing Inaction (#159)
Karen, Nevermore (#231)
*Karthik, Flight (#215)
*KateInTheCloset, The Space Between (#76)
*Keating, Louise, Snowy Embankment (#219)
Kechula, Michael A., Terrible News (#123)
*King, Scott, A Worm in Crow's Clothing (#169) HONORABLE MENTION
*Kinsey, Lynn, Breakfast (#183)
Kishore, Vinayak, The Poet (#127)
Klumb, Julie, The Bracelet (#55)
Knowlden, Gary, Dark Flight of the Soul (#208)
Laine, Aimee, The Trip (#82)
*Lambert, Teri, Entry #154
Lane, Nevea, The Last Impression (#168)
Laughingwolf, Mob Mentality (#69)
Laurenson, Sarah, Hawk’s Prey (#11)
La Violette, Rusty, Deliverance According to Proverbs 6 (#105)
Lee, Nathaniel, Winterwing (#87)
*Lena, Silhouette of Freedom (#38)
Levin, Dawn, Goodbye (#185)
*Liadis, Liz, Looking for Fun (#144)
Liadis, Paul, The Traveler and The Game (#7)
Long, Chong Yen, Whispering Pine for a Silhouette (#139)
Lucy S., Braids Flying (#130)
*MacArthur, Jodi, Midnight Feathers (#153)
Madhumita, The Lone Raven (#92)
*McAuley, John, Hovering Over Walden's (#225)
*McClellan, Leah, Offering (#84) HONORABLE MENTION
*McCormick, Jason Henry, Frank/Crow (#81)
*McFarland, Peggy, The Fourth Floor (#136)
*McFeydon, Corra, Crow Etched Into the Window Pane (#229) HONORABLE MENTION
Me, The Crossing (#49)
*Mendez, Jacqueline, New Mexico, 1821 (#200)
Mira, Dust Storms (#61)
Mitchell, Christopher, Silhouette (#99)
*Monteleone, Merry, Falling Leaves (#131)
*Montgomery, Laurel, Raptors 1, Hoyt 0 (#133)
Morocco-Clarke, Ayodele, Free at Last (#29)
*Morse, Michael, Eternity (#134)
MRMacrum, The Well (#40)
*Mukherjee, Mithun, Metamorphosis (#36) HONORABLE MENTION
*Murty, Yamini, Shades of Black (#212)
Mystico, Aves (#111)
*Nagel, B., Contre-jour (#56)
Narayanan, Sury, War- What Is It Good For (#65)
*Night, M.E., Dreamer (#145)
Noland, Tony, The Grandson’s Approach (#172)
*NothingMan, Things Boys Do (#149)
Novak, T.A., Patiently Waiting (#45)
*Odhner, Melanie, Rustle (#117)
*Ohlrogge, Jelena Vencl, Free (#70)
*Ostrander, Beth A., The Moth Incident (#116)
*Palande, Krunal, The Silhouette (#26)
Partridge, Jillian, Nothing Less (#192)
Payne, Megs, The Falcon That Does Not Fly (#9)
*Payne, Michael H., A Better Day Tomorrow (#75) 1ST PLACE
Peets, Freddie, Possession (#178)
*Pelc, Michael, The Last Bird on Earth (#184)
*Pembroke, Restina, Flight (#148)
*Peterson, Charmaine, Solitary Soldier (#98)
Poirot, J. M., And Then We Were Strangers (#190)
*Poppen, Sharon, National Save the Quill Day (#201)
*Proctor, Elizabeth, Flightiness (#94)
Purcell, Veronica, I AM I: BAGGIES (#34)
Randick, J., Stranded (#47)
*Rapino, Anthony J., As the Crow Flies (#73)
*Remp, Timothy P., Beyond The Nest (#138) HONORABLE MENTION
*Rickel, Danielle, Black Angels (#156)
Rosario, Blany Ashwin Francis, Why Was I Born? (#89)
*Rownd, Mary Dexter, Closure? (#140)
*Ryan, Kathleen A., Body and Soul (#235) HONORABLE MENTION
*Ryan-Harper, Linda, A Frogpondian Transgression (#216)
*Salas, Alexander, The Deal (#68)
*Salt, Jane, Tania's Revenge (#221)
SanFilippo, Liz, Catching Lies (#196)
Satyarth, Antriksh, Heaven Sent (#129)
*Scheer, Wayne, Old Habits (#8)
Scott, Craig, Birds of Prayer (#1)
Scott from Oregon, Malcolm And The Eagle (#80)
*Seamans, Sandra, The Undertakers (#66)
*Seiffertt, Kiki, Nursery Rhyme (#224)
Shankaran, Harish, Bird/I View (#126)
Sharanya, Untitled Life (#210)
*Sharma, Mayur, The Shah of Blah (#86) HONORABLE MENTION
*Shete, Sandeep, Wages Of Brevity (#167)
Silberstein, James, A Woman Will Come (#103)
Silvestri, A., Oubliette (#174)
Sindbandge, Mahesh, Forsaken Dreams..... (#164)
*Sinkhorn, S.E., P.E.T.E. (#59)
Smith, Cecile B., The Black Hawk (#54)
Smith, Craig, Just Desserts (#217)
Smith, Ph.D., Stephanie Suesan, Where’s the Beef? (#121)
*Smythe, Debbie, Blood Echo (#161)
*Snowden, Shona, Flight (#180) READERS' CHOICE 1ST PLACE
*Solender, Michael J., Jumper (#97)
*Soles, Kim, Birds of Passionate Prey (#32) HONORABLE MENTION
*SeƱor Steve, Reply No. 26 (#146)
*Stoler, Cathi, Into The Night (#119)
*Sullivan, Meghan, The Crow & The Raven (#31)
Swemmer, Angel, Oh the Freedom (#113)
Szelsofa, The Blackbird and the Hen (#35)
Tauber, Sandra L., My Stupid Dog (#53)
*Taylor, Dottie, And The Hunt Begins (#234) HONORABLE MENTION
*Terri, Dangerous Games (#37)
Terry, Pamela, Feathers (#112)
*Thakkar, Aniket, The Good-stuff (#83) 3RD PLACE
Tomlinson, James R., The Frailty of Birds (#188)
*Tomlinson, Katherine, Maternal Instinct (#106)
Tracticus, Logicus, A Rictameter (#91)
*Trafford, Adrienne, When He Was the Silhouette (#13)
*Vee, Jimmy, Pie in the Sky (#19)
Vermeulen, Susan, Broken Lip(s) (#110)
Vibert, Catherine, Cat of Arc on Being a Bird (#14)
Vinson, Missy, Shadow Theater (#16)
*Vogt, Josh, Furs and Ice (#72) HONORABLE MENTION
*Wavemancali, Karma (#21) HONORABLE MENTION
Watson, Tara, Bohatera (#15)
*Watters, Charlene, Apocalypse Now? (#152)
Watters, Kim, The Hunt (#132)
*Weaver, Raine, Special (#213)
Welter, Ed, Prelude to a Kill (#122)
Wert, Carla, Raven (#223)
*Whirlochre, Hawk Yer Goodies (#107)
Wildflower, Entry #173
*Wilkinson, M., Looking into the Light (#182)
Williams, Jean Ann, In The Form Of A Dove (#177)
Williams:Sotelo, Sharidan, Copy Right 2009 (#214)
*Wilson, Juliet, Buzzards at Dusk (#147)
Wisneski, Jim, The Freedom (#197)
Wiswell, John, No Sam For You (#155)
Worth, Hazar, The Unchosen (#194)
Zapata, Angel, Forgotten Ornithology (#142)
Zawadiwsky, Christina, Dreams Of Flying (#24)

*Members of the Forties Club.

49 comments:

Bernita said...

Off to a wonderful start, Jason!

DILLIGAF said...

Just advertised it on me blog. Dunno if any of the loonies that read me will try but yer never know!!!

Missy said...

Goodie! I've advertised and entered - now to enjoy.

Aniket Thakkar said...

What?!!! We are on already?

I thought no entries would be published till 11th.

Anonymous said...

Aniket, they always get published as they come it. Makes it easier for me to read. 'Cause it's all about me, dontcha know.

Sarah Laurenson said...

That's right. It's all about me. Um. I mean you. I mean Aerin. I mean me. Damn. I'm so confused.

Aniket Thakkar said...

I agree with both Aerin and Sarah.
Rule no. 1: Never take sides. :D

Aerin - Are you going to do your magic of tracking all the comments this time too? It was a big help. :)

PJD said...

Let the wild rumpus begin!

I find it funny that all the people who told me they haven't written their entries yet are posting comments here...

I just submitted mine. Good luck all!

Anonymous said...

Aniket - the magic tracking is live!

Thanks for putting it up, Jason.

Jared said...

wow, great stuff. just got directed to this site the other day. very inspiring to see all the other writers and read such fresh work. can't wait to see the rest.

catvibe said...

In the first 20 I've had much laughter, tears, awwwws and just wow! The caliber of entries is excellent!

Dr. Ranee Kaur Banerjee said...

I sent in my entry last night but it still doesn't find place here. Should I re-send it Jason?

Ranee

Anonymous said...

Ranee, there is some delay between when I receive entries and when they are posted. Right now, I'm posting in 10-entry blocks. Yours will be in the next set.

MRMacrum said...

The quality of the entries blows my mind. This is so very cool. Thank you Jason for setting this up.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Reader's Choice? Oh my. I'm having to raise that bar really high to avoid jotting down nearly every entry on my favorite list.

Such an amazing group of entries.

Anthony Rapino said...

Every time you do one of these contests (since I last entered like 2 years ago) I always say, "This time I'll enter again," but never do.

Finally I had time to enter again. Looking forward to reading some great stories.

TL said...

I'm reading, but having a terrible time keeping up with comments. My life has taken a turn for the hectic the past two days!

Reader's choice voting will be near impossible for me!

Such incredible writing throughout.

Nevine Sultan said...

This contest is on a roll! And I'm really enjoying reading some of the entries. Well, I'm trying to read all of them, and comment on as many as I can... and seeing some really high talent, here! Thanks for doing this, Jason.

Nevine

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

Hey,

I have one question...

Can we try poetry having a story on the theme?

Please let me know and i am really trying for it for the very first time :-)

Thanks :)

Precie said...

Whoa nelly. I was offline for a week. 120 already?!!!

I might just sit this dance out and enjoy the whirlwind without any of the stress. :)

bekbek said...

Good lord that's a lot of entries!

WOW, Jason!

Anonymous said...

You guys are pushing for the record aren't you?? I can see the glint in your eyes.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes Jason. The record will fall. :)

Sarah Laurenson said...

Drat! I was keeping up. Now I'll have a lot of reading to do this weekend.

emeraldcite said...

Amazing, Jason. This is a tremendous turnout and some excellent reading.

Well done! (and I don't envy you one bit on the reading you'll be doing).

Anonymous said...

Constructive comments are a wonderful and necessary way that we support each other as writers. However, they must be constructive, i.e., provide useful information on what might be improved. For example, if you find a plot very confusing, you might say, "I'm not sure I understand the motivation of the chicken when it crossed the road." That gives specific information about what might need work. A comment like "whaa??" gives no information except a negative reaction. Those kinds of comments will be removed as unhelpful. Good critiques take more effort.

PJD said...

Good critiques take more effort.

Word.

For my part, if anyone wants to follow up with me about a comment, please click through my name and email me (my email address is on my blogger profile page). I am commenting on all entries, but I don't return to the comment trails and may miss your replies.

verification word: fible
The Bible as told only in fable.

DILLIGAF said...

I can't bleedin keep up here!

No sooner have I caught up than a load more come in!!!!

My top 5 is already a top 19!!!!

Jeez.

Great reads though.

oh I don't believe this...word veri is 'BLING'...I've spent so much on 'bling' for the daughter I'm nearly bankrupt...you know what 'bling' is over there?

Laurel said...

I love the feel of this contest and blog...I haven't noted anything mean-spirited here but perhaps in an effort to comment on all the very good entries someone made a mistake in the interest of time.

Some sparkling, fantastic work here and such a great community. Thanks, Jason!

catvibe said...

Well, I just learned that the blogger comment eating monster is lurking. Some of the comments I left are apparently no longer visible and I doubt they were deleted! A word of caution: Check to make sure you comment was accepted before moving on.

Anonymous said...

Catvibe,

Although a couple of comments have been deleted, that's only about 3 out of 1,000. I've seen other people mentioning that comments have gone missing. The only thing that I guess is that the onslaught of comments at times is overloading Blogger. It's not unusual to have 25 comments coming in 5 minutes.

Aniket Thakkar said...

I sure hope it wasn't me. Like Laurel, I too believe that whomsoever's comment it was, it must have been unintentional.

But you are right, we of all should be aware of the power of words and should be more careful how we use them.

On other note - congratulations on 200 entries. You do realize now you could plan a retirement just running these contests, right? ;) Am sure Aine would like that. (Where is she? Left her comments on her blog. Been ages that she interacted.)

Any chance of making top 5 the top 10? Its darn hard even to pick 10!

Anonymous said...

Aniket, that's a great idea. Yes, I'm going to expand the Readers' Choice voting to 10 votes. I'm also going to expand the Readers' Choice awards to 3 and expand the honorable mention group to 20. What a stunning contest!!

Aniket Thakkar said...

Lord Jason is most generous! ;)

That at least takes some weight off picking the top entries. And Yay, for more awards!

catvibe said...

Jason, thank you for that! I think that is wise because right now, in my mind, I have about 20 that are all vying for first place!

Aine said...

Aniket~ I'm here! Thank you for thinking of me, it means so much!

The sheer volume of this contest is overwhelming me. But I hope to read as many as I can soon.

And about my absence over at Life is Beautiful... erm, sorry? At first it was the holiday madness that kept me away from the PC. Then we had a total PC crash scare (the week after Christmas)-- thank Merlin I have Jason who missed his calling as a computer geek...er...expert (LOL! You know I absolutely adore and respect those souls we label "geek" or "nerd").

After the PC was resuscitated, my only excuse is that my introverting function took over. :P

But-- I am gearing up with a few new posts! Thanks for sticking with me. You are a dear friend!

Laurel said...

Jason, our fearless, beneficent leader. You are indeed a friend of the people!

Aine...good to see you. PC crash. *shudder*

Kate said...

Holy Overload! The entries alone here stack up to a novel; add the comments and it's an epic fantasy novel. I can't keep up but it sure is fun trying. Jason, thanks so much for running this thing!

Anonymous said...

Whoever wins this thing deserves their own group of minions, not unlike Neil Gaiman, but smaller in size. Also, Jason deserves minions to command as well. Volunteers?

Paul

Laurel said...

I think if this continues to grow we might need a play-off. Poor Jason. 11:00 can't get here fast enough for me and I don't have to mediate!

PJD said...

we might need a play-off.

Happens every bowl season. Someone always says "we need a play-off system."

When will Congress convene a special investigative committee?

catvibe said...

Love the playoff idea Pete! What an excellent mind for organization you have.

Deb Smythe said...

I haven't seen any mean crits. All the critters seem VERY nice.

In fact, if anyone wants to give me (#161) a tough crit, please feel free. I can take it, she said ducking under the table. If I have a misplaced comma, a plodding plot, confusing sentence structure, whatever! I want to know. I can't improve if I don't know where I screwed up.

Anonymous said...

Deb, constructive critiques are definitely welcome in my contests. Of course, constructive and respectful advice takes some care and effort. Mean critiques, dismissive comments, and insults are absolutely not tolerated.

I'm very happy that the tone I set really gets honored by everyone! There are many first time writers who feel safe enough to post here.

Deb Smythe said...

Well said, Jason.
This is a wonderful community!

Dr. Ranee Kaur Banerjee said...

Hear, Hear!
I love the fact that people in this community are so generous with praise and encouragement.

I think basically we're all in love with words and ideas and appreciate their expression in any form by anybody.

I couldn't explain it any other way. Thanks, Jason for giving us this forum to get together and strut our stuff for people who can be kind and yet can gently point us to our flaws.

Ranee

RH said...

Too bad the contest is closed :(
I did this for it, maybe someone will enjoy:

NASTY AIRMAIL
Father, you wanted your name to echo through time. You pulled a poet into the world who could sing your name. You fed him on old poems. But you say the new words are all problems. Platonist. How did you choose a poetess when you believe in aborting poets? I'm almost all wind now, an animal flapping around pretending, caww-cawwiing, just some crow from a shitty Castenada novel at best. I hope you enjoy this postcard flying your way. Soot-black Crow vs cracked branches a better reflection than some idiot's grin, so receive this greeting from your next of kin: caw-cawww!

anele biscarra said...

how do i get to join the contests? is anyone allowed to submit works?

and how do i know if there is a new contest..?

Anonymous said...

Anele, everyone is invited to join. The only caveat is that for the next contest, I will probably set a limit to the number of entries (I'm thinking 150). If you send me your email address, I'll add it to my database. I always send out a contest announcement/invitation before contests open.