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CONTEST: Mr/Miss/Mrs (Blank) Lives for a Day
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Violet Parr
Violet Parr
Thespian

Jan-30-2010 07:30


(Creative Writing Contest)

In the wonderful spirit of giving and universal oneness Sleuth is showing, I have decided to host a contest I have wanted to do for a while. The premise of this contest is inspired by a charming little movie I watched a while ago called “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”, whereby in the course of twenty four hours the character of Miss Pettigrew is introduced, developed and, by the end of the movie, gets her romantic destiny achieved.

The contest is this: Write a creative piece in which you introduce a fictional character to the reader, develop it as much as you can with interesting detail and have it fulfill some sort of destiny within the course of one day in the character’s life. The rules are as follows:

1. The character has to be fictional -it can be your detective’s or another one that you’ve created.
2. The piece you submit is limited to 6,000 characters (i.e. 3 posts as a maximum.)
3. Your piece must be entitled: “Mr/Miss/Mrs (insert your character’s name) Lives for a Day”.
4. The entries will be judged on writing, creativity and entertainment value.

The judging will be done by yours truly. I promise to endeavour to be as fair as humanly possible.

The winner will receive a 6-month gift subscription to Sleuth Noir. There is also another optional prize if the winner is a role player and would like to start a new thread on the stage: I will offer to join his or her story as the Violet Parr character or as a character of the winner’s choosing and design.

All entries must be submitted by the deadline of Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 23:59 hrs, Sleuth Server Time.

I encourage everyone to give this contest a shot, enjoy writing and have fun!


Replies

Secret_Squirrel
Secret_Squirrel
Safety Officer

Feb-7-2010 01:00

That was the thing 'bout Callum, the kids, the down and outers, the grandma's and bench-sleepers, those that dont got not-one but themselves, to them his big 'ol boomin voice, well it was like an angels-song. But to those that weren't so innocent, or those preyin' on the innocent, well Callum's voice musta sounded like the gatesa Hell'd opened up and Cerberus himself was a'comin down the road after 'em. He could nurse an infant in one hand and shake the kids father by the scruff o'the neck with the other, all whilst givin' a lecture on the demon drink. Callum was as black and white as his shirt and collar.

"So Larry, have you thought any more on what we talked about?" he asked.

I sighed. "Ah don't go on about it now. I told yer it wasn't for me. It just aint... right." I went back to stirrin my pot."Glad you're here though Padre", I said trying to change the subject, "Been any longer and this soup'd be colder than a mother-in-laws heart."

Callum laughed again. "S'hard to turn your back on His voice Larry," He said, pulling a large white apron over his head. It was a signal, of sorts, that we were ready. Shadows shifted, moved hesitatingly, and then turned into people. The kids that had hovered on the other side of the street moved quicker than the adults, they were already lined up, reaching for bowls and spoons, eyein' the soup and bread hungrily.

Secret_Squirrel
Secret_Squirrel
Safety Officer

Feb-7-2010 01:01

A little smudge-nosed kid reached for a piece of bread and Callum's ladel cracked down on the table beside his hand. "Are you not going to be a good lad and wait for God's words Alan?" The kid was too busy countin his fingers and his blessings to answer. "Lord, there's a lot tonight." Callum whispered. I looked down the street, at the people fallin' into line. There always seemed to be more. Callum rose his voice to the darkening sky. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For those who hunger and thirst, let there be food and drink, and for those who have food and drink, let there be a hunger and a thirst for justice."

"Amen" I said with the others.

So there we stood, scoopin' out soup into bowls, dolin' out lumps of bread, both of us lookin' warily into the pots every now and then to see how far we could make it stretch, but neither willin' to hold back or skimp. After a while I lost myself in the sea of faces, in the rhythm of 'thank you's' and 'your welcome's'; in Callums voice greetin' everyone by name, askin' after their family, listenin' to their gossip, their woes... their pain. We were there for hours, the moon high in the sky by the time we'd finished, and I realised, as the last late comer brought back his bowl and shook Callum's hand wordlessly, I hadn't reached for a smoke, not once.

"Glad that's over", I grunted, tryin' to work the kinks out of my shoulders, smilin' at the women and kids that swept the the bowls and pots away off to their little houses to scrub them clean as soon as we stood back.

"It'll never be over", Callum sighed lookin' out towards the park. He laughed " but it was hollow. "Still, life wasn't meant to be easy for any of us, eh man."

I shrugged noncommittally. "Same time next week then Padre?"

Callum grinned, "Perhaps I'll see you on Sunday?"

I grinned back, "Perhaps I'll see you at Lucy's?"

Secret_Squirrel
Secret_Squirrel
Safety Officer

Feb-7-2010 01:01

He shook his head, shucked his coat over his shoulders, and headed off towards the shadowy recesses of the park, his little church waiting on the other side.

"I try Cal'...", I wasn't sure what it was I was saying really. "... to listen". Callum paused and turned. He didn't speak, he just waited. "To His voice, I mean." Silence. I swore. I felt like a fool. The priest just laughed. Least this time it didn't sound so hollow. Full of mirth it was, full of something I didn't quite understand, but it made me feel a bit better... kind of.

"C'mon boyo", he said nodding through the trees. "I'll buy you a drink. Tibby'll let me in, even at this ungodly hour."

He was right, a drink and a smoke, that's what I needed. Nah. I was kiddin myself. Maybe for once I 'was' listenin. Heck maybe for once I 'heard'. I scuffed my shoes into the ground. "Why don't you show me this church of yours instead."

I thought he'd laugh for sure... but he didn't.

Callum just nodded off through the park like before, turned and started walkin. Kinda just let me fall in alongside.

I lit up.

Force of habit.

Smoke musta got in my eyes though, coz everything got kinda misty. I tried to laugh it off but, well, it didn't much sound like laughter comin outa my mouth, an' before I knew it, heck, I was crying like a baby. Shit. Me. Cryin'!

Callum he just walked along in silence. Leadin' me on toward the little church at the edge of the park. Leadin' me on to what, I didn't know... but then findin' out, that was better than never knowin'. Had to be I figured.

I flicked my smoke into the darkness and watched the ember fade.

Molly Maltese
Molly Maltese
Old Shoe

Feb-7-2010 19:05

Oh no! I'm so sad I couldn't submit my entry; there was one of those annoying twists of Fate in which one's retarded (Dell, of course) laptop crashes for the 3rd time, and a family emergency arises. However I loved reading all the entries and I know the winner will be well-deserving! I hope we have more contests like this, it was a marvelous idea, thank you Vi!

Anais Nin
Anais Nin
Thespian

Feb-7-2010 19:15

Submit it now so we can read it anyways, Molly! :) Laptops crashing are very annoying. :P

I loved reading everyone's as well! :) Great job everyone!!! :D

Violet Parr
Violet Parr
Thespian

Feb-8-2010 02:25


Thank you all for participating!

Reading all your posts was both satisfying and exhilarating!

When I decided to host this contest, I would never have imagined that I would get this delightful variety of stories/days/amazing lives! Dramas, comedies and even suspense thrillers… *heart still fluttering from reading Mr. O'Neil's post* all very well written and very well done…

Since I am doing the judging, the winner can be announced almost immediately. I apologise in advance for my subjectivity, although I tried my best to control it and be fair. For me, you all got 10/10 for creativity and writing. You are deeply creative and are all excellent writers *a special nod to Ms. Nin for 11/10 writing*

So I had to base my decision on the remaining aspect of this judging and that was entertainment value. The post I found most entertaining is the winner of this contest…

The winning post is….



Miss James Lives for a Day!

Congratulations to Riza Hawkeye, a very deserving winner of this contest! I am sure many of you agree! Riza, very well done on an excellent post for I immensely enjoyed the day in the life of Miss James and, with her, lived a little.

You will receive a 6-month gift subscription to sleuth, and if you ever like to start a new thread on the stage, I would be honoured to join your thread as Ms. Parr or any other character of your choosing.

Now, having said that, it would be just utterly criminal of me not to reward the other posts I have enjoyed so… so…. Mr. VonVictor, Ms. Nin and Mr. O’Neil are all getting rewarded for their excellent writing as excellent writers must… You will all receive a 3-month gift subscription to sleuth noir!

Thank you all once more for your quality participation.

I nod this time in awe of your gift and talent.

*nods politely*


Violet Parr
Violet Parr
Thespian

Feb-8-2010 02:28


*turns to JZ & SS*

Now, Mr. Zeo and SS… Since your delightful and very well-written posts were out of time, I could not include them in the judging and still be fair to the other contestants…

Having said that, you would have been very strong contenders had you made it on time and I cannot bring myself to disregard your wonderful effort and great writing skill altogether.

*looks both ways and slides them each a 1-month gift subscription under the table*


Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Feb-8-2010 03:27

Mr. Parr, you are too kind! Thank you for hosting such a wonderful contest. I thoroughly enjoy reading all the entries as well.

Congratulation Riza!! Yours is a wonderful entry and worth winning the contest. I think everyone's a winner too (and Violet made it so as well). Wow, those characters and stories really take a life of their own. Absolutely wonderful :)

Secret_Squirrel
Secret_Squirrel
Safety Officer

Feb-8-2010 14:49

Congratulations to the winner (s) and thanks Violet.

Molly Maltese
Molly Maltese
Old Shoe

Feb-9-2010 14:31

Hooray, well done everyone! :D

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