Wednesday 22 February 2012

Princess Parade Flash Fiction Challenge

fairytale storybook


I recently read this article by Amy Fox about a new Disney Princess book. The book is so ridiculously awful. The storyline makes Cinderella seem so completely shallow. I hate the idea that little girls are reading drivel like this.

This blog might be about princesses, but I have tried to convey that "princesses" as described by this blog are strong, independent, self-confident, clever, creative and kind-hearted, not weak, submissive, dependent, insecure, shallow and self-centered.

In response to Disney's new Cinderella book, I've decided to run a challenge. (Also I need more material for this blog, and a challenge seems like a good way to possibly get some. Besides, I like taking part in challenges.)

The challenge is to write a story that involves a princess in some way. You can use a wide scope to interpret this, but in your story, your princess needs to be strong and independent, possibly even the "hero" of the story. The story can be dark or light in nature. The story has to be between 300 and 1,500 words. You can write it for adults or for children, but remember that this is a family-friendly blog. Post the story on your own blog and link it here by using the button at the bottom of this post. If you don't have a blog of your own, you can e-mail it to me through the contact form in the sidebar and I will post it here. Make sure you post the word count along with the story.

Deadline to get your story posted is March 4th. The winning entry will be chosen and announced here on March 12th. Please go through to read and comment on everyone's stories; it's not required, but it's a nice thing to do.

You must paste the linky at the bottom of your post. (Click the link below  to copy the html code to paste into your blog.)

get the InLinkz code

1st prize is the book "The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers and Writers in the Field."



'The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction
 


Note: I have decided to add a secondary contest within this one. If any children under 16 years old would like to enter, there will be a separate judging for their entries and the prize will be a different one. The winner of the under-16 entries will win a teddy bear with a special message about the competition on its t-shirt.