# The SDMB Short Fiction Contest for May, 2013 - Logistics Thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074 "2013-05-11T13:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/1 "2013-05-11T13:12:47Z")
Hello, everyone. It has been a while since we last had a Short Fiction contest, and I reckon it’s time. Here’s how it works - as of 10 AM EDT, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, I will post three randomly generated words and one randomly selected photo in an out-of-office auto-reply message at sdmbpoetrysweatshop at gmail dot com . Use those three words and photo to construct a story of 2,000 words or less, in any style or genre. Writers will have 60 hours from the time-stamp of their e-mail to finish their story and send it, preferably in a .doc format, in a reply to the auto-reply. The contest will be open from 10 AM May 14 until 10 PM May 28, covering a long weekend in Canada, and a long weekend in both the UK and the USA. Find your clearest available 2 1/2 days within that two weeks, and join in! Starting sometime after 10 AM on May 26th, I will start an Anthology Thread of all the stories I’ve received up to that point. I will do some minor editing (like adding double-returns between paragraphs and double-checking that any intended italics, bolds or underlines have come through properly. Some formats also have the strangest way of keeping their soft returns as hidden codes…). I will place the first ~100 words in the open part of the reply and place the remainder of the story in a spoiler box. The author’s SDMB user name will appear in a second spoiler box. Titles, logically enough, will go in the title box; untitled stories will simply be called ‘Untitled’. After the close of the contest on May 28th, I will start a multiple-choice poll. At the close of the poll, the story which SDMB readers consider their favourite will be declared the winner. Sorry, but the contest is open only to Dopers - Guests, Mods, Administrators, Members, Charter Members, Goats, Squids, people with funny titles - but contestants must have the right to post here. And if you have any questions about how the contest works, this is the thread to ask. I’d like to congratulate our past winners once again - **The Hamster King** , [May 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563348), for _Quarrantine_ **Spoons** , [September 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577967) for _Homeward By Polaris_ **Spoons** , [Holiday Edition 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591295) for _He Knows a Lot of People_ **Justin Credible** , [February 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=599219) for _Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetheart!_ **MsWhatsit** , [April 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=607505) for _The Brickites_ **Savannah** , [June 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=615807) for _The Summer Place_ **jackdavinci** , [September 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=627138) for _T-shirt Junction_ **cmyk** , [late 2011/early 2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=637708) for _Time and Time Again_ **DMark** , [May 2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=651550) for _The End_ **The Mighty Boosh** , [October 2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=670281) for _Spiral_ **Stealth Potato** , [Late 2012/Early 2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678377) for _Tahafut al-Himar_. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/2 "2013-05-11T13:47:31Z")
I think I’d like to participate this time. Sounds like fun! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/3 "2013-05-11T15:07:29Z")
I’ve been looking forward to this! I didn’t do the last one, as I got busy, and I just couldn’t come up with a story to fit the picture. But I did several before that, and I love reading different poster’s takes on the picture. I tend to give mine a sci-fi twist, or a surprise ending, but my last one had the protagonist sitting alone in the dark, contemplating murder!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/4 "2013-05-11T16:55:03Z")
Thanks for doing this again! For those who have never participated, give it a shot! It is kind of “fun homework”…you have your assignments, have time to put something together and it is a quick fix to get your creative juices flowing again! Plus, it is fun to read what others do with the same material - amazing how many different directions people go. Looking forward to this! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/5 "2013-05-14T01:53:52Z")
Okay, I just sent some PMs to our regular writers in case they hadn’t noticed this thread. Hoping to hear from some of you in the next few weeks… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/6 "2013-05-14T02:38:44Z")
Thanks for doing this again. And thanks for all the feedback on the previous effort, the last one I did was one of the best reviewed ones, I will try to make a better tale, but there are no guarantees, my mind is elsewhere as I’m getting married soon. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/7 "2013-05-14T06:19:52Z")
I’ll add my thanks to that of the others. I’m unsure if I will have time to participate, but if I do, I will. Looking forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/8 "2013-05-14T12:42:20Z")
So, do I send an email to the address in the first post, or what? Not really sure how this works. thanks ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/9 "2013-05-14T12:49:37Z")
Is there an English language version of this available? I will post three randomly generated words and one randomly selected photo in an out-of-office auto-reply message at sdmbpoetrysweatshop at gmail dot com . ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/10 "2013-05-14T13:13:22Z")
Yes, you send an email to that address. The autoreply that **Le Min** set up will contain the three words and a link to a picture. Once you get those, you have 60 hours to send in your complete story. And thanks for setting this up again! I just learned a new technique for brainstorming story ideas, so this will be a chance to really put it to the test. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/11 "2013-05-14T14:43:48Z")
So, the auto-reply is set up and running. **However** - if you get a photo of a donkey suspended in mid-air attached to a cart which is overloaded, please let me know. That’s the photo from the last one. Some Google-gremlin was messing with my head this morning. I _think_ I’ve got the problem fixed… ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/12 "2013-05-14T14:44:41Z")
You know I can’t resist…as soon as I take lunch today, I’m in! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/13 "2013-05-14T14:45:37Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > So, do I send an email to the address in the first post, or what? Not really sure how this works. > thanks Yes. Send an e-mail to that address; the auto-reply [del]should[/del] will have the three words and the photo. Send the finished story in a reply to the auto-reply; the time stamps will confirm that the story was written within the time limit. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/14 "2013-05-14T14:47:43Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Is there an English language version of this available? > > I will post three randomly generated words and one randomly selected photo in an out-of-office auto-reply message at sdmbpoetrysweatshop at gmail dot com . “If you send an e-mail to this address, the words and photos will be sent to you. The words and the photo were found without deliberately choosing them, and the e-mail address is written out as words so I don’t get spammed.” ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/15 "2013-05-14T15:05:03Z")
I got a photo, but no words. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/16 "2013-05-14T15:14:40Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I got a photo, but no words. Ah…the great “mime” story challenge…interesting… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/17 "2013-05-14T15:19:59Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I got a photo, but no words. I just sent you another e-mail that should have everything you need. Google and gmail really hate me today. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/18 "2013-05-15T21:22:06Z")
I’ll probably click on the link about this time tomorrow, so that I have most of the weekend in the sixty hour window. But it’s tempting to do it now, as I wonder what the picture is. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/19 "2013-05-15T23:26:18Z")
Ooh, I’m tempted. I’ve never written anything for a challenge before. So, just to repeat the instructions like a dummy, I wait until I’ve got a clear spot of about 2 days on my calendar, somewhere between now and the 28th. I send an email to the address provided, and I’ll get an insta-reply with the story prompts. Sometime in the next 2ish days, I reply to the insta-reply with my 2,000 or less. My story ends up on a thread with everyone elses’ and hilarity ensues. Do I have it mainly right? Otherwise, a quick question - Will my email address be kept hidden from other submitters so I can use an existing account and just post my Doper handle in the document text, or do I need to make a new email account to insure privacy? I’m not worried about spambots or whatever, just nosy peoples in my hometown area. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-short-fiction-contest-for-may-2013-logistics-thread/658074/20 "2013-05-15T23:46:57Z")
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