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Celebrate WdC's 13th Birthday by writing a tragic ballad about a past birthday celebration |
 THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED  In honor of Writing.Com's 13th birthday, "The Dark Society"  is issuing an open challenge to write the most terrifying birthday ballad imaginable! A ballad is defined by the Shadow Poetry website as:A short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. The story of a ballad can originate from a wide range of subject matter but most frequently deals with folk-lore or popular legends. They are written in straight-forward verse, seldom with detail, but always with graphic simplicity and force. Most ballads are suitable for singing and, while sometimes varied in practice, are generally written in ballad meter, i.e., alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, with the last words of the second and fourth lines rhyming.  The honest truth is that I was never a great student of poetry, so I'm going to simplify the ballad requirements and say forget the iambic tetrameter and trimeter requirements (heck, I probably couldn't tell if you were using those meters or not, so just aim for lines with the same number of syllables.  ). Here's what we're looking for in a winning entry: Four lines per stanza in abcb, defe, ghih, etc. form (i.e. the second and fourth line of every stanza rhymes). Eight syllables in every first and third (non-rhyming) lines of each stanza. Six syllables in every second and fourth (rhyming) lines of each stanza. Twelve stanzas plus a refrain, for thirteen total stanzas. Create your own legend and/or folklore tale. Content should include "graphic simplicity and force." While a little gore never hurt anyone, psychological and suspenseful horror will fare better than blood and guts.Please keep in mind the following rules:  Only one entry per person. The deadline for entries is Saturday, September 7, 2013 @ 11:59pm WdC time. Maximum rating of GC. Post your entry as a b-item link in the forum below. (Ex: {b-item:XXXXXXX} New items only (i.e. your item must have been created during WdC Birthday Week, September 1-7, 2013). Entries edited after the deadline will be disqualified. All entries will receive a rating and public review. The judge is Jeff  and his decisions are final. Spelling and grammar count. While a typo or two will not disqualify your entry, proofreading is an important part of the writing process. Frequent errors and/or poor readability are likely to affect your chances of winning. There must be at least six (6) entries in order for all the prizes to be given out. This is a competitive writing activity, not a "win by default" situation. If there are less than six entries but at least three, only first place will be awarded. If there are fewer than three entries, a consolation prize will be awarded. Honorable mentions (and the prizes for such) may be given at the judge's discretion.The Prizes: First Place 125K Awardicon + Appropriate Merit Badge + 50,000 GPs Second Place 100K Awardicon + Appropriate Merit Badge + 35,000 GPs Third Place 75K Awardicon + Appropriate Merit Bage + 15,000 GPs The Prompt:
Write a ballad to tell the legendary tale of tragedy or horror that befell a previous Writing.Com birthday celebration. |
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