Dust off the ol’ typewriter, bust out your pen and paper or turn on the computer, whatever you use to bring those genius— and not so genius— ideas to fruition. Don’t worry, we all have to start somewhere.
The Democrat’s writing competition is open and waiting for your legends. This is the second annual Brown County Democrat Halloween short story competition, and this year the pressure is on!
The stipulations are simple, we know you have a lot to say and we love to hear it, but keep those stories under 750 words.
Also, the stories need to have a Brown County connection, get creative with it! Tell us all about a serpentine monster who terrorized the downtown square and broke free from its underground cave at the Main and Van Buren streets intersection — talk about a long red light! Or tell us a tale about aliens who picked up cows from a nearby farm to return them dressed as Abe Martin. Really, the floor is yours— here’s to hoping you have a better idea than either of those, there is a reason the competition is not between members of the newsroom!
We know Plato said that art is an imitation of an imitation, but for this contest how about we keep the art as original as we can, OK? The work must be your own, no Agatha Christie retellings.
When you are recognized as a winning entry, you must provide us with a photo, brief bio and the permission to publish your story. Now that the thinking caps are on and you are working on those stories, how do you submit… if you dare?
Email your entry to [email protected] before the deadline, Oct. 18. Be sure to send your story in the body of the email, instead of as an attachment — with how frightening your tales may be, the jumpscare of opening a file might send us to the emergency room. All entries will be judged by a panel of journalists and a published author. In the wise words of Yogi Berra, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” so get back to work and get those keys clacking!
