Taking the plunge: Notes from Underground Writing Contest.

I've decided to take the plunge, instead of just dipping my toe in the water.   My Nobel Literature class is over with the final next week, and I will be taking the summer off which will free up my brain and and I will be able to write to my heart's content.   Less stress equals a more creative mind....hopefully.    The beautiful minds of Davin, Scott and Michelle at The Literary Lab have come up with a new contest for the 2nd annual Genre Wars Anthology.

What's it all about Alfie:

What is "Notes From Underground"?

The title comes from a novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that is part rambling narrative and part story. It's a piece of writing that is both highly experimental and deeply personal. For the contest, we want you writers to feel that same freedom of expression, taking out the judging process to the best of our ability.

To do that, we have two steps to the selection process. The second step will be completely non-competitive.

Step 1:

By August 15, we want to see a 5-page free-form application that convinces us that your writing should be included in the anthology. This will be the "contest" part of the contest. You can use words, images...whatever you want (that can be e-mailed). It doesn't have to be the story that you want to publish, even though that would be all right. It doesn't have to be a story at all. It could be a proposal, a resume, a story idea, poetry, flattery...anything. Got it? Anything.

From this first pool of applications, we'll pick 25 winners that we are excited about showcasing. These writers will be announced on September 15 and they will be guaranteed 10 pages in our anthology. Then, for them, it's on to the next step.

Step 2:

The actual writing! The 25 writers selected in Step 1 will now have 3 months to finish the story that they would like us to publish. Here, aside from the 10-page space limitation, you are the boss. We will do no judging, no critiquing, nothing unless you ask it of us. Whatever you turn in on December 15 will be exactly what we publish to the best of our ability. This writing will be an expression of you, you, and only you.

So, I'm going to let my mind, muse and pen loose and set what happens.  Head on over to Literary Lab, check it out and make up your mind.  I'm going to give it a go. What about you?