IWT 11 - Infinite Writing Tournament 11

Deadline - January 8, 2015

Ladies and Gentleman I finally reveal, Infinite Writing Tournament 11: Horror! All stories must be completed by January 08 2015. Gives everyone just enough time to wind down from the Holidays and churn out a tale of terror. However if an extension is needed I will most likely oblige if enough people desire it. However I don't want to extend the contest past January so we can get more on track as far as time tables go. Bad enough we are already in April. All peoples of every creed and color may participate. All you have to do is post in this thread your intent to enter and boom you are entered. Once you express intent to enter you must make good on your word or else you will forever be thrown into the pit of SHAME. A damnable place where only the lowliest of creatures reside. Ridicule will follow you wherever you turn and no one will ever be able to trust you by your word again for for all intents and purposes at that point, you are a filthy liar. Also required of all entrants is to read and vote upon all the other stories entered into the contest. This is your chance to tell your fellow writers how much you despise reading their pretentious drivel. Failure to vote on other participants stories will resort in a heaping scoop of SCORN thrown your way. Not as bad as SHAME, but will still sting I promise.

This years theme is Horror and it is a randomized trope contest, similar to the Science Fiction contest of the past. However I have dwindled down the amount of choices available and in turn all entrants will be randomly assigned TWO of the following tropes, to be contained within your story. These assigned tropes cannot be throw away cameos or mentions either, they must be integral to the story in some way. How you do that is of your own choosing. While I know we are all brave souls here, I encourage everyone to embrace the theme of horror and attempt to make something truly chilling. Shivering around the camp fire type chills. Let's make each other laugh, cry, scream and shudder with disgust at our tales. Good luck to all!

Below is the rubric for how the contest will be judged. There will be four categories weighted for scoring purposes.

Plot and Originality: Was the story well written? Were you hungry for more story or were you bored to tears reading through it? Were some creative elements implemented or was everything contrived and cliché?

Enjoyment: How much did you personally enjoy this story. A non stop thrill ride that had you on the edge of your seat or just not your cup of tea for any number of reasons? This is the category for you to be a bit biased and focus solely on how much you personally liked the particular story. Your opinion counts!

Style and Grammar: How many typos or errors are in the story? Is it enough to take you out of the moment? Does the author have a style that flows well and connects all the dots and is easy to read and understand? Or is the prose convoluted and nonsensical with sentence structure? Can you tell that you are reading a pro's work or a kindergartners? Now is your chance to be a grammar Nazi for real!

Theme: How well was the theme implemented? Did the author clearly use two of the provided tropes and integrate them well into the story? Was the story scary and mind bending or did it hold little to no chills and suspense?

Participants

BatCountry
donteatpoop
Vesnic
Locke
Bear Bipolar-Bear

TWO of the following tropes will be randomly assigned for you to incorporate into your story...

Survival- Mankind is on its last legs due to some sort of threat. Whether it be Zombies, Aliens or sentient hamburgers, people are struggling to acquire basic needs to live. Struggles often involve nature and other people, not just the initial threat that laid waste to the land.

Possession- People, animals, dummies, ect... taken over by some sort of malevolent force that is making them do things they wouldn't normally do.

Cosmic Horror- Creatures or places so terrifying and massive, they defy human logic and senses. Our minds can barely comprehend these otherworldly horrors. We are so tiny and insignificant in the grand scope of the universe, our lives trivial and short.

Transformation/Metamorphosis- Wolf-man, The Fly, Giant Turnip Man, ect. A character undergoes an outward transformation into something else entirely. They may change back under certain conditions, or be that way permanently.

Urban Legends- Bigfoot, Lochness Monster, Hook man, Slender man, ect... There are many many legends to pick from here, try to use legends that won't be too hard for readers to look up themselves.

Abandoned/Ghost Town- A location that is completely desolate. Something terrible happened here which caused all residents to disappear or leave.

Relentless Killer– A being that only has one thing on the mind, to kill. The relentless killer never stops, is incredibly hard to kill and constantly antagonizes its victims.

Afterlife Express– Can be any sort of transportation, a chariot, ship, train, ect... That ferries souls to the afterlife.

Haunted– Could be a house, castle, any locale or object really. Haunted by spirits, demons or perhaps something else. A supernatural force lingers causing various disturbances.

Fetus of Doom- Different from possession, this is a physical thing living within a person. Could it be the son of the devil or a flesh hungry alien? Or something worse? Will it kill the host or let them live?

Mad Scientist- A doctor that has gone off the edge and desires to achieve something that will either harm himself or others. Safety is of least concern to the mad scientist. What only matters is achieving his goals.

Torture- Horrible mutilations, slow painful deaths or interrogations, constantly getting calls from telemarketers, ect.

Ritual Sacrifice- Blood must be spilled for some dark purpose. Maybe it summons an ancient deity, appeases a god or raises an undead army. Maybe just a madman who wants everyone to drink the kool-aid. But something must die for a specific purpose.

Clairvoyance- Using other-worldly senses, usually to communicate with the dead. Other uses involve predicting the future and knowledge of events they were never present for.

Insanity- A raving lunatic or a slow descent into madness.

Brimstone- Occult, devil worship and demons. The forces of Hell must come forth in some manner. Most likely will take the power of God, angels and holy magic to vanquish these foes.

Corruption- Once something good, it has now decayed into something hideous and sinister. Oftentimes corruption can be hard to detect, hiding in plain sight. Corruption can involve people, governments, religion, ect.

Phobia - An irrational fear. Broad for sure, as there are many phobias. A characters phobia must come into play. An irrational fear somehow doesn't become so irrational or perhaps the fear is driving the character to dangerous choices. The phobia itself must be mentioned in the story.