Saturday, November 17, 2012

CFF = Christmas Flash Fiction!

Put up some mistletoe and kiss somebody! It's time for Unwritten's 



Get your writer muse elves to work on hammering out something fitting for the holiday season. Make it funny, romantic, scary, sweet, or anything in between. The choice is yours.


"Aye, but thar be rules, matey!"



  1. Submit a complete flash fiction story of no more than 1000 words to mystiparker @ yahoo.com (no spaces), with CFF in the subject line. No scenes or excerpts!
  2. Please keep your submissions PG--no heavy profanity, nudity, sexual acts, etc. If you aren't sure, ask me first. Mild violence and hanky panky are ok.
  3. The contest is open to writers of any experience level, but please edit your story to the best of your ability before submitting. I will not be editing them for you.
  4. Along with your stories, send in a profile pic, short bio (45-100 words), and most recent book cover (if you have one) or links you'd like to share.
  5. I will be posting selected stories as I receive them, but cannot guarantee every story will be published. Your comments on them are greatly appreciated!
  6. Deadline is Dec. 20, 2012 at 12:00AM EST. Anything received after that will not be considered.
  7. Winner(s) will (hopefully) be chosen by our blind judge (my husband, who is not blind) and announced on Christmas Eve (appropriate, huh?) 
  8. Questions? Feel free to contact me.

Prize List:
1st Place-1 year Membership to Writer's Village University ($99 Value! Donated by Bob Hembree)
Christmas Collectibles (anthology, ePub or Kindle, donated by Stan Hampton Sr.)
1 Copy of Snowflake Girl by John Steiner (PDF)
1 Print (US) or E-Book (International) of Christmas Lites II (anthology, donated by Mysti Parker)
 2 Hand-Crocheted Snowflakes (US Winners Only: made and donated by Sherry Derr-Wille)
Collectible Ornament (US Winner Only, donated by Leona Pence)
1 Interview Here on Unwritten

2nd Place- $20 Amazon Gift Card (donated by Leona Pence)
Warm Christmas Wishes (anthology, PDF, donated by Mel Jacob)
Collectible Ornament (US Winner Only, donated by Leona Pence)
1 Copy of Snowflake Girl by John Steiner (PDF)
1 Print (US) or E-Book (International) of Christmas Lites II (anthology, donated by Mysti Parker)
 2 Hand-Crocheted Snowflakes (US Winners Only: made and donated by Sherry Derr-Wille)
1 Interview Here on Unwritten

3rd Place- 1 Copy of Snowflake Girl by John Steiner (PDF)
1 Print (US) or E-Book (International) of Christmas Lites II (anthology, donated by Mysti Parker)
 2 Hand-Crocheted Snowflakes (US Winners Only: made and donated by Sherry Derr-Wille)
1 Interview Here on Unwritten




To get an idea of how the previous flash fiction contest worked, visit this link: http://mystiparker.blogspot.com/2012/09/off-october-flash-fiction.html

Put on some Bing Crosby, make some hot cocoa (with a kick of brandy if you dare) and tell me a good Christmas-y story. I look forward to your submissions! ~Mysti

**Please note: If I post your story on the blog, it's considered "published", so if you wish to submit it to other markets, keep that in mind. Some markets accept reprints, others do not. If you'd rather submit it and NOT be posted unless you win, please make note of that when submitting. Thanks!**

21 comments:

  1. I am gonna really try to do this one!! I think I can... I think I can...

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  2. I love these contests. They are a lot of fun.

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    1. I'm so happy to have you participating, TJ. Your stories are always fun to read. I'll probably start posting them next week.

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  3. I'm gonna take part in this one. Think I can do a pretty decent Xmas style story. :)

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  4. I will participate! I think I can make Little Nani have some Christmas fun :D

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    1. Yay! Can't wait to see what you come up with :)

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  5. I read your email right before I went to bed last night (LATE last night!) My mind wrote the story, then wouldn't let me sleep until I got up and typed it all out. It's obese (too much Christmas chocolate apparently!) and has some interesting middle-of-the-night word substitutions in it, so it's simmering for a day, but you'll be seeing it sooner rather than later. Thanks for the opportunity, Mysti!

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    1. Always good to know I spurred a writer's gears into turning :) Take your time and I look forward to reading the finished (thinner) product!

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  6. Sounds like fun, thanks for the invite Mysti. I'm going to try it. :0)

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  7. Hi, I got here from the link on goodreads... Is there a country restriction or any other sort for participating? I've never done this before, but it seems cool, so I'd like to give it a try. :)

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    1. Hi Liria! Welcome to Unwritten!

      No, there is no country, age, or ability restriction. The only restriction there would be for non-US participants is in getting actual physical prizes. Since they'll come from the people who are donating them, I won't require them to mail beyond the US. But they may do so if they wish.

      Most prizes are electronic, however, so should you win, you won't be empty-handed!

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  8. I'll do it! Christmas stories, like Christmas songs, are always hits and they get told once a year. The agony that is America's Next Author will be over so the agony over your contest can begin. Being a writer is hard that way.

    By the way, here's the link to my America's Next Author entry. I'd love to read your comments. http://www.ebookmall.com/author/kate-baggott

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  9. Last question, promise... :)
    Does the title for the story figure into the word count? Because I finally managed to get it down to 999 words - without a title.
    Anyways, this is fun, I'm glad I found it. Any excuse for writing is a good excuse, hehe.

    Liria

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    1. No, the title does not figure into it, nor does the bio or anything else. Just the word count of the story itself. And congratz on getting it down to 999!

      Glad you enjoyed it :D Send it on!

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  10. I'm curious how many Christmas horror stories crop up.

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  11. Very, very last minute, as always…but I'm in!

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