Writing Contest: Reap What You Sew

This guest post was written by my good friend Leah, she’s a professional photographer, a writer and editor of many awesome RPG books. She asked me to lend my space for a cool flash fiction contest she’s running, I agreed, because she’s the coolest… and her contest looks fun. 

Hey there!

After Chatty’s recent foray into flash fiction, author Joseph Devon and I  decided to have a flash fiction contest ourselves! Winners get a signed copy of his books, Probability Angels and Persistent Illusions. See  below for further details.

 Reap What you Sew

Whether you’re writing a novel or a D&D adventure plot, inspiration can strike at any moment’s notice, from places you’d never guess. Sometimes, seemingly trivial details or entire fields of knowledge you were unaware of can have a serious impact on a story. I recently had a conversation on Twitter with author @josephdevon. While doing research for his newest novel, he picked up a book on the history of sewing and textiles and discovered that you shouldn’t store your thread next to an open fire or a heating stove because it makes it brittle (the thread, not the stove).

That’s a useful piece of information I didn’t know. I mean, who here hasn’t forgotten their spool next to a heating stove and had a problem with brittle thread, am I right? (Editor: Hmmm, sure?). I’m putting that baby on a post it RIGHT NOW.

I challenged Joseph to use this “useless” sewing fact in a story. In fact, not only use it, but make brittle thread a PIVOTAL, Chevkov’s Gun-style element which would lead the characters to the ULTIMATE SEWING RELATED FINALE!!!

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

Seriously, it can be. Look at Snow White who pricked her finger on a spindle, fell asleep and woke up with some guy playing tongue hockey with her (Editor: Now THAT’S an expression I’m stealing.)  Then of course there’s the EPIC* Kung Fu movie Swordsman II where needles are used as a weapon. Hell, even  the Three Amigos have a quote about it, something like “Sew. Sew like the wind!”

Now – here’s where you come in, we’re challenging you to write a short story or RPG adventure hook in 750 words or less in which the final climactic scene involves sewing. That’s right. Sewing.

The winner will be judged by me and announced Friday June 1st and they will win signed copies of Joseph’s books.

Mail your submissions to : thiswhiterabbit at gmail dot com. If you have a blog or site where you want to post your story, feel free to link to it in the comments.

Good luck! I’ll be hanging by a thread in anticipation!

*Epic is a relative term.