This is a very exciting time here at SECRETcrowds. To give you a little creative exercise before NaNoWriMo, or just to get your writing going, we're holding our first ever writing tournament!

This tournament will take place for all of October and perhaps a little into November. You will be paired with another writer and will have four days to write and edit your own piece and submit it. When you and your opponent have entered, a poll will be set up for three days, and members will read and vote on your pieces. The winner of the poll goes on to the next round.

The short time limit for writing is designed to get you going from the urgency of a deadline; similarly to NaNoWriMo, you will just need to whip something out as quickly as you can (though this something will be significantly shorter). The quicker you do, the more time you'll have to edit your own piece (no formal critiques allowed, sorry) before it needs to be submitted for voting. And to help those of you who are busy during the week, we're planning to include a day of weekend in the writing period.

If you think you can use some practice writes before NaNoWriMo, or just want to enter to see how you do, please use the form below and reply to this post:

(PLEASE let us know if you are completely comfortable writing in both poetry and prose, too; don't feel obligated to try and pick one or the other.)

Also reply with any questions, because as this is the first time we're holding the tournament, your questions or suggestions will help iron out the process.

Signup period ends October 6th, so hurry!

The Challengers.

1. EMBER. (story) [auxiliary]
2. RONNIE. (story)
3. angry_little_munchkin (both, prefers story)
4. Torint (both)
5. AWALTZINAMINOR. (story)
6. NJ. (story)
7. .rhiannon (both)
8. CELLO. (story)
9. put_the_fun_in_dysfunctional (story)
10. HANNAH. (story)
11. june lily (both)
12. WANDERLUST HEART. (both, prefers poetry)
13. smartaleks17 (poetry)
14. Morgan (poetry)
15. BRIANA. (story)
16. Lori_was_here (poetry)


The Battles.

1. RONNIE. and BRIANA. (prose)
2. HANNAH. and NJ. (prose)
3. put_the_fun_in_dysfunctional and angry_little_munchkin (prose)
4. EMBER. and CELLO. (prose)
5. Torint and AWALTZINAMINOR. (prose)
6. Morgan and Lori_was_here (poetry)
7. .rhiannon and smartaleks17 (poetry)
8. WANDERLUST HEART. and june lily (poetry)

NOTE: PROMPTS SHOULD BE POSTED BY 6PM EST.

Round One.

Your first prompt: I have assigned each bracket a postcard from PostSecret. You must write about it. Beyond that, it's up to you. Does the message inspire you? Or the image? Take it and run! Who are these people? What are they doing? Why is this secret so important? Why must it remain secret?

Of course, you don't have to answer all or any of those questions in your piece.

Please stick to the genre assigned to you for this round (it should match what you requested) and your entry must be POSTED and you must have NOTIFIED the bracket-master (EMBER.) by the deadline for all rounds. For this round the deadline will be pushed back a little, since I was a little late with the prompts, which will shorten the voting period. The deadline for this round is SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12 AT NOON (EST). Remember, if you have not posted your piece and notified EMBER. by this time, you forfeit and are out of the tournament. So be timely! Also, if both bracket members complete their pieces early, their polls may be posted early, so check back for links to those.

Remember to look at the correct image for your bracket.

When you have finished your piece, PM this code (filled in) to EMBER.:

The Prompts.

1. RONNIE. and BRIANA. (prose)

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2. HANNAH. (finished!)and NJ. (prose)

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3. put_the_fun_in_dysfunctional and angry_little_munchkin (prose)
Both writers have submitted their entries. View the poll and links to their works here

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4. EMBER. (finished!)and CELLO. (prose)

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5. Torint and AWALTZINAMINOR. (finished!) (prose)

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6. Morgan (finished!)and Lori_was_here (poetry)

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7. .rhiannon and smartaleks17 (finished!) (poetry)

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8. WANDERLUST HEART. and june lily (poetry)


Users with (finished!) have already submitted their pieces. If both bracket members have submitted their pieces, a link to their poll will be posted.



Good luck!

ROUND ONE IS OVER!

Since only half of the people who signed up submitted an entry, everyone who did submit something will move on to the next round and there won't be any polls. The brackets for round two will be as follows:

HANNAH. and put_the_fun_in_dysfunctional (story)
EMBER. and AWALTZINAMINOR. (story)
Morgan and angry_little_munchkin (poetry)
smartaleks17 and WANDERLUST HEART. (poetry)

You will have all week to complete your entries, so there's no excuse for missing the next deadline. Adrienne will have your prompts up as soon as possible, but please be patient.



Round Two.

Your second prompt: I have assigned each bracket a quotation. This is to be used as the epigraph of your piece. Like the first challenge, you may interpret it how you wish, as in agreement or skeptical as you like, as literally or rhetorically as you desire. It must appear at the top of your entry on its page in the gallery like an actual epigraph would (click for wikipedia article on epigraphs) and should not seem completely random in juxtaposition with your piece.

After that, it's up to you.

Once more, please stick to the genre assigned to you for this round (it should match what you requested) and your entry must be POSTED and you must have NOTIFIED the bracket-master (EMBER.) by the deadline. For this round the deadline is SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19 AT 11:59PM (EST). Remember, if you have not posted your piece and notified EMBER. by this time, you forfeit and are out of the tournament. So be timely! Also, if both bracket members complete their pieces early, their polls may be posted early, so check back for links to those.

Remember to look at the correct epigraph for your bracket.

When you have finished your piece, PM this code (filled in) to EMBER.:

The Prompts.

HANNAH. and put_the_fun_in_dysfunctional (story)
Both writers have submitted their pieces. You can view the poll and links to their works here

Some men go through a forest and see no firewood.
--English Proverb

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EMBER. and AWALTZINAMINOR. (story)
Both writers have submitted their pieces. You can view the poll and links to their works here

The art of being wise
is the art of knowing what to overlook.
--William James

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Morgan and angry_little_munchkin (poetry)
Both writers have submitted their pieces. You can view the poll and links to their works here

I confess,
I do not believe in time.
--Vladimir Nabokov

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smartaleks17 (finished!) and WANDERLUST HEART. (poetry)
WANDERLUST HEART. has not submitted a piece and is disqualified. Smartaleks17 will move on to the next round.

If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.
--Native American Proverb

ROUND TWO IS OVER!

The polls have been closed and the results are in! The following users will move on to the next round of the tournament:

HANNAH. and AWALTZINAMINOR. (story)
smartaleks17 and angry_little_munchkin (poetry)

Congratulations!

Your prompts and deadline will be posted as soon as possible, so make sure to check back for them.



Round Three.

Your third prompt: Do you know Dali? I have assigned both brackets a painting by Salvador Dali, from his early/mid years. If you are not aware, Dali was an extremely prolific surrealist artist for the greater part of the 20th Century. Nobody is really sure what went on in his head, and you can often find random food items, strange abstract shapes, and dismembered body parts strewn about his paintings.

I realize that you may have trouble providing an explanation for the entire piece in your work, so I urge you to, instead of trying to provide meaning for the entire piece (unless you feel you can), pick something striking and go from there. Or don't even try to explain, just be inspired. Do something. It can be as vaguely related as you wish. Perhaps the painting will influence the kinds of words you choose for your piece, or make you look at your subject more abstractly.

Please stick to the genre assigned to you for this round (it should match what you requested) and your entry must be POSTED and you must have NOTIFIED the bracket-master (EMBER.) by the deadline, which is THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3OTH, by 11:59pm (EST). Remember, if you have not posted your piece and notified EMBER. by this time, you forfeit and are out of the tournament. So be timely! Also, if both bracket members complete their pieces early, their polls may be posted early, so check back for links to those.

Remember to look at the correct image for your bracket.

When you have finished your piece, PM this code (filled in) to EMBER.:

The Prompts.

HANNAH. and AWALTZINAMINOR. (forfeited)(story)

The Burning Giraffe, 1937. One of my favorites. CLICK.

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smartaleks17 and angry_little_munchkin (finished!)(poetry)
Both members have submitted their pieces. You can view the poll and vote here (click).

Apparation of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach, 1938. This is hanging on my roommate's wall. CLICK.

Good luck!