[Guest Prompt] Heidi Durrow – Passions

[Ooo, I’m particularly excited about this one. This is a challenging prompt but one that should yield some great stories, since character and conflict are at the heart of the story – JD]

The Prompt

The Energy of Passions & Obsessions

You become what you think about all day long.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Passions and obsessions are great starting points for stories. So what if a character has a passion or obsession but the character has extreme difficulty fulfilling that dream. For example, a character could have an extreme passion with exotic birdwatching, but he can’t fulfill his greatest wish because he is a poor child living in a big city. What does the character do to fulfill his obsession? What happens to the character when he can’t? What does the fulfillment of the obsession or passion mean to the character?  


Heidi Durrow is the New York Times best-selling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky (Algonquin Books) which won the PEN/Bellwether Prize. She is the founder of the Mixed Remixed Festival, an annual film & book festival in Los Angeles.

Writing Contest 2011

So you’ve spent a month writing stories. Now what?

Announcing: StoryADay.org’s First Writing Contest!

I am thrilled to announce that Heidi Durrow, author of last year’s breakout debut novel (and NYT bestseller) The Girl Who Fell From The Sky has agreed to judge our first ever StoryADay Writing Contest.

Anyone who has a StoryADay username and has been writing this May (I’ll have to trust you on that) is eligible to enter one story in the contest. There is no entry fee, but there are prizes!

  • 1st Prize: $50, A copy of the Writers Digest Short Story & Novelist’s Markets book, a copy of The Breakout Novelist by Donald Maass, a box of Rory’s Story Cubes
  • 2 Runners-up: $25 and a box of Rory’s Story Cubes.

The deadline is June 15, with results announced in early August. There will be two rounds of judging. The first round will be judged by experienced editors and working authors, the final round by Ms. Durrow.

You may submit using a special submission from that will go be up by June 10, 2011. Details to be posted here.

Click here for the complete rules.

FAQ

Is the contest open to everyone?

Only to people with a StoryADay username.

I was writing during May but didn’t sign up at the site. Can I still enter?

Sorry, no. This is only open to people who were in the online community. It’s a way for me to reward the community and ensure that only stories written this May get entered

But that’s not fair is it?

No, not entirely. But it’s the best I can do. Sorry. I will rethink this for next year.

How will you ensure the contest is fair?

Entries will go to judges without names attached. Beyond that, judging is entirely subjective as it is with all writing contests.

Will Heidi Durrow read all the stories?

No, she is going to read a short-list of ten. The first round will be judged by working editors and writers.

When will the results be out and how will I be notified?

Not later than August 15. Results will be posted on the site (https://storyaday.org) and entrants will receive an email telling them the winners and runners up.

How are the prizes funded?

The prizes are funded mostly by me, Julie Duffy of StoryADay.org. The copies of Rory’s Story Cubes were generously provided by Gamewright Games.

If I don’t win, does that mean my story is no good?

No, it very definitely does not. I have judged these kinds of contests myself and can assure you that judging is entirely subjective. If your story is not picked, all it means is that it did not appeal to this particular set of judges in this particular month as much as someone else’s story did. Keep writing (and submitting)!