AW Flash Fiction Carnival the Third

I know, I know - it hasn't been that long since soma hosted an AWFFC, but I wanted to begin hyping this now because I want to have beaucoups participants. There are so many excellent writers around AW that need showcasing and this is a great way to do it.

Now you US Americans (heh) don't be hollering at me about the dates. I know darned well it's Thanksgiving week and the beginning of the holiday season. That is what makes it ideal timing. Many people have at least two days off and that should give folks time to at least get some ideas formulated and some notes made.

The theme is any variation on: TRANSFORM

The guidelines are:

1. Participating writers can be from anywhere, not just members of AW, so if you have a writer friend who doesn't play here, you may invite them to join us. If your friend does not have a blog, perhaps you can host them or if needed, I will host their story quite happily. If YOU don't have a blog but wish to be hosted, just holler. I'll host you too.
2. Stories must relate somehow to the theme. This can be a very broad interpretation or specific. You're the writer, so you do what works for you.
3. You will have 14 days to write. I may choose to extend that by a couple of days if I'm begged/bribed/wheedled very nicely.
4. Stories can range in length from 500 words to 1200 words, give or take no more than 100 either way, please.
5. I will be posting the participants' list in my blog no later than December 8th.
6. If you participate, you need to comment on the contributions of your fellow writers. Feedback is essential so please make sure you comment. Also, encourage all your friends and family to read and comment as well.
7. When you are done with your story, post it in your blog and send me the permalink, the name under which you wish to be identified, and the story title. You may send it to me, removing the spaces and changing the at to @ of course, at: virginia lee writes AT yahoo.com.

If you have questions, please post them here because odds are you're not the only one wondering. I more than likely have forgotten something essential, so do holler.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot -- I need to receive your entry information by midnight on December 4th.

Thanks to bsolah for getting the FFCs going and to soma for hosting #2. Let's make #3 HUGE!

Now then, everybody dance! ! !

That's GREAT DD!

I wanted to get this a bit higher to remind folks to be looking for the theme on the 20th. I've narrowed it down to about four or five.

Please look at the rules/guidelines I've posted so far and ask any questions or make suggestions if you have them.

Thanks!

Yay!

In about 4.5 hours I'll post the theme for this carnival here and in the flash fiction forum. Please spread the word to all your writing friends all over. Let's make this carnival HUGE!

ello said:

This sounds cool! How many blogs did you connect to last time? Each blog will connect to you I take it? Also, is there a minimum number of blogs to visit and provide feedback on? I'm just wondering because if you get hundreds of entries, it might be difficult to hit all of them. Also, will you break out entries into categories? I just ask since no matter what topic you choose you are bound to get a whole host of different genres and it would be cool if all bloggers send you their link and a genre tag so you can list by genre. As you can see by my annoying questions that I am very new to this, but it sounds fun!

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Hello, ello!

So far we haven't made hundreds of participants, but with the writers' strike, who knows how many more people we'll get! So far the number of participants hasn't been unmanageable for making comments, but you do at least need to read everyone's piece if at all possible. Part of the purpose of the FFC is to get traffic to our various blogs as well as to showcase our work.

As to separating genres? If that becomes necessary I'll do so, but you'll have to help me get at least thirty writers participating before I'll make the effort. Coding is not my best thing.

What happens is that when a blogger or guest writer in someone else's blog is done with their themed piece, they post it and send me the permalink, author, blog title and story title. Once I've compiled everyone's I post all the links in my blog. I make the announcement that the links are all up in this thread and then we're on our way.

Typing of permalinks, here's the one to my blogpost with the formal theme announcement and the announcement of the FFC: http://virginialeenc.blogspot.com/2007/11/aw-flash-fiction-carnival-iii-theme.html

Um, if I've forgotten anything, please holler.

DonnaDuck said:

Holy crap! Did you channel Virginia to get the topic in advance???

Click to expand...

*checks brain*

As far as I can tell, my circuits are still intact.

Meanwhile, III has asked me to host his entry, which I am more than happy to do. So remember, if you need hosting, feel free to ask me.

Woohoo! And away we go!

Oh no. If you have a blog and have your story done, you may post. At least that's what we've done in the past. It's not necessarily convenient for everyone to post on the same day, especially this time of year. Just remember that posting early does not release you from the implicit obligation of reading the other participants' stories nor from commenting.

If you have a look at bsolah's FFC and then soma's FFC II you'll get an idea of how things went. I think some folks posted their links and some did not. Also, many didn't even let us know they'd sent stories so it was a surprise to see them on the lists posted by the FFC hosts.



ETA: Rabid animals? We gots rabid animals?

An excellent comment was posted in my blog that is relevant to FFC III.

Terri asked: Can the Flash be one already written? It is otherwise unpublished or submitted anywhere. Or does it need to be done in those 14 given days?

My response: Hi Terri! EXCELLENT question. For the first FFC, for which the theme was Beginnings, I wrote an entirely new story. For the second FFC, with the theme of Madness, I edited an old story that fit the theme and that hadn't been published anywhere. I'll be writing an original piece for this FFC based on an idea I've had for many years but never got around to writing before now.

As long as the piece fits the theme and the wordcount, feel free to use it whether it's new or one you have sitting idly by.

Welcome to the carnival! I'm glad you're going to join us.

Don't be shy about asking questions, either here or in my blog, folks. That's what I'm here for, after all.

THIRTEEN DAYS TO GO ! ! !

You'd better!

12 days and counting ! ! !