Art:Space Pirates
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The Setting
The year is 2207. Mankind has reached for the stars, and grasped them. Spreading outward from Earth, many worlds have been colonized. But human nature has not changed in this new environment. People are still good and bad. There is still greed, intolerance, and war. And there are still pirates!
Space Pirates Event Summary
Space Pirates is a writing event with two phases:
- Phase 1: Character Profiles
- Phase 2: Short Stories (using the winning characters from Phase 1)
Phase 1: Character Profiles
Write a character profile for someone who would make an interesting character in a story with a theme of "Space Pirates". The character can be a pirate, smuggler, merchant, privateer, stowaway, alien, navy officer, space station employee or anything else that fits into the world of space pirates.
- The profile should include the character's name, physical description, history, profession, motivation and goals.
- This should not be a story or a story outline, just a detailed character description. The stories are coming in Phase 2. (This also means that the profile should not specify what the character is doing in the immediate present/future, since that affects what plot a story could have. For example: "Wesley is the captain of the pirate ship Revenge" is fine, "Wesley is leading his ship, Revenge, on a mission to steal the weather control satellite orbiting Planet Bob" is not.)
- There is a maximum word length of 500 words. This word counter will be used in judging. The 500 words is a very generous cutoff; it generally shouldn't take that many words to describe a character. A good profile will describe a character clearly but concisely. Writing extra just to use the maximum number of words will hurt your entry, not help it.
Phase 1: How to Enter
- Character profiles should be posted in the entry thread HERE.
- Be sure to include your pirate name and ocean in your post (in your signature is fine).
- Entries are due March 3 at 11:59pm PST (aka Pirate Time).
- Each individual may enter only once. That means you may only post in the entry thread one time. Do your spell checking, editing, and formatting before you hit "Post". Preview is your friend. Any posts subsequent to your first one will be ignored.
- This is a writing contest, not an art contest; do not include a picture in your entry.
Phase 1: Judging
The character profiles will be judged based on 2 broad areas:
- The Character - creativity, interest, story potential
- Authorship - writing style, grammar/spelling, conciseness
The judges will select 20 profiles to continue to Phase 2. Expect judging to take approximately 2 weeks.
Phase 2: Short Stories
The authors of the 20 winning character sketches are invited to write short stories using the Cast of Characters from Phase 1.
Phase 2: Cast of Characters
The winning character sketches have be recopied into a standard format for ease of use (LINK). Character histories and personalities have not changed, though a lot of rewording was necessary in some cases. Names of ships and space stations have been changed in many cases to enable easier interaction among the characters. "Last known locations" were provided for each character, but are optional; space is huge, it's possible the characters have moved on.
Phase 2: Story Requirements
- The theme of the story should be "Space Pirates: What could go wrong?"
- Story length: Maximum of 2,500 words. This word counter will be used in judging.
- Your story must be written in the first person, from the point of view of the character assigned. (See list below for character assignments.)
- You must use at least one additional character out of the cast of characters. You may use as many more as you like.
- You may not use the character you created.
- Only characters from the Cast of Characters should be major characters that figure prominently in your story.
- Minor characters may be created, but should be used sparingly. (As a good rule of thumb: if the character is important enough to be given a name, or appears in more than a few lines, they are not a minor character.)
Phase 2: Character Assignments
| Pirate | Assigned Character |
| Abiona | Amar Svensson |
| Ariastess | Jackson Devonjer |
| Athalus | Matt Black |
| Cassis | Tamar Flint |
| Daynarius | Edny Pachenga |
| Francisgrace | Nicholas Worthington |
| Jollylady | Lucy Swift |
| Ligeia | Prasti Centra |
| Madthorne | Zed |
| Mara | Quinzee |
| Mogget | Nigel Amaxaroo |
| Nagachampa | Senthal dal Bingtoppen |
| Orsino | Ratri Iolana |
| Pletoo | Gorgeia |
| Redlucy | Delphinus Leo Tetrarchies-Smith |
| Sal | Mulligan McInvernesshireling |
| Staplesauce | Ruanos |
| Trevorius | Delinvir |
| Valindir | Esmerelda Dringlebutom |
| Whedonella | Afya |
Phase 2: How to Enter
- To submit your story, e-mail it to me at feylind@mindspring.com. Be sure to include "Space Pirates" and your pirate name in the title of the e-mail.
- You may put the story in the body of the e-mail, or attach a text or MS Word file, as you prefer.
- Deadline for stories is April 7th at 11:59 pm PDT.
- After the deadline, the stories will be posted on YPPedia.
Phase 2: Judging
The short stories will be judged on plot, creativity, authorship, and appropriate use of characters. Expect judging to take a minimum of 2 weeks.
Prizes
Phase 1
Each finalist succeeding to Phase 2 will receive a "Space Navy Achievement Ribbon" (lime/green ribbon trinket).
Note: Prizes are contingent on the winners turning in an entry for Phase 2. If you quit the event halfway through, you don't get anything, I'm afraid.
Phase 2
1st Place - Tentacled alien familiar (okay, okay, it's a Lime octopus, but a girl can dream, can't she?)
2nd Place - Alien Artifact (Stone Figurine rare furniture item)
3rd-5th Place - renamed sloop (available name choices: Alien Sunfish, Cosmic Ray, Fiery Comet, and Solar Winde)
6th-8th place - Lime starfish trinket
Questions?
If you have questions about the event or the rules, you can post them HERE in the Y!PP forum thread for this event.
