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The summer Short Story Contest (SSC) is a long-standing tradition on soc.sexuality.spanking (SSS) and alt.sex.spanking (ASS) before it.  The first SSC was started in 1994 on ASS by Duchin.  In Internet terms that is practically forever.

The contest will run between 1 June 2003 and 1 September 2003.  Story-reviews, results and awards will be posted in September 2003, and an archive of all of the stories entered in the contest will be made available.

Instructions for how to enter a story in the contest are at the end.  Please read them carefully, and follow them closely!  They aren't all that hard.

The SSC is an excellent opportunity for people new to writing about the kink to try for the first time.  Why not give it a try?  How long can it take, how hard can it be, to write 500 words or less of spanking fiction?

More experienced writers are encouraged to try something different, too.  One of the goals is to produce original, interesting, and unusual stories, ones that make both writers and readers think.  Originality will be valued – please do not give us thirty examples of the same old thing.

The most important thing about the SSC, though, is that people should have lots of fun writing and reading stories.  You can take it quite seriously, but you need not.  The SSC is what every writer, and every reader, makes it.  You can't get rich, or even famous, outside our little circle, in the SSC.  This is just an occasion for shared enjoyment of the kink.

Have fun!

Rules   Categories   How to enter a story or poem   Archiving   Readers   Questions   Entry list

The last update to the Rules was on 04 September with the source of the last/first lines and reveiwers list.

RULES

1. SSC entries must be no longer than 500 words.  (Headers, titles, author names, comments, copyright notices, disclaimers and such aren't included in the counts.) A few words longer than 500 is okay, but not too many.  Entries with over 515 words may be rejected.  The decision of the organizer is final!
2. Entries need to be about spanking in some sense or other, but an actual spanking need not occur in the course of the work.  Again, the organizer's decision will be final, but I don't expect or plan to reject any stories on these grounds.
3. Any kind or orientation of spanking is permitted: M/F, F/M, M/M, F/F, M/f, f/M, erotic, disciplinary, parental, serious, funny, or what have you.  No entry will be rejected because of its orientation or attitude.
4. Entries need to be complete in and of themselves.  Please don't just split a longer story into 500-word chunks.  The challenge here is to write self-contained stories of 500 words or fewer.  The reader should be able to appreciate the story independent of any other work, except that parodies may require knowledge of the original for their full effect.  Literary references are permitted, but you must be prepared for those readers who may not get them.
5. Entries shouldn't have been entered in an SSC before.  Each Author may enter ONE story which has previously posted outside of an SSC, but all other entries should be new.  If the story has been posted before, it should be marked as a "REPOST" in the subject, and in the body of the entry.  It may then be entered in any category, as may be appropriate for the particular entry.  Exception: entries that were first posted after 21 May 2003, with a "Pre-SSC" (or similar) tag, will not be considered as reposts. But such entries must be submitted formally to count.
6. No more than forty entries per author will be accepted for reviewing and judging.  Entries in excess of forty per author may be submitted only in the "Festival" category, where stories will be posted and archived, but not reviewed, rated, or ranked.  Note that this is a per-author, not a per-address, limit.  I will react quite negatively to any attempt to evade this limit by a single author using multiple addresses.
7. Do not use the name of an identifiable real person as a character without permission.  (This does not include the obviously fictional use of a celebrity.  If you want to write a spanking story about Madonna or Bill Clinton, go ahead.)  In particular, do NOT use the name, nickname, handle, or email address of a poster to SSS or any other online forum without the permission of that person.  Violations of this rule will be disqualified from the SSC.
8. SSC stories must be posted to soc.sexuality.spanking, and also be e-mailed to this address, which will make sure they get reviewed and archived XXXX
9. Entries not received by e-mail will not be put into the pipeline for review, rating, ranking, and archiving.  I will acknowledge all entries received by email.  If you don't get an acknowledgement within a week, please re-send your entry, with a note that it is a re-send
10. Please note that it is usual for SSC stories to be archived publicly.  By entering a story in the SSC I conclusively assume that you're giving your permission for it to be archived, any notice in the story to the contrary notwithstanding.  By sending your entry to the SSC address you are consenting to this.  If you won't permit your entries to be archived for the SSC, do not enter them.  Details of the archive format may be discussed on a case-by-case basis with the Archivist and the Organizer.
11. I would very much prefer that stories be posted without the no-archive header, so that I can see in Google that they have been posted to SSS.  If you don't want your e-mail address in Google, but have no problem with your story being there, send a 2nd copy of your story with the tag "[POST]" in the subject to  XXXX and I will post it to SSS for you, with your handle, but NOT your e-mail address.
12. Please make sure to put the tag SSC or SSC03 at the start of the Subject: line.  It'll help if you also put the category that you're entering the story into in the Subject: line.  When e-mailing an entry to the submission address, please put the appropriate tag in the subject line, as specified in the category description.  All such tags should be in [Square Brackets].  Use of the tags will enable my filters to sort stories automatically, and save me time and effort.
13. All stories will be read and reviewed by a panel of readers.  The reader responses will be made available as the contest progresses.  In addition, the readers will, collectively, choose winners and runners up in each of the story categories, except for the "festival" category.

CATEGORIES

Here are the categories for this year's contest.  When you enter a story, choose the category that you'd like it to be entered in, and identify the category clearly when you post, preferably in the Subject: line.

1. ADULT:  A story in which all of the main characters are adults.  Please submit with the tag [Adult] in the subject.  (Case does not matter for the tag or any of the tags.)
2. CHILD:  A story in which at least one of the main characters is a child.  Normally this means that a child is on the receiving end of a spanking.  A story in which a child is a character, but an adult spanks another adult, and no one spanks the child, can go into the ADULT category.  Please submit with the tag [Child] in the subject.
3. AGE-PLAY:  A story in which all characters are adults, but some take on non-adult roles within the story.  Please submit with the tag [Age] in the subject.
4. EDGE:  A story in which the author deals with subject matter that pushes towards the edge of their fantasies or tolerances in some way.  Authors are requested to include a note describing why the story is edgy for them.  (Such a note needn't be included in the word-count.)  Please submit with the tag [Edge] in the subject.
5. PERIOD:  A story set in some period other than the present day, and in which the period is significant to the story.  (Note that the period could be in the future as well as in the past.) This includes Science Fiction and Fantasy stories, as well as Historical Fiction.  (In the case of "Urban Fantasy" what is different is not exactly the period, but those stories can still go here, as can ghost stories or the like.) Please submit with the tag [Period] in the subject.
6. MINI-SAGA:  A story of exactly FIFTY words, rather than 500.  (One or two words either side of fifty is okay, but not more than that please.) This category was quite popular and had some striking entries last year – lets see what we can do this year.  Please submit with the tag [Saga] in the subject.
7. PARODY:  Stories, song-lyrics, or verse that uses some form of parody.  The completeness or aptness of the parody is important here. Please indicate explicitly the work that is being parodied. This indication will not count toward the 500 words.  Please submit with the tag [Parody] in the subject.
8. VERSE:  Poems that are not parodies.  Any form or meter may be used, but I would prefer that poems make sense, and not be just lists of words.  Please submit with the tag [Verse] in the subject.
9. FANFICTION:  Stories set in the world of, or using the characters of, a published work, such as a Novel, TV show, or Movie.  This covers Missing Scenes and the like.  In this category, the original work should be specified in a note, which will not count towards the 500 words.  The note may be at the end of the story, for those who want to retain an element of suprise. Apt and appropriate use of the setting or characters will count for this category.  Please submit with the tag [Fan] in the subject.
10. FESTIVAL:  A special category for stories which are to be archived, but neither reviewed, rated, nor ranked.  May contain stories which would otherwise be appropriate for any category.  Please indicate which category the story would have been in as Festival/adult or Festival/period.  Please submit with the tag [Fest] in the subject.
11. REPOST:  This has been removed.
12. FIRST/LAST:   Stories using a specific line at the beginning or the end.  Here are the current set of lines.  (Two will be added each week of the contest.) Choose one and use it as the first or the last line in your story.  Please submit with the tag [Line] in the subject.
    1. "If you feel an itch in your palms again, tell me! Such things can be cured."
       J. R. R. Tolkein: The Two Towers
    2. "The burned hand teaches best."
       J. R. R. Tolkein: The Two Towers
    3. "India! You mean you have lived in India?"
       Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer: Sorcery & Cecelia
    4. Dorothea was perfectly lovely.
       Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer: Sorcery & Cecelia
    5. You're Crawford, and you're late."
       George V. Higgins: At End of Day
    6. They haven't caught up with me yet.
       George V. Higgins: At End of Day
    7. I am trustworthy, but I'm not safe.
       Alexia: "The Weekend – Part I"
    8. All mine, do you understand?
       Alexia: "The Weekend – Part I"
    9. Where will wants not, a way opens.
       J. R. R. Tolkein: The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter 3
    10. "Thank you, Sir, though I do not know your name."
        J. R. R. Tolkein: The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter 3
    11. "If you do not like being here, you can remember that you brought it on yourself."
        J. R. R. Tolkein: The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter 4
    12. She stood in a corner by herself and talked to nobody.
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 6
    13. We can only know what things are of overmastering importance when they have overmasterd us.
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 2
    14. I don't pretend to be a good boy, but such were not my intentions at the time.
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 10
    15. He stopped and looked up at her with the smile that was so uncannily not his own.
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 10
    16. We all have our methods.
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 12
    17. "And you say you've kept this remarkable story to yourself?"
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 12
    18. Well, I'll not say a word – Honestly i won't.
        Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night, chapter 10
    19. Now let me see if I understand this correctly.
        S. M. Stirling: The Peshwar Lancers, Chapter 16
    20. The girl takes mischief to the level of an art form.
        S. M. Stirling: The Peshwar Lancers, Chapter 20
    21. Romance at short notice was her speciality.
        Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Open Window"
    22. He fled down to the Turkish Bath, and stayed there for hours.
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "A Holiday Task"
    23. Diplomatic reticence does not necessarily extend to family affairs.
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Seven Cream Jugs"
    24. "That," she said afterwards, "is what I call having an emergency brain."
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Occasional Garden"
    25. The grill-room clock struck eleven with the respectful unobtrusiveness of one whose mission in life is to be ignored.
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Match-Maker"
    26. Nicholas was not to be one of the party; he was in disgrace.
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Lumber room"
    27. Some people are born to command; Crispiana was born to legislate, codify, administer, censor, license, ban, execute, and sit in judgement generally.
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Disappearence of Crispina Umberleigh"
    28. Oh dear no, not at all tiresome – for me.
        "Saki" {H. H. Munro}: "The Schartz-Metterklume Method"

When writing an entry for the first/last liens category, the provided line should be used reasonably exactly – failure to do so is grounds for being marked down or, in extreme cases, having the entry rejected for rewriting.

However, quotation marks are something of a special case.  If the challenge line is included in quotes, it must be part of dialog, but if it is not in quotes, it may be used as dialog or as non-dialog.  If the phalange line is given in quotes, addition dialog may form part of the same speech.  For example, if the challenge line is «"Blah Blah Blah."» then «"Blah Blah Blah.  Bleh Bleh Blech."» may be used as a first line, and «"Bleh Bleh.  Blah Blah Blah."» may be used as a last line.

Note that the challenge line must come at the very start or end, and must stay intact as a sentence.

I am posting this clarification because a recent entry followed one of these patterns, and I was asked if this was permitted, or if the entry should be rejected for re-writing.  I chose to permit it as written, and so I am explaining the general basis behind this action.

HOW TO ENTER A STORY OR POEM

Please read carefully!

1. Write the story or poem!  (That's the hard part.)  Follow the rules above.
2. Mark the entry clearly with the category you've chosen to enter it in.  Please choose just one category.  Many entries would probably fit in several different categories.  Choose the one that you think it best fits.
3. Post the story to soc.sexuality.spanking.  Make sure to:
   1. Put SSC or SSC03 at the start of the subject line.
   2. Post in plain text.  If you use a word processor with a proprietary format, like MS Word, save as plain text before you post.  Please also avoid using attachments and avoid posting in HTML if you can.  Plain text will be easier for everyone to read.
   3. Post without the X-No-Archive setting if possible or send a copy to the SSC address XXXX with the tag [POST] in the subject, and I will post it to SSS for you, with your handle but without your email address.  (Note: this will mean sending two copies to the SSC address, with different tags).
   4. Read the information on the archive (below) and include any needed formatting instructions to the archivist.
4. Also, send the story by e-mail to this address: XXXX   The story will be forwarded from here to the readers for the contest.  Be sure that the proper category tag, in [Square Brackets], is included in your subject line.
5. You will get an e-mail acknowledging your entry.  If you don't get one within a week, re-send your story, with a note that it is a re-submission.
6. Wait for responses to the entry.  With luck, lots of positive responses :-)  Oh, and get to work writing the next story.

ARCHIVING

The Archivist, Y. Lee Coyote, in order to have a uniform appearance of the entries will apply the following rules to all entries:

1. Quotes (single and double) remain if they are talk.
2. Words inside single quotes and/or underlines get converted to italics
3. Words inside asterisks get converted to bold.
4. Dashes are two hyphens.
5. Ellipsis are "..." in the middle and "...." at the end of sentence.
6. Double angle brackets will be converted to guillemets (those neat little double angles used in French and Russian).
7. In the category Last/first the challenge lines will be highlighted in red.
8. Paragraphs are indicated with double space rather than indents as that is the natural way in HTML.
9. Comments may either precede the title or follow the story end.
10. The author's name and e-mail will appear in plain text if that is the way it appeared in the SSS post.  It also appears in the meta information in the header and available to search engines.
11. The name for copyright notice will be the 'nick' if there is one.

Instructions to the Archivist may be in the post and will be honored as best as possible.

Changes/corrections to archive may be requested by e-mail to Y. Lee Coyote.  Please indicate the entry number, the paragraph number, the 'current' and the 'replacement'.  Don't send the entire post as I won't be able to find the change.

READERS

This year the following wonderful people have volunteered to be readers for the SSC.  I am very grateful to them, and I hope you will be too.  They'll be writing the story reviews, so be nice to them!

QUESTIONS

Don't hesitate to write to me at XXXX if you have any questions about the contest.  Please include the tag [QUERY] in the subject header.

Thanks for participating, and let's see lots of wonderful entries.

oOo

Page created 17 November 2003 and last updated 8 May 2006

© Copyright Don A.Landhill, 2003