Writing Contest Winner- Glass Dragons's Alien Invasion

All three finalists received votes, but the overwhelming majority went to Glass Dragon's Alien Invasion story!

Thanks to all for participating! Here's the winning entry one more time in case any of you missed it; the task was to write a scene about watching paint dry, proving that it is infinitely more interesting from a written perspective than a visual one...


It started just like an alien invasion movie. One minute we were eating our Cheerios in ignorant bliss, and the next thing we knew there were so many spaceships in orbit they blocked the sun. It was like Independence Day, only with no Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith to save us. They probably died when Hollywood was hit, anyway. So, yeah. We were screwed.

Everyone had their own ways of coping with impending doom. A few of the neighbors packed up and ran for the hills. Mom packed up Grandma and headed for church. She tried to get me to come, but I figured if I had to die, I wanted to die at home. So I gave Mom and Grandma a hug and a kiss each and told them I’d keep an eye on the house while they tried to get God to run interference.

After they left my eyes fell on the cans of paint sitting by the garage door. Mom had been trying to get me to paint that door for months now. She’d finally given up and was going to do it herself today. Before Armageddon interrupted breakfast, anyway. Just that morning she had said to me, “If I wait for you to do it I’ll be dead before it’s done!”

Dead before it’s done.

I shivered. Then I picked up the paint roller. Why not? It’d be great to prove Mom wrong just once before the end.

Mom had already done all the prep work, so I got right to painting. After a while I got a creepy feeling like I was being watched. When I turned around to put more paint in the tray I saw something that stopped me cold.

There were three of them in the street, just standing there. Watching me.

No. Not me. The door. Their eye stalks were pointed at the garage door, straight at the panels I had already painted. They were watching the paint dry, and they were fascinated!

More and more showed up to watch as I painted. The street filled up with waving tentacles. They clustered on the neighbors’ lawns and rooftops. A few ships hovered overhead. I had never been so scared in my life, but I kept working. When I started a second coat I swear they all went, “Ooooh!”

When I was finished I sat on the driveway and watched the paint dry with them. As the last tacky spot hardened in the sun a collective sigh went through my alien audience. Then they took the paint and left. And I mean they took ALL the paint they could find and left the planet.

When they came back they helped rebuild the cities they’d trashed. When they found out we could make more paint, they opened trade negotiations. Humans are now major players in the intergalactic marketplace.

I saved the Earth by painting a door. Mom was so proud.

Oh, and Jeff Goldblum’s okay. Don’t know about Will Smith, though.

Writing Contest- Finalists

First off, thanks to everyone who submitted entries. I read them all several times and I enjoyed playing judge. My instincts were correct: watching paint dry can be interesting! There were 16 pieces to choose from, and my task was to narrow it down to three. It was difficult. I can't imagine what Nathan Bransford went through trying to whittle 2,500 entries down to a handful in his first paragraph contest...

Now to the brass tacks (NOTE: what the hell does that saying even mean, anyway? Feel free to discuss in the comments. After you vote.)

Among the entries there were three that stood out to me among all others:

Jan Melara did a great job at evoking fear and horror. It played on my senses of sight and sound, and the ending was terrible (in a good way). Click here to read the entry.

Glass Dragon cracked me up with the alien invasion story. It had a great voice and a fun wit to it. Among all the submissions, it had a very unique premise. Click here to read the entry.

Brenda also cracked me up, and did an awesome job with the build-up to the punchline. It was well-written, and I liked the way she portrayed the character of the novelist, so indignant to the suffering of her foe. Click here to read the entry.

Vote for your favorite in the comments on this post. You have until 8am EDT Friday morning to vote. Read the entries many times, but please only vote once.

If you would like to comment on any of the submissions, feel free to offer kudos and/or polite criticism to other submissions that you liked..but only the finalists listed here will be open for voting. I know there are many other entries that are worthy of accolades.

Writing Contest- Watching Paint Dry

‘Tis the season for writing contests. Who am I to ignore the bandwagon? Apparently not one of the capable…So without further ado, I present to you The First Official Public Query Slushpile Writing Contest (TFOPQSWC, for your anagram junkies). Here’s the scoop:

Most of us are familiar with the old clichés about watching paint dry. Many would have you believe it’s the most boring thing in the world. Sure, from a visual perspective. But how about a written scene?

Who among you thinks you can write an interesting scene about watching paint dry? Who can go above interesting and make drying paint exciting? Mysterious? Funny? Scary?

Post your entries in the comments section of this post. Entries must be between 300 and 500 words. I will pick the top three finalists – based solely on my own convoluted sense of quality, humor, excitement, or whatever other qualifying criteria I make up at the time. I will post those finalists and you will vote for the winner. And the prize, other than bragging rights? On your deathbed, you shall receive total consciousness…



Deadline for submissions: 5pm EDT on Tuesday, October 20. Finalists will be posted on Wednesday, October 21 and voting will be open through 8am Friday, October 23.

Short Story Writing Contest: "Rain Stories"

NOTE: This came through the submissions queue. I am not affiliated with the BookRix site. Technically I'm not affiliated with The Literary Lab either, but I comment there almost every day so I posted the Genre Wars contest link out of kinship. End of disclaimer.

- September 15th 2009 to October 15th 2009 -


Summer is about to end? Autumn is knocking at the door? Stormy weather and rain predicted? It is time to read a book or even write one. Take advantage of the unpleasant rainy weather and enter the latest BookRix Short Story Writing Contest for free: Tell us your rain story, turn your wordsmith powers into positive cashflow and fame. Write a story that has anything to do with rain, or Mr. Rain, or a dog named Rain, whatever.

Key Facts:

* Anyone registered at our BookRix.com website can join the contest (except citizens of Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
* Authors and readers can enter the competition for free and win cash money.
* Enter a book about rain that you have already written and published or write a new rain story.


Prizes for authors:

First Prize: $1000
Second Prize: $500
Third Prize: $300


Prizes for readers:

10 Amazon vouchers each worth $20 will be raffled for free among all readers taking part in the voting process.


* No entry fee is required

http://www.bookrix.com/precontest.html?lang=en&show=BX_1252680162

Good luck to all!

Short Story Writing Contest

The Literary Lab just announced a short story writing contest!

The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. PST, so you have plenty of time to polish up your best 1,000-2,000 word short story (or write a new one).

Details are posted here.

The Lab will be awarding prizes, and all genres of fiction are invited to submit.

I know am going to submit, and I think it would be awesome to see some of the Slushpile regulars among the winning entries, I know there are a lot of talented writers following this blog. Here's a chance to show off your chops!