INTRODUCTION:

"Welcome to the Dreadful Tales of the Unnatural Podcast! A podcast where we take your own personal stories of run-ins with the weird, the bizarre, and the unnatural, and create dramatic retellings with virtual audio! Want your story to make it on our show? Just submit the craziest thing that has ever happened to you that cannot be explained by the natural, and we just might make your tale into the next episode!"

PROMPT:

Pretend that you are submitting a story to a podcast detailing a terrifying, potentially supernatural event that has happened to you. This will be fiction of course (unless you really do have something that happened to you in real life that can't be explained). You will be writing your story in the first person perspective. The first-place winner will have their story transformed into a 3d binaural audio story by me. Their story will also be the official first episode of a horror anthology podcast that I am planning to start after the contest has finished. Yeah, you read that right. This time, there will be a real reward for placing first. The winner will be determined by who writes the creepiest story that follows all of the rules that will be listed below. Please try to keep your word limit within the 1,000 to 2,000-word range. You will not be disqualified if you accidentally go over this. The suggestion is simply there to keep my sanity because anything over 2,000 words would make production time very long, and anything under 1,000 words would be a fairly short episode.

RULES:

1.As always with my contests, anything sexual is strictly prohibitedand will not be tolerated. Anyone submitting something with sexual content will be disqualified and will have their entry removed.

2.In regards to posting a warning at the top of your story, I have gone ahead and set the rating for this contest as rated-R. This means you will nothave to provide a warning for your story as I've already figured that mature content will probably exist due to the theme being horror. There is only ONE exception to this rule. If your story GRAPHICALLYdescribes in detailgore or the dismemberment of limbs, then and only then, will I require a warning at the top of your story.

3.Be civil with your comments on other people's work. Don't bash other writers, and I don't want to see any bickering. If you want to provide a critique of someone's work, be respectful and constructive. Tell them something good about their story instead of just listing what's wrong. Those who do not follow this rule will have their comments removed.

4.Let's talk about cursing. I realize that in the real world people will curse a lot when faced with something that either scares them or makes them angry. I get that. I truly do. With that being said, I personally do not like to curse. I rarely, if ever, write curse words in my own writing. I'm saying this because I will be the one narrating your story if it is picked as the winner, and I do not want to say any curse words during the recording phase. I know that sounds strange, but that's how I am (I'm a dad in case you didn't know). I don't mind words like "damn", "hell", or even "ass", but I refuse to say the "F-word", "GD", anything relating to private parts, and the word used for "poop". If your writing has any of these words, I won'tdisqualify you, but if you're picked as the winner, I will be editing your story to remove these words. Just keep that in mind.

5.Once again, my contest will run for a month. Please, please, please use this time wisely. Do your research and proofread your work. If your story is riddled with writing errors and inaccurate information, then your chances of winning are less likely. I will be working with the winner to edit their story so that it will be polished before recording starts. I do not want to waste a lot of time on this as I will be wanting to get started on production as soon as possible once the contest ends. I understand that this sounds a bit strict, but production time can take up to a couple of months depending on the length of the story.

6.Avoid cliches if you can. I'm sorry, but little girls saying "come play with me", pyscho-killers, zombies, vampires, and werewolves are really just not that scary to me and have been way overdone. Now, if you can find a fascinating, unique and original way of depicting them, then that's different. Just try to dig a little deeper and be creative.

If you need some inspiration, I highly recommend checking out "The Magnus Archives" by Rusty Quill Podcasts. You can find the series on YouTube. Want to know which episodes creeped me out the most so that you know what gets my blood to chill? I'll list what I consider to be the three most creepy episodes from them.

Episode 01: Anglerfish

Episode 15: Lost John's Cave

Episode 86: Tucked In

Last of all, have fun! This is a chance for you to get some extra exposure as the winner's episode will be featured on YouTube. I will be sure to credit the winner in the video and provide a link for people to find you either on Penana or any other social media you wish for me to plug.

One final note. If, for whatever reason, you do win and don'twant me to turn your story into an audio production, then just let me know and I will choose the next place winner as the one I produce.

Prompt:

I want you to tell me an exciting tale through radio chatter only. Write your story as if you were transcribing a recorded audio log of a radio conversation. Don't feel limited to just police or military radio chatter, although those are more than welcome. It can be EMS, fire fighter, secret service, security, aircraft, boat, hiker, or even trucker conversations. Be unique and creative! No word limits. The winner will be determined by who writes the most authentic-sounding and exciting story. More details, rules, and an example below.

Description:

So, I think this is going to be a fun one. I came up with the idea for this contest while performing research on a current chapter I'm writing. I needed to know how to write proper radio chatter for police officers, and one of the ways I researched this was by actually listening to an hour long recording of a radio conversation over a police scanner. I was surprised by how engaged I was with it. It was strangely interesting and I was able to follow the series of events quite well. That's when I decided that this would make a very unique, but entertaining way to tell a story. That's what I want from you guys and gals.

How to Write Your Story:

Like I said in the prompt, I want you to write your story as if you were actually transcribing a recorded audio log. If you're unfamiliar with how to write in the style of an audio transcript, this site (https://www.w3.org/WAI/media/av/transcribing/) is a great resource for tips on how to do it. To help, I will also write below an example of the formatting I'm looking for.

Example:

Officer Martin: (gunshots in background)Adam-230 to Dispatch. I have shots fired on 51st Street and Lincoln [unintelligible]. Requesting backup.

Dispatch: Copy Adam-230. Shots fired at 51st Street and Lincoln Drive. All available units to respond to scene.

Officer Douglas: Adam-235, copy. In route.

Officer Michaels: Adam-237, copy as well. In route.

Rules:

- In regards to using 10-codes, I realize that this may be very tempting to some of you to incorporate. Keep in mind, however, if you decide to go this route, that not all readers will know what the 10-codes mean. Another issue comes from the fact that 10-codes can mean different things depending on the country, state, profession, and department. If you decide to use 10-codes, please make sure that the context of the dialogue properly informs the reader of what's actuallybeing said.

- Remember that in most instances (regarding official professions), use of personal names is prohibited over radios for safety reasons. Instead, most people have assigned call signs. The great news is that there really isn't any wrong way to come up with a call sign as the method of determining one also changes based on country, state, profession, and department. If you need a little help, in a lot of cases, call signs are a mixture of letters and numbers that represent the person's assigned location, shift, rank, job, or badge number (depending on profession). Try not to get too bogged down by this.

- If your character needs to spell something, remember that they would probably use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. Don't know the NATO Phonetic Alphabet? No problem! Here's a site that provides it: https://www.worldometers.info/languages/nato-phonetic-alphabet/

- Sexual content is strictly prohibitedand will be removed.

- I realize cursing will probably be a thing some of you will want to include. Try not to go overboard with it. Instead, try to use it more for accentuating impactful moments. If there is a lot of harsh language, you mustprovide a warning at the top of your story to respect other readers.

- Violence - or explanations of violence - is allowed, but you mustalso provide a warning at the top of your story if it is graphic in nature. Once again, this is to respect readers who may not want to read that kind of content.

- Be civilwith your comments on other writer's works. No arguing. Critiques are always welcome, but remember to be constructive and also provide positive feedback in addition to your proposed corrections. Those who violate this rule, will have their comments removed.

- Try to proofread your work before submitting. Remember that this is a chance to showcase your writing ability. This contest will run for a month, which should give you plenty of time to polish your writing.

- Lastly, have fun! :)

PROMPT:

I want you to write an engaging, short story about a single rock. Take any approach you want. Be creative! All genres welcome.

DESCRIPTION:

I want to test how creative you all are. I am borrowing a writing challenge posed to me during a Creative Writing course I took in college. The idea is to take a single, seemingly non-interesting object, and try to transform it into something that is exciting and engaging. It forces you to really dig into your imagination and think outside the box. I think you'll be surprised by how fun of a writing exercise this can be. The winner will be determined by who I believe writes the most interesting story. Have fun!

RULES:

- Nothing sexual is permitted. I do not care for it, and I will not tolerate it. Any entries that contain this willbe deleted.

- Try to avoid using too much harsh language. I do not mind mild use of harsh language to accentuate an important point, but I cannot stand reading through "F" bombs.

- Violence is allowed, but if you decide to go graphic, you mustput a warning at the top of your entry. This is to respect those who would rather not read that kind of content. Violators will have their entry removed.

- I've given this contest a month, so please use that extra time to polish your writing. Really focus on your spelling, formatting, and grammar. Remember, whether you win or not, this is a chance to showcase your writing skills and potentially gain more exposure and reads on your own personal projects.

- Once again, all genres are welcome.

- Last of all, have fun! No point in doing it if you aren't having fun. :)

Promote our stories and works here!

We all are witnesses that all the authors and writers here on Penana work extremely hard and with full pride and passion. So why not light a way for each other to promote and motivate the writers who’s works are worthier than acknowledging but still are anonymous.

So for these great writers I have come up with a splendid plan of promoting their stories.

All you have to do is to fill in the form, follow the guidelines and fulfill the tiny winy requirements that your beloved Jennie wants. So let us get started.

GUIDELINES:

PRIZE:

For the Winners:1. There would be three winners who would win the following;2. After the submission ends I’ll announce the top three winners.3. I’ll read, like and comment on every chapter of their won work.4. Give a shout out of their works on my personal stream board to the other people.5. Introduce the work personally to my followers and including recommendations.6. I’ll encourage my followers to follow, like and comment on your work.7. Your work would get a bookmark.8. And of course you’ll get a winning and participating badge too.9. Plus I’ll introduce you to the other authors and writers too on my stream board.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. SO STARTING FROM THE FIRST STEP:For participating you…

{Sorry If I’m asking too much}

SECOND STEP:You have to fulfill the requirements mentioned above  first then fill in the form. I’ll first check whether have you done it or not and then I’ll add you to my list.

THIRD STEP:Simply fill in the form which suits your work. Forms are on the next page.

FOURTH STEP:When you have done all the requirements and the form message me on personal saying: Jennie Form Check. And then I’ll send a ‘Confirmed’ to your chat that means you have been added to the list.

You wake up one day and, you realise you have magic power! What power do you get and what happens next?

word limit -1000

This is a contest where you can write based on the theme - 'horror'. Interesting, right? So what're you waiting for?

Start writing your work based on this theme. There is no word limit. It can be too short or too long. The work can be in any form [facts, essay, passage, poem, short story, flash fiction, sudden fiction, novel/series, novella].

The judging criteria will be only based on the relevance to the given theme and the level of horrible and interesting.

Good luck writers!!! I am eagerly waiting to look forward your submissions.

Note: the cover picture is not related to the theme. You can write based on the given cover picture, but it is not a compulsion.

Choose a scene that most perfectly describes your character. Whatever entry gives me the fullest view of a character's personality, motivation, etc. (in as little words as possible) wins.

I want you to write the coolest, most dramatic, best prologue you can think of.

Eyes steeled and dark, Cameo Zachary Hunt stared at his reflection in the cracked mirror, taking a moment to collect himself and all of his fractured, stray thoughts for the day he had ahead of him. He was finally doing it, setting out on the mission he probably should have left for a month and a half earlier. But one day passed after the other, and before he knew it, spring had come and gone, summer suddenly offering its bright self to the world. He couldn't put it off any longer, at least that's what he forced himself to think, because he knew if he didn't find some deep down catalyst, he'd never bring himself to do what he needed to do.

He closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and forced himself to glance up once more, fingers tearing through carefully styled hair for the last time before he would push himself to step into an incredibly bipolar gray area.

"I'm coming to make this right, Fin," he whispered to the girl long lost to him. "I swear to you."

All credit for this goes to @Clovers

Thank you everybody and good luck!