Competition Rules and Information
Short Sharp Imaginative Writing (SSIW) is a flash fiction competition that challenges you to fit a complete story or poem into a tight word limit, while still inspiring and engaging your reader. The aim is to cut down on unnecessary wordiness and to find creative and unusual ways to approach new subjects in your writing.
In each competition session, there are several set topics around which you must base your entries, as well as a fixed word limit. You can find details of the current topics, word limits and deadline in the two stickied competition threads in this forum. In addition, there will usually be an optional challenge, which participants may choose to attempt should they wish.
Deadlines are typically set for midnight (board time, GMT) on a Sunday. You can find a reminder of the current deadline and topics in the MV sidebar, to the left.
What is a typical SSIW session like?
SSIW sessions typically last around two to three weeks, during which time participants compose their pieces, post them and offer comments/critiques on other submissions.
Topics are chosen by the winners of the previous competition round, and can range from the highly concrete (such as "The Boots" or "The Bridge") through to more abstract topics (such as "Through a Glass Darkly" or "Confession"). You can see more examples of the topics that have been chosen in the past, as well as the winning stories and poems based on them, in the Hall of Fame threads in this forum.
Word limits are typically set at between 500 and 1000 for prose and between 250 and 500 for poems, although on occasion we have strayed outside these limits in both directions.
How do I submit an entry?
To submit an entry for an anonymous round, you should e-mail your entry to the competition coordinator. (See the current competition flyers for details of who this is.) The coordinator will allocate a code number to your story and post it in this forum, so that you are not revealed as the author until the competition is closed.
For non-anonymous rounds, you should post your entry yourself, in the appropriate competition thread sometime before the deadline. There are separate threads for poetry and prose, so make sure you submit to the right one. You may submit up to one poem and one prose entry in each competition round.
I've submitted my entry - what happens now?
As well as submitting an entry, part of the fun of SSIW is in reading and commenting on the entries submitted by other people. You can see what other people have to say about your submission by checking out the Readers' Comments thread. You are also encouraged to post your own comments on the pieces submitted by others, and should feel free to use the Comments thread as a place to chat generally about the competition and ask questions.
How is the winner selected?
After the competition deadline, participants (and MV members in general) are asked to vote for the story and poem that they liked best out of those submitted. The winning pieces will be those that receive the most votes.
How do I vote?
To vote, you should send an e-mail message or EZBoard Private Message to Valamber, our Mistress of Ceremonies, by the advertised deadline. (The voting deadline is usually set for a couple of days after the competition deadline, and will be advertised on the MV sidebar.)
You may vote for up to one story and up to one poem, but you may not vote for your own submissions. When you vote, make sure that your message clearly identifies the story and/or poem you want to vote for. You may also pass on any comments on why you liked the pieces you are voting for, and these will be included (anonymously) in the announcement of the winning entries.
What's the prize for winning?
A prize of $20 is awarded to the winner in each category. This will be paid to the winner either through PayPal, or as an Amazon voucher, at the winner's choice.
Winning entries are added to the SSIW Hall of Fame. In addition, winners are asked to choose the topics and set the word limits and optional challenges for the next competition round.
Competition Rules
1. Entry is open to any registered member of Mirabile Visu. Registration is quick, simple and free.
2. Each participant is limited to one prose and one poem entry per competition session.
3. Each entry, whether poetry or prose, must have some clear relation to one of the topics for the session, and must fit within the word limits set for the session.
4. Entries must be the original work of the participant, and may not be submitted in violation of any publishing rights held by other parties.
5. An entry is only considered to be submitted to the competition once it has been received by the competition coordinator or posted to the relevant competition thread (see the stickied threads in this forum for the current competition threads). Entrants may edit their entries at any time after posting, up until the competition deadline.
6. It is not necessary to have submitted an entry to the competition to be able to vote on the results.
7. Votes are limited to one prose entry and one poetry entry per voter per competition session.
8. Competition entrants may not vote for their own submissions.
If you have any further questions about the SSIW competition, please feel free to ask them in this thread, or in the current Readers' Comments thread.
Good luck!
Short Sharp Imaginative Writing (SSIW) is a flash fiction competition that challenges you to fit a complete story or poem into a tight word limit, while still inspiring and engaging your reader. The aim is to cut down on unnecessary wordiness and to find creative and unusual ways to approach new subjects in your writing.
In each competition session, there are several set topics around which you must base your entries, as well as a fixed word limit. You can find details of the current topics, word limits and deadline in the two stickied competition threads in this forum. In addition, there will usually be an optional challenge, which participants may choose to attempt should they wish.
Deadlines are typically set for midnight (board time, GMT) on a Sunday. You can find a reminder of the current deadline and topics in the MV sidebar, to the left.
What is a typical SSIW session like?
SSIW sessions typically last around two to three weeks, during which time participants compose their pieces, post them and offer comments/critiques on other submissions.
Topics are chosen by the winners of the previous competition round, and can range from the highly concrete (such as "The Boots" or "The Bridge") through to more abstract topics (such as "Through a Glass Darkly" or "Confession"). You can see more examples of the topics that have been chosen in the past, as well as the winning stories and poems based on them, in the Hall of Fame threads in this forum.
Word limits are typically set at between 500 and 1000 for prose and between 250 and 500 for poems, although on occasion we have strayed outside these limits in both directions.
How do I submit an entry?
To submit an entry for an anonymous round, you should e-mail your entry to the competition coordinator. (See the current competition flyers for details of who this is.) The coordinator will allocate a code number to your story and post it in this forum, so that you are not revealed as the author until the competition is closed.
For non-anonymous rounds, you should post your entry yourself, in the appropriate competition thread sometime before the deadline. There are separate threads for poetry and prose, so make sure you submit to the right one. You may submit up to one poem and one prose entry in each competition round.
I've submitted my entry - what happens now?
As well as submitting an entry, part of the fun of SSIW is in reading and commenting on the entries submitted by other people. You can see what other people have to say about your submission by checking out the Readers' Comments thread. You are also encouraged to post your own comments on the pieces submitted by others, and should feel free to use the Comments thread as a place to chat generally about the competition and ask questions.
How is the winner selected?
After the competition deadline, participants (and MV members in general) are asked to vote for the story and poem that they liked best out of those submitted. The winning pieces will be those that receive the most votes.
How do I vote?
To vote, you should send an e-mail message or EZBoard Private Message to Valamber, our Mistress of Ceremonies, by the advertised deadline. (The voting deadline is usually set for a couple of days after the competition deadline, and will be advertised on the MV sidebar.)
You may vote for up to one story and up to one poem, but you may not vote for your own submissions. When you vote, make sure that your message clearly identifies the story and/or poem you want to vote for. You may also pass on any comments on why you liked the pieces you are voting for, and these will be included (anonymously) in the announcement of the winning entries.
What's the prize for winning?
A prize of $20 is awarded to the winner in each category. This will be paid to the winner either through PayPal, or as an Amazon voucher, at the winner's choice.
Winning entries are added to the SSIW Hall of Fame. In addition, winners are asked to choose the topics and set the word limits and optional challenges for the next competition round.
Competition Rules
1. Entry is open to any registered member of Mirabile Visu. Registration is quick, simple and free.
2. Each participant is limited to one prose and one poem entry per competition session.
3. Each entry, whether poetry or prose, must have some clear relation to one of the topics for the session, and must fit within the word limits set for the session.
4. Entries must be the original work of the participant, and may not be submitted in violation of any publishing rights held by other parties.
5. An entry is only considered to be submitted to the competition once it has been received by the competition coordinator or posted to the relevant competition thread (see the stickied threads in this forum for the current competition threads). Entrants may edit their entries at any time after posting, up until the competition deadline.
6. It is not necessary to have submitted an entry to the competition to be able to vote on the results.
7. Votes are limited to one prose entry and one poetry entry per voter per competition session.
8. Competition entrants may not vote for their own submissions.
If you have any further questions about the SSIW competition, please feel free to ask them in this thread, or in the current Readers' Comments thread.
Good luck!
We're all just talkin' 
