Calling all simmie storytellers …
seasoned veterans …
recent rookies …
BRAND new beginners …
and even you WANNABE tale spinners.
Every month I will post a theme blog that your short story must reflect.
Also in that blog, there will be specifications indicated as to word count and a number of required screenshots (I would say the norm would be around 500 to 800 words and 5 to 8 screenies).
The deadline will be the last day of every month at midnight Pacific Standard Time.
This is a EA forum based challenge and your story is to be posted in your personal blog and linked to the forum site (if you are too new to the forum to post let me know).
Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge – Forum Link
I will then publish a blog with all the entries listed for voting (by participants AND outside readers) that will take place the 1st thru the 7th of each month.
I do not expect the more inexperienced writers to go up against the veterans so we have a two-fold challenge every month.
In each blog there will be 2 banners for you to choose from (these are examples):
You will pick where you feel you belong and enter accordingly (placing the banner at the top of your story).
Participants ARE ALLOWED – even encouraged to let their readers know that they are participating in the challenge.
BUT here is the caveat, their readers MUST be strongly encouraged to read all entries and vote in accordance with instructions. This instruction must be CLEARLY stated by the participant when the readers are informed.
Readers will be asked to vote for their top 3 choices in both categories (6 votes total). We ask our participants to please be fair!
Social media:
Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge FB Page
If this link does not work, please ask for an invite to our Discord.
Contemplating an instagram or Tumbr presence – need volunteers!
I will help in any way I can. Feel free to connect!
For those who are BRAND new to this and want to try here are a few things to do to get ready:
- Find a host site for your story.
While Tumblr and the EA Forum are alright for hosting a short story blog, they can be difficult to navigate and locating your current story could be a problem for some. I would recommend using any one of the free blog hosts that are out there.
- WordPress – most popular free site (I love the statistics because I can tell who is reading and where they clicked in from .. plus the reader is FAB)
- Blogger – been around the longest
- Weebly
- wix – Wix brands and ad on blog
- Do your homework ( How to choose the best blog host for you )
- If you have not established a User profile in The Sims Forum, go ahead and do so now. It will take you a bit to get some posting privileges (Screenshots, links & profile pic).
- The Sims Forum
- Be sure to bookmark the forum Monthly Short Stories thread by clicking on the star
- Get some other good bookmarks in order
Thesaurus Avoid word redundancy! Find different ways to say it.
Bulk Resize Photos Resizing your pics not only saves free space in your blog it will make it easier for your phone readers to load them. Best is 600 to 1000 pixels wide. This is a FAB resizer!
Game Shot Tutorial Your shots should be more than eye candy. They need to convey parts of the story as much as the words do. In simlit both are equally important.
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