Flash 500 Villainous Switch Contest

Details

Deadline:Nov 16, 2012
Fee:Free

An excellent villain can make or break your story. If they're over the top, they come off like a comic book villain (and not The Joker. More like MegaMind). If they're underplayed, they aren't interesting. Finding the right balance between dastardly and insane, capable and terrifying yet still relatable is incredibly tricky. In the spirit of our NaNo-tacular November, this is going to be a challenge to get to know your villain better.

In no more than 500 words, write the scene in which your villain becomes the villain. It's backstory, but well-written backstory. It must be from the perspective of your antagonist, no one else. No tense restriction.

Time to take a walk on the darker side of your novel.

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

1st prize:$15 cash via PayPal

Rules

  • Entries must be received before midnight of Friday, November 16th (UTC time) and the winners will be announced within one week of that date.

  • Entries must be written from the perspective of your villain in no more than 500 words, describing the moment they become the villain of your story.

  • Sharing what you've learned makes these mini-contests better for everybody: although we don't require it, we'd appreciate it if you come weigh in on the group discussion thread here.

  • Only one entry per pair, please. Multiple entries will all be disqualified.

  • Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until a winner is announced.

  • Winners must have a valid PayPal account or we won't be able to send the prize money!

Submission guidelines

  • To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says "Enter this work into the Flash 500 Villainous Switch Contest". The system will automatically enter your work. You can see this checkbox until the contest deadline, given in UTC time.

  • We don't charge anyone to enter, but you'll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of work by other members.

  • If you have placed in a contest in the past with a particular piece, you may not resubmit that piece in other contests.