A WINNER!

After much deliberation (and a generous amount of gin), I have declared the winner of the True Story (or make me believe you if it's not) contest to be Anndraya.

Anndraya, you need to tell me which batch of winnin's you'd like.

I'd like to give a nod here to Smarty Pants, who took the challenge (even though he said he wasn't going to) and then embetterulated it with a contest of his own. And because this not at all humble Supreme Ruler had so much fun with it, she is going to steal it.

Best opening line. Go.

I'll put up a voting poll thingummy. Enter as many times as you'd like. Best line wins, and sets the next challenge.

I AM SUPREME RULER

As I have declared myself, because I totally effing won that last textFIGHT. Since losers never decide the path history shall take, *I* will do that. Because I effing WON. Bitches.

So.

This textFIGHT, which is open to EVERYONE (I am an egalitarian supreme ruler), will be to tell me a story. It can be fiction; but you have to make me believe it really happened, whether or not it actually did happen. Something embarrassing that you did or that happened to you once, that time you were in danger...the time your mother did that thing with the kitchen appliances and it shocked you. I don't care what the story is, but you must present it as (as the book snobs say,) literary non-fiction. Again, whether it actually *is* fictional, I don't care. Nobody will know but you if it *actually* happened.

It doesn't even have to be something that happened to *you*. Just something that happened which you know about.

Length, girth, and volume is completely up to you. I should prefer prose, but if you'd like to write a narrative poem, you go right ahead. I shall be offering a prize for the winner of this competition. I shall send the victor something of mine or something of my creation, whether that's a selection of books from my library, or a batch of cookies, I don't yet know. Perhaps the entrants should comment on what sort of prize they would like, from the examples given below.

The deadline for this contest is March 31th. Extra points will be given to any entrant who brings a new textFIGHTer to the board.

Here are the judging criteria:
Spelling/Grammar - if it's readable, I'm good. No points awarded for good grammar/spelling.

Content - 25 points

Style - 25 points

Bringing in a new textFIGHTer - 30 points

Entering textFIGHT for the first time - 50 points

I know this doesn't add up to 100. I'm a writer, not a mathematician.

LET'S GET IT ON!

Possible prizes:
1. Batch of cookies (alert cenobyte to any food sensitivities/allergies)
2. Batch of books (from cenobyte's library)
3. Batch of socks (home-made; may take time)
4. Batch of bats (I'm kidding. I want to keep my bats)

**Addendum: If you'd prefer to send me your submission by email, you may do so at c3n0byte at gmail dot com. I will post it in the comments section here, but you may wish to remain anonymous or some such silly thing.

Homesick WINNA!

Here are the final vote tallies that I took from Survey Monkey this morning:

Cenobyte: 11
Ryan: 2
Grymm: 3

Congratulations, Ceno!

The winner gets to pick their favorite line from their entry poem to turn into the next challenge! Or, you know, do whatever you want, as is the textFIGHT way.

FIGHT/VOTE

Here are the entries for the Homesick challenge:

Cenobyte
Ryan
Grymm

Give them a good read, and then VOTE!
I'll keep the voting poll open until Tuesday (March 5)... which seems like a long enough time.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Throwing Down the Glove Again

Hello, TextFIGHTERs. I've been mulling over an idea for the last few days and I can't shake it, so I've come to throw down the glove and challenge you all. But first, a story and a poem.

I was having one of those introspective moments after looking at pics of friends, and I, in a fit of whimsy, tweeted, "Sometimes I feel homesick for homes I never had." The line stuck with me, and so I wrote it into a poem. I'm not that pleased with it, but it has its moments.

Sometimes I get homesick for homes I never had
only tasted different lives different moms different dads
You and I with babies all around
He and I with music singing sound

homesick for your smile
homesick for your touch
the only home we shared a memory
of dreams that we could live in harmony

idle talk fantasy whispers in the dark
conjured up this long lost tomorrow never come
the shadows of our lives betray what never was
and the power of those intimacies shake foundations

Is home a promise fulfilled
then unfulfilled homesick girl

I think that "Sometimes I feel homesick for homes I never had" deserves a better poem, and if you have the guts, see if you can give it its due. In fact, in the spirit of the old textFIGHT glory days, I'm going to turn it into a competition. You have until next Friday to post your link in the comments, and I'll make up a voting poll to see who will come out on top.

The winner gets to pick their favorite line from their entry poem to turn into the next challenge.

So, deadline is Friday, March 4th. Your challenge is to write a poem using the line "Sometimes I feel homesick for homes I never had."

FIGHT!

EDIT: A reader has pointed out that the line in my poem is different than the line in the challenge. Use either one. Just write!