Flash Fiction Challenge 2010 Begins... Now!

Those in search of a spark to break their writer’s block need look no further: The 2010 Flash Fiction Challenge is here! No, really—the deadline to register is today, Aug. 11. The international short-story fiction competition (formerly called the Creative Writing Championships) is in its third year and is sponsored by NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, an organization focused on discovering new talent in storytelling, be it on film or in writing. Writers must stick to 1,000 words or fewer for each story, the first of which has to be written this weekend starting on Friday. Judges then apply a points system to their favorite pieces, and the top contenders move on to the next round (there are four rounds; entrants are guaranteed to participate in at least two of them). Organizers assign each participant a genre (such as crime caper, historical fiction, fairy tale), a location (a baseball stadium, hallway, locker room, whathaveyou), and an object (a toothbrush, a TV, a banana) to be featured in each piece, so writers can expect to be forced out of their creative comfort zone. Which is how most works of genius come about, right? Right. Now get caffeinated and get writing.