Online Science Fiction Writing

The event will have three categories:-

• Conventional Short Story Writing
• Short Sketch Writing
• Graphic Science Fiction

These are the topics for the Conventional Short Story and the Short Sketch categories. As mentioned earlier, you may choose to digress from the topics given below. Also, topics are not being provided for the Graphic Science Fiction category as we believe that for this segment, your imagination should be your sole lodestar.
Do remember to read the Rules and Regulations before you submit your entries.

Conventional Short Story Writing

• Write a short story about a dystopian future where the government has banned laughter and has devices set up everywhere to detect it and punish those who indulge in it.

• A scientist who discovers that his superior intelligence stands in the way of meeting women decides to create the perfect woman with hilarious results.

• Write a humorous SF story with the following words/phrases in it -Shaastra nights, vegetarianism, spontaneous human combustion, reverse psychology, infatuation, Elvis Presley, time machine

• Your protagonist is a cranky old man who wakes up one morning and finds a little green alien boy with a penchant for giggling. The boy is a member of the Intergalactic Boy Scouts Movement and has decided to change the old man's grouchiness (and his life) as his good deed of the day.

• Write a short story entitled - The Day Darth Vader Lost his Inhaler.

• Write a story on the following premise – In the year 2100, governments all over the world have decided that mediocrity has no place in society. With sophisticated methods of genetic engineering in place, the traits of children are determined and altered before birth. A couple that is expecting a baby does not want their child to undergo genetic modification.

• Most works of Science Fiction are set in the future. But in your story, pick an epoch in history to set your characters in. There should be evident elements of Science Fiction in the story.

• In the future, governments implement euthanasia to prevent those who are fatally ill or genetically malformed from appropriating the resources of those who are healthy and have a longer life to live. Robots are designed to perform euthanasia. One such robot develops maternal instincts towards a 10 year old boy suffering from a fatal disease. What happens next?

 
Short Sketch Writing

• One of the most famous stories in Science Fiction is the following extremely short story –

Write a taut account describing what happens next.

• A crew that was sent to a mission in outer space returns to Earth with their memories erased. The Captain’s log is all that remains to provide any information about what happened. Write the last entry of the Captain’s log.

• An asteroid is about to collide with the Earth. Because there is no way of preventing the collision, the Earth is being evacuated. But your protagonist and a few others decide to stay back on Earth and await their fates. Recount the last hour of your protagonist’s life.

•  Report the first session of an intergalactic Parliament for a newspaper. Provide a suitable headline for the report.

• Prepare a report on humanity from the perspective of an extra-terrestrial who has come to Earth to ascertain if humanity is ready to establish contact with its race.

• Write a humorous transcript for the conversation in the following image -

 

 

 

The rules for each category of the event are:-

• Conventional Short Story Writing - In this category, the participant will have to write a short story not exceeding 2500 words. The topics will be provided though the participant may choose to digress from those topics and develop his/her own storyline.

• Short Sketch Writing - In this category, the participants will have to write short sketches of 500 to 1000 words. The participant may choose to digress from the provided topics but should ensure that his/her work adheres to the format of Short Sketch Writing. A Short Sketch needs to be a standalone piece of fiction despite the fact that every element of the plot is not to be stated explicitly. In other words, your entries should provide sufficient hints that would allow a reader to fill in the blanks with his/her imagination.

• Graphic Science Fiction - This is a new and exciting category in which teams of upto five members can participate. The participants will have to submit their entries in the format of graphic fiction. For more details on graphic fiction, visit the wiki page HERE. The entries should contain illustrations replete with engaging dialogue between characters.Topics will not be provided for this category.

Last Date for Submission of Entries - September 27, 2009
For more information on the format in which entries are to be sent in, please read the FAQ page.

1. Do I have to register for this event?
No registration is required for Online Science Fiction Writing.

2. Where do I send in my entries to?
Please send in your entries as attachments to onlinesciencefiction@shaastra.org. The subject line should be the name of the category you are submitting your entry to. Also, please don't forget to mention your name and the name of your college.

3. What format should the entries be in?
For Conventional Short Story Writing and Short Sketch Writing, send in your entries as documents in Word or PDF.
For the Graphic Science Fiction Category, send in your entries in JPEG or PDF.

4. How many entries can I send in?
You can send in entries for all three categories - but only one entry per category.

The Short Sketch Category was judged by Cory Doctorow. The winners are -

First - Nikhil George Punnoose, IITM
Second - Vishnu M J, IITM

The Conventional Story Writing Category was judged by Samit Basu. The winners are -

First - Joseph J, IITM
Second - Kaushik Vishwanath, IITM

Graphic Science Fiction Category:

No winners.
Appreciation: Abhirup Dutta and Sandeep Albert Mathias, NITK

For any queries contact us at,
onlinesciencefiction@shaastra.org