Madpea Writing Contest: THE DEATH VOTE

Madpeas held their first creative writing contest. The goal was to write about Death Row Island for a Halloween hunt and writers had only 5 days to do it. Many stories were submitted, but only one can win. There are also prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. Since there are so many great stories, each day one of the stories submitted will be published on the Madpea blog leading up to the Halloween hunt starting Oct 6th. My story was published on the Madpea blog today (warts and all! *blush*). I assume that means it was not picked. Loosing is sad for me personally of course, but it is also exciting for me as a hunter because whichever story did win, it will to be amazing and created by a new super talent who has just been discovered!

Readers of my blog have enjoyed my little short stories for a while now. Maybe you can critique my effort and/or enjoy a short trip into my imagination. Head over to the Madpea's blog to read my story here: THE DEATH VOTE

Deep in the Pacific Ocean there is a floating pile of garbage twice the size of the United States. It's within the center of this swirling mass that civilization's other trash is held: terrorists, murderers, and the criminally insane. Death Row Island, as it is called, serves as a secret prison where the government can make certain undesirable people disappear, no questions asked.

Good start, right? Well, it gets weaker after that. lol. If you would like to give feedback on my story, I invite you to post to the comments here on my blog or you can send me a message/notecard inworld to DevinVaughn resident. ...And don't worry, I'm not thin skinned. Good critique is necessary to improving one's skill! Fire away!

Now more details about the story.... I had no idea what to write at first. Often when it comes to creative problem solving, you need to avoid your first thought and instead reach deeper. I spent three and half days thinking only about concept. Afterall, an island of criminals is not a trip to Disney World. lol. My idea of the Death Vote (literally being voted off the island) was my first idea. Maybe it was good, or maybe it was bad. lol I had three false starts. The characters were such horrible people, I lost interest in writing this story. (This is not one serial killer like in normal Madpea games, but all of them!) There had to be an angle that made it worth the effort. When I hit upon an idea to turn the doctor from criminally insane to innocent young college student, all the pieces fell into place. Sadly, once I had worked out the major problems, I had only one day to write it. This story truly needed much more time to flesh out, but maybe it's a good thing the deadline was only 5 days so it cut me off from spinning my wheels on a concept that might not have been the right one for a Madpeas hunt. It does matter to me I didn't give up. I was so relieved when I hit that send button.

I want to thank my Family, Fulli, Azure, and Remmy for their help, feedback, and encouragement. Thank you!