Good evening everybody! This is Aifos coming to you alive from Aifos Tonight! (Applause) And we've got a very special episode for you today! Yes, that's right, it's time for our very own writing contest: Project Spinel! (Applause) Now, some of you may be wondering "What the jannolor is this guy on about"? Well, allow me to explain! Here, yes, right here in Offtopic, we're having our very own writing contest, run by your truly! Isn't that exciting? I say we just jump right into it! So without further adieu, heeeeeeere is our writing prompt! [b][u][i]The Writing Prompt[/b][/u][/i] [spoiler]An explosion. The spacecraft falls from the sky, and crash lands on an alien planet. There were almost no survivors, and the few that did make it, had already picked up and left the crash. But, they left someone behind; a small gardener robot, that was most likely mistaken for just another piece of the wreckage. The little robot awakes, and the first thing it does is scramble to check on its crop, but it's no use, all of its plants are dead. For a moment, it's overcome with sorrow, but then he notices something. One plant survived. Looking around, it realizes that this wrecked ship is in no condition to support his plant, so he moves it into a more transportable method, and sets off into this hostile alien world.[/spoiler] Now what do you do with this prompt? You can use it as your intro! Or your ending! Or you can not actually use it at all, and just let the general idea inspire you! As long as whatever you write relates to this in some way! An important note, though; if you try to bypass the prompt in anyway (and then the robot gets sniped, and we move to our main character on the other side of the planet!) then you will lose points. Just make sure your piece has something to do with the prompt! Now, what do you get when you win? Glad you asked! 1st place will get 3 vials of this probably-not-harmful Spinel Tonic! Where did it come from? Who knows! In addition, they will receive a free tour of this recording studio I'm standing in right now! Sure, it's a very boring building, but a tour is a tour, right!? And finally, they'll receive this broken sword blade! I don't know who it belongs to! [spoiler]If you have any ideas for an [i]actual[/i] reward, feel free to ask. Anything involving money is off limits for obvious reasons.[/spoiler] 2nd place will also get 3 vials of probably-not-harmful Spinel Tonic! And finally, 3rd place will get.. Um.. Well, I have this cat toy here, I guess. Alright, with all that out of the way, let's talk about how, and when to turn it in! In order to make an entry, you have two options. One; post a thread here on Offtopic, titled "Project Spinel Entry: (Your title here)", and then give it the Project Spinel tag "Spinel1". The tag is [b][u]VERY[/b][/u] important. I wont read these things as you post them, I will be reading them all at once on the due date, and I'll be finding them by clicking the Spinel1 tag on this post. To make sure your entry makes it in, click the tag and make sure this post pops up on the list. The second option is to PM me a link to some outside source, such as a Google Doc. This is mostly just if you don't want to share your entry with everybody. I would encourage you to use the first option, though; half the fun of a writing contest is everyone reading along! There's no text limit, but I would encourage you to please not write anything too long. I'll have a lot to read, after all. There is, however, a time limit. I will start reading through all the entries on Sunday, April 19th. That gives you a little over a week to get your entries in! Don't be upset if I don't say anything about your entry immediately; in order to avoid "recency bias" (the idea that I will favor whatever I read most recently), I won't be reading a word of any of the entries, until the due date actually roles around! (and I'll probably regret that, when I spend all day doing nothing but reading, but y'know, whatever) And I think that's the big stuff. If you're having trouble I've come up with a few tips in the spoiler below! But other than that, happy writing! A few tips: [spoiler]-If you're having trouble getting a plot going, it usually helps me to start by giving my character a clear goal. Is your little gardener robot trying to find the other survivors? Looking for a lake to water the plant with? Maybe he's attacked, and is just trying to flee. Y'know, whatever. -I was very vague about both the robot and the plant on purpose. It can be a humanoid robot, a spider robot, whatever. The plant could be anything from a flower in a vase, to a tree being carried by a vehicle, and so on. Don't be afraid to stretch the ideas, either. It might just be a robot transporting a plant around, but maybe instead it could also be grafting the plant into his back, and having its awesome plant powers turn him into a high powered robot ninja! Go crazy! -If you're having trouble writing after the impact, try writing about what happened onboard the ship before it crashed. Where was it going? Why did it crash? Did the robot have anything to do with it? Or vice versa, if you're having trouble writing from before the impact try writing after. How is the robot going to keep the plant alive? Does he find the other survivors? Are they happy to see him, or do they want to kill him? -Most importantly, though, remember this is all just for fun! So have fun![/spoiler] [b][u]Tl;dr? Here's my point[/b][/u] Writing contest! See the prompt above, and make a post titled "Project Spinel Entry: (Your title here)", and the tag "Spinel1". You have until Sunday, April 19th! But that's all for now, folk! Jambuhbye!