2023 Random Title Writing Contest

Hello once more to all you ghouls and goblins. It’s time for what has become an at least annual tradition here on the wiki: a contest! 2022 featured both liminal spaces and a wheel of misfortune, but this year, we’re asking one simple question…

What’s in a title?

A lot, some people might tell you. And those people would be right. The best titles not only pique a potential reader’s interest, but also have a meaningful connection with the story itself. Luckily, you won’t have to worry about coming up with a title this year, because we’re going to be giving them to you.

Read on for further details…

How to Participate[]

Crafting an entire narrative from a meagre chain of words can be challenging, so for this contest, we’re focused on two additional concepts: freedom and variety. At the bottom of this post is a list of genre categories from the site. Begin by picking any category from said list and locking in your choice with a comment. You’ll be given a title corresponding to that category, which you are to base your story off of. Choose wisely, though; we have 37 categories and 37 titles available, so once you pick yours, you won’t be able to switch, and no-one else will be able to pick that category, either.

Be as creative as you like - you don’t need to reference the title directly, but it should have some key relevance to your story. Also, the category you pick doesn’t have to be the only category applicable to the story. If you pick “Mental Illness” and end up writing a pasta that involves a crazed maniac hacking up his loved ones with an axe, feel free to slap “Dismemberment” on that bad boy, too. The category you pick absolutely should, however, be the main and most suitable one. We reserve the right to dock points for a story that leans too heavily on other categories, or just neglects the one it was assigned.

With that being said, please only pick a category if you’re sure you can produce a story within the time frame of the contest, as you may be depriving others of their first choice when making your selection. If you are no longer confident that you’ll be able to write something by the contest’s end, let us know ASAP so that we may free up your category for others. Thank you in advance.

Anyone is eligible to participate in this contest, so long as they follow the rules of this wiki and the contest itself.

Judges/Judging System[]

The judges for this contest are myself, Tewahway, and Kolpik. We will be scoring entries based on four main criteria and two more minor, technical ones. The first four criteria will be worth 10 points each and the last two will be worth five points each. This means that each judge has a total of 50 points to award to a story, with each entry earning a maximum of 150 points.

Execution[]

This is the first main criteria and refers to the structure and presentation of your story, mainly in relation to its plot. Was the build-up effective? Was the payoff satisfactory? Were the characters believable? A rushed, poorly thought-out story will score low in this category.

Originality[]

This is the second main criteria and refers to the creativity and imaginativeness of your story. To score highly in this category, avoid clichés, tropes, and recycled garbage, or find unique and clever ways to utilise them!

Use of Title[]

This is the third main criteria and refers to how you implement your assigned title in your story. It's one thing to write a good pasta, but if it has little to do with the prompt you receive, then we can't score it highly in this category.

Use of Category[]

This is the fourth main criteria and refers to how you implement your chosen category in your story. If a story has little to do with the category you chose, or relies too heavily on other categories, it will not be scored highly here.

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar[]

Not much explaining to do here. I'm sure you're all aware of what this criteria entails. It's an easy 5/5 points if you remember to proofread your work (though a couple of mistakes here and there won't entail any serious consequences).

Syntax[]

This is more to do with eloquence and style of writing than just plain technical accuracy. Dull descriptions and bland, forgettable wording will not serve you well here, but make sure not to go too over-the-top.

General Rules[]

All entries must be posted as an onsite article in order to be counted. Google doc and pastebin links will be ignored.
All entries must meet the wiki's Quality Standards.
All entries must not be Spinoffs or include any kind of blacklisted subject.
All entries must be 100% original and written specifically for the contest. This means no pre-existing pastas.
All entries (excluding poems) must be within 500 and 7500 words. Entries that exceed or fall short of this margin will not be accepted unless they are edited to an appropriate size.

Additionally, feel free to post your story on the Writer's Workshop prior to posting it as an article. Just don't expect myself or either other judge to provide any feedback there.

Story Formatting Guidelines[]

As well as all the relevant categories (including the contest category), entries must include an author's note indicating that the story is for the contest. This can be achieved by copy-pasting the following template at the very top of the page:

{{AN|This is my entry for [[User:Cornconic|Cornconic]]'s Random Title writing contest. The category I chose was ______.}}

Entries must also include the 'by-user' template at the very bottom of the page to make it clear who has submitted the story:

{{By-user|insert your username here}}

The Timeline[]

The contest has officially begun with the creation of this blog post. This means that from now until the 14th of August, you should let us know you're participating by leaving a message in the comments section. Please keep in mind that we will not be accepting story entries until the 1st of August, or one week from now.

This is so that authors can ensure that their stories are of the utmost quality before they are submitted. After all, you can't just pump out a story in a day or two and expect it to do well without frequent revision. I implore you to take this first week to make your stories as polished as possible. Eliminate unnecessary sentences, tweak descriptions, make sure it all flows as smoothly as possible.

Once you have submitted your story, we would appreciate it if you could keep any additional editing to a minimum. The last day to submit a story is the 28th of August, so you have plenty of time to ensure that the uploaded version is the best it can possibly be. Fixing a couple of typos won't merit any consequences, but an extensive change will force us to mark you down.

As soon as your story is published to the site, you should let us know by commenting the link. The scores will be announced a week after the contest concludes, on the ~~4th of September~~ 10th of September.

Why You Should Participate[]

One word: prizes. The top four winning entries will receive a very special prize in the form of their stories being read by a selection of talented YouTube narrators. Those narrators are:

This, of course, is a great way to get your writing across to a new platform, and therefore a larger audience, where it can receive further feedback and recognition.

If that wasn't enough, then I should also inform you that the 1st place, winning entry will receive the elusive 'Contest Winner' category, one which is listed on only a handful of pages out of the roughly 13,000 on the wiki. This category is featured in the 'Suggested Reading' tab of the 'Story Content' drop-down box at the top of the page, further increasing the spread of your work across the site should you attain it. Pretty sweet, eh?

If that wasn't enough, then the winning entry will also receive a spot on the front page of the wiki, which is about as much exposure as you can get without going offsite.

To Conclude[]

I think I've managed to cover just about everything, but if you have any more questions, feel free to let me know on my talk page or in the comments section of this blog. I'll add a continuous list of which categories have been taken below to avoid confusion, as well as the full list of titles once the entry deadline passes.

I'm excited to read all your spooky stories. I'll finish with the same advice I gave in my last two contests (though it's still just as relevant): be thorough, patient, and above all else, have fun. Your story probably won't turn out very well if it feels like a chore to write.

Categories/Titles List[]

(note: does not include every general use story category on the site. See this page for an exhaustive list of categories and how to use them.)

Animals | taken by Mmpratt99 deviantart | Title: "King of the Jungle"
Beings | untaken | Title: "A Fuzzy Feeling"
- Cryptids | taken by Ganimes | Title: "The Minotaur of Stag Creek"
- Demon/Devil | untaken | Title: "Satan's Bride"
- Ghosts | taken by ZugZuwang | Title: "Cold Spots"
- Gods | taken by Sadguybluu | Title: "The Champion's Domain"
- Monsters | taken by HopelessNightOwl | Title: "The Boy Who Never Cried Wolf"
Books | taken by ClericofMadness | Title: "Chapter 4, Page 7"
Christmas | taken by Whitecrow233 | Title: "Stocking Stuffers"
Computers and Internet | taken by Postuhenin | Title: "Howl.net"
Crime | taken by JtKfan420 | Title: "Body Cam"
Diary/Journal | taken by Rephlexi0n | Title: "Undocumented"
Disappearances | taken by ADotFightMe | Title: "Alone in a Crowd"
Dismemberment | taken by SerenaWrites | Title: "Dead Meat, Still Moving"
Dreams/Sleep | taken by StalkerShrike | Title: "Waking Up Grinning"
Food | taken by Macciata | Title: "Skin and Bone"
Halloween | taken by ScarletQuill | Title: "Take One"
History | taken by Dgrady237 | Title: "Doomed"
Hospitals | taken by Raidra | Title: "Five Wards Down"
Items/Objects | taken by Rika8484 | Title: "Glass Eyes in Fake Heads"
Mental Illness | taken by TetsuyaH | Title: "In a Shadow, In a Heartbeat"
Military | taken by Shadowswimmer77 | Title: "FUBAR"
Mirrors | taken by Graciliss | Title: "Future Reflections"
Music taken by TungaskanFiend | Title: "A Sound Like No Other"
Nature | taken by TheCornFlakesRooster | Title: "A Single Blade of Grass"
Photography | taken by Alparos-Lilah | Title: "Picture Perfect"
Places | taken by William See | Title: "Tombstone Alley"
Poetry | untaken | Title: "Anna Phora"
Reality | taken by ExRwood | Title: "The Nine Principles of Existence"
Ritual | taken by HyperThermal | Title: "How to Make a Friend"
Science | taken by Creepy Thomas O. | Title: "The Dawkins Trials"
Space | taken by Maxz92 | Title: "Shine"
Television | taken by MakRalston | Title: "That Show You Love"
Theory | untaken | "Life's Final Test"
Vehicles | taken by IommicRiffs | Title: "The Chauffeur"
Video Games | taken by Glisario | Title: "Collector's Edition"
Weird | taken by The Vesper's Bell | Title: "Amongst the Radishes"

Entries in Chronological Order[]

The Champion's Domain by Sadguybluu (Gods)
King of the Jungle by Mmpratt99 deviantart (Animals)
A Sound Like No Other by TungaskanFiend (Music)
Five Wards Down by Raidra (Hospitals)
How to Make a Friend by HyperThermal (Ritual)
Amongst the Radishes by The Vesper's Bell (Weird)
Stocking Stuffers by Whitecrow233 (Christmas)
Waking Up Grinning by StalkerShrike (Dreams/Sleep)
That Show You Love by MakRalston (Television)
Dead Meat, Still Moving by SerenaWrites (Dismemberment)
Alone in a Crowd by ADotFightMe (Disappearances)
Picture Perfect by Alparos-Lilah (Photography)
The Minotaur of Stag Creek by Ganimes (Cryptids)
Doomed by Dgrady237 (History)
Undocumented by Rephlexi0n (Diary/Journal)
Chapter 4, Page 7 by ClericofMadness (Books)
The Chauffeur by IommicRiffs (Vehicles)
Shine by Maxz92 (Space)
Take One by ScarletQuill (Halloween)
Tombstone Alley by William See (Places)
The Nine Principles of Existence by ExRwood (Reality)
Glass Eyes in Fake Heads by Rika8484 (Items/Objects)
The Dawkins Trials by Creepy Thomas O. (Science)
Howl.net by Postuhenin (Computers/Internet)
Body Cam by JtKfan420 (Crime)
A Single Blade of Grass by TheCornFlakesRooster (Nature)
FUBAR by Shadowswimmer77 (Military)
Collector's Edition by Glisario (Video Games)
Skin and Bone by Macciata (Food)

Results[]

29 entries, a couple delays, and several tens of thousands of words later...I think me and the rest of the judging team need a nap. Big shoutouts to Tewahway and Kolpik for helping me get through this larger-than-anticipated workload. We can't complain too much, though; as far as work goes, reading scary stories is pretty fun, and it's always worth bringing the community together.

Apologies once again for keeping you all waiting. There are a small amount of reviews yet to be written at the time of this writing, but they will soon be provided.

So, here are our verdicts...

1st place