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Contest #26

Contest #26 began on June 13, 2014.

Its premise is:
STRAIGHTFORWARD

This contest’s premise is about technique, not content. Your story can be about almost anything you like*, but all of your story’s events must be presented in chronological order. In other words, time must move only forward in your story—NO FLASHBACKS ARE ALLOWED. (No “flash forwards,” either—meaning no glimpses of the future that return the story to the present.) Start at some point in time, take us “straight forward” through the story’s events, and end when it’s over.

Your challenge: Write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long that clearly uses the contest premise.

*The permanent rule of “No children’s fiction, no exploitative sex, and no over-the-top gross-out horror” still applies.

Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Saturday, September 5, 2015.

Remember to take all identifying information out of your story! Tell us who you are in the space provided for the cover letter, NOT in your story! No headers, no bylines… just the story.

If your contest entry does not get selected for publication, we will critique it for $15 (US dollars). See here for more details.

If you have questions, ask us at Questions@OnThePremises.com.