I write stuff for kids...and muse on writing, children's books, and the publishing industry in general

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Second Campaigner Challenge

(Source)
Repost: Originally posted September 22nd

I hope you all had fun with my First Campaigner Challenge, because it's time for the Second! And this one's even more challenging, so I've given you a week and a half to write it :D

The Challenge is:
Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:
  • include the word "imago" in the title
  • include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"
If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.
For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!
Once you’ve posted your Challenge post on your blog, pop back here and link directly to it in the Linky List below (please make sure you include the direct link to your post, not just the link to your blog!).

Entries in the Second Campaigner Challenge will close on Monday, October 3rd (at 11.59pm EDT). That's a week and a half (longer this time), so make sure you get your post in the Linky List before then if you want to be eligible for a prize! As usual, while everyone is very welcome to take part in this Challenge, only Campaigners will be eligible for prizes.

There will be heaps more awesome prizes awarded this Challenge, both for the entries that are judged the best and through Random.org. We're talking ARCs, books, critiques, and other items galore! My thanks go to everyone who has volunteered to donate prizes. You're all awesome!!!

I've again set up the Linky List to let you "Like" entries, so make sure you come back here and vote. Winners this Challenge will be determined solely on the basis of your votes. This is an honor system, so please don't take advantage of this process either on your own or another's behalf. "Like" voting will close on Friday, October 14th.

I'll (hopefully) be announcing the winners on Saturday, October 15th.

So, all that remains is to enjoy. Leave a comment to let me know you're doing the Challenge. Have fun writing your post, then pop round to the other entrants, check out their posts, follow and comment, and decide which entry or entries YOU like the best!

And don't forget to add your name and post link to the Linky Link below before 11.59 pm on Monday, October 3rd!

IMPORTANT: DON'T PUT YOUR NAME IN THE LINKY LIST UNTIL YOU'VE WRITTEN YOUR POST - THEN LINK DIRECT TO THAT POST PLEASE (ie, insert the complete URL to your Challenge post, not your blog address/URL)



Don't forget to come back here and vote for your favorite entry/entries before Friday, October 14th!!!

113 comments:

Avery Marsh said...

Oh, wow. This is going to be a tough one. But... challenge accepted! :) Can't wait to see the entries!

Aldrea Alien said...

Thank goodness we've a whole week. This weekend is just loaded.

Trisha said...

Yep, I can see why we'll need the extra days for this one. But it sounds like heaps of fun! Can't wait to get stuck in!

Sheery said...

Oh my gosh, that was so hard but so fun at the same time! Thanks for a truly amazing challenge and event. Looking forward to reading the entries for this challenge.

Have a great weekend.

Jen said...

Okaaaay... * reaches for dictionary *

Jocelyn Rish said...

Wow, Rach is not playing around this time. :-) This one's gonna be a toughie, so I'm definitely glad we have extra time.

Miranda Hardy said...

Yikes! Thank goodness I love a challenge. lol

Cristina said...

do I dare admit that I needed to look up the definition of a couple of those words... yikes! I have no idea where to begin with this one... but I will try!

Sarah Tokeley said...

Oh my. This will be...interesting!

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

Cool challenge. Could change the course of history.

Anonymous said...

wow this is going to be a real test!!
GOOD LUCK ALL !!!

Gerhi Feuren said...

Got my challenge up. If anybody confused about my entry, I signed up to the Challenge as Gerhi Janse van Vuuren but then switched to a pen name, Gerhi Feuren.

Yes, this comment makes as much sense as my blog post entry.

Gerhi Feuren said...

Ooops, should I not have put my post title in my entry, but rather my name. Sorreee...

I'd fix it if I knew how.

Deana said...

Yep, gonna have to take a few to wrap my brain around that one. I love a challenge:)

PT Dilloway said...

Are any of these ever a real challenge? Yeesh.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I'm in! And I'm glad I'm not the only one who had to reach for the dictionary. :)

Question: Do we have to use these forms of the words or can we use other forms, like 'lacunal' or 'miasmal' etc.?

Rachael Harrie said...

Hey guys, hope you enjoy the Challenge. Don't worry about not knowing the words, that's half the fun of it :D

@Gerhi - you entry's fixed :)

@Rogue Mutt - LOL

@Madeline - Great question! Use any word form you like, can't wait to see how creative you get :) (Also there's no need to use the "correct" meaning if you can convince us of your meaning ;) )

Hugs,

Rach

Nadja Notariani said...

This sounds so fun! I just wrote down all the 'directions' and 'extras'...now I'm off to try and come up with something!
Rach, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say, "Thanks!" for hosting this Campaign. I'm certainly appreciating all the hard work you've had to put into making this happen (and I don't want to forget mentioning all those who are working behind the scenes either) ~ Nadja

Ann said...

And I thought the last one was tough! HeyHo! Will have to put the thinking cap on and try to come up with something. Such a taskmaster Rach!!! :)

ruth.the.writer said...

My mind is already whirling. This will definitely be harder than the last, but I'm in :)

Anonymous said...

Done! This was great fun! Thanks so much Rach! *Sending Virtual Hugs* ;)

My entry is "The Imago Show That Changed Kate's Life"

Tara Tyler said...

those are some $5 words!
i took the 200 word post for the entire post...ah well =)
fun stuff!

Anonymous said...

Great challenge! Just submitted my entry.

Though I probably should have read these comments beforehand. Were we supposed to put our name (not our blog title/post title) in the first field? Whoops...

elizabethanne said...

When I first read the challenge, and those words, I thought "This challenge is not for me"... but apparently my imagination thought otherwise, and started putting together a story, which I just keyed in as it came to me. The result of the first draft was exactly 200 words, so who am I to argue? Mine's up. The link is in the linky list.

Unknown said...

Wow, this will get my brain working overtime - looking forward to reading the entries.

Clarbojahn said...

Thanks Rachael for a fun challenge. And fun it is! And a challenge! Also don't know any of those words. Good luck to all.
Clarbojahn

Erin L. Schneider said...

Holy bleep! Rach, you're killing me here...

I guess it could've been worse - you could've said we weren't allowed to say anywhere in the post that this is part of a campaigner challenge (making our blog readers that aren't a part of the campaign, wonder if we've fallen off our rocker!).

And "Miasma"? Really? Guess I just found a few new words to add to my Scrabble repertoire! This one's gonna be a doozy - but I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

Heather said...

Wow this one sounds hard! I'm going to have to sit this challenge out but I'm eager to read everyone else's entries!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I have scheduled posts for the next week, but I think I can squeeze that one in before the deadline.

Cortney Pearson said...

Can't wait to get started! Thanks for doing this, Rachel!

Rosalind Adam said...

But, Rachael, I don't even know what half of those words mean! *groans and clicks on online dictionary link*

Heather said...

Thank you Rach! This was too fun! I hope you get a chance to check out my post...I LOVED this challenge! :)

David P. King said...

Perfect. Every word choice and the word for the title match with a flash fiction idea I've had for a while. Perfect excuse to exploit it.

Entry submitted. Looking forward to all the awesomeness! :)

Gwen Gardner said...

I'm in Rachael! *switches over to wikipedia*

Rebecca Emin said...

Hi Rachel. Loving this challenge. I had to look up a few of the words as well. Anyone else already wondering what the third one will involve???

Mel said...

Man, even finding the definition of oscitate was hard. It wasn't in wikipedia, word, or the wiktionary.

For anyone being lazy it is a verb meaning to gape or yawn. I'm putting the subconcious onto these words until lunch time. Maybe I'll come up with something by then and have something to post tonight.

Gary Gauthier said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael Di Gesu said...

OOOoooo the cogs are turning in my mind right now. THis should be a good one Rach... Where do you think of them?

Have a great weekend... Try to drop by my blogfest if you get the chance.

bridgetstraub.com said...

Seriously? Word insists oscitate is spelled wrong. I was going to say forget it when I didn't know the meaning of a single word, but then my competetive nature wont let me. Ugh. Good luck to me and everyone else!

Christine Rains said...

Wow! This is a hard one. I always love a good challenge. :) Good luck to all the participants. I can't wait to read your entries!

Randy said...

I had a problem finding the word "oscitate". It wasn't in my dictionary. So I turned it into a bit of techno-babble. Which, now that I've seen the meaning, worked out alright.

This was a fun challenge Rachael.

Anonymous said...

That seems mega-tough. I now have brain ache just thinking about it LOL!

Sheri L. Swift, Author said...

You didn't make it easy on us Rachael! Lol! Just like school days! ; )

Zan Marie said...

I'm in! Why on earth these sneaky words caused a poem is beyond me. ; )

K.T. Hanna said...

Oops, I forgot to leave a comment. I'm participating! #17
Loving the offering so far. It's fantastic to see so many different variations.

Golden Eagle said...

Oh, this sounds like a challenge! I'm in. :)

Isabella said...

This is going to be... interesting. xD But I guess I'll do it anyway, for the fun of it. [:

Debbie said...

Oh wow! I didn't do the last challenge, so I thought I'd take part in this one and what a doozy it is! Thanks Rach - you can count me in.

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's entries. Best of luck all!

Marie Andrews said...

Oh my goodness...tough challenge! I'm up for it, but will need a little more time with this one :) I look forward to writing it and reading everyone else's! Best of luck!!

Marie

Maeve Frazier said...

This was so hard! Talk about a challenge. I can't wait to read what everyone comes up with! Thankyou Rachael!

Cheryl said...

Hi Rach, sorry but I created a double entry. My first attempt doesn't link back to my entry (No.44). I probably screwed something up. So I entered it again (No.48) and this one works. So if you can delete entries, please delete No.44.

Thanks,
Cheryl

Maeve Frazier said...

Hi Rachael - Can you adjust my entry title to reflect my name? I didn't realize that until I had already posted.

Rachael Harrie said...

@Cheryl - done :)

@Maeve - done, though don't worry, a lot of people are using post names in the title :)

Hugs,

Rach

F.E. Sewell said...

Just posted! (#53)

This challenge may have been harder than the last, but it was so much fun.

I never thought I would like flash fiction but I think I love it now. :)

ElaineCharton said...

This one was fun! I think I even hit 200 words. Check it out! #55
Title is Good Friends

Anonymous said...

This was quite a challenge, but I rose to it. It was fun.

Arlee Bird said...

Okay, I'm in under #56. Had to change my post that I'd done for Friday to adapt it to the Challenge theme, but it wasn't too difficult.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Theresa Milstein said...

Good luck everyone!

I'm going to pass on this project. I'm too competitive. Since it's a popularity vote, and I won't have time to visit all the entries, there's no way I'll win. But I'll spend the time I'm not writing an entry to visit the other participants.

Unknown said...

Sounds challenging indeed! Maybe this Monday :)...Thanks Rachael for organizing this!
-----------

Join me at the Rule of Three Writers' Blogfest!

Anonymous said...

So close to being #60! Oh well. Thanks for the challenge, Rachael!

Anonymous said...

yeah, college biology? botany? i think i remember some of those words. i think i was listening to The Police at the same time.

julie fedderson said...

Tough challenge, but worth a try! Thanks for increasing my vocabulary today!

Unknown said...

I'm game. Thanks for the challenging challenge.

Katharina Gerlach said...

Since I'm German, this is doubly hard. I found all words except 'oscitate'. What does it mean? Can anyone help?

Cheryl said...

Cat it means to yawn or gape.

When I first read the entry I thought she'd been saving up 'captcha' words as the only ones I recognised were miasma, imago and synchronicity! As Julie said, it increased my vocabulary if nothing else.

Francine Howarth said...

Hi,

I'm in, though oscitate threw me: as in oscitancy/oscitation. I kept thinking oscillation! ;)

best
F

Catherine Johnson said...

This is so cool Rach! I've linked the preview of Tuesday's post so I hope it works. I'll check on Tuesday and link again if it doesn't work. Cheers!

Ellen said...

Yay, I entered! This was freaking hard. Also, I realized after I posted on the linky list that my title was sort of nondescript... AH! oh well. off to read the other posts now! :)

Elizabeth Mitchell said...

Yay! I entered! It is my very first piece of flash fiction, too!

D.J. Kirkby said...

Gah! Only just remembered to check here. I'm a few days behind now, will see what I can come up with today.

Rosalind Adam said...

OK. I did it... I think. Well it's posted up anyway ;-)

Anonymous said...

A tough one for sure, but somehow this one spoke to me. Guess you will figure out I live an odd life. Be putting the final touches on my entry and have it up shortly!

Good luck everyone!

Kerri Cuev said...

Holy challenge, Rach! Ok, got my coffee and gearing up to tackle this one :)

Bethany Lopez Author said...

Wow... a lot of research for this one! Great fun! I am going to review and get mine down to 200 words and will be posting shortly. Thanks for the Challenge!!!

D.J. Kirkby said...

I am getting told that when people try to vote for me the linky page is blank except for the green 'click to go back to blog' button. Is anyone else having this problem?

Deniz Bevan said...

Ooh, this one was challenging! Thanks Rach!

Rachael Harrie said...

Hi D.J. I just checked out your link. The link works fine as far as I can tell – are your friends clicking on the “Like” link that is directly under your name?

Hugs,

Rach

Maria said...

Hi Rach,

I'm doing the challenge! :-)

Sheri L. Swift, Author said...

Hey Rach, just wanted to say that I'm enjoying the varieties that are coming out of the 2nd challenge. Those words were Craz-y! Lol! I'm surprised that no one has done the B-I-N-G-O with the I-M-A-G-O! Lol! ;)

Myne said...

Just posted mine, yay!

T.B McKenzie said...

Okay, that was a fun distraction. Now back to editing. Sigh. #104.

Will these competitions get any harder? It is seriously easier work finishing up my manuscript.

T.B.

Katharina Gerlach said...

Did you notice that the linky-list entries at the top get more votes than those nearer the bottom? I think the voting system isn't really fair on all those lovely entries (I read about half so far).

Go, people, read those that haven't got so many votes yet.

Super Happy Jen said...

Am I the only one who had to look up all of these words?

Jess said...

I posted mine this morning! Wow these were hard words! Great challenge though, it was so much fun!

Theresa Milstein said...

WoW, 124 already!

Unknown said...

I'm no.112, and already have five likes:)! #grateful


-------

Join me at the Rule of Three Writers' Blogfest!

Doctor FTSE said...

This is an excellent Challenge. I look forward to reading the many dofferent entries. Thank you

Scott Stillwell said...

Great challenge, Rach! It's like you handed us a bag of jawbreakers and said "Try not to choke." For whatever reason, I just couldn't come up with any story ideas involving all of these words that didn't include copious amounts of alcohol :)

Jenny S. Morris said...

I excepted the challenge and put my entry up.

Claire Lachance said...

I'm not sure people really understood how this voting is supposed to work. I've got a lot more comments on my entry than votes!

Anna Tan said...

I had to do a lot of googling for this one...
Still trying to figure out how to fit it all together :)

Rachael Harrie said...

@Claire - people aren't obliged to "Like" your entry just because they read/commented. The idea is to vote for those you like THE MOST.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Love this challenge!!!

Unknown said...

I was nervous and unsure about participating (confidence, wha?), but I'm glad I took the plunge. So fun!
Thanks for making us work for it. :)

Misha Gerrick said...

Hello! Just popped in to say hi.

Really like this new voting system you have going. :-)

nolaespanola said...

I also voted for Kathy(Collier)Mehl's entry, #126 titled Imago of the Swamps/2nd try. Among her peers,family & friends, Kathy has a strong following. Perhaps that might be unfamiliar to you. I can understand that. Please reconsider the current situation. In all fairness, please recognize her for her talent plus "hard work". Her enrollment in your contest brought me to your wonderful blog. I thank her for that. I hope to visit frequently in the future. Thank You, Nolaespanola ( Ena KarimiSaleh)COLLEENS FOREVER,LOL : )

Anonymous said...

I voted for Kathy too! I agree with everything Ena said! I honestly wouldn't have come to your blog if it wasn't for her being in this contest.

Melony said...

I voted for Kathy too. I have read a few of her works and enjoyed every bit. She is a very talented woman and has brought more attention to your site than any other blogger.

erica and christy said...

sorry, rach. i think my entry will show up #158. but the title shouldn't be "christy". it should be LAYERS OF IMAGO. *slaps forehead*. sometimes i'm a little slow when it comes to technology. thanks for hosting! your blog is fun, as always! christy :0)

Rachael Harrie said...

@Christy, fixed :)

Hugs,

Rach

Nicole Settle said...

This was a hard challenge but it was great for getting me to think about some new scenarios.

AliB said...

Help! Have posted my entry but getting an error on the linky list. Any suggestions, good people? Mine is here
http://debutnovelist.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/cowboy-or-alien/

AliB

K.T. Hanna said...

AliB

Sorry - at the moment the Linky list appears to be down. I'm sure it'll get fixed as soon as possible.
Remember voting goes for Eleven full days after the contest closes, which isn't until next Monday. So there's still plenty of time :D

David P. King said...

I am crazy impressed with the entries this time around. I'm having a hard time narrowing them down to one favorite. Or twenty favorites!

I don't know why I haven't joined this campaign before, Rach, but I'm glad to be a part of it now. :)

Awesome job, everyone!

Unknown said...

Yikers, that was a challenge, Rach! Thanks, I think I needed that! Finally entered mine, #168...better late than never, right? Having a blast reading the creativity of the group with this one!

Doreen said...

This one really was a challenge but so much fun also!
I am trying to make my way around to everyone's submission but for some reason I am having trouble commenting on many blogs...ugghhh...never a dull technical day for me!

Trisha said...

Finally posted mine... The only other I've read so far was the one before mine and I adored it - so funny! This is going to be good... hehe

MISH said...

I really enjoyed this ... what a challenge !

Michael Di Gesu said...

Man was this tough Rach... I hope you like my entry.

WOOT! I DID IT!

Sam Walker said...

Thanks for the challenge, so glad I found your blog. Can't wait to use these words in my real life - that'll give people something to talk about me for behind my back shortly after I use them in a sentence and walk away with a superior smirk on my face.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Not a chance I'll win since I'm at the bottom of the list, but at least I did it!

Tia Bach said...

I keep forgetting to leave comments in addition to the Linky. I LOVED this challenge. I'm #173.

Jennifer said...

Wow this one sounds hard! I'm going to have to sit this challenge out but I'm eager to read everyone else's entries!

Related Posts with Thumbnails