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Fiction contest like 'first love affair'

Bring your creativity, your thesaurus and your delight in a challenge to North Island College’s fifth annual Three-Hour Fiction Contest.

Bring your creativity, your thesaurus and your delight in a challenge to North Island College’s fifth annual Three-Hour Fiction Contest.

At 1 p.m. on Dec. 3, the writing begins.

Writers will be given an element or two that must appear in the story — a problem, a plot device, or maybe a prop. You then have only three hours to bring your story to life. Are you up to the challenge?

Using the computers in the NIC lab, writers will create and then print their stories at the end of the three hours.  Stories will be collected and judged by a panel of NIC faculty.

The winner will be selected for readability, creativity and the degree to which the required elements are woven into the story.

First prize is a free creative writing course at NIC. There will be two to choose from in the winter semester: Journalism (ENG 109) or Creative Non Fiction (ENG 207).

The winning story will be published in The Island Word and the winner will also have the opportunity to read at NIC’s Write Here Readers Series event in April 2012.

“The Three-Hour Fiction Contest is like your first love affair,” says Harold Macy, 2010 contest winner. “You have to throw yourself into it with nothing held back, fully committed and totally unprepared, yet ready for whatever comes out. Write hard and write smart.”

There is no cost to participate in the contest and anyone is welcome to attend. Seats are limited, so register before Dec. 1 by contacting Steve Schoenhoff at 250-334-5094.

The contest will be held Dec. 3 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Tyee 114 on NIC’s Comox Valley Campus.

North Island College offers a wide range of English courses from upgrading through to the university studies level, including a number of creative writing courses. To learn more, visit www.nic.bc.ca.

— North Island College