Mini-Contest #10

The tenth mini-contest was held in December 2009. This mini-contest asked contestants to imply/evoke an entire story just by showing us a short “sticky note” written from one character to another.

We noticed an extreme split in our entries this time. About half the entries were meant to be funny, and the other half were meant to be serious. We decided to award two first prizes: one for the best humorous entry, and one for the best dramatic entry.

Out of 70 entries, four entries won cash prizes and three got no money, but did get published, as honorable mentions. The winners are:


Third Place ($5) by Kari Popovic

Honey –

I found a cucumber in the knife drawer, a knife in the cage, and the guinea pig in the refrigerator.

Please lay off the Ambien for a while,

Dan



Second Place ($10) by Lisa Tiffin

Jen –

Turned in group project yesterday (I finished it in class – BOREING!) BTW I proofed it so dont worry – its awsome. I’m sure we’ll get a A.

Becca



First Place, Dramatic ($15) by Devan Goldstein

Mom,

Took the car. Headed west, with Ralph. I told you he was trouble the first time you brought him home.

Julie



First Place, Humorous ($15) by James Southern

Dear Santa,

I can explain my frog in Sissy’s oatmeal.

Love, James



Honorable Mentions (no money, just fame)
Three other entries scored highly enough in the eyes of at least one prize judge that they earned an honorable mention. They are presented below, two of them with commentary.


Paul’s girlfriend,

We haven’t met, but I've seen your arse-print in the butter. Below is a list of imprinted foodstuffs; please replace ASAP.

Paul’s flatmate.

P.S. Don’t touch those bananas.
(by Kirsty Logan)



For this next one, it helps if you’re aware of a controversial study about the readability of scrambled words. (For instance, see here.)

Sausn,

Wihsekrs can raed the neots on the rfeiragetorr. Tehy are pnlinang seomhnitg. Wctah out.

Dr. Bwron syas I olny need two wekes at the fcliatiy.

See you soon.

Ldnia
(by Donald Conrad)



Finally, here’s one that, to be honest, didn’t impress us until we remembered that this was a physical note, on paper. And we thought about how we’d feel if we were a pregnant woman who woke up one day to find this note on her dresser:

Mom:

In two months I will be born. Thank you for taking care
of me until I arrive. Looking forward to meeting you.

BABY
(by Willeta Pat Steiner)

Congratulations to the winners and our sincere thanks to everyone who entered the mini-contest.