Backlog status: 540 deviations, 169 messages and 0 notes.

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100 theme writing challenge progress report
[link]
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Update (March 12th): I haven't forgotten this contest, as a couple of you have asked me. Only, 2 of the judges still haven't sent in their votes, so I just sent them a reminder this morning. Perhaps they haven't logged on lately, I have no idea, so I'll give them a couple more days to reply. But, I will announce the winners this weekend, whether they answer or not, because I know you guys are waiting and it will be 2 weeks since the end of the contest by then.

Thank you for your patience.

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Well, folks, this contest is officially closed! I'm rather pleased by the turn out, too.

I'll not have time today to send the judges their notes to judge, since I won't be home and won't have access to a computer at all, but I will get to it either tonight or tomorrow after work. Then I will leave 10 days or so for the judges to cast their votes and then announce the winners hopefully by the 15th.

In the meantime, why don't you check out the submissions and see if you might find them enough to your liking to fave?

Here's the link to the entries journal: [link]

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Update (Feb. 22nd): 6 days left to enter the contest. Just thought I'd put a reminder out there in case some of you were still planning on entering.

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UPDATE: Read the FAQs and definitions I added at the end of this journal, for added information. But don't hesitate to ask if you have questions I have not answered yet, or if something doesn't seem clear to you. And I realize I have to make the "oldish work" line more clear cut, because "the past few months", as I had written before, is probably too loose an example. So, I've decided to make the cut out date for older work September 22nd 2008 (the Autumn Equinox). I believe it will make things clearer on that point.

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Click here for the list of entries (updated as entries come along): [link]



All right! Are you folks ready for a contest? It's been nearly 18 months since I've hosted a contest, so I decided to do another. Read the rules before submitting to avoid troubles and surprises later on.

The theme is Legends and Myths.

Rules:

* Contest starts today December 28th 2008 and ends February 28th 2009 at midnight GMT.
* Each contestant may send up to 2 entries.
* I would prefer new deviations, the point is to get creativity flowing, but I understand not everybody has time for that. So, if you really don't have time, you may submit "oldish" work (let's say work from the Autumn Equinox, which was Septembter 22nd 2008, on).
* Open to: Traditional Art, Digital Art, Photography, Literature and Artisan Craft.
* Submit your deviation(s) to your gallery and link me in a note with the subject line LEGENDS AND MYTHS CONTEST ENTRY.
* There are added clarifications in the definitions and FAQs sections at the bottom of this journal, as well.

Prizes so far:

If anyone wants to donate prizes of any kind (features, subs, prints, etc...), feel free to note me with what those prizes will be. Thanks.

- 1st place:
* 1 month subscription from =Elorine
* journal feature from =Elorine
* journal feature from =Devyathe
* 1 month journal feature from =11-73-3-33
* 1 exclusive texture pack from =laceratedwrists
* journal feature from =Lazulyte

- 2nd place:
* journal feature from =Elorine
* journal feature from =Devyathe
* 1 month journal feature from =11-73-3-33
* journal feature from =Lazulyte

- 3rd place:
* journal feature from =Elorine
* journal feature from =Devyathe
* 1 month journal feature from =11-73-3-33
* journal feature from =Lazulyte


Judging:
Judging will be done by the following judges, and will consist of a 3-name vote with points attributed for each (3 for 1st place, 2 for second place and 1 for third place). Then I'll add up the points and whichever 3 deviations have the most total points will win the appropriate prizes.

Judges:



Any questions, holler.

I declare the Legends and Myths contest officially OPEN! Go on everyone! Get that creativity flowing! And don't forget to have fun! I'm looking forward to what comes out.

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Definitions of legend and myth:

I just realized that the theme seems to be confusing to some, so I have found some definitions for both legend and myth, which I feel are quite comprehensive. I thought I'd add them here, with a few examples, so you folks can refer to them when debating possible entries.

according to the literary dictionary:

A legend is "a story or group of stories handed down through popular oral tradition, usually consisting of an exaggerated or unreliable account of some actually or possibly historical person—often a saint, monarch, or popular hero. Legends are sometimes distinguished from myths in that they concern human beings rather than gods, and sometimes in that they have some sort of historical basis whereas myths do not; but these distinctions are difficult to maintain consistently. The term was originally applied to accounts of saints' lives (see hagiography), but is now applied chiefly to fanciful tales of warriors (e.g. King Arthur and his knights), criminals (e.g. Faust, Robin Hood), and other sinners."

And a myth is "a kind of story or rudimentary narrative sequence, normally traditional and anonymous, through which a given culture ratifies its social customs or accounts for the origins of human and natural phenomena, usually in supernatural or boldly imaginative terms. The term has a wide range of meanings, which can be divided roughly into ‘rationalist’ and ‘romantic’ versions: in the first, a myth is a false or unreliable story or belief. In most literary contexts, the second kind of usage prevails, and myths are regarded as fictional stories containing deeper truths, expressing collective attitudes to fundamental matters of life, death, divinity, and existence (sometimes deemed to be 'universal' )."

It could be anything from the picture of Poseidon's statue, a drawing of the Knights of the Round Table or of an Atlantis scene, a painting of a griffon or a basilisk, or a story about the Valkyries, Phoenix or other mythical creatures. To name a few...

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FAQs

I've had several questions sent my way over the last few days, and I thought I would add them here to the announcement, since others might wonder the same things.

Q: Do fairy-tales fall under legends?

A: In my mind, a fairy tale is slightly different than a legend or a myth. A legend generally has its roots in reality, however distorted and changed it may have been over the centuries, whereas a fairy tale is more of a written story about heroes and/or mystical creatures. A myth, though, might be considered either, so aye, fairy tales would be okay, as long as they have some level of legendary or mythical basis to them.

Q: Can I participate with a local legend?

Any legend from anywhere in the world is perfectly acceptable. Of course, since I don't know all the legends that exist, it's best to explain what it's about in the commentary box, so that the judges understand it. But aye, you certainly can enter with a legend from your own country.

Q: Are we allowed to submit photomanipulations?

Yes, of course. All Digital Arts categories are allowed.

Q: What about the rights of the submitted contest entries? Does the owner have full rights?

You enter a deviation which you made, so yes, you retain full rights over your deviation, of course. I'm only hosting the contest, I have no claim whatsoever over the work of the contestants. Your work remains yours.

Q: Are we supposed to write for a non-fiction myth or legend, or to create our own myths or legends?

It can be fiction as well as non fiction. You could write an essay about a myth that exists, but it doesn't have to be non fiction. You could also create your own, as long as it had some elements of real myth or legend. It could maybe have a twist that would make it different than the real one, or just have a mythical creature in the story and so on.

Q: Can it be any sort of myth/legend, even urban myths?

If by urban myth, you mean modern myths or legends, like the Bermuda Triangle, Big Foot, Nessie, old haunted Scottish manors and the likes, sure. Hoaxes, however, do not fit the theme in my mind.

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Current poll > [link] (Do you ever send DD suggestions? Please, comment and let me know what your opinion on DDs is)
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Notice:

The work contained in this gallery is Copyright ©2005-2009 =Elorine . All rights reserved. My work may not be reproduced, manipulated, copied, edited, published, transmitted or uploaded in any way without my written consent. My work does not belong to the public domain... For stock work, I have a stock account, which can be found here:

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