The writing contest has been suspended

Sorry to anyone who's disappointed by this decision, but the last two contests I ran turned out some rather surprising results - I had a few fairly disturbing pieces of writing, and a few people who became "harrassing" about their expectation to win. I did this for fun, and hoped everyone would take it in that light, but alas, sometimes things don't work out as we would like. If you have a story idea that you would just love to see me illustrate, feel free to write to me. Take a look at my "CUSTOM" page for a few simple guides to help you with your request.

OK, here are the rules:

• This is important - the title of your email should be: July 2004 Writing Entry. Use no excess capitalizing or anything, just type it as you see it here. If you name it anything else, it may get automatically deleted with the piles of junk e-mail I get sent regularly. Also, don't send your story as an attachment, copy and paste it into the body of the e-mail, or I may not be able to open it. Send entries to : rob@colorsmith.comFeel free to send as many stories as you like, but the deadline is July 31st. I won't be accepting any more for this contest after that date, but there will probably be similar contests in the future! The description must be no more than 3000 words! (That's up 1000 from last contest, so you can be more elaborate) I'll be opening each in Word, and doing a word count before ever starting to read. If it comes up at 3001 words, it's right out! Heck, the winning entry will probably be less than that anyway. It's quality, not quantity. Hmm - well you wouldn't know it from past winners (take a look HERE, HERE and HERE), but I'm sticking to it!The story must be as much your own as is humanly possible. It must not use any copyrighted characters, unless you own them: If your name is R A Salvatore and you write me a story about Drizzt Do'Urden the drow ranger, well, I'll be so overwhelmed that you will win. Period. ...um... oops, I lost the topic. Sorry! What I mean, is don't borrow anything. I won't choose you if you write a great piece about Mostes, whose deity parts the Orange Sea to allow him to lead his people out of slavery in Egyfth. It's a great story, but it isn't yours! Get it? And feel free to be as creative as you can be. If your poetry evokes powerful images (Twas brillig and the slithy toves...etc.), then give it a try. I'm not saying you'll win for it, but something unique always has a better chance of grabbing my attention!A lot of contests say that all submissions become the property of the company, and such. No - your ideas are your ideas. But I don't promise that images you inspire won't creep into my work in the future. If you enter, you're accepting that. If, in the future, you see a picture of mine that strongly resembles something from your story, feel free to let me know, and I'll send you a copy. That is the limit of my liability, and all the rest of the legalities. Yadda, yadda. Hey, if you can convince me, you could get a free picture. That's good, right?
• Anyone can enter, regardless of anything. You can be two years old, and if you write something great, you could win. Easy as that. Also, this contest is open to anyone I've done work for before, anyone I know, anyone period. If I know you, I may judge you more stringently, because you already know what I look for.