flash forward fables
obstreperous ostrich invites you to help celebrate their sixth anniversary by writing a stellar Flash Forward Fable!
i’m sure that you have questions. here is our spokesostrich, odette, to answer them.
this sounds interesting but what exactly do you mean by “Flash Forward Fables”?
I’m glad that you asked. We are mixing up “flash fiction” with the writing device “fast forward” and tossing in the idea of “fables” just for fun!
Um, that doesn’t help.
OK, OK. Let me spell it out for you.
- Flash fiction is a really short story. We want it 1,500 words or less.
- Fast forward fiction is where you are telling your story and BAM! Your characters suddenly are at some point in the future. I heard it is also called prolepsis. That sounds more like something you need to cure with penicillin. Hey, what do I know? I’m just a spokesostrich.
- Fables are very magical stories that can have all kinds of cool things in them like talking animals or supernatural beings. You usually learn a lesson without realizing it. Think Aesop or Isaac Asimov. Remember, we want Science Fiction.
- Combine them all and you get Flash Forward Fables!
- Does that help?
Yes, Now, what about judges? Just who are these fine folks that are going to be judging my stellar piece of writing?
We have some awesome judges with some interesting backgrounds. That is all I can say for now. Well, I can say there will be six of them. I’m still waiting to hear back from some of them. You know how agents are. Very agenty.
You can check back to the website OR you can sign up for the Flash Forward Fables email alerts. I promise that I won’t spam you with obstreperous ostrich stuff. I’ll just spam you with Flash Forward Fables’ stuff.
So, what are these mystery judges looking for?
The usual thing. Can you write sentences? Are they better than someone else’s sentences? Really. That’s it. Honestly, my best advice is to think about what we define a Flash Forward Fable as and go from there. Remember, we want Science Fiction and more importantly to read your fabulous creativity!
I know that everyone has an opinion, even judges, but they will have a RUBRIC for heaven’s sake. You can take a look at it if you want, but truthfully, don’t over think it.
Did you forget something, like where to send it? And what is the deadline? Really, this is basic stuff.
Right you are.
- Entries are open to writers at least 13 years of age and not older than 19.
- Email your entry to info@oostrich.com .
- Please put in the subject line your last name and then “FFF Entry”.
- The deadline is March 1st at midnight mountain time.
- One story per author.
- You must submit original work. Online fan fic and blog posts are ok, basically anything you haven’t received $$ for.
- There is no entry fee!!!!!
What exactly do I win? Please don’t say “chicken dinner”.
I won’t. I have cousins who are chickens. There will be a First Prize Winner, A Second Prize Winner, and four Runners Up.
- First prize is a $100 gift card to obstreperous ostrich.
- Second prize is a $50 gift card to obstreperous ostrich.
- The runners up all get a super groovy bookmark from obstreperous ostrich. Don’t take my word for it. Check them out. They ARE super groovy.
- All the winning stories will be on our website for 30 days. After that all rights are yours.
- We will announce the winners on April 1, 2025, at our 6th Birthday Party. While the exact time and location are pending, it will be live streamed so even if you cannot attend the party, you can still get in on the action!
What if I have more questions?
Email me, Odette, your faithful spokesostrich, at:
I encourage you to sign up for the email list for Flash Forward Fables. You’ll get the Big Reveal about our judges before anyone else. Also, you’ll be first with the deets on the big birthday bash! I’ll send you deadline reminders and any other stuff that you, as a contestant, might be interested it.