Fast Fiction

Perhaps the obsession with writing a novel in a month has worn off. The challenge is gone. I know I can do it, I’ve done it three times.

But how about a weekend?

I got an email yesterday and lo and behold a project out of India is doing just that this weekend. It’s not limited to novels either, it could be plays or screenplays or even graphic novels. I can’t quite decided whether I’m up for it, but here it is, in case you have 58 hours free:

PRESS RELEASE, MAY 11 2004
INTERNATIONAL CONTEST PITS WRITERS AGAINST THE CLOCK
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(Bombay, May 11, 2004)— The Great Mahakali Write-A-Thalon is an international literary contest that is spreading like wildfire. It is powered by an honour-based system, and no cash prize or money is being spent. And yet on Tuesday night it was the 6th fastest information spreading in the weblog community, including such luminaries of the digiratti as Jason Kottke.

This is why it is special. It started as a mere weekend binge between four friends. Now, scores of writers from more then seven countries including India, the United States, Norway, Ireland, and Japan, will each attempt to write an entire novel, poetic epic, stage or screen play, from scratch.  They have a weekend—58 hours, to be exact. This includes heavyweights like Tom Bradley in Nagasaki, and Mike Atherton in London.

Set rolling by Bombay columnist, Rohit Gupta, the Write-A-Thalon is generating massive interest amongst publishers, film producers and writers as far afield as New York and Bombay. Amazed at the response his weekend game has generated, he says,“This reminds me of the Memespread Project. Like a virus! The best part is the quality of writers who are snowballing us. For a zero-commerce operation, this is somewhat phenomenal.”

Nicole Hughes of Plastic Sugar Press has agreed to critique and review five of the top peer-reviewed novellas. “The main reason I was attracted to this project is because it goes so much against what we are taught about how to write”, says Hughes. “Ninety percent of the manuscripts I review suffer from a very constrictive and self-conscious quality. I think a lot of writers edit way too much in the beginning of the process, and don’t trust their craft enough to take real risks. This project is about complete and total submersion in the work, merging our objective and subjective realities, and creating a true intimacy between writer and reader.”

Jagmohan Bhanver, President of the Writerís Society Of India says, ìI expect to see some really high power energy unleashed during the course of these three days.î Other event partners like Frog Books, J Sughand Productions, Oxford Bookstore, Crimson Feet Magazine and the Industrial Theatre Company will review the best manuscripts with a view towards publication.

Writers interested in taking part in THE GREAT MAHAKALI WRITE-A-THALON(14-16 May 2004) should contact Emmet Cole and/or Rohit Gupta at their respective e-mail addresses—.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)—as soon as possible.

Contest Website:  http://www.geocities.com/micereign/ 
Contest Co-ordindators
Rohit Gupta (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) www.writers.net/writers/rohitgupta
Emmet Cole (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) www.emmetcole.com