New Contest! - The Moral of the Story

May 13, 201414 min read

Deviation Actions

WritersInk

C-A-Harland

Published: May 13, 2014

2.6K Views

NEW CONTEST!

-------The Moral of the Story-------

1 week left to get your entries in!

Submissions close June 10.

Hi folks,

The challenge for the contest is to use allegory to tell not one story, but two. Allegory is the art of a story within a story (it's story-ception) where one tale and series of events are used to portray an underlying commentary, or deeper meaning to the text. The underlying commentary does not necessarily have to be closed-ended or have to be a singular message.

You can read more about the applications of allegory in the guides below.

Allegory WorkshopWhat is Allegory?
Let’s look at what allegory means. Dictionary.com tells us that it is a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.
But what does this mean? Essentially, allegory is the telling of two stories in one. There is a an obvious “basic story”, but also a “deeper meaning”, a secondary story, sometimes referred to as “subtext”, or “underlying commentary”.
Symbolism is often a key feature, where a particular object, colour, person, or place can be used to represent a key element in the story. A simple example of this is in Star Wars where Luke wears light colours and Darth Vader wears dark colours to symbolise good versus evil.
Another good point to note is that allegory need not always be obvious, and the underlying commentary doesn Allegory Writing: The Art of Philosophers.Allegory Writing: The Art of Philosophers
Allegory (a literary device) stands as a form of writing which contains two key traits; symbolism and imagery. These two traits, along with theme and setting, set a desired message(s) in the story; an underlining commentary.
This form serves as a philosophical literature form to express concepts and content in a more tangible fashion to the reader/audience. It serves as a relay for the philosophical message of the writer, whilst having a strong aspect of open-ended interpretation.
The key to writing allegory is to first set the desired message(s). It is important to note that allegory writing requires an open-ended and open-interpretive symbolism and imagery, which is to say that two readers may draw different conclusions of the author's desired message(s) and subsequently the entire underlining commentary.
The message can be simple (i.e.; political issues, poverty, war, etc) or it can be a complex message (i.e.; Albert

The theme of the contest will be fairy tales (note, I said "fairy tale", not "Disney". There's no requirement to sugar-coat it, if you want your story to be dark, it can be.) Allegory has been used in fairy tales and fables for generations to teach people rules and lessons about life. Many of us grew up with these sorts of tales, being taught things before we even realised it.

These lessons, or morals weren't always as clear or wholesome as "good triumphs over evil", or "love wins out over". Some taught us things that were much less rosy, such as "bad things do happen to good people". Some were just about common sense, "Always build on a solid foundation, or everything will fall apart".

The lesson you choose to represent is entirely up to you, but it must be portrayed in a way reminiscent of a fairy tale or fable. Fairy tales were prevalent throughout human history, in one form or another, and so you may base your story off any culture you wish.

Submissions

Poetry and Prose allowed.
Submissions must be added to the Contest Folder in the Gallery.
Submissions must state that they are for the WritersInk The Moral of the Story Contest in the artist description.
Please include word/line count in the artist description.
Mature content is acceptable but must be appropriately labelled.

Rules

You must be a member of WritersInk to enter.
New submissions only.
Start Date: 13 May, EST
End Date: 10 June, EST
Theme: Fairy Tales
Criteria: The entry must use allegory to portray an underlying theme or moral
Entry Limit: 1 entry per person
Allowed Content: Poetry and prose acceptable.
Limits: Poetry min: 10 lines / max: 50 lines
Prose min: 1000 words / max: 3000 words

Prizes

First Place

500 points from SincaraDain
300 points from C-A-Harland
Feature from WritersInk
feature from C-A-Harland
feature from bubblemoth
feature from inknalcohol
feature from forestmeetwildfire
feature from CavyMomma
feature from Persistent-Practice via SkysongMA
feature from HugQueen
feature from theWrittenRevolution
feature from Authors-Club
Critique on any gallery piece from LiliWrites
Critique on any gallery piece from C-A-Harland
Critique on any gallery piece from aillin1
Critique on any gallery piece from schongslipper
Critique on any gallery piece from miistical
Poem commission from wei-en

Second Place

300 points from Sleyf
200 points from C-A-Harland
Feature from WritersInk
feature from C-A-Harland
feature from bubblemoth
feature from inknalcohol
feature from forestmeetwildfire
feature from CavyMomma
feature from Persistent-Practice via SkysongMA
feature from HugQueen
feature from theWrittenRevolution
feature from Authors-Club
Critique on any gallery piece from C-A-Harland
Critique on any gallery piece from aillin1
Critique on any gallery piece from schongslipper

Third Place

200 points from Sleyf
100 points from C-A-Harland
Feature from WritersInk
feature from C-A-Harland
feature from bubblemoth
feature from inknalcohol
feature from forestmeetwildfire
feature from CavyMomma
feature from Persistent-Practice via SkysongMA
feature from HugQueen
feature from theWrittenRevolution
feature from Authors-Club
Critique on any gallery piece from C-A-Harland
Critique on any gallery piece from aillin1
Critique on any gallery piece from schongslipper