This contest is centred around writing from a specific prompt which can be found at the top of this post. It will not force Participants to write in a specific genre but we will require that the prompt be included in some form. 

For the contest, we have 5 rules:

• Your Entry must be within 8 to 40 thousand words.
• Your Entry must be written within the actual Contest.
• Your Entry cannot have any sexual content.
• Your Entry cannot be a fanfiction.
• Follow RR Guidelines already in place.

Have at least 1 chapter published by January 10th so it can be compiled into the Magazine.
The Magazine will be announced to everyone in an effort to gain more traction for the contestants and make it easier for readers to find these stories. If more information about the Magazine is desired, do feel free to ask.

All participants need to have finished their writing by the end of February 1st. Authors can still continue their stories after this milestone though the additional content will not be used for judging quality.

1. 1000$ Ad Campaign
2. 300$ Ad Campaign
3. 180$ Ad Campaign

*All 3 will also receive Author Premium alongside their campaigns.
**At least half of the ads must be used for the entry story.

Is this your first try at fiction on RR? Then follow the steps below.

1. Register for an account on Royal Road if you have not already.
2. Click Write on the navigation bar, which will take you to The Author Dashboard.
3. Click [Add New].
4. Fill in the Title and Description. Select the genres and additional tags. Fill in your first chapter's title and the content of your first chapter.
5. You can, but you are not required to upload a cover image (400x600 pixels).
6. Click Submit.
7. All new submissions are manually checked for appropriate tagging and plagiarism, so expect it to take up to 12-24 hours for a submission to be approved. Please be patient.
8. If any of you want to know more, you can make a post on this thread. For anything that would require longer conversations, however, please find a better alternative.

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Here is a list of questions that some of you might want to ask but we don't want to answer:

Will the story need to be completed within the contest itself?
No. Judges only need to get a sense of how the story will proceed. There is no requirement for a definitive ending.

Do I need to mention the prompt in the first line/how large a part does the prompt need to be in my entry?
It needs to be obvious to the judges. If we are unable to see where you have included the prompt, and if you are unable to show where in the story you have included it, we will disqualify it. While we do need it to have a part in the story, there is no clear requirement on how we want it included. Be as creative as you want with it.

What counts as NSFW?
If you have to ask about it, I recommend you think about it some more.

What restrictions are there on genres?
There aren't any. We have no clear requirements on what genre you write as long as it abides by the previous rules of the contest.

Can I make the story longer/shorter?
If you make it shorter, we will disqualify it on account of it not having a minimum length. If you make it longer, we will only read up to 40k words or less. We strongly advise that one focus on quality.

I can't find the link to submit my fiction!
That's not a question. And here you go: https://forms.gle/9diH2PfVCPPHC6777

I can maybe work with this...

This will be a pretty open-ended prompt.  You could go the literal direction with navigable waters that are uncharged, or you can just have a character try something that hasn't been tried before.  Plenty of opportunity for good fictions to come out of this.

Buller Wrote: When the contest goes live on January 3rd, every new author can join in by submitting their fiction [Here].

Buller Wrote: Do note that it requires that your story has already been submitted to the website.

how do you join? I can't click [here]

Laulau20 Wrote: how do you join? I can't click [here]

the link will be added on the 3rd.

You're meant to start writing then, and it's not possible to have submitted the story before that. No reason to have a link yet.

Buller Wrote: it's not possible to have submitted the story before that

I really want to take part in this but given that I'm moving house on the 5th it's going to be tough to find the time. Worth it though.

Oh, I'm so excited! 

You need to fill the form to be a participant but the story needs to already be submitted in RR? Doesn't story submission require you to post the first chapter? Do we just go with a filler one? Maybe a disclaimer that it is going to be part of the magazine contest? 

Here, more questions you don't want to answer! *evil laugh*

Buller Wrote:

Laulau20 Wrote: how do you join? I can't click [here]

the link will be added on the 3rd.

You're meant to start writing then, and it's not possible to have submitted the story before that. No reason to have a link yet.

Oh. I thought we apply first today and then wrote on the third day.  So, everything start on third day? Ok. 

scarecrow.author Wrote: You need to fill the form to be a participant but the story needs to already be submitted in RR? Doesn't story submission require you to post the first chapter? Do we just go with a filler one? Maybe a disclaimer that it is going to be part of the magazine contest? 

Here, more questions you don't want to answer! *evil laugh*

Hmm, ad monies, you say? Half of it could be used for other stories, you say?

I would have to severely speed up the timeline for my latest project, but this interests me greatly. 

TheRottingBard Wrote: I would have to severely speed up the timeline for my latest project, but this interests me greatly.

Good to hear 

Buller Wrote:

TheRottingBard Wrote: I would have to severely speed up the timeline for my latest project, but this interests me greatly.

Good to hear

I’ll release a new project this weekend and enter into this. 

the link for submitting fictions has been added.

The contest has started.

Submitted

Yessss! Go write good!

Buller Wrote: the link for submitting fictions has been added.

The contest has started.