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Scrivenshaft » C14

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Scrivenshaft Challenge Cycle XIV -- December 2008 : "Christmastime Is Here"

Cycle Dates: 2 December 2007 -- 6 January 2008
Entries Submitted:
Winners Announced:

The Prompt

The Premise:

In the Harry Potter series, we are presented with a rich variety of characters, all with differing backgrounds and many with conflicting outlooks on life. And at the onset of the Christmas season, it is interesting to wonder... what do these characters really think about Christmas? Does Snape bask in front of a holiday fire on Christmas Eve, sipping an eggnog, or is he instead a bitter Scrouge, ruminating over the loss of his love? What was Christmas like for Tom Riddle, or Aberforth Dumbledore, or even Rita Skeeter? Do any of the Harry Potter characters have any particularly unique holiday stories to tell?

The Challenge:

Use the quotes presented below to inspire your entry. Incorporate the quote into the entry, using it as the basis for your character's mindset or simply as something he or she says or hears. You may write from the viewpoint of any character during any point in his or her life, but try to tell a story that stays true to the spirit of the quote that inspired it.

1. "I do like Christmas on the whole.... In its clumsy way, it does approach Peace and Goodwill. But it is clumsier every year." -- E.M. Forster
2. "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." -- Albert Camus
3. "Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home." -- Carol Nelson
4. "Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas."-- Kin Hubbard
5. "There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions." -- Bill McKibben
6. "A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together." -- Garrison Keillor
7. "Midnight, and the clock strikes. It is Christmas Day, the werewolves' birthday, the door of the solstice still wide enough open to let them all slink through." -- Angela Carter

Your Limits

1. You must include your phrase at some point in your entry, though it does not have to be as dialog. (Also, don't worry about citing the real author of the quote.)
2. You may only use one phrase. Using additional phrases will not enhance your story. [You may submit as many entries as you like, but are limited (like so many coupons): one prize per author per cycle.]
3. While you are not limited to canonical events, you are encouraged to make use of extensive HP resources to keep characters and their choices true to their personalities.
4. Entries should not have a rating of more than R.
5. Entries should be no longer than 4000 words. Entries of no more than 500 words have an additional awards category, but entries of 4001 words will be disqualified.
6. Entries are due by 11:59 CST to scrivenshaft@unknowableroom.org by January 6th, 2008.