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Scrivenshaft Challenge Cycle V – January 2006 : "Had I But Known"

Cycle Dates: 1 January 2006 - 31 January 2006
Entries Submitted: 22
Winners Announced: 26 March 2006

The Prompt

The Premise:

For all our pandering and strutting, we all must be put in our place now and again. And there is no better time to beat ourselves up over lost opportunity than the start of a new year.

At every stage in life, there are things we wish we could have done differently, friends we would have written more frequently, tests we would have taken more seriously (like OWLs), choices we would have made sooner, later, or not at all. And more often than not, these regrets can be boiled down into little phrases that get written on the wall and circled in red, just so we won’t forget for next time. If only we had known sooner, if only we had an opportunity to fix it, if only we had a Time-Turner…

The Challenge:

For the January 2006 Cycle V of the Scrivenshaft Challenge, you must choose one such situation. And the words on the wall? The life lessons? Why, they are below:

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
Crows everywhere are equally black.
Boredom is a sign of unused potential.
When in doubt…mumble.
Kill one to warn a hundred.
Nothing comes from nothing.
The bell, it tolls for thee.
It is inevitable: all daughters become their mothers.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.
The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.

Choose one of the above and write a story. It can be happy or sad, before or after the fact, but it must involve the spirit of the phrase, and you may not actually use a Time-Turner. There are no restrictions on character pairings or time periods, but we do recommend that you limit your use of flashbacks (except where absolutely necessary). The event may be something canonical or fictional that happened in the past, and the regret is only surfacing in the present, or you may choose to write the event in the present and end on regret. We don't necessarily know if they will learn, but the lesson must be there. Will you tell it?

1. The first sentence of your entry must begin with the phrase "Had I but known..." (and the rest of the sentence cannot include the phrase chosen above)
2. You must include your phrase at some point in your entry, either within the body or at the beginning/end (eg: "Moral of the story: - - - - - -")
3. 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.]
4. 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.
5. Entries should not have a rating of more than R.
6. 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.

The Award-Winners

Award-winning categories are explained on the main Scrivenshaft page.

We were overwhelmed by the quality of the entries this cycle, and had to break many ties to find those special entries that merited awards. Behold those diamonds in the rough:

AWARD: "TITLE" by AUTHOR

Why we loved it:

AWARD: "TITLE" by AUTHOR

Why we loved it:

AWARD: "TITLE" by AUTHOR

Why we loved it:

AWARD: "TITLE" by AUTHOR

Why we loved it:

The Challenge Entries

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Last updated by everblue3 the March 26th 2006, 1am.