This contest is all about discovering and developing that ever-elusive "big idea" lurking inside every writer. If you’ve already discovered that "big idea," you can enter it, too.

What Is "High Concept?"

So what exactly is a "high concept" story? If you've ever turned on the TV or gone to see a movie, you've probably encountered a story with high concepts. A "high concept" is something out of the ordinary that doesn't happen in everyday life as we know it. When I think of high concept, I immediately think of the fantasy and science fiction genres, which are inherently fantastic in nature and beyond the scope of reality. However, there are many other stories well grounded in reality as we know it that are very high in concept. A lot of these involved a person with super-human abilities, usually explained by science or magic.

Simply put, a high concept is larger than life. How much larger, however, can vary quite a bit. When it comes to high concepts, your imagination is the limit.

About the Contest

The challenge of this contest is simply this:

Brainstorm and develop a high concept story, then pitch it to me.

To narrow the scope of this contest, your story must fall into one of the following genres:

Contemporary - A story grounded in the world as we know it today, which includes our current government, technology, and scientific knowledge.

Speculative - A story set sometime in the near(ish) future that makes a prediction about future events--political, social, technological, and/or scientific.

Science Fiction - A story set far into the future (or past) or that is set in a completely different world that is not necessarily ruled by the laws of science we have on earth. Science fiction is known for space travel, technology that does not or cannot exist as we know it, intergalactic wars, time travel, etc.

Now for some rules.

Your story MAY NOT include:

- Historical and/or fantasy settings
- Magic
- Extraterrestrial beings
- Fantastic creatures and/or races
- Fan fiction
- Extreme violence/gore
- Sexual content
- Excessively strong language

Now for your pitch.

This story must include but is not limited to the following:

One protagonist (main character/good guy)
One supporting character (friend/side-kick/love interest)
One antagonist (bad guy)

Concentrate on as few characters and subplots as possible. You can have as many as you like, but it's better to keep it simple until you know exactly where you're going with your story. Don't throw stuff in just because it's cool; only create as many characters and other elements as your story actually needs.

Now, this is what I want you to include in your pitch "package":

1) A logline, a one to two sentence description of your story.

Example:

A young genius made the scientific discovery of a lifetime. Twenty years later, Caleb Harper learns this discovery was used to turn an innocent boy into a killer, and now Caleb must stop him before he kills again.

2) A brief paragraph that states the basic premise of your story ending with the story question. Make it catchy . . . AKA pitch it, baby!

Example:

His name is Milo. He's a 24-year-old human test subject, now face to face with a world he never knew existed. He didn't escape. He was released--lost, confused, without an identity. His liberation isn't freedom. It's another experiment. Can a human being survive if he doesn't know the difference between good and evil? Of what might he be capable? Can he be exploited? Controlled? Or will he choose his own destiny?

3) An outline of your entire story. This should include all the important plot points of your story as well as detailing the main conflict between your protagonist and antagonist. This outline can be as detailed or as sparse as you like. Make sure you outline how the story ends.

There is no length limit on this. Remember that you don't need to outline everything, just the important plot points! Please try to be as concise as possible. I'm very easily distracted and am prone to getting bored if--ooo, look, so shiny . . .

I don't have an example for this one, so you're on your own. Good luck!

Other optional components of your pitch:

- Character sketch/profile for your main character(s)
- Character list
- Descriptions of your world, technology, weapons, political groups, etc.
- A dated timeline of events
- A detailed backstory, but be sure to include enough backstory in your outline to explain what's happening in the story
- Other helpful notes

How to Submit

Upload a .zip file of all the text or MS Word documents you wish to submit in your pitch package as a scrap. You may include as few or as many documents as you like, though having a lot will not necessarily earn you brownie points. I'm just looking for a good story, not necessarily a detailed one. If you need a lot of details to explain your totally awesome story, that's perfectly fine.

Make sure your document titles are clear and easy to understand--and not too long! Put numbers in front of the title to order them by importance. You may include original artwork if you wish, but please try to keep this .zip file under a few megabytes.

Send me a note titled "Contest Entry" with the link to your .zip scrap. Include the title or working title of your story. Please also include the genre of your story and the names of your three required characters and their gender if it is not obvious from the name.

If you do not know how to create a .zip file, just post your entry as a text scrap. If you must post multiples scraps, you may do so as long as you make sure to send me the links to all of them.

I'm accepting both brand spanking new story ideas as well as ideas you've already written or have started writing. Your idea can be for a sort story, a novel, a screenplay, a teleplay, or whatever other form of story you like!

And finally, I will probably have questions about your story, so be prepared to answer them!

Judging

I, the soul judge of this contest, shall consider your entries on the following grounds:

- Spelling (Just kidding! Had ya worried there for a sec, didn't I?)
- Originality and/or uniqueness of your story concept and premise
- The depth or your characters
- Psychological accuracy
- The height of what's at stake
- Level of suspense
- Epic nature of climax
- Logic and believability
- Intelligence
- Marketability
- The technique and style used to craft your outline, including proper grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.
- How clear and easy to understand your pitch is
- Other stuff I make up as I go
- How much I like it
- And finally, the just plain cool factor.

Prizes

There will be two prize winners.

The Winner

- A three-month dA subscription
- A custom journal CSS made by me (or other graphic of your choice)
- A one-month feature in my journal
- A detailed critique of the submitted story
- A detailed critique of one other story of choice in the winner’s dA gallery
- The option of co-writing submitted story with me (This is completely optional, but I would totally enjoy the experience!)

Honorable Mention

- A one-month dA subscription
- A one-month feature in my journal
- A custom graphic of choice (icon, dA ID, wallpaper, etc.)
- A detailed critique of the submitted story

Deadline:

Sunday, May 3th, give or take a few nano-seconds. I'm aiming for at least ten (10) entries!

For some topic ideas, how to earn brownie points, and helpful resources click here.