*ProsePlease is proud to announce the release of a new contest open to all members of DeviantArt:

The Creative Nonfiction Contest!

The purpose of this contest is to promote the writing of real and worthwhile nonfiction on DeviantArt, and to encourage deviants to continue practicing this form in the future. In order to write nonfiction, however, it's important that you first understand what nonfiction is all about, and it may not be what you first thought. Read The Truth About Nonfiction to find out more.

At this point, you may be thinking, "Oh boy. I write essays all the time for school; I don't want to write an essay in my free time!" That's good, because we don't want everyday, run-of-the-mill, academic essays. Those essays are great for an organized environment like school, with their cooking-cutter form and spoon-fed theses. What *ProsePlease wants are creative essays, which are entirely different.

In academic essays, the reader learns factual information about another person, another time period, or a specific event in a way that is generally detached from the reader. Creative essays, because of their unique blend of artistic elements and personal experience, teach readers about life and about themselves from the unique perspective of the writer. If the creative nonfiction writer hasn't reached the reader in a personal way, they have not accomplished their task.

Similarly, a creative essay is not only about relating the facts of an individual's life: it's about gaining some kind of perspective on those experiences. Too many people write rants, mistaking this outpouring of emotion for literature. Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola, authors of Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction (a copy of which, coincidentally, is on the prize list), say: "Perspective defines the difference between a journal entry meant only for private venting and an essay designed for public consumption."

So, how should you approach nonfiction? Sideways! Miller and Paola point to a sort of peripheral vision that can guide you in the telling of your real life stories: "This peripheral vision--this ability to sidle up to the big issues by way of a side route--is the mark of an accomplished writer, one who has gained enough perspective to use personal experience in the service of a larger literary purpose." Creative essays are more than just a beginning, middle, and end centering on a single issue; they are more than an emotional rant about the unfairness of life; they use seemingly unrelated anecdotes and plenty of imagery to present a theme that packs a powerful punch!

Ok, so let's get on with. What about this contest?

To level the playing field a little, this contest has a theme. Since it begins today, September 1st, and will be completed by mid-December, we ask that your essay be inspired by one of the September to December holidays. It can be any special occasion that falls in one of those four months, including New Year's Eve, Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Veterans/Rememberance Day, as well as birthdays, and any other personal or religious holiday you observe during those months in any year of your life.

We do not, however, want you to just tell us what happened: we want you to give us some perspective. Why was that event so important to you? What significance does/did it bear on your life? What insight does it offer into the lives of your readers? Try to use thematic elements, like symbolism, metaphor, and irony, for example, to make your essay pop.

Most creative nonfiction writers use several seemingly unconnected anecdotes and musings to compile their essay, but critical readers can see the same theme running through each paragraph. That is the kind of creative essay writing we're looking for. Don't just tell us, for example, about last Thanksgiving from beginning to end. Use the holiday as your inspiration, but draw more inspiration from other areas of your life as well.

Rules:

Your essay must be a work of nonfiction, not deliberately misleading or obviously fictionalized in any way.
Your entry must be received no earlier than October 1, 2009, so take your time editing, and no later than November 15, 2009 (based on EST time zone).
You may submit only one entry.
Your essay will be subject to pre-screening, to ensure it fits the genre and the theme of this contest. Any obvious deviations from the rules will be disqualified, but you may resubmit an edited or brand new essay thereafter, as long as you meet the deadline.
Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated.

Judges:



Prizes:

1st Place:

- a copy of Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction by Brenda Miller & Suzanne Paola, donated by `ATrue
- a 6-month sub from Community Relations
- a hoodie of your choice from Community Relations
- journal features from `ATrue, =mode-de-vie, ~Lefting, and ~Book-Reviews.

2nd Place:

- a 3-month sub from Community Relations
- a t-shirt of your choice from Community Relations
- journal features from `ATrue, =mode-de-vie, ~Lefting, and ~Book-Reviews

3rd Place:

- a 1-month sub from Community Relations
- a button of your choice from Community Relations
- journal features from `ATrue, =mode-de-vie, ~Lefting, and ~Book-Reviews.

We'd love to be able to offer even more prizes, so, if you have anything to offer (including journal features), please contact *ProsePlease by note.

We would like to stress that it is extremely important to read all the contest details and rules to ensure you understand our expectations. Failure to do so could result in disqualification from the contest (unfortunately, it does happen). All we ask is that you read this news article in full, please!