A contest? With no titles? No poems? (Take your time, 2/28 due)

~Ends when 10 spots ful. Sorry guys.~

Thats right you heard it. Technically the forum is called Poetry websites and contests, so Im going to hold a contest. Im pushing to get back into this site hardcore and I'm going to need to start somewhere. So here's what I want you to do.

I want you to write, a semi-essay. NOT A POEM. Here is the scoring system. You will be graded on answering the question fully, use of grammer/spelling, story itself, and over inspiration of the essay.

Part 1: Basic Guidelines

*Must be 3 Paragraphs. (For those of you who haven't a clue, 3 paragraphs by todays academic standards consists of 5-6 sentences in each. Leave the 3 sentence paragraphs back in elementary school.)
*No more than 10 paragraphs. (this is a essay about the questions below, not your full life story. Try to keep it short, but not to short. 10 paragraphs is more than generous page space.)
*Must answer all of the questions below. Questions not answered will drop your value lower than you can imagine. Be thourough. This part is worth 25 POINTS.

Part 2: Spelling and Grammer

*13-15pts = No spelling/grammer issues or none that are extremely noticeable. To be valued in this area you need errors to be <5.
*9-12pts = A few noticeable areas but nothing short of abover average. This point range is considered to be in the 5-10 error group. Try to read your work
*5-8pts = Many noticeable areas of "inexpertise", this is around the below average-average area of work. Strive for better
*<5pts = Should have spell-checked or proof read. A ridiculous amount of spelling errors and TYPN LIKEE DIS WIL NOT HELP YEW WIEEN!! =)

Part 3: Story Line

Points available for this area range anywhere from 1-25. If you dont post anything obviously you will receive 0 and not even be considered. It is almost difficult to place a grading rubric on this section but believe me, the more interested I am in the story the better your grade.

DO NOT LIE! Although I will not be able to catch every detail, please be honest, this is pretty much on the integrity system. Try to be truthful.

Part 3: Inspiring? (Imagery included)

Ahhhhh nearly the basis of the whole contest. There is a possible 45 points in this section. How inspring is your poem? How elegantly do you describe situation? Can I see myself in your room 8 years ago? This part will make or break your score. It can pull you from a last place post to nearly the top. Take your time and help me believe by using your words as a paintbrush in my mind.

Part 1: 25pts Possible
Part 2: 15pts Possible
Part 3: 25pts Possible.
Part 4: 45pts Possible
--------------------------
Overall Pts Possible = 100

Now before you have the prompt to your essay how about the rewards first? I've got to admit it will take quite some time to catch up with all of them, but I honestly will do them ALL! Call me on it =p Try me by posting here. 20 Possible Entrants are allowed.

REWARDS!!
~~~~~~~~
1st Place - 50 Poems RRC'd
2nd Place - 40 Poems RRC'd
3rd Place - 25 Poems RRC'd
4th Place - 15 Poems RRC'd
5th Place - 10 Poems RRC'd
6-10 Place- 5 Poems RRC'd

(The RRC's WILL NOT BE , great job, awesome, ehhh, kinda like it, WOOT!)

If your post does not meet the requirements above then you will be removed from the list and no longer allowed back on the list as a reserve until you post a revised one.

RESERVES ARE GOOD FOR 3 DAYS!!!

Alright well now your good to go.... What? I thought... Oh! THE TOPIC!! =) and to think I would have forgotten.

~~Your TOPIC~
I want you to go back. Back to your childhood/young adolescent/ or possibly only 2 years ago when you hit the big 4-0. Think back, remember what sparked the whole explosion. Your poetry chapter in your life.

What sparked your interest in poetry?
Why do you write?
When did you start?
How did you start?
How did you feel when you first started?
What were you afraid of?
Has your life improved/become worse since?

These are only the required questions needed to be answered, but there are some hidden questions that are not posted, and can only be found while looking deep in yourself. Discover them during your essay and your points will increase =p

NOW WRITE!!! I want some amazing peices of literature here!! Contest ends when the day comes above, or all 20 spots have been filled.

1\
2\
3\ Beautiful Chaos (completed)
4\
5\ Jess (completed)
6\ XxRomancing the Darker SidexX (completed)
7\ ReproducedByIntelligence (completed)
8\
9\
10\
~~~~~~

I will not begin to read any of the posts until the contest is closed to entrants. I will begin judging afterwards. You can submit it and change multiple times as long as it stays on the page. As soon as the contest is closed, no more changes are allowed. Corrections afterwards will result in disqualification.

I'll give this a go. I like the different format

I'll try :)

Interesting idea

My Written Road

Emotionally bound and censored by the age of 11, writing and poetry became an outlet. In a house where you were encouraged to suck up your pain and leave it behind, whether it was rectified or not, paper became my secret friend, a blank canvas to spew my internal torment. It was a taste of freedom.

I was never fearful to put ink to paper, writing, no fear existed that could not be recitified. It became a way to purge myself of my fears. From the first stroke I knew that writing would forever be a part of who I was. Within my family, my cirlce of friends, I was withdrawn and cautious, but on paper, I could go anywhere and do anything.

We all have ways in which we learn to not only comprehend the world around us, but also accept and empathize, writing was mine. It helped me work out problems and come to startling realizations. Every piece I write, is a small piece of who I am, that I hope inspires or touches another in some small way. Writing has been a saviour in my life, I cannot imagine what I could replace it with because it has always just flowed so naturally.

Music, art, movies, nature, friendships, family, all of these things are deeply loved and enjoyed in my life and each one of those roads, at some point, leads to writing. Every moment I have spent in this world has made it's way to paper, no moment is left behind or forgotten. Writing is my bliss and my torture because the written word flows much easier than the spoken one. Though I could never expell writing from my life, I wish I could find the same strength in every facet of my being as easily.

3 entrants and one completed already. Great job

I'm interested in this... but I think I'll write it before I bother reserving coz it might take me more than three days before I'm up to it lol.

Well i'll throw your name up there anyway =p plenty of spots.

Nice nice, at this rate i'll have the judging done by February 28th

I'd like to reserve please.

I sat in my small, cold room, bored and alone. I was a miserable eleven-year-old, desperate to find an outlet for the pain I felt. The rest of the world had already fallen asleep, (or at least the rest of my house). I had an old black binder filled with blank paper that my grandfather had given me. Well, I thought to myself, I might as well find something to do. We'd been studying famous poets in English class, and I had always thought that if they could write beautiful poems, why couldn't I? I reached for my favorite purple pen and thought about what to write.

The first thing that popped into my head was to write about death. But no, I thought, I wanted something unconventional. I wanted to stand out, to be different. Naturally, I was terrified. What if someone found what I was going to pen? Would they laugh? There was no time to think over simple questions like those, however. I just wanted to write. Again, I thought about my topic. I wanted to say so much in a single poem, and I realized how hard it would be to do that. I decided I needed to focus on one thing at a time, and I let the words flow from my hand onto the paper. When I was done, I was certain I had a masterpiece.

It was exhilarating. I felt a great rush of happiness sweep over me. I had done something unique and original. No one could tell me how or what to write. Poetry was something I could do my own way. All my life, I had been told I was intelligent, but what did it matter if I was a clone? Through poetry, I expressed my individuality, and people began to see me. It changed the person who I am, and made my life so much better. I know now the secret I'd missed out on for eleven years: When you feel sad, pick up the pen and write.

I`ll have a go at it, darling. xD
This is probably my favorite topic ever.
Ahha.

I am keeping track of the days also. Some of you are coming close to your 3 days being over. You can reserve again after if your name is off the list.

Oh.
My.
God.

This idea is AMAZING.
Like, stunning.
I haven't been able to write much rhyming, styled poetry lately, mostly prose, and I have an idea brewing already.
Amazing, amazing idea.
I've been really busy, but I'll do my best to write it.

Ahhh.
I love this!
Reserve, definately.

xTheEcstasyofSuicidex

I'd like to reserve a spot as well!

Alright you both are reserved =p

Sorry, I know I only have one day left, I've written most of mine but haven't been home to finish & perfect it so it's okay if you take me off the list. I'll just reserve and post it again when I'm done with it. :]

Poetry Itself.

Minds don't seem to know the truth of love, but only the hearts and souls themselves. They create the emotions from heartbreak and soon to be lost relationships, forming lies to live within. But, when they reach the breaking point, the recreating themselves for the truth- what do they do? How must they go about changing and where do they start? Well, I began with a simple step and from my knowledge, I had no clue it would change my life from there on out: Poetry Itself.

I've named my adventure Poetry Itself because poetry has changed my life in ways no one and nothing ever could. I had written for a long time, but not in order to release emotions or feel better about myself and the life I was living. . .. But, the day my parents separated, at the age of 14, that all changed. It was one thing to want the divorce, but another to lose a parent because of it. The pain coming from that drove me to the unspeakable, literally; writing. I wrote and wrote and wrote, and I didn't stop. I recall writing an average of 20 poems a day over the exact same emotion each time. I was amazed by the different ways you could write one thing over and over. The words for each poem came out so fluently and they didn't stop. it was as if I'd accomplished something in the simplest for available to me - writing.

Through-out this experience my biggest fear was showing my parents exactly what I had came up with. Of course, my father wasn't around to show but my mother still was. She constantly asked me what I had been doing in my room all day. I finally told her due to the fact that she thought I was overly depressed and needed counseling. She never asked me to show her, though. And, I was so glad she hadn't because I wasn't ready to share my work with her. But, after I had told her I was able to write more freely, at family gatherings, church, in the car, school, and just about everywhere I went. Never in my life had I understood why people wrote, drew, or played sports for a living - not until then. I knew what I wanted to do when I finished high school and why I wanted to. From there on out I wanted to become a journalist. I wanted to write for a living, I figured that as time went on I could do more than just poetry. I could create books and articles for newspapers and magazines and I could become someone known all around the world.

Almost four years later, that is still my dream. I'm still writing daily, still living the life I want to live and planning the future I desire. As a young child and teen I often changed my mind about careers and whatnot. but, I've came to find my fate; writing. I plan on doing politics and different types of poetry in a magazine or semi-big newspaper, and writing a few books. Writing has changed my life, of course my life would have changed without writing - just not in the same way. I look at life differently, I have completely different goals than I would have otherwise. Goals I am proud of and goals I will accomplish. During the process of writing I have a certain emotion I try to portray but when I'm finished the emotion seems more at peace and less overtaking. Poetry Itself has made me a better person, I understand the meaning of love. And, I truly believe even if I lost my father due to the divorce, without poetry I would not completely understand the meaning of true love. I've written so many things that I had no idea I actually felt, especially during that time period. And, it's made me realize more than just that, because when those words come out I'm in a different place. I'm not living the life I thought I always would, instead I'm creating something that makes me feel as if I'm worth something. Even if my poetry isn't that great to others, it means the world to me and for all the right reasons; because it is my past, my present, and my future.

Im giving everyone a day or two extra due to the forum malfunctions that i was seeing.

Sorry, I think that I won't manage to finish this.

Good luck everyone :)

Its alright, just get it in, you got some time before the whole thing closes.

Im going to have to cancell this soon if the entrants don't get filled. =( sorry

Lol, sorry im a very impatient person and we have districts/regionals/state for wrestling coming up =( so very busy with work and school.

It was a pretty long due date, so people get side tracked doing other things, I know it has happened to me, unless I am inspired lol

Yeah, well a big part of it is im busy lol.

And today I found out im having surgery on the 18th and i'd like to finish the contest by then. I am going to cut the participants, but also the prizes.

So can people still enter?