It’s Contest Round time!

It’s {user:carly1967) again. I have the pleasure of cheering you on for the contest round:
Oct. 8: - "Character: CONTEST ROUND: Protagonist Background Story" ▼
Write a story about your protagonist that takes place outside of your novel. Make your readers relate to him or her in such a way that we would be devastated if he or she were to experience conflict (which, ultimately, sometime in November, he/she will.) The object of the contest is to make your judges root for your protagonist! Simply put: the character we like best wins. If your protagonist is a drug dealer or someone similarly ""unlikeable"" (a.k.a, an ""anti-hero""), never fear! I love Vlad Taltos, the professional assassin. You can make us love your character, too.

*Contest Round entries may be any rating. Submit your ITEM or ENTRY number by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday to compete. WDC time is New York City time and can be found at the top of the IM Console. If you miss this deadline or choose not to compete, you must still log the assignment complete (without linking your work) for the grand prize, per the standard Prep guidelines.


This contest round focuses on Character. Creating a snapshot into your protagonist’s background story.

Consider:
What makes them tick? Why are they the way they are? What moment in their past made the way they are? Consider their flaw and how they got it. What beliefs do they hold? Why?

In order for us to empathize with a character, they must be authentic. To be authentic, they cannot be perfect. They need flaws and flaws come from somewhere. Delve into that somewhere story. See how it develops your character.

Remember this is about getting to know your character. I focus on that. If I were to win the contest, that would be a bonus, but my priority is getting to know them better. The better you know then, the better your story will be.

I don’t want anyone to be discouraged. Have fun with it. You may be surprised at what you learn.

Don’t worry about the Contest component. You are not required to enter the contest, but you must still complete the assignment. Do your 15 minutes and log it to be eligible for October Prep’s grand prize – as per the Standard Prep Guidelines.

[My favourite part of winning October’s Prep (logging all the assignments) is the sprinting forum in November. It keeps me at it during NaNoWriMo and I need that little bit of competition! I have never won the Sprints forum, but my words do get me over 50K and that is what matters to me.]

Good luck and happy prepping.

I forgot to add. The contest link:

SURVEY

October Novel Prep Contest Rounds  (E) Four competitive novel prep assignments accompanying the October Novel Prep Challenge #2134154 by Brandiwyn🎶