Fantasy Prologue II
Write a fantasy story that begins with this first sentence: 'The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.'
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Oct 09, 2024
Submissions closed
Nov 16, 2024 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 03, 2024
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Oct 09, 2024
Submissions closed
Nov 16, 2024 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 03, 2024
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a fantasy story that begins with this first sentence:
'The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.'
By popular demand, we’re returning to the magical realm of fantasy in our Revisited series, paying homage to the extremely popular Fantasy Prologue Challenge! For our Fantasy Prologue II, we’re asking you to craft the first chapter of a new fantasy saga. Whether it’s filled with heroic quests, enchanted forests, ancient prophecies, or mystical creatures, your story should build a world unlike any other.
This time, your tale must begin with the line: 'The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.' Where will this mysterious event lead? Is it the start of a kingdom’s downfall or the beginning of a legendary adventure? Perhaps the Queen holds the key to an ancient magic, or her disappearance signals a long-awaited prophecy. The rest of the journey is yours to tell.
The rules are simple: Use the provided sentence as your opening line and create a first chapter that hooks your readers. This is just the beginning, so don't give it all away at once!
In order for your submission to qualify, it must:
- Be between 600-2,500 words, including the provided first sentence.
- Begin with the first sentence: 'The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.'
- Be submitted to the Fiction community. Choosing a community is a final step in the submission process.
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $200
- 10 Runners-Up: $20
How to enter
For your piece to be eligible, it should follow the rules above and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on November 15, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Fantasy Prologue II Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.
Any content that is determined to be generated by artificial intelligence will be disqualified and will not be eligible to place in any challenge. Read more on our stance here.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
Dead Air
Write a horror story about a broadcast, recording, phone call, or transmission that should not exist.
$1,000 Grand Prize9 hours leftScroll No More
Imagine that every smartphone in the world suddenly stops working. Write about what happens next.
$1,000 Grand Prize7 days leftNo One Remembers It That Way
Write about a memory that you and someone else remember completely differently.
$1,000 Grand Prize14 days leftSteal From Yourself
Return to something you wrote years ago and use one idea, image, character, or line from it to create something entirely new.
$1,000 Grand Prize21 days leftNot on the Menu
Write about something memorable you ate that you'd never find on a restaurant menu.
$1,000 Grand Prize28 days left
Challenge resources
You Are Here Challenge Winners
For You Are Here , we asked writers to put readers somewhere they weren't supposed to be. What really stood out in the stories that placed was how often that line wasn't so clear. Sometimes you knew you were pushing your luck, sometimes you had every right to be there, and sometimes you didn't get much of a choice. Writing in second person made those situations feel a lot harder to watch from the sidelines.
By Vocal Curation Team2 days ago in Resources
Negative Space Challenge Winners
For Negative Space , we asked writers to explore how much can be said through what's left out. Our favorite entries found clever ways to make those silences, gaps, and unanswered questions feel just as important as the words themselves.
By Vocal Curation Team9 days ago in Resources
Out of Season Challenge Winners
We’re trying something new with our challenge awards structure. Starting with Out of Season , each challenge will recognize one grand prize , four winners , and ten honorable mentions . That’s 15 stories to celebrate, with a little extra love for the top pick. For this challenge, the strongest stories made the timing matter. Something showing up early or returning when it shouldn’t changed what people did, what they assumed, or how they saw each other. There was humor in trying to carry on as usual, and sadness in realizing why the usual schedule no longer worked. Sometimes the wrong time of year turned out to be just when someone needed it.
By Vocal Curation Team16 days ago in Resources
