For writers who are looking to break out of their typical genres and work with new conventions and material, Figment recommends exploring steampunk. For the uninitiated, steampunk is: “a sci-fi subculture that offers a fresh, romanticized view on technology by making it retro” (for a comprehensive explanation of the movement, check out MTV’s article here). Think a mixture of 19th century Victorian stylings melded with gears and gadgetry. Notable novels that are associated with the steampunk movement include A Clockwork Orange, the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, and the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld.
For our Steampunk Romance contest, inspired by Corsets and Clockwork, a collection of 13 Steampunk romances edited by Trisha Telep (find an excerpt on Figment here), Figmenters are challenged to write a steampunk romance of their very own. What would a romance look like if it were set in an mechanized, sci-fi world? Your story or poem should be less than 1,000 words.
How to enter:
-Submit your entry
by 12AM EST on Tuesday, May 3rd to steampunk@figment.com, copy and pasted in the body of the email.
-Follow Steampunk Romance on Figment.
Finalists will be voted on the following week on the blog, and the winner will receive a copy of Corsets and Clockwork as well as an awesome steampunk device of his or her choosing: either a pair of goggles, a monocle, or a compass.
Strap on that thinking cap (or top hat, rather), Figmenters! Best of luck!
1. One entry per person, please.
2. The promotion of your contest entry is not allowed on Figment. This includes self-promotion and the promotion of other users’ contest entries in the Figment forums, the comments and reviews of stories, and the Figment Facebook page. Independent promotion on sites unrelated to Figment, like personal Facebook or Twitter accounts, is fine.
3. Works must be submitted to the above email address between the announcement of the contest and the closure of the contest. Entries created before the start date or after the end date will not be included in the pages of contest entries and will be ineligible to win. This means a new story must be created for the contest; adapting an old story published before the start of the contest will make the entry ineligible to win.
4. The rules of the contest are both strict and open to interpretation by a moderator.
5. The creation of multiple accounts to heart or otherwise vote for your contest entry on Figment is prohibited, and may result in the disqualification of that entry, the deletion of your Figment account, and/or the blocking of your IP address permanently from the site, at the moderator’s discretion.
Interesting… My setting is already kind of a magical variant of a cyberpunk society, but cyberpunk might be doable…
Correction: STEAMpunk… Darn cold is getting to my brain
can we use our characters from our first steampunk entry?
Hi Kaitlin
Yes, you can use previous characters but the story must be new.
I am SO up to this!
The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld is NOT Steampunk. His Leviathan series IS Steampunk. Please correct this. Thank you.
Hi Teresa
It’s been fixed. Thanks!
Will there be updated prompts?
Does it HAVE to be romance?
Hey Katarina-
No other prompts- since this contest is only a week long, it’s just the one. And yes, your entry needs to include both steam-punk elements and romance to fulfill the prompt. Good luck!
another question… can the story be like a continuation? or does it have to be a completly new story?
Hey Kaitlin-
Sure! It can be a continuation, but it will be judged as a separate and independent piece of writing, so it should make sense by itself.
Sorry-I have another question!(I am curious!)
Is there a specific reason that we are submitting our entries differently?
Plus, I would like to say that I’m REALLY EXCITED!!!:D
Hi Katarina
There’s no reason. We just like to offer different ways for different contests. Call it a fig-xperiment.
I don’t know if I can!!! *cry*
Just wondering, not to sound inappropriate or anything, but what is the reader’s rating on this thing. Childrens, YA, T, A? Needs to know my boundries as I have tendancy to make scenes turn steamy. -_- (sweatdrops)
Hi Emily
As long as the “scenes” don’t completely take over your work, and don’t crop up too often, it should be fine. But just make a mental note that there may be younger readers.
roger, next challenge, getting it done on time!
yay!!! the goggles look cool. i am SO doing this one.
I accidentally sent my unfinished entry! Can I resend my finished entry later?
Hi Terry
Yes, but make sure it gets to us before the deadline. Also, just write a couple of words explaining that the most recent submission you sent in is the correct one.
I sent in my entry yesterday and haven’t gotten a conformation that it was received–is that a problem?
Hi, I sent my contest submission in yesterday and haven’t heard any conformation that it’s been received. Is this a problem?
Thanks!
Hi Kiki
All entrants will be receiving confirmation emails by tomorrow morning.
Great, thanks!!
Love Steampunk. HATE romance. UG.
This sounds like a fun, unexplored topic. Does the piece of writing have a word limit?
Hi A.J.
The word limit is 1000 words.
Hey, I don’t quite understand.. Are we writing something with romance and punkiness? I can do that. I just need to know so I can determine if I want to do it or not. And another question, do we get anything for winning a contest?
Steampunk is advanced steam-powered technology in an anachronistic setting- usually around WWI or WWII or Victorian England. And yeah! Prizes are listed above: a copy of Corsets and Clockwork and a choice of a piece of steampunk gear.
Okay, I haven’t received a conformation email yet–this a problem now, probably?
We’re still getting around to confirmations, but I just checked and we got your entry! Consider it confirmed.
I am SO up to this!
steampunksteampunksteampunk….
Oh, thanks soooo much!!!!
Hey there. I started writing my story on here, but then I took it off. Is that okay? It was on there for less than 24 hours.
As long as it’s no longer on Figment it’s okay.
Can we post on our profiles? i want to post it as one of my stories later on.
Of course you can! Post away!
Thanks! That is a relief cause I wanted to post it on my page.
Just read A. Lee-Reid’s comment. So I can’t have it as one of my stories during the contest, I just posted like 2 minutes ago…?
Well, the book cover and details.
When does the entry get confirmed?
You will receive a confirmation within 24 hours.
Correct- because of the blind voting, stories should remain anonymous and so shouldn’t be on Figment. After the contest we encourage you to post them for the world to see!
Oh, kk deleting my cover and etc.
I don’t know if I can make it under 1000 words. aaahhhhh!
is it allowed to be a romance/tradgedy?
Hi Violet
Of course! The prompt directly asks for romance, so get writing!
For this contest, we are not allowed to promote our stories. Does that include simply publishing them ourselves or is that considered okay?
Hi Rachel
You can definitely publish it yourself. When we say contest promotion, we are referring to asking people to read and vote for your entry either in the forums, or in comments/reviews/messages. You can’t bring any attention to or refer to your entry in any way, anywhere on Figment. You can definitely promote it on your personal social media accounts, though (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.). Feel free to email me at Maria@Figment.com if you have any other questions.
I don’t exactly get what steam punk is. Can someone explain it to me? And if another Figgy posted a steampunk story that I could read, that would be great too.
I don’t exactly get steampunk. Can someone explain it to me? And if you provide a link to an example, that would be better!
Hi Kiira
Steampunk is a genre that mainly deals with stories that include gadgets/technology but are set in Victorian/Edwardian stylings. You can go here for an explanation of it: http://on.mtv.com/jFQiGx.
To read examples of it, you can read other entries in the contest (just scroll down to the bottom of the Steampunk Romance Contest post to see the list) or you can head over to “Figment Features” to read an excerpt from “Corsets and Clockwork,” written by Adrienne Kress.
Feel free to email me at Maria@Figment.com if you have any other questions.
When it says the voting is “the following week”, do you mean the week of May 3rd?
Hi Teresa
Yes, that means the voting will take place from May 3rd until May 6th.
Does it have to have a lot of romance in it? Mine only has it at the end and a bit in the middle.
Hi A.
It doesn’t have to be *drowned* in romance, but there should be something, as the prompt asks for it.
Mine just touches on it. Like she says, oh he’s cute, but he’s on the bad side, and she dismisses it?
I’m sure that’s fine
Thanks.
How many entries do you have so far?
There can never be too many
Can I send it in like, right before the deadline? I have some final editing to do.. (Just at like 11:30, if that’s fine)
Hi Ruobing
Try to get it in quickly, but you do have until midnight.
When do I receive the confirmation e-mail? Also, when are the finalists announced?
Hi A.
I sent out confirmation emails late last night, so please make sure you also check your spam folder. The semi-finalists will be announced soon, so check the “Contests” page either tonight(ish) or tomorrow(ish). We will definitely announce when the semi-finalists are posted.