Nobody likes a liar.
Ismae has been trained in the art of lying and she has mastered the art of killing. She’s on a mission from St. Mortain, the patron saint of Death, and honestly? She couldn’t care less whether or not she’s well liked. She killed her mother when she entered the world, and she’s been marked as a daughter of Death ever since.
Start reading Robin LaFevers’s Grave Mercy and you’ll be thrust into the world of 15th century Brittany, a place of religious fervor and surreptitious war. Ismae is sent to court, where she pretends to be a nobleman’s mistress. But all the while, she’s receiving orders from her abbess and looking for marks on her designated victims—marks depicting how they will die by her hand.
Your mission: write a story in no more than 1,200 words about a character who lies about who he or she is.
How-to enter:
1. Read the full rules.
2. Create an account on Figment.com.
3. Start a new writing of 1200 words or fewer.
4. Tag your writing with GraveMercyContest on the Details tab.
5. Press “Publish Now.”
6. You should receive a pop-up confirmation of your entry, and in about two hours or so, your piece should appear among the submissions.
You have until April 23, 11:59 p.m. ET to submit your entry. Voting will run until April 30 at 6:00 p.m. ET, at which point the 10 most-hearted entries will be judged by Robin LaFevers, the author of Grave Mercy. If you’re on the lookout for new fall 2012 books–you know, the kind that haven’t even hit shelves yet–this is a contest worth entering!
The first place winner will receive copies of Grave Mercy, The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde, Wrap Up List by Steven Arntson, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber, and Perry’s Killer Playlist by Joe Schreiber (that’s the sequel to Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick); a Grave Mercy t-shirt and button; and a $15 Amazon gift card. The second place winner will receive copies of Grave Mercy, The Last Dragonslayer, Wrap Up List, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, and Perry’s Killer Playlist; a Grave Mercy t-shirt and button; and a $10 Amazon gift card. The third place winner will receive copies of Grave Mercy, The Last Dragonslayer, Wrap Up List, and Perry’s Killer Playlist; and a Grave Mercy t-shirt and button. Whew!
Amazing prizes! They’re epic-awsome-sauce.
Could identity be their sexuality?
Totally!
In the rules:
Start a writing of 100 words or fewer,
or do you mean
Start a writing of 1200 words or fewer?
Yes! We’ve fixed that.
Wait, what’s the word limit? The prompt says 1200, but the how-to-enter says 100.
Updated! 1200.
Wait, is it 100 words or 1,200 words?
1200. We’ve updated the page to remove the discrepancy.
Can it be from another’s point of view. Like the one whose fooled by her lies?
Hey Mary Kate-
Sure, as long as the story is still about the liar.
Hi, there.
Am I allowed to reuse a story that I had entered in a previous contest? It did not win (though it was a finalist), and it has already been deleted from my account. If I am allowed to use the story for this contest, I will republish it.
Thanks for the help in advance.
Hey N.R.-
Stories should not have been previously published and should be created for the contest. They cannot already be on Figment, or they will not show up among the entries. Hope this helps!
Best,
Emily
This contest says we have to write it in 1,200 words or fewer, but the insructions to enter say to start a new writing of 100 words or fewer. Which one? Thanks!
Hey Karyn-
Fixed!
The How-to-Enter section says that new writings should be 100 words or fewer?
But at first it says 1,200 words or fewer. Then in the instructions it says only 100 words. Which is true?
Hey Kalli-
Thanks for pointing this out! The limit is 1200 words.
its 1200 they have updated it but sometimes it appears 100 but its upto 1200
thank you
Zeeshan
But above the ‘How-to-Enter’ it says 1,200 words. Which is it?
Hey Niki-
We fixed it! When it doubt, official rules-it out. You’ve got 1,200 words!
-Emily
Sorry- this has been updated. You have 1200 words!
This probably sounds pretty random, but I was wondering if I can use a line from a song as the title…
Hey Marisol-
You shouldn’t use any copyrighted content in your entries without the express permission of the copyright holder.
I have a question: can the character lie about WHAT she is?
Sure!
I entered a piece in the contest, and tagged it correctly, but nothing popped up. Should I be worried about that or no…?
Hey Kit- as long as it is tagged correctly and was created after the announcement of the contest, you’re all set!
Hey. Could it be a poem or does it have to be a story?
~Kyla Marie Rich : )
It can be a poem if the poem tells a story!
Can i write the sequel of Grave Mercy for the contest
Hey-
All characters and settings should be your creation or public domain. The characters from Grave Mercy are copyrighted, so avoid using fanfiction.
Can the character hide WHAT they are; like if they are a supernatural creature or something?
Yay!
When I edit a story for the gravemercycontest does the editing show up on the entry? because I noticed that I changed the description after I published my entry and it stayed the same. Thanks for your help?
Hey-
It might take some time to update, but the changes should be reflected shortly.
Hey, am I allowed to enter a piece I already wrote? It feels like it would fit.
Hey Madison-
Pieces cannot have been posted on Figment prior to the announcement of the contest and they should be original work.
I asked this before, but my comment hasn’t shown up…
So, in my story the character who lies about her identity actually thinks that she is who she says to be. Also, the stiry isn’t from her POV, rather, it is addressed to her.
Is that okay?
Hey Anna-
That’s fine! She’s still lying, even if she thinks she is telling the truth. And it doesn’t need to be her POV, just about her. You’re all set!
I have a quick question: could our character have a condition that they’re lying about?
Uhm, is the contest based on how many hearts? D:
Hey ZoZo-
Finalists are determined by hearts.
Hi, so I’m just wondering when the finalists are going to be posted… (just a little anxious)
No set deadline to announce the finalists, so stay tuned!
Hey, do you think you can have the finalists announced by the end of the month at least? (just so I have a good idea of when things will be announced.)
XOXO
~Midnight.
Hey Midnight-
We don’t have a set timeline. We’ll let you know when we’ve got further news!