Eragon, Roran, Orik, and Arya have traveled via Saphira back to Ellismera to...
Once, long ago, the elf Maerzadí had a premonition that he would accidentally kill his son in battle. Rather than live to see it happen, he committed suicide, saving his son, and at the same time proving that the future isn’t set. Short of killing...
For most of us here at SFF, the end of August brings to mind one thing: School. From just outside of middle schools to the hallowed halls of universities all over the world, we're gearing up to return to the daily grind of the twin wheels of our education and training for the future stages of life. Our earliest memories and our immediate struggles often return to the theme of school. Sometimes it feels as though someone has pushed the "Pause" button on life and we're missing something really important while teachers are catching us up on something we aren't all that interested in to begin with.
Education is also a vital theme in the Inheritance Cycle, taking up entire chapters of Eragon's journey and pages in other chapters where he learns important snatches of information in unusual ways. But what happens behind the scenes when all this learning is going on? What's really going on in the characters' heads while tons of obscure facts are getting dumped on their heads? And, perhaps most important, what in the world is going on in the real world while key characters are back in "school"?
To kick off the beginning of what is sure to be a great school year, we invite you to explore the background of Alagaesia's education scenes. Tell us a story about what happened during Eragon's training during Eldest, which is the most "school-heavy" of the Inheritance books. Take us inside a character's head whose perspective seems missing while Paolini was writing about such things as the secret life of ants. Give us some action, romance, comedy, or conflict that took place during the missing months.
Story Requirements
1. Your story must be from 1-5 chapters long, with at least 500 words per chapter.
2. Your story must take place during the timeframe of Eldest, as stated above, but doesn't necessarily need to follow Paolini's storyline.
3. Your story must be from the perspective of A) any Inheritance character but Eragon or B) an original character.
4. Your story must include education as a major theme/plot point. Be creative.
5. You will need to write a new story for this contest. Resubmitting an old one won't count.
The contest will run from 12:00 AM EST August 15, 2009 to 12:00 AM EST September 5, 2009.
Have a great school year and happy writing!
Does our story have to be about the chapter entitled "The Secret Life of Ants" or can we just pick a random day? Also, do we have to label this as a challenge when we post? I'm just wondering...
Jarla
First question: No, I just used that chapter as an example. (mainly because I've always found it quite dull, and have imagined various ways of spicing it up.) Your stories can focus on any bit of education you wish, so long as you're within the general timeframe of Eldest, the most "school-heavy" Inheritance book.
Second question: When submitting a story for this contest, select the category "Challenges" and select "Back to School" from its sub-categories and add it like any other category. That way, we'll know which stories are contest submissions and which aren't.
Back to the grind of education? I'm in the middle of a term here!
The first contest I might actually be in...
Thanks for all the entries so far! It's been great to see such a variety of ideas.
At some point next week, you should be seeing my entry go up. No, I won't be competing for the prize, but I thought it would be fun to do a story anyway!