Find your next favourite story now
Login

Literary Inspiration Challenge

last reply
13 replies
2.4k views
0 watchers
0 likes
Unknown User
Literary Inspiration Challenge

Rules of the challenge: select a story, poem, author or theme that appeals to you and is in the public domain – meaning, there is no longer any copyright on the work involved.

Develop a story or poem derived from the work or the author chosen.

The range of possibilities for this are manifold. You can rework the ending of the story, write an entirely new text based on a minor character, change the setting and time frame of the story, change the genders of the characters, write a modern version of the story, and so on. One thing that is essential is the story MUST be based on the text that is in the public domain, NOT on a film or television version. It is up to you to make sure you are following or referring to the text in the public domain.

An excellent resource for books and texts that are in the public domain is the Project Gutenberg.

Example of a few writers whose works are in the public domain: Mary Shelley, Jane Austin, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Wilkie Collins, M.R. James, Bram Stoker, Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, E.A. Poe …

The great works of mythology are also excellent sources, with no need to list them here.

Read the following guidelines, follow them carefully, and submit the text for publication here at Stories Space.

Guidelines for the challenge:

- The text must be written for this challenge and not already be published here or elsewhere
- It can be either a stand alone story, or part of a series having up to three separate chapters
- There is no deadline to the challenge
- Preface your title with Literary Inspiration Challenge
- Include literaryinspiration as a tag
- Use a tag that indicates what inspired you – for example : charlesdickens, janeausten, shakespearean sonnets, mythology, folk lore, aliceinwonderland…
- Submit your story via the story submission link on the home page
- No excessive or blatant violence, cruelty, sex etc allowed, but if implied, hinted at or referred to, the age appropriate category must be used.
- Word count is minimum 150 words, maximum 3000 for each submission
- Categories : All categories are eligible with the exception of Micro Fiction, due to the minimum word count of 150 words
- Language should be clean and appropriate
- All the site rules apply

If you have any questions or have concerns, please ask them here, especially if there is something that is unclear.

Thank you, and I hope you find inspiration and have fun with this!


Links to the challenge stories are here:

Literary Inspiration Challenge: Edward Arlington Robinson - Survivor

Literary Inspiration Challenge - The Egotists Lament - HappyJack
Mendalla
Crazy old ape
Must confirm that William Hope Hodgson is PD. I am pretty sure he is given that he died in the trenches in WWI. His Carnacki the Ghost Finder is basically a Victorian Ghostbusters. And his sea-going horror stories are great, too, but I can't hope to do him justice there. He was a sailor himself so his sea stories have an authenticity that a hydrophobic landlubber like me can't achieve.

Halloween looms and my annual story is here. Is it a trick? Or a treat? Let me know.

Grace of Bigelow Street | Stories Space
Unknown User
That sounds intriguing, Scot. Carnacki the Ghost Finder is indeed available in PD at Gutenberg Project. If you are inspired by it, that will be quite interesting.

Thanks Bill for your support!
Mendalla
Crazy old ape
Quote by gypsy
Carnacki the Ghost Finder is indeed available in PD at Gutenberg Project.


Thanks, gypsy. I actually have old Panther paperbacks of most of Hodgson's output (for some reason, I never found a copy of Boats of the Glen Carrig) including Carnacki. Was just asking to make sure I can use him. I have always wanted to do a Carnacki story and I know some modern writers have done so (I think there's even a tribute anthology of modern writers doing Carnacki stories).

Right now, though, I am kind of meditating on what could be done with Le Fanu's Carmilla. Best vampire story after Dracula (and a major influence on that novel), IMHO.

Halloween looms and my annual story is here. Is it a trick? Or a treat? Let me know.

Grace of Bigelow Street | Stories Space
magnificent1rascal
Divine Rapscallion
Works from 1925, including “The Great Gatsby,” “Mrs. Dalloway” and others, just entered public domain. Learn more at [url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2021/?fbclid=IwAR0bzS9TTlUBYHc8pKfCNDABCoWvy4-1h3x3llQxp76Yvw1J1i35QMnUNGY][b]Public Domain Day 2021[/url].
Connect with Maggie

Like my Facebook fan pages: Maggie Rascal and M.P. Witwer • Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maggierascal • Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Maggie1Rascal
Mendalla
Crazy old ape
Quote by magnificent1rascal
Works from 1925, including “The Great Gatsby,” “Mrs. Dalloway” and others, just entered public domain. Learn more at [url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2021/?fbclid=IwAR0bzS9TTlUBYHc8pKfCNDABCoWvy4-1h3x3llQxp76Yvw1J1i35QMnUNGY][b]Public Domain Day 2021[/url].


Damn, so probably five more years for Werewolf of Paris. I am so wanting to do something for this challenge and so challenged to find something PD that engages me. Been toying with Phantom of the Opera lately, but I know that's because I've fallen madly in love with Nightwish's cover of the title song from Lloyd-Webber's musical and that may colour how I handle it.

Halloween looms and my annual story is here. Is it a trick? Or a treat? Let me know.

Grace of Bigelow Street | Stories Space
Survivor
Primus Omnium
Right now have an idea for the challenge working in my head. I think I will be able to create something this week. It will be fun to present the first entry. Unless someone pours on the steam and beats me to the punch.



Edit: I will go ahead and give a big hint to everyone. Edward Arlington Robinson, the first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry with his Collected Poems in 1921.
Mendalla
Crazy old ape
Twon't be me who beats you. I've toyed with several ideas for a story for this and none have seen the light of day yet.

Halloween looms and my annual story is here. Is it a trick? Or a treat? Let me know.

Grace of Bigelow Street | Stories Space
Unknown User
Quote by DenimAngel
This will be an interesting challenge and I have an idea hoping it pans out..


I hope it pans out too, Sara. Larry's poem is posted (link to it is in first post).

Scot, I'm sure something will work out for you in regards to this challenge.

I have several ideas as well, but need time to do some rereading of one of the stories I'm inspired by. Fortunately, there is no deadline for the challenges.
Guest
Lurker
Short story submitted. Not Gatsby. But closely related. The story is called "The Egotist Laments".
Unknown User
Thank you HappyJack and Larry for kicking off this challenge! Both poem and story are now available and well worth reading. Thank you.
Survivor
Primus Omnium
Quote by gypsy
Thank you HappyJack and Larry for kicking off this challenge! Both poem and story are now available and well worth reading. Thank you.


It's my hope that regulars here on the site will give the story by Happyjack a perusal. It is well worth reading. It's good to get newbies into the stream of the site when we can.