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Writing Contest #4 - Murder they Wrote
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Please send all entries to me by pm. Is midnight Wednesday too soon?
This sounds like a hard one....
Doesn't it though. To do 'The Reveal' you have to have mentally written the whole murder story! Trust an author to set that!
Here's one.... not for the competition, but just to get it off my chest :The group were finally assembled in the dining room, and the children calmed down as the empty cardboard box was removed from.
The inspector paced up and down the rather worn (and frankly just a bit smelly) Persian Carpet. He paused for dramatic effect, rubbed his whiskers thoughtfully and began :
“A very interesting case I must say. It seems everyone in the room had a motive for the brutal and callous murder of poor George. I have had to listen to the lies of adults and the fantasies of children”.
The Inspector glanced over to the ancient ottoman and the children abruptly stopped poking and prodding each other and sat up to listen.
“The problem here is that the local police believed that George was drowned. They thought this because of the cunning deceipt of the murderer – or murderers!”
The inspector stopped in front of Granny and Grandad Black, and stared intently into Grandads eyes. He in turn blinked, casually scratched the back of his ear and smirked.
“George was poisoned”
Poor Tabbatha took a sharp intake of breath.
“Then he was drowned, in the hope that everyone would think it was a tragic accident. But these days we can do tests. Yes, lots of tests. And I have found, in the last drop of water to pass poor Georges lips the traces of POISON”
Bob, the local bully picked at his teeth, absent-mindedly, disdainful of the proceedings.
“I now know who is responsible for the demise of George.”
“Grandma Black. You hated George. You knew that Grandad spent far too much time with him and neglected you. You could have murdered George through Jealousy”
“Tabbatha, George annoyed you didn’t he? He irritated you with his life style and you envied his calmness and the fact that you considered him aloof”
“The children. Yes, our happy, boisterous children. You tormented George because he was different. Did one of your games go a bit too far ending in the poisoning of poor George?”
“No…… I don’t think so”
The inspector spun expertly on the spot and addressed, beautul, intelligent, sweet young Suzy. She flicked her ginger hair as the inspector glared at her.
“Poor Suzy, you are so careful about your appearance you spend hours getting ready for public appearances and once you are in the public eye you have to be at the centre of attention for every minute. On the night of the murder it was raining was it not Suzy?”
The inspector didn’t wait for a reply
“Yes… Raining cats and ” The inspector cleared his throat nervously “dogs”
Everyone in the room shuffled uncomfortably as the inspector spoke.
“On the night of the murder Suzy you poisoned poor Georges water and later you made it look as if he was drowned”
“And this is how it happened”
“At 7 pm the living room was filled. The children were playing happily and Grandma and Grandad were rolling a ball of wool.
We all know that Suzy had her eye on Bob, and of course Bob had noticed Suzy and was waiting for his chance to impress her. Earlier he had been hunting and Suzy was suitably impressed. So impressed in fact that you were mesmerised and didn’t want to leave brave young Bob”
“So, feeling the need for the call of nature, not wanting to get wet using the outside toilet you slipped behind the vanity screen and relieved yourself in the goldfish bowl did you not”
Suzy blushed.
You returned to the living room and the merriment continued but you had drunk rather a lot and later in the evening you felt the need again so returned to the vanity screen. To your horror, the poor goldfish had died from the effects of your previous efforts hadn’t it?”
Suzy started to make her way to the door but the constable blocked it.
“Seeing what had happened, you nudged the bowl from the table, it smashed on the floor and there you left poor George – DEAD!”
Suzy slumped to the floor, the children pricked up their ears in amazement and the inspector smugly licked his paws.
Love it! Why was it not for the competition?
Everyone would have guessed the author :)
See if Simon can do it so can everyone else. Besides, it can be as short as"It was Madame Cholet in the kitchen with the recycled ladle," declared Inspector Tobermory of the newly-instituted Womble police.
That's not likely to win, and isn't my entry, but there you go. Can I enter my own competition?
I don't see why you can't enter Darren. We put them up anonymously anyway!The womble police?
They are surprisingly common...
Hang on Simon. Did you just say 'I don't see why you can't enter Darren.' Snigger, snigger.
I don't usually enter these contests but this one looks irresistible. Am I correct in assuming that to enter, you have to write the revelation scene from an original fictional murder mystery, and get it to Jud by Wednesday night?Is there anything else I need to know?
That sounds about right Rosen. Nothing else to know as far as I can tell. I am out of inspiration now though!
Doesn't have to be murder (though most of them will be I am sure). Any heinous crime will do.
I should add that I haven't got a clue what I'm going to write.
How many entries so far Jud?
Only 1 so far! Which just reminded me to remind people to enter please!! We need more entries, lots more entries!
u may get better visibility if this thread was in the right section.... just a thought...
It was suggested to put it here to get the authors interested. Perhaps that hasn't worked out
oh i missed that memo sorry... i just knwo that the other section was where i hunted for this thread a bit ago...
I suggested putting it back here (where it started) because the number of authors entering seemed to have gone down.
It was in 'Authors' like now. Then Simon put them in their own bit. THEN we didn't get many authors so I wondered aloud if that was the reason. He's put it back to try and drum up author support. It was supposed to be for them anyway.
if it is staying in the authors section then maybe move the other section to archive cos i think having a section and it not being in it is confusing!
Simon the problem solver has now linked it to there. Maybe it might have been better just to put it there and for me to shut up?
It's my fault I know. I should have made it something easy like 'describe a bowl of flowers'.*Off now to try and think of something to write*
Crap. I still haven't written anything. I will though, work will have to wait .....
The murder of a bowl of flowers would be surreal!
I have quite a few entries now I haven't counted exactly yet but a few came in last night while I was at dinner.
Oh good. I was afraid it would just fade away - like that bowl of flowers.
I was thinking, maybe we are having it too regularly?
My entry is in Jud.Not a cat to be seen either I might add!
Ignite wrote: "Oh good. I was afraid it would just fade away - like that bowl of flowers."Bowls of flowers don't fade away they just say "Oh no, not again."
Bowls of flowers don't fade away they just say "Oh no, not again.""I thought that was only petunias.
Yep. Definitely bowls of petunias. And whales.
Gingerlily (or Cyberlily..) wrote: "Bowls of flowers don't fade away they just say "Oh no, not again.""I thought that was only petunias."
You cannot make that assertion until you have dropped bowls of all other plants from low orbit above the mythical planet of Magrathea. Where is the proper scientific methodology I ask you, where?
I'll do it as soon as you provide me with a spaceship and a map to Magrathea.
Gingerlily (or Cyberlily..) wrote: "I'll do it as soon as you provide me with a spaceship and a map to Magrathea."You'll have to make a bid for lottery funding. About two hundred trillion pounds ought to be enough.
Golly, ill have to buy quite a few tickets. . .
I was just about to ask the same question so i could put the pollup :)
Murder They All Wrote
Dark deeds have been done, but our trusty investigators have been ... erm ... investigating and now believe that they know who the killer is/killers are. The (usual) suspects have been gathered together for the unveiling.
The task then is to write the revelation scene when the doer(s) of ill deeds is/are unmasked. Who is the detective (no existing types like Holmes, Columbo or Lorne Greene), who are the culprits, what is the crime and how was it committed?
Long, short, funny, dramatic - No, not new dwarf recruits, but just what your speech can be.
We've all seen detective shows, so we should all be able to have at a bash at it (unless having a bash at it was the crime in question).