$250,000 FieldReport.com Grand Prize Contest Begins

[foggycity]

CALL FOR WRITERS AND READERS: SEPTEMBER 15 DEADLINE

FieldReporthttp://fieldreport.com, a new web site that has been called American Idol for writing, is requesting submissions of true-life stories for the first of three monthly contests that will determine the finalists for the $250,000 FieldReport Prize for Experiential Writing. As far as we can determine, this is the world's largest prize for a single piece of writing. The winner will be announced in early January, 2009. In addition to the Grand Prize, a $25,000 scholarship will go to the best teen submission.

In order to qualify for the grand prize contest, enter a true-life story of 2,000 words or less and win one of twenty $1,000 category prizes awarded each month leading up to the January 1st Grand Prize award. Enter a story by September 15 to win one of the October 1st monthly prizes. Qualifiers are chosen by our patent-pending Objective Community Ranking Engine so that quality, not popularity, pushes the best FieldReports to the top. There is no entry fee. Watch this YouTube video to find out more from our beta Grand Prize winner, Murr Brewster: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fLUxFCf_lc]. If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at info@fieldreport.com.

[Gyppo]

Qualifiers are chosen by our patent-pending Objective Community Ranking Engine so that quality, not popularity, pushes the best FieldReports to the top.

That is surreal.  Not necessarily wrong, but definitely surreal.

Gyppo

[Orpheus]

Do you think they'll believe my real-life story about being abducted by aliens. It's an award winner if you can swallow it. Trouble is no one believes me. I get regular visits I swear.

Also my mum lived through terminal cancer and had an after death experience, now she sees dead people and helps them across to the light.

I've got loads more... all of them true honest. Worth a quarter of a mill of anyone's money.

[jimreyna]

I believe you, of course, since I am the alien that abducted you.   

[Orpheus]

I believe you, of course, since I am the alien that abducted you.   

Oh, it's you again - the little fat green guy.

I'll say hi to you, but I'm not sharing my winnings.

[teeka1234]

Sounds interesting. I might try this.   

[eric]

be our guest, and please be sure to beam back up here to let us know how you do with your three billion dollar grand prize for doing nothing.
 
got any more of that alien juice, guys?

by the way, I made a canoe out of coconut shells and rowed my dog to the moon.  we ate green cheese with a large pack of fleas out of a chilled gravy spoon.

[Nick]

I've just reviewed FieldReport on my blog at the URL below:

http://www.mywritingblog.com/writer/2008/09/fieldreport-new-market-for-true-life.html

In my view, it's well worth checking out.

Nick 

[eric]

sorry if i made fun of a legitimate opportunity, nick, it just seemed too good to be true to me and others, so probably was.  will be interested if it pans out for anyone.

[Orpheus]

It is legit Eric, but how do you know the stories put on the competition are actually true?

Also I put a story up last time and everyone thought it sucked.

I'm still sulking.

[rewh2oman]

It is legit Eric, but how do you know the stories put on the competition are actually true?

Check out their FAQ

I'm looking into it further.

...russ

[eric]

ah, poor orpheus.  i don't blame you, i'd sulk too.  but my life is so boring i'd never win.  though that chilled gravy spoon on the moon did turn out rather well ... maybe i should reconsider ... nah.  we'll see how russ does, maybe he'll be rolling in it soon and remember all us wegs who refused to enter when we could have.

[rewh2oman]

You can't win if you don't play. The converse is also true.   

Orpheus, don't you have to review a certain number of other essays? How was that process? It kind of puts me off, having to do mandatory critiques.

...russ

[eric]

this is true russ, and i hope you do well, really.  best wishes dude.

[fuzz]

Hi Russ,

You have to review five FieldReports to enter one into the contest.  We tried to make it as painless as possible.  You read a story, you slide a slider.  If you feel like it you can write a comment.  We need your reviews to power our ranking engine.  You might think of it like this: some places charge a reading fee when you submit a story, but at FieldReport we don't make you pay someone else to read your stuff--we just ask that you participate in the reading process along with everyone else.

As for your alien abductions, Orpheus, are you familiar with the work of Richard Strassman on the topic?  He suggests that such experiences may be triggered by a chemical that affects (among other things) how your mind believes.  And that this may be the source of both alien abductions and spiritual experiences.

So what is true life?  Is your interior monologue real?  Can you write a true story about things you have only thought about?  Do they put philosophy books in the fiction section?

Take a deep breath.

A FieldReport is a story that you believe to be true.  At a minimum you have to sign an affidavit and satisfy an interviewer to claim a prize, but due to the infinite complexity of human existence the validation process is unique for each story.  We're in San Francisco; we have ready access to alien abduction specialists


:Fuzz of FieldReport