Group-Sponsored The Ward Contest: Delusions

Details

The Psychology group welcomes you to The Ward Contest. We invite you to join us in exploring the inner-workings and characteristics of Delusions. Below is a list of ten prompts. Select one as your inspiration and begin writing. Submit short stories or flash fiction of under 3,000 words in length. The title is your choice; however, your selection and definition must be written in your submission’s “About This Work” section.

Prompts:

• Capgras delusion: is a disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member (or pet) has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor.

• Fregoli delusion: is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise.

• Intermetamorphosis: The main symptoms consist of patients believing that they can see others change into someone else in both external appearance and internal personality.

• Mirrored-self misidentification: is the delusional belief that one’s reflection in the mirror is another person – typically a younger or second version of one’s self, a stranger, or a relative.

• Delusional companions: the belief that toys or inanimate objects are alive.

• Cotard delusion: is a rare mental illness in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are already dead, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs.

• Derealization: is an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal. Other symptoms include feeling as though one’s environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring, and depth.

• Depersonalization: consists of a sense of detachment or loss of reality within the self, regarding one’s mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself. Subjects feel they have changed and that the world has become vague, dreamlike, less real, or lacking in significance.

• Micropsia (Alice in Wonderland Syndrome): is a disorienting neurological condition that affects perception. People experience size distortion in which objects are perceived to be smaller (or larger) than they actually are.

• Erotomania: is a type of delusional disorder where the affected person believes that another person is in love with him or her. This belief is usually applied to someone with higher status or a famous person, but can also be applied to a complete stranger.

Judging:

Each submission will be judged by the following criteria:

• Grammar/punctuation

• Pace

• Psychology of the action

• Consequences of the psychological behavior on him/herself, in addition to, if applicable, his/her surroundings, and/or his/her loved ones

• Emotional Engagement

Prize money for this contest is provided by the Scribophile Writing Contest Prize Fund.

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

Rules

• Entries must be received before March, 1st, 2017, 11:59 PM, UTC.

• Winners will be announce by (or before) April, 1st, 2017.

• Short stories/flash-fiction only. Chapters, screen-plays, and poetry will not be considered.

• Entries must be 3,000 words or less, by Scribophile’s count.

• Only one entry per member, please. Multiple entries will all be disqualified.

• Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

• Entries will be judged by a three judge panel. Decisions are final.

Submission guidelines

• To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says “Enter this work into Group-Sponsored The Ward Contest: Delusions.” Your work will automatically be considered. The check box will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.

• Entry is free, but you’ll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of other members work.

• If you have placed in a contest in the past with a particular piece, you may not resubmit that piece in other contests.