Once Upon A Time: the Dark Fairy Tales Challenge

[Sapphira_Vex]

Its taken a while but I think mine might just be there.

 

[TiberiusPrime]

I hit a bit of a writer's block with mine, but I'm back at it after an "a-ha" moment. (No, it doesn't involve the rock band.)

 

[TiberiusPrime]

All right, it's finished! Well, sort of.... Now to review it, spell check, spell check it again, spell check it one more time. Odds are I'll probably change or add a scene. This will definitely be my longest single submission, approaching 20,000 words.

 

[SmilingLez]

Cool challenge, can't wait to write some dark, don't sleep alone prose

 

[dirk2024]

Okay, I'm in. As in working on it. Voboy and five inch heals gave me an idea and I'm running with it!

 

[Aoife_from_Ulster]

Good morning and please forgive my question but will the stories be published as they are submitted or will they be posted all at once on September 30?

Thanks

 

[BryanRichardson]

“Stories submitted and published: 1-25 September 2025”
This seems to indicate they will be published as submitted.

“Anthology posted: 30 September 2025”
And then a list of all the stories published on 30 sept.

 

[caleb35]

I've never entered in a writing contest before and debating if I want to submit to this one. I have a dark fairy tale that I'm working on -- thing is, I don't know how sexy or erotic it is. It's definitely dark, though (i.e. not a crowd pleaser).

 

[StillStunned]

I've never entered in a writing contest before and debating if I want to submit to this one. I have a dark fairy tale that I'm working on -- thing is, I don't know how sexy or erotic it is. It's definitely dark, though (i.e. not a crowd pleaser).

This isn't a writing contest. There are no winners, or at least no prizes. This is an author-organised challenge: write a story on a particular theme. Erotic is good. Sexy is good. Dark is good too. Be creative, bring your unique touch, and revel in the sense of community.

Seriously, don't worry about your story appealing to the masses. Challenges and contests are where we stretch ourselves, try something different, get those stories out of our systems that we've been ignoring.

For instance, my WIP for the Born to Run challenge is 2nd person POV, present tense, stream of consciousness and cyberpunk. Never mind not pleasing the crowds, I'll be surprised if it pleases anyone besides myself.

 

[caleb35]

This isn't a writing contest. There are no winners, or at least no prizes. This is an author-organised challenge: write a story on a particular theme. Erotic is good. Sexy is good. Dark is good too. Be creative, bring your unique touch, and revel in the sense of community.

Seriously, don't worry about your story appealing to the masses. Challenges and contests are where we stretch ourselves, try something different, get those stories out of our systems that we've been ignoring.

For instance, my WIP for the Born to Run challenge is 2nd person POV, present tense, stream of consciousness and cyberpunk. Never mind not pleasing the crowds, I'll be surprised if it pleases anyone besides myself.

Thank you for your reply and comments. Normally I don't enter challenges -- I find it difficult to come up with a story idea on a specific theme -- but in this instance I happened to be working on a dark fairy tale anyway. I'll see about submitting it to the challenge before deadline. However, I'm not still completely certain that I will. It most certainly is a dark story -- I remain concerned however that it's not sexy or erotic. But we'll see how it turns out.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

Thank you for your reply and comments. Normally I don't enter challenges -- I find it difficult to come up with a story idea on a specific theme -- but in this instance I happened to be working on a dark fairy tale anyway. I'll see about submitting it to the challenge before deadline. However, I'm not still completely certain that I will. It most certainly is a dark story -- I remain concerned however that it's not sexy or erotic. But we'll see how it turns out.

I think we can still differ by themes and settings. The dark fairytale is more of a setting than a theme. It offers a lot of flexibility.

For my Dark Fairytale story I just imagined that two people aren't allowed to be together, and then their journey where they grow towards that very thing. It is in essence not connected to the setting.

Afterwards I just paint the story in that setting. Why can't they be together? Because they are treated as something closer than family in that culture, where the Dark Forest keeps them from straying off that path. If they do, there's dire consequences for the whole town. I find a way to get them into the forest, where they in classic fashion go through several big fairytale scenes. All that time they grow more together. The dark part of the fairytale does steer you in a certain direction, but it still offers a lot of freedom.

If it was happy solarpunk or set in the hollow Earth it would matter little to the story itself, though the scenes and how it plays out can vary drastically.

If the theme is "loss of a loved one" or something it is a more clear path for your story.

All this to offer a perspective. The themes can be pretty loose. You can imagine any story, then place it in a setting, which modifies the story. Sure there's stories that'll resonate better with the story, but as an example a story visiting a prostitute can be done in basically any setting.

 

[Jorunn]

What category works best for this? I have a story underway with a fairytale character, but with elements of romance. But the character also has a dark side too. I am thinking of playing those up and entering this contest. Are others looking mainly at Erotic Horror or Sci-Fi?

 

[EmilyMiller]

It starts a month tomorrow. I'll have to make more of an effort to generate interest. And finish at least one of my own fairy tales.

This came up so quick. Had an idea, as you know. Will try to turn it into something .

 

[mrs_mackenzie]

I've put together a rough outline of mine but I am concerned it may be too ambitious. I think you can skip a lot of detail in a fairy tale, though, so that might save me.

 

[StillStunned]

What category works best for this? I have a story underway with a fairytale character, but with elements of romance. But the character also has a dark side too. I am thinking of playing those up and entering this contest. Are others looking mainly at Erotic Horror or Sci-Fi?

I think Sci-Fi & Fantasy will be the main category. But for the 750-word challenge I wrote a fairy tale and put it in T/I.

 

[StillStunned]

This came up so quick. Had an idea, as you know. Will try to turn it into something .

I have at least half a dozen fairy tales that are unfinished, and the event is getting close very fast...

And I have to finish my Born to Run story this week too!

 

[dirk2024]

What category works best for this? I have a story underway with a fairytale character, but with elements of romance. But the character also has a dark side too. I am thinking of playing those up and entering this contest. Are others looking mainly at Erotic Horror or Sci-Fi?

Well it depends on your characters and the amount of "dark" in your story. Only you can be the judge of that. For me, I am going to put mine in the "Erotic Horror" section as the end is...unpleasant.

 

[BryanRichardson]

I’m just putting finishing touches on my second Summer Lovin’ so I guess I should start on Dark Fairy Tales and Crime and Punishment. At least I have an idea for Crime And Punishment.

Maybe A Femme Fatale Fantasy? Does anyone know the name of the witch/ creature that flies around at night as a disembodied head? I remember only those vague details…

 

[Husky_Embrace]

I’m just putting finishing touches on my second Summer Lovin’ so I guess I should start on Dark Fairy Tales and Crime and Punishment. At least I have an idea for Crime And Punishment.

Maybe A Femme Fatale Fantasy? Does anyone know the name of the witch/ creature that flies around at night as a disembodied head? I remember only those vague details…

If there aren't any disembodied heads you can make one. Personally I prefer the new, creative stories over another Snow-white. I've had enough of reruns and callbacks in modern media. Give me that sweet uniqueness in your story!

 

[Jorunn]

If there aren't any disembodied heads you can make one. Personally I prefer the new, creative stories over another Snow-white. I've had enough of reruns and callbacks in modern media. Give me that sweet uniqueness in your story!

It is always interesting to read comments where people complain about the same olde tropes and say ‘nothing new here’. Then read comments on other stories that complain the author left the train tracks and went too far afield.

 

[Jorunn]

Well it depends on your characters and the amount of "dark" in your story. Only you can be the judge of that. For me, I am going to put mine in the "Erotic Horror" section as the end is...unpleasant.

My seductive fantasy character lures men into the forest and dances with them until they drop dead. I changed the scene to an enchanting glade where the guy finds her naked. He gets naked and wades into a pool, hoping to get close enough to capture her. He hugs her in the water and thinks he succeeded. But she reaches down, guides his cock into her, and wraps her legs tightly around his back. They struggle in the pool until he realizes that she is stronger than he is and it is she that has captured him. Nearly exhausted, he remembers the legend, and tries the one thing that might save him.

Probably a Fantasy category.

 

[Aoife_from_Ulster]

What category works best for this? I have a story underway with a fairytale character, but with elements of romance. But the character also has a dark side too. I am thinking of playing those up and entering this contest. Are others looking mainly at Erotic Horror or Sci-Fi?

I have debated over this for sometime whether to submit as Erotic Horror or Sci-Fi. However due to the sapphic nature of my protagonists I am submitting to Lesbian Sex, although it is steeped in a dark fairy tale it is truly a sapphic romance ... so

 

[Jorunn]

I have debated over this for sometime whether to submit as Erotic Horror or Sci-Fi. However due to the sapphic nature of my protagonists I am submitting to Lesbian Sex, although it is steeped in a dark fairy tale it is truly a sapphic romance ... so

My fairytale character (a female) interacts (I mean sex) with four main characters, one of which is female. At the end, the fairytale character gets the female main character (happily). I had considered Lesbian Sex, but I'm not sure how earlier sex with three males would play in that category.

 

[TiberiusPrime]

@Jorunn maybe Erotic Couplings?

 

[Sapphira_Vex]

Oh FGS I knew I'd written one ages ago, just found it! So now I have two! We can only enter one right?