Al Norris Posted November 20, 2016 Report Share Posted November 20, 2016 Once again, the Castle is calling for Holiday style stories, to be hosted at the story site. These should be short stories and can be of any length. Must the Stories be about Christmas? They must be holiday themed. There are several December holidays to select from, besides Christmas. The most significant are listed towards the bottom of this announcement. Who can submit stories?Anyone who wants to see their work published. Current authors and new authors. Never wrote a story before? Try your hand at it. Who knows! When are the stories due? All Holiday 2016 stories must be submitted by midnight Mountain Time, on December 22nd. This gives me time to get them coded and ready for publication on a special Christmas day update. What format is best for submission? Just about any format you would normally use. The only format that I cannot convert is MS Write. Where do I send my story submission? Send it to: castlerolandpr@gmail.com December 11th:Mawlid un Nabi (Arabic: مَوْلِدُ النَبِيِّ) is celebrated in some countries as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet Muhammad is believed by Muslims to be God's last messenger to mankind. Celebrations of Muhammad's birthday began in 11th century Egypt. Sunni Muslims discourage celebrating any birthdays at all, especially Muhammad's because they believe that they are not supposed to elevate him to god-like positions. On the other hand, some Muslim denominations like Sufis do honor his birthday. December 21st:The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year as the Northern Hemisphere is angled the farthest away from the Sun on this day. The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere happens every year around December 21 or 22. December 24th:Chanukah (Hebrew: חנוכה) is an eight day Jewish festival, also known as the festival of lights. On each day a Menorah (an eight branched candelabra) is lit with an ascending number of candles to match the day. The reason for Chanukah is based on the story of the Maccabees battle with the Greeks. It is told that one pure bottle of olive oil lasted for eight days in the Holy Temple. It should have lasted only for the first day. December 25th:Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. For modern Christians it also starts a 12-day Christmas season that begins on December 25th and ends on January 5th. Churches celebrate Christmas with services on Christmas Eve and often midnight masses. While the holiday is religious in origin, many cultures, even those without Christian ideologies, celebrate this holiday. This celebration often centers around Santa Claus, a mythical figure dressed in a red suit, based on Saint Nicholas. Tradition has it that on Christmas morning, Santa brings gifts for children who have been good and coal for those who have been naughty. December 26th:Kwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African celebration of family, community and culture. Kwanzaa, a week-long cultural festival from the 26th of December to the 1st of January that climaxes in feasts and gift giving, was initially established to unite African-Americans with their African roots and heritage. Nguzo Saba, the seven principles that guide the holiday, is central to Kwanzaa as a different principle is emphasized every day during the celebration. Celebrants often dress in traditional Pan-African clothing and decorate their homes in African artwork. JohnnyC, Jeikor and D'Artagnon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Artagnon Posted November 22, 2016 Report Share Posted November 22, 2016 Count me in. Almost done with my holiday story. 20414 words so far, probably another 5 to 8k left to go. Who else is wrapping a gift for the Castle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeikor Posted November 22, 2016 Report Share Posted November 22, 2016 I'm a maybe. I've started on one don't know if it will get done or not. Don't have a clear ending for it at the moment. I know of another that has started but doesn't know if his will pan out either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Norris Posted November 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2016 Cool! The more the merrier, I say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Norris Posted December 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2016 All righty then! As of last night, we have 3 Holiday stories for the Special Christmas Day update! I'm expecting at least one more... Jeikor and D'Artagnon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Artagnon Posted December 23, 2016 Report Share Posted December 23, 2016 Oooh one more! Oh say it's so, say it's so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Norris Posted December 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2016 This year's results are in. We have 5 Holiday Stories to share with everyone this year! Jeikor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Artagnon Posted December 23, 2016 Report Share Posted December 23, 2016 Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Norris Posted December 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 The results are very positive. It has only been 5 days since the stories were published, and we have anywhere from 150 to 250 reads for the stories. This is very good when we don't take into consideration such Blockbusters as "Drummer Boy". Shayn059, Jeikor and D'Artagnon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William King Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 I am sure you've been doing it like this for ages, but... as someone new I didn't find it easy to see where the Christmas stories are. Alright, I found them in stories- castle roland special events, but... imo they are not really highlighted for reading, just hidden away with all the authors. I think they deserve to be at the top of the page and not in alphabetical order. Plus, post a link in the thread: http://www.castleroland.net/library/author/crfse Parker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Norris Posted December 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 I'm sure there are different, and perhaps even better ways to let people know where to find the stories. You're correct that I should have posted a link. I didn't. So I screwed up there. I relied upon announcing the stories with a special update on the story site and a special emailing of the newsletter. I should have remembered to also post the link here. I didn't. Mea Culpa. Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William King Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 Hey, I'm not getting at you for that, just want to see more ppl reading them. I'd made a note to take a look with the first announcement, but with Christmas and everything they kinda got pushed to the back, then your last post reminded me to go back to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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