You can bend but never break me​

'Cause it only serves to make me​

More determined to achieve my final goal​

And I come back even stronger​

Not a novice any longer​

'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul​

​

I Am Woman - Helen Reddy



Alright. I'm not really a feminist, or at least I am not the typical type, but I do have many female heroes. There is no such thing as "Traditional female roles" . Throughout history, in all sections of the world, there have been women who were strong, courageous, resourceful, smart, brave, and have lent their hands at shaping our world's history. It is time to celebrate the "Fairer" sex.


. ​

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it , is to write for us a story featuring a strong, capable leading lady! That's it! Simple really.

Your story can be about virtually anything. The only guideline is to have a woman who is confident, intelligent, strong willed, and having the wherewithal to deal with a situation without needing a male to come to her rescue.



There are many types of strength. I am not suggesting that this need be a tale of peril. The woman who takes care of her family's needs is a hero in the eyes of her children. Neither am I suggesting that this is in any way anti-male. The professional woman who makes it on her own still needs loving arms around her when she needs the courage to keep on in life. I would just like to see some stories that show how amazing a woman can be!

Your character does not need to be a giant amazon warrior. (Though she could be!)



Your story does not need to be about man hating, lesbian bikers. (Though it certainly could be!)



Your female lead does not even need to be good! ( An intelligent super villain, or mysterious femme fatale would make for a great story!)



I told you it was simple. Write a story that showcases how strong and resourceful a woman can be, about whatever you would like. Just remember. If you want to write about a princess up in the highest castle tower...

She better be there to rescue her prince!



I hope that you will write. I can hardly wait to see what you come up with!










Boring rules and timeline to follow.​

 

Hmm.

I think I like this one.

 

This has potential. I've already written several like that.

 

The Rules.​

Writing time:

You will have six weeks to write. After that time there will be an additional week to submit your entries. (Seven weeks of total writing time. Surely you can make it! )

Stories will start being accepted on September 30th with a deadline for submission being October 8th. (No exact time. If it is still the 8th somewhere in the world you will be alright.)

Entries should be sent in conversation (PM) to the CAW SOP account. Please do not send before the opening date of Sept. 30th.

Each person may submit up to two stories under their own names, with an additional two entries with a partner. This is with ANY partner. So a total of four entries will be the limit for any name to be attached to.


Anonymity:

This is an anonymous competition. If you are new to the Calling All Writers challenge, please ask before you accidentally post something that will disqualify you.

You should not post any comments about your story. Please do not discuss your story with anyone. The use of a proofreader is allowed, and encouraged, but they should likewise be asked to refrain from discussing who wrote what.

Unless specifically asked to keep your identity a secret, there will be a reveal at the close of voting. If for any reason you do not want to be outed, I will gladly keep your name off of the final reveal. ( But I will still know! BWAHAHA!)


Reading and Voting:

Until the number of entries is clear, the reading time will wait and be determined later. Assuming there are more than three entries, You will be looking for your top three stories. (more on this later.)


Rules:

All site rules must be followed. There is to be no sexually aware character under the age of 18! Your story may contain an underage character, but they must not be involved in, or witness to any sexual acts.

Other than that. Breaking the veil of anonymity is the only reason I see that would get your story disqualified.

Unless of course the power goes to my head and I become an evil, controlling, dictator-like host. (It is possible.)



Miscellaneous:


I have probably missed a whole lot of stuff. I apologize. If there are important things I have forgotten, i will put them here. I will also be posting little facts, inspirational tid-bits, and even calling writers out.Come back and check often.


If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them here, or you may send questions to the CAW SOP account.

Thank you, and remember...

 

How many stories may we submit, alone or with a partner?



Yes, I'm nit-picking.

 

Okay you writers, LMK just gave you a head start. Get Going!

 

Shamelessly stolen from @ahorsewithnoname . The welcome from the previous CAW is much better than I could ever do. I hope that he is alright with my blatant Plagiarism.


Welcome
Welcome to the CAW 27 (Now 28! ) Writing Competition. CAW stands for Calling All Writers, an open writing competition started a number of years ago by veteran writer and 7-time CAW winner ejls. Since that first competition, hundreds of stories have been entered into the fray and a wide range of winners have been chosen by voters over the years, including a number of first time entrants.
Rules
There are some fairly basic rules to follow:
1. This is an anonymous writing competition. This means that when you submit your story, you will send it via PM to the Host (details will be posted later) who will then post it under the CAW SOP account along with all of the other entries. Do NOT post your story yourself.

2. You are allowed to post that you will be taking part, but you are NOT allowed to indicate which story is yours, what you will be writing about, etc., in any post or private message. This means you cannot publicly or private campaign for your story or for votes. If that comes to light, your story will be removed. The only exceptions are sending your story to a proofreader, which is HIGHLY encouraged, and the special CAW #27 (28!) specific rules.

3. Your story needs to conform to site rules, that is, no underaged stories.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS regarding these rules or CAW #27 (28!) in general, send a PM to @CAW SOP

 

Yes, but she STILL didn't give us any selfies!

Yeah, I know, she's proving her strength, right?

 

Hahah, yowza! That's my initial reaction anyway.

I do like, or even love the idea. Believe it or not, I actually thought of a story today that pretty much fits this (hell, it fits 100% percent), and it deals with something in a completely different way (I'd say the details, but I might go back to it). However, by the time I figured out where it'd go, and whatnot, I realized that it doesn't interest me enough. But hey, at least I feel like a psychic now, so there's that. I think this will be fun (though what I'm considering right now might fail in some ways XD).

 

CHICAGO (CBS) — A woman from a tiny city near Springfield was being honored for saving the life of a disabled man whose wheelchair got stuck on a set of railroad tracks on Tuesday.

As he does every day, 75-year-old Earl Moorman was heading home from visiting his 99-year-old mother in a nursing home, when his motorized scooter became lodged in the tracks in Auburn, about 15 miles southwest of Springfield.

Two cars and a motorcycle went around Moorman, ignoring his shouts for help. Ashley Aldridge, who lives in a trailer nearby, heard Moorman, and ran to the crossing to try and get him off the tracks.

At first, there was no train in sight, so Aldridge tried to dislodge the wheelchair, but it wouldn’t budge. When she saw the gates come down, and heard a train horn, she began pulling him out of the chair. In desperation, the 130-pound Aldridge struggled to tilt the chair back far enough to drag the 200-pound Moorman out of the path of the train.

“I look up, and the train’s literally right there, and I did it one more time, and somehow managed to lift him up just far enough so we could tilt the wheelchair backwards,” she said. “As I’m pulling him back, the train knocked his wheelchair right out.”

The motorized scooter exploded into pieces, but thanks to the 19-year-old Good Samaritan’s efforts, Moorman escaped without a scratch.

 

The idea of a "strong, heroic woman", which is what I simplified the theme to in my addled brain, could result in millions of stories about thousands of heroines. My girl isn't that remarkable on the surface and will probably never be on the news. Maybe I'm not thinking on a grand enough scale. It will be interesting to see what people do with this one.

Shit. I hope I read the theme correctly. Maybe I should scroll up again.

 

I like this one. Let's get to work.

 

*sigh* Sorry I'll try to write still bummed out. The others might not want to mention it but I am a D.O.M. and would still more than appreciate those nude selfies ( or at least a nice see through negligee) yeah, yeah I know one should get used to disappointment believe me I am.

 

Well, well, well. What do we have here? An extra week? With an extra week, I might just get me a doctorate degree in English Literature on top of the one for the English Writing. Now to start by the end, that is where I want the story to lead (the punch line) and build upward. Yes I've learned from Writer's Workshop.

Oh! Did I say I was going to participate? Naw, I didn't think I did. See what I mean by starting from the end up to the beginning?

@Little Miss K, I will honour your CAW-28 with my effort.

Plot? Plot? Plot? My brain is in overdrive, as a thousand ideas collide, like sperm, let the stronger one win (my ideas that is).

 

Strong Women on Screen:

Ellen Ripley, Alien (film series). Sigourney Weaver

 

Well, though I have been trying to finish up my Half-Breed series, I also before having any indication of what this theme was began formulating in my head a story that would fit the theme well. That said, If I do submit it, it will be as an non-entry. Though it would get more reads as a entry, by the slim chance I might get lucky, it's not worth the risk.

Hush....an alias

 

I shall try and partake.

 

Best. Theme. Ever.

Well, maybe....

The ideas and possibilities are almost limitless;










and that's just a small selection of the famous ones. There are so many more 'everyday' women you could write about - I don't think there's anyone who could say they can't find a subject to base a story on.

 

Oh shit.

Here I thought I knew exactly what to write for this. It's a story I was planning to start work on soon anyway, so the timing was almost ideal. And even though it's a long and intimidating project, after about two pages I was feeling the groove and happy that the opportunity came up.

But then I remembered THAT OTHER story. The one I started a long time ago for a previous CAW, abandoned in favor of a better idea, but always wanted to return to, despite the fact that it had slipped my mind these last few months. THAT story would be perfect for this too. Now I have a bit of a dilemma.