14th Annual "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge

Announcing (six months late!):

RIVER OF MNEMOSYNE, 2023

Welcome to the FOURTEENTH ANNUAL "RIVER OF MNEMOSYNE" Challenge.  Please read these rules carefully.

The Challenge

1. For the challenge, you are creating a short story that will encompass all of the posted Muses this month.  Each participant may only submit one (1) entry for the challenge. Basically, your first post is "Muse 1," your second post is "Muse 2," etc. There will be nine (9) designated Muses for a total of nine (9) chapters.  You have until August 24th to finish your entry.

2. The goal is to tell a complete story through all nine Muses, but you can end your story at any time; after any Muse. To designate your ending, just write a big "The End" at the end of your final entry.

The Muses

3. The first Muse has been chosen by last year's winner and is:

"NEVER UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH YOUR FRIENDS MISS READING YOUR WORDS"

Your first entry will be based on this Muse. The subsequent Muses will be chosen based on the fastest submissions. The first person to link an entry picks the first Muse. The second person to link an entry (any entry) picks the second Muse, and so on. In all likelihood, this means that the people who link in positions 1 through 9 on the link widget will pick the nine (9) Muses.

• To submit a Muse, simply email the admin at IrreScape@gmail.com with the Muse.
• New Muses will post at 12:00 AM, GMT, the day after the admin receives the submitted Muse (no more than one Muse will post in a day).

4. Participants will link their blog entries using a link widget.  We will be using one widget for the entire exercise, so participants need to denote the chapter number of their specific entries each time they link.  Example:

1. Aaron Adams (Muse 1)
2. Brenda Billings (Muse 1)
3. Aaron Adams (Muse 2)
4. Aaron Adams (Muse 3)
5. Brenda Billings (Muse 2)
6. Charles Cox (Muse 1)
7. and so on...

5. Do not skip Muses or do them out of order.  Also, do not combine Muses into one post.

6. Other than that, do as much or as little as you'd like.  You can dictate your own pace; approach this at warp speed or just mosey along.  It doesn't matter how far along you are compared to how far along the other challengers are.  Your entries for the first Muse can be linked starting February 2nd.

The Vote

7. Voting begins on August 23rd and ends on August 29th.  You'll be voting for the participant's overall body of work. If you don't vote, you can't win.  Anyone who posts a "Muse 1" AND a "Muse 2" is allowed to vote, regardless if they continue on in the challenge.

8. In addition to normal voting, completing Muses 1 through 9 will add bonus points to your final vote tally (the value of the bonus points is based on the number of participants).

9. The winner will be announced on August 31st. Feel free to barrage us with questions and suggestions.

RoM 13: Winner

The winner of the 13th Annual "River of Mnemosyne" is:

Half Moose!

Congrats, Half Moose! Our first four-time Rom winner!

As the winner of RoM 13, Winner gets to pick the first Muse for the 14th Annual "River of Mnemosyne" challenge.

That first Muse is:

"NO MORE FUCKING WARS"

Get your imaginations flowing.  You've got a year to prepare!

Meanwhile, check out Winner's winning 13th RoM entry below.

By Muse:

1. "Never Underestimate How Much Your Friends Miss Reading Your Words"
2. "On the Cusp"
3. "The Wind in Her Hair at the Edge of the World"
4. "A Ship With No Supply"
5. "Of Olympian, Primordial, and Eldritch"
6. "Zero Waste and Verdant Exhalation"
7. "Mystic Whales Are No Match for Cosmic Octopi"
8. "All the Lights in the Sky"
9. "The River of Mnemosyne"

Thanks for playing, everyone!  See you next year!

RoM 13: Voting Closed

Voting is now closed for the 13th Annual "River of Mnemosyne."  The winner will be announced on February 28th!

The votes are now public.  Check the Voting post.

RoM 13: Voting

VOTING: "RIVER OF MNEMOSYNE"

The river flow has stopped!  Get out of the water and vote on your favorite entry.

Vote for your FAVORITE in the comments.  Remember, you must have submitted a Muse 1 AND a Muse 2 in order to be able to vote.



You have until the 26th of February to vote.  The winner will be announced on the 28th.

The Muses:

1. "Never Underestimate How Much Your Friends Miss Reading Your Words"
2. "On the Cusp"
3. "The Wind in Her Hair at the Edge of the World"
4. "A Ship With No Supply"
5. "Of Olympian, Primordial, and Eldritch"
6. "Zero Waste and Verdant Exhalation"
7. "Mystic Whales Are No Match for Cosmic Octopi"
8. "All the Lights in the Sky"
9. "The River of Mnemosyne"

Reminder: RoM 13

Remember, you have through the 20th to submit your Muses.  Voting will begin on February 22nd and you can't vote unless you have linked a Muse 1 AND a Muse 2.

And if you have no idea what's going on, check out the rules for February's challenge here: 13th Annual "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge.

UPDATE: The writing portion of the challenge has been extended one day to the 21st of February.

Don't forget that we operate on Greenwich Mean Time.



Don't sign up until you've posted the entry on your site and link that entry directly (not your blog home page).  In the meantime, leave a comment and let us know you're game!

Post as soon as you're ready.

The Muses:

1. "Never Underestimate How Much Your Friends Miss Reading Your Words"
2. "On the Cusp"
3. "The Wind in Her Hair at the Edge of the World"
4. "A Ship With No Supply"
5. "Of Olympian, Primordial, and Eldritch"
6. "Zero Waste and Verdant Exhalation"
7. "Mystic Whales Are No Match for Cosmic Octopi"
8. "All the Lights in the Sky"
9. "The River of Mnemosyne"

RoM 13-9: "The River of Mnemosyne"

Courtesy of JeffScape, the ninth and final Muse is:

"THE RIVER OF MNEMOSYNE"

This is the final part of your overall entry.  Remember, there will not be a vote until all the Muses are in or we run out of time.

And if you have no idea what's going on, check out the rules for February's challenge here: 13th Annual "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge.

UPDATE: The writing portion of the challenge has been extended one day to the 21st of February.



Don't sign up until you've posted the entry on your site and link that entry directly (not your blog home page).  In the meantime, leave a comment and let us know you're game!

Post as soon as you're ready.

The Muses:

1. "Never Underestimate How Much Your Friends Miss Reading Your Words"
2. "On the Cusp"
3. "The Wind in Her Hair at the Edge of the World"
4. "A Ship With No Supply"
5. "Of Olympian, Primordial, and Eldritch"
6. "Zero Waste and Verdant Exhalation"
7. "Mystic Whales Are No Match for Cosmic Octopi"
8. "All the Lights in the Sky"
9. "The River of Mnemosyne"

RoM 13-8: "All the Lights in the Sky"

Courtesy of JeffScapes, the eighth Muse is:

"ALL THE LIGHTS IN THE SKY"

This is only the eighth part of your overall entry.  Remember, there will not be a vote until all the Muses are in or we run out of time.

And if you have no idea what's going on, check out the rules for February's challenge here: 13th Annual "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge.

UPDATE: The writing portion of the challenge has been extended one day to the 21st of February.



*Don't forget to submit a Muse if your link is one of the first EIGHT (if you link more than one of the first eight, submit a Muse each time you link).  If you do not, your link will be deleted and you will have to re-link.  Email the admins (all of 'em) with your Muse!

Don't sign up until you've posted the entry on your site and link that entry directly (not your blog home page).  In the meantime, leave a comment and let us know you're game!

Post as soon as you're ready.

The Muses so far:

1. "Never Underestimate How Much Your Friends Miss Reading Your Words"
2. "On the Cusp"
3. "The Wind in Her Hair at the Edge of the World"
4. "A Ship With No Supply"
5. "Of Olympian, Primordial, and Eldritch"
6. "Zero Waste and Verdant Exhalation"
7. "Mystic Whales Are No Match for Cosmic Octopi"
8. "All the Lights in the Sky"