No, this is not more challenges to tack onto the already long list there is. Instead, this is something more.

An award.

That's right, an award. At the end of February next year, I will post the 2012 Year of Challenges or whatever this is going to be called. Yes, I've already got enough challenges for the list, but if you have challenges you think would work well, PM me with them and I might use them instead. I already have a handful from a couple of authors that I didn't use this time that will be getting used next time more than likely.

But back on topic. When I post the challenge for next year, I will also start looking through the stories written for the challenge. And I will give the top three a reward.

"First Prize," if you want to call it that, will either go to the first person to complete all sixty-four of the main challenges, to the first person to complete them AND the sixty-fifth challenge, or to the person whose challenge entries have in my opinion fit the guidelines of the challenge best and still managed all sixty-four core challenges in time. The person who manages this will receive their choice of:
A: A paperback copy of "Big Closet Volume 1" purchased by me, or any other volume that has been released by that time.
B: A digital copy of any of the same books.
C: A one-year Big Closet Premium membership paid by me.

"Second Prize" goes to either the next person down the list from "First Prize," or if noone else qualified, then the a competitor who has completed at least fifty of the sixty-four core challenges with the same spread of possibilities as first prize. They will have the choice of:
A: A digital copy of any of the same books.
B: A quarter year Big Closet Premium membership paid by me.

"Third Prize" will be identical to second prize. If there are less than three competitors who have completed at least fifty of the core challenges, then only those who have completed the core challenges get a prize. If nobody manages all sixty-four core challenges, then so long as at least one competitor has completed more than fifty-five of them, the competitor who has completed the most will win the "First Prize." Otherwise, the top three will all receive equal prizes of the second tier down.

So that the competition is more fair, I am considering March 1 the official beginning, but keeping all already posted stories as official entries, so those who have already written for the challenge will have a couple of weeks off near the end :P

I'm glad my challenge has already had such a good response, and I hope that this will serve as a motivator to others to try out for it. Andrea's got a bit of a head start on everyone, so people need to get cracking if they want a chance of beating her to the top!

Let the games begin!

Melanie E.