Historical Contests

The Battle That Might've Been

For this month, we are collaborating with WattPunk! Check out the contest details below!

Contest Title: The Battle That Might've Been

Punk Genre: Candlepunk

The Prompt:

Many, many battles took place from 500-1000 CE, during the Dark Ages (or Early Middle Ages). It's probably fair enough to say, however, that had the technology of the time been used to its absolute full potential, those battles may have looked very different indeed.

Imagine an alternate version of Earth, where technologies were developed earlier than on our Earth ( assuming those technologies have been developed here at all ). Instead of swords and bows, might laser swords or blasters have been the norm? Generals on the battlefield may have communicated with their superiors over great distances using a raw version of Whatsapp. Would great trundling, rolling vehicles have taken the place of horses and chariots whilst airships ruled the skies? Victory celebrations may well have had soundtracks akin to Trivium's Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr, The Prodigy's Voodoo People, or Queen's We Will Rock You.

Making use of the above examples (and any other examples you can think of) in 5000 words write a story of advanced technology within the confines of the Candlepunk subgenre, surrounding a real battle of your choosing that took place anywhere in the world from 500-1000 CE.

The Fine Print:

Using the above prompt by way of inspiration, write a short story of up to 5000 words in length.

Once complete, post it to your own profile as a one-shot piece (not as part of an existing collection) and submit via this form. Entries not meeting these requirements will not be considered eligible for judging.

Please feel free to share your efforts with your fellow Wattpadders, and post the link to your entry into the comments' section below.

Whilst some leeway will always be given, do try to keep things PG-13. This is a family show, after all.

Only submit entries in English, please. When it comes to judging we have no other language capabilities.

Contest closes Thursday, February 28th at 23.59 UST

The winning entry, as judged by the ambassadors working the WattPunk & HistoricalFiction profiles, will be given the chance to feature in the anthologies, Tales Told Beneath the Gaslamp, & Flash Backs respectively.

The five highest scoring entries (including the winning entry) will be added to a brand new 'The Battle That Might've Been' reading list featured on both participating profiles.