Twain here! I'm back with another contest and another opportunity to get your creative juices flowing!

This contest is all about minstrels. Medieval poets, singers, and storytellers, minstrels were a fun source of entertainment!

RULES

-Must be about a minstrel. I don't care what they do. Maybe they get mixed up in something they shouldn't have. A comic-relief minstrel would make my day! It can be historically accurate, or it can be fantasy. Go crazy!

-Swearing, blood, gore, hanging, the plague; it's all allowed.

-NSFW, smut, graphic sexual content; not allowed. This contest is rated PG-13. References to sexual situations are allowed, but keep it classy.

-Alcohol and drugs; both are allowed. Just make sure that the use of your chosen drugs are accurate for the time period! Or, if you go the fantasy route, go crazy and make things up. As for alcohol, I have no special regulations.

-Word count limit is a strict 3,500. That should be enough to world-build, plus get your minstrel in and out of trouble!

-Grammar and spelling plays heavily into my judging. Make sure your story has proper line breaks, proper punctuation, and proper spelling!

-Where your story goes is UP TO YOU! I'm not here to see cookie-cutter stories. I want to see action, adventure, and, most importantly, YOUR mark on the story. Make me want more!

-HAVE FUN. If you don't have fun with it, I sincerely recommend taking a deep breath and listening to... medieval music? I don't know what that entails, but it sounds interesting and fun. If you find some medieval music, let me know!

NOTES

-Please leave comments! Positive feedback and constructive criticism are extremely important for authors, especially newer or younger writers. Even if you don't join the contest, letting the author of an entry know you liked their work can go a long way.

-This contest will last for the full four weeks. Two weeks was way too short. Don't forget to publish your entry before the deadline!

Well, I think that's all. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

All my love, Twain.