Let's play a World Wide Game... And please be gentle?

Hello, thar. Meinos Kaen here!

Hope you're going to have a nice weekend, wherever you are! Me, I know it's going to be a rainy one. So, no clubbing, but a nice home party with friends, poker and booze. Although I would have preferred to expose my craziness in public... And you can help me do just that. Remember last week, when I said that I was thinking of something that may force you to face the real world? Well, time to uncover this World Wide Game of mine! I hope you will join numerous... Although, I'm quite scared of what that could mean for my sanity if you do.

Why, you ask? Let me explain the rules of this game, and the prize that comes with it.

You see, college can actually be useful for things other than finding drinking buddies, girls and frat parties (which, by the way, we don't have in Italy). What they teach in class can actually be interesting. And during one particular lessons in the Technologies class, a crazy idea came to my mind. An idea that has caused me to start searching for a suitable catchphrase for this blog. In the end, I settled for 'Do you ever wonder?', which is the question if you fancy yourself any kind of fictional writer.

Do you ever wonder what would happen if...? Do you ever wonder what could hide behind that door? Do you ever wonder where that series of action could lead? Do you ever wonder if you could imagine all that and put it on paper? Curiosity. That primal urge to discover something is the basic foundation of writing and creativity, and it's also the basic foundation for this game, which, I won't lie, it's also a fun way I found to bring more readers to this site and maybe to make of this blog a project that I can present to my teachers.

The lesson that had my mind gears turning was about QR Codes, which are those mosaic-like squares you can probably see kind of everywhere, which can be scanned with any Smartphone or Tablet. They contain a number of information. The one plastered on these small fliers on your left simply contains the url of this site. I bet you can already see where I'm going with this.

Although, there would be no game without some rules, were it? Exactly what am I asking you to do, here? Of course, to print one or two of these fliers and stick it on a surface. And that's where the game is, in the where. What I'd like to see is that flier, with the inviting catchphrase 'Do you ever wonder?', stuck in the best places ever! There are just two guidelines, easy peasy.

1. Use Color Contrast! See how I gave you three different versions in three different colors? Of course it's also for giving you the option to save on printer ink or in case you only have access to a black/white one, but also because different colors stick out on different surfaces! Example: you have a yellow surface. Which flier would stick out on it more? The black one, of course! You can also edit the flier and give it another background color, get creative!

2. Extravagance is fine, but it has to be seen! Sticking a flier in unusual places is okay, it can draw more attention barring that it can be seen. Sticking a flier on the top of the Eiffel Tower is cool and all, but how many people would be able to see it? Efficiency over originality, but if you can combine the two...

Submission Rules: Take a picture of the stuck flier and send it via e-mail to storieinrosso@gmail.com, adding to the email Date, City and Place where the photo was taken. The deadline is 05/15/2012.

Prize: Yeah. There is a prize. One that I think you'll love. Let's be frank, what exactly do you come here for? To read my stories, right? Because you like my writing. So... That's exactly what the prize is. My utter and total submission to your whims... For one three-shot story.

The winner will have the power to ask this of me: no matter the idea, no matter the genre or series, what or who you want to see in it, no matter how depraved, warped, or twisted you want it to be, I will write what you want me to write. If you win, you can ask me to write anything about anything and anyone.

… Damn it, I can feel the Norman Bates smiles.

Believe me when I say that I'm afraid of what you could possibly ask of me, but I wanted to put up a tasty reward for you guys. So, I hope you will join, I hope you will stick, and I hope that whoever wins doesn't end up asking Mpreg of me. I would write it nonetheless. I would just die a little on the inside.

Well, with that, I salute you and hope you spend a nice weekend!

Meinos Kaen out!