THE SANDS OF ST. PETERSBURG: A Mystery Writer's Competition

By Randall S Johnson

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A writer's competition? That's right. Twelve authors from around the country gather in St. Petersburgh, Florida to compete with each other in a collaborative novel. Each tries to submit the best composition of the day to earn points toward the overall championship and cash prizes. The collective mystery plot deve

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randall Johnson
• Release date: Mar 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798985913071

Book preview

1

Sunday: Registration / Opening Banquet

I am Peter and I deserve to be here. Sure, the lure of riches has captured my attention, and my reputation has justified the invitation. But I sense that the real reason I am here lies in my critical thought process and deduction capability. These will be of vital importance if I am to survive the competition. I have trained my whole life for such a challenge as this, and I am not one to shy from a battle if a battle it must be. I travel light and the tools of my trade are common but the skill at which I use them is effective at eliminating competition and with such veracity that one is left to wonder why challenging my talent is worthy of any attempt. So, I am here and ready for my next conquest. Bring on The First Annual St. Petersburg Writers Competition!" Peter pondered as he approached the lobby.

I set my bags on the luggage cart in the annex area near the front of the magnificent Deluxe Luxury Hotel. The doorman offered to hold the bags and have them delivered to my suite upon check-in. As gracefully as I could, I found the fiver in the hidden pocket of my threadbare wallet and palmed the five-note into the doorman’s hand, outwardly appearing to shake his hand, while providing the anticipated money exchange. A knowing smile crossed his lips as he recognized the fortune awaiting in his clenched fist. As I walked to the receptionist I missed the expression of extreme gratitude on the doorman’s face but heard him say to no one in particular – Thanks, Pal. Imagine that; I just meet the man and already I am his pal.

Teresa. I deduced the receptionist’s name to be ‘Teresa’ through my honed shills of deciphering such things. That and the name tag on her lapel. I am Ponder, Peter Ponder is my name. I am one of the writers in the competition and am here to register. Can you provide my credentials and room keys so that I may refresh before the events of this evening?

Good afternoon Mr. Ponder. You are the first to arrive. Here are your packet and your keys. You are in Suite 1221. Dinner is at 6:00 in the Main Ballroom. Good luck.

Peter thought to himself as he turned to the elevators, Luck? There is no luck. I shall win this outright by my inherent abilities.

Ooh, cookies! he said aloud as he helped himself to a pack of the chocolate chip variety on the table next to the elevators. The elevator doors parted, and he was carried away.

The remaining eleven writers made their entrances in the hotel lobby with similar announcements and fanfare throughout the afternoon. Each received their packets of information, and suite keys, and just before boarding the elevator, helped themselves to a packet of freshly baked cookies.

…

Can I have your attention, please? Please! Dr. Remington asked from the dais. Thank you. Thank you. I am Dr. Winslow Remington, Professor of English Sciences at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and I am your emcee for the evening. I wish to officially welcome you to the First Annual St. Petersburg Mystery Writers Competition held this year at the Deluxe Luxury Hotel.  I trust you have all settled into your complimentary suites, the accommodations exceed your expectations, and I hope the staff tends to your every need.

I would like to acknowledge a few people before we begin our scheduled activities. First, to your left, my right, let’s have a round of applause for Master Chef, Harold Jenkins, and his talented staff for their outstanding feast this evening. Very well done! Chef Jenkins acknowledged the applause and deflected it to his staff so they too would receive the recognition. Next, from Joskin and Joskin Publishers, their Executive Vice President, Gordon Sanders, joining us this evening and our Keynote speaker later in the program. Next on the dais is Mr. Jerome Kingston, President of The Deluxe Luxury Hotel our kind host for this week’s activities. Polite applause and Mr. Kingston stood to acknowledge their appreciation. "Finally, the extremely talented lady who has pulled this whole project together, Executive Marketing Director at Joskin & Joskin, Ms. Becky Townson.

"I would also wish to acknowledge our other corporate sponsors of America’s Airlines, Tampa Travel Inc., Tampa Gazette Newspaper, Channel 14 News, Barns, and Nobility Bookstores, as well as the Chamber of Commerce for Greater St. Petersburg. Thank you to all our sponsors without whom this event would not be possible. Let’s give applause to all of them.

Let me share with everyone the Mission Statement of this competition as was provided with your writers’ credentials.

The St. Petersburg Mystery Writer’s Competition seeks to draw together twelve of the most talented writers in America today, acknowledge their talent, test their talent through competition, and recognize their talent with awards and monetary prizes. Regardless of the outcome of this week’s competition, each writer’s attendance is sufficient to declare them a winner solely by receiving an invitation to the finals of The First Annual St. Petersburg Writer’s Competition.

Let’s have all the writers stand up and receive an outstanding ovation for participating in this competition. (pause for applause) When everyone leaves the ballroom tonight you can see each writer’s photo and biography displayed on posters throughout the lobby. Writers, please feel free to sign autographs and if your time is available, I am sure there may be some media people present who would like to do interviews tonight and throughout the week.

"Now the competition begins. This week you twelve authors together will write a mystery and also, submit a story of your own. The collective mystery will be built one day at a time by the writers and is added to previous writers’ contributions to the plot. One of the writers’ daily submissions will be deemed to represent that day’s content and the story goes on from there.

"To clarify, let me give you an example. The story begins with a murder, time and place, and victim and a couple of clues will be given. Each writer then writes the next six hundred to one thousand words of the story and submits them by 5:00 PM sharp that night. At that time our judges will review each writer’s submission based on defined, specific criteria, award first through third place rankings, and then distributes to each writer their ranking or score, and the content of the winner’s submission. This along with clues and rules from the judges becomes the beginning of the next day’s competition. You may have to find clues from staff throughout the Deluxe Luxury Hotel. Eventually, you will all write an ending to the aggregate mystery.

"Because we have only a limited time together to finish the collective mystery, we need to have a structure of content for each day so we can conclude by the closing luncheon banquet on Saturday. There will be six chapters to the aggregate novel: One each on Monday through Thursday and two on Friday. This limitation is solely based on the time the competition has while we are here in St. Petersburg. The judging committee will guide the submissions each day with clues or other directions.

The criteria for judging the writers’ submitted work are as follows with each criterion receiving a number grade from 1 to 10 as to how the submission meets each criterion:

Continuity. How well the submission continues the storyline from the past content.

Creativity. How well the submission follows clues and directions in an original, creative manner.

Clarity. How clearly described is the submission in moving the plot forward?

Conformity. How well submission conforms to correct grammar, punctuation, word count, and spelling.

Q factor. In the judge’s mind, is the direction the writer is taking the reader such that the reader wants to hear more (or is satisfied with the eventual ending).

"Each writer will get a score for the daily submission as well as extra points for placing in the top three plus potential bonus points relating to clues. The final results will be based on the cumulative daily scorings.

When each of you was notified that you earned a place in the finals of the St. Peterburg Writing Competition" you were invited to write a two-thousand-word short story of your choosing that will be compiled into a book commemorating this achievement. Please polish up that story by the end of the week and submit it to the address in your