Before I unveil the idea, however, I did want to say how blown away I was with the amount of entries submitted. I expected around five or six ideas. Instead, I received thirteen ideas in the comments section of this blog, another idea submitted to a forum post in Dimensions Magazine, one private message on the Changing Mirror forums, and an idea via email. I was blown away not just by the quantity of ideas, but the quality. Many seemed very fascinating and would undoubtedly make great stories.
Sadly, I can't write them all. Right now I'm working on three separate commissions and I'm also working on a story swap with a friend. However, I can say that there will be an honorable mention of sorts: one idea, submitted by Daina, regarding a female paladin becoming an orc, is remarkably similar to the story swap I am working on.
In my story, the girl is a just a young woman in a rural village, not a paladin, and she becomes an ogre instead of an orc, but the transformation is very similar physically. This story will be quite long (I'm guessing about 10,000 words), and I hope Daina and others enjoy it. I've written an ogre themed story before, The Princess, and this one will have a darker theme to it.
The idea I chose for the contest winner was submitted by Athletic Guy:
A good looking guy with an athletic build is dating a cute & petite bookworm. They are both good people and believe they other each other "no matter what". Is this actually true? What happens when reality is altered and their "roles" are gradually reversed against their will? She becomes a strong athletic female while he becomes a short guy with little muscle tone.
Both of them didn't want this change and only they remember how things used to be. Even though they are not happy about it, they intend to make the best of the situation. How do they struggle with this role reversal, both as a couple and individually? What kind of situations do they find themselves in that really test the strength of their relationship? What do other people think of their relationship? What kind of internal and external conflict they do experience?
I chose this idea for a variety of reasons. There were several great ideas submitted revolving around nerd, weight gain, or age progression transformations, but I liked the idea of writing something new. In addition, the story easily plays into concepts like gender roles and women being assertive, with which I've always liked.
I'll be starting the idea soon, though because of the other projects I'm doing right now, I can't give it a definitive completion date. In any event, I very much enjoyed the contest and I hope I can do something like this again. Let me know your thoughts.