OR , HOW THE GRINCH TOLD CHRISTMAS...

WELCOME TO OUR FOURTH ANNUAL GRINCHFEST -  NOW MULTISITE !
Uncle Billy* and I were prowling through Ted Geisel's secret notes and found yet ANOTHER way to torment you ...
(evil grinchy laughter)

"...and the more the Grinch thought of his Holiday Sing,

The more the Grinch thought, 'I must change this whole thing!'
And he puzzled and puzzed til he thought up a way
To tweak the design and let EVERYONE play.
 So, this year, he's bringing you something brand new
With the help of his lifelong friend, Quincy Magoo -
Whose show years ago brought the classics alive...
Now with pen and/or keyboard our players will strive
 To tell us a story - spin us a tale :
One with a hero, hearty and hale -
Give us a villain, crafty and cold,
Outthought by a child who is clever and bold.
Show us a monster misunderstood
Who, despite his appearance, is gentle and good...
Throw in a princess, noble and sure
In love with a poor man whose nature is pure.
Add a great wizard, ancient and wise :
Write of young lovers with stars in their eyes.
Give us a tale of a fantasy realm,
Sail us away with your hand at the helm.
Yes, tell us a story, here by the fire -
Filled with heroics, smiles, tears, and desire :
Tell us a story - dream us a dream -
Show that things are much more than they seem...
And tell us a story - sing us a song -
Come entertain us the winter's night long.
 So join in our tale-share - we hope you enjoy
Our lit'rary meeting-game holiday toy.
For the Grinch knows full well that, wherever you've living,
This is the season of loving and giving."

CINDY LOU WHO
HAS INSTRUCTIONS
FOR YOU!
~ ~ . ~   ~ 
GET YOUR GRINCH ON * * * * * * * * * * * * * WATCH THE SHOW
TRIVIA QUIZ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HERE

RELAX! It's not nearly as complicated as it looks.

All right, here's the plan - up until now this has been a specialized event, strictly for MagiStream... but we're sure they won't mind sharing. This year, for the first time, the GrinchFest is going multi-site, with people from quite a few sites all playing together - and while you will be able to see the names and sites of all players in Our Jolly Participants (clickable above), you will NOT be able to see who wrote which story. (evil grinchy laughter - I have to have SOME fun, people.) 
  The basic idea is this : you are to write a holiday tale, incorporating at least one of the elements mentioned in the poem above (from "To tell us a story" to "night long." - you can use more than one if you like), and, ideally, featuring one or more characters from your home site. There are no special requirements for format (prose, poem, etc.) or length (though please, not TOO short, lol), and you are welcome to include illustrations.     Post your name and home site in the Comments here if you wish to be a participant, so your info can be added.   Compose your tale wherever you like (blogs are good, and free), then PM a link to it to us via your site's Message link - see Reaching the Grinch, above right - and it will be transferred to the StoryBook tab, also above right.   Entries can be submitted up until midnight Christmas eve, and will be opened to voting after that - yes, YOU guys have to choose the winner(s), lol. Voting will run from noon on Christmas Day until midnight on Little Christmas - January 5th, 2014. You do NOT need to have a story posted to vote, so tell your friends to come and enjoy our Winter's Tales!   HAVE FUN !
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(If you have any questions or problems, you can either post in the relevant (your site's) Forum thread, if we have one, clickable above right (GrinchTalk) : or  PM me directly on any of the participating sites, also linked above right (Reaching the Grinch). And Cindy Lou Who has detailed step-by-step directions in HER clickable, above center.

Just about every image on this page does SOMETHING, whether it's labeled or not - feel free to click away at random, and...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS - WHICHEVER ONE(S) YOU WISH - TO ALL!

(*all of this, once again, with all my love, is dedicated to my Uncle Billy, William Henry Pratt - better known as Boris Karloff, the original and ONLY true Grinch...who would have absolutely adored this sort of convoluted nonsense. I miss him so...and with special affection and thanks to Jim Backus, who brought Mister Magoo to life and gave us the wonderful Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. I don't have the bitspace to put it here in full, but you can get a free download HERE - do watch it if you can, it's utterly charming.)