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Flat Competition
The Flat Competition, featuring the NPL's signature puzzles created by members, is one of the highlights of the convention.
This year's competition is titled STARTING LINES and is organized by Saxifrage. Here's what she has to say about it:
STARTING LINES -- by Saxifrage
HOMONYM (4, 5)
Whose woods these are I think I know;
The irons are a mystery, though.
Who left this golf bag at my door?
Did they not want it anymore?
Why did they leave their FOUR behind?
That FIVE is messing with my mind!
Wait... you mean that isn't how Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" goes?
In this year's con flat competition, I challenge you to start with the first line of a well-known poem (not a song lyric) and then take that starting line in a new direction. While you may pastiche an entire poem, that's certainly not required -- feel free to alter rhyme scheme, meter, and so on within the constraints imposed by the first line you choose. Creativity is, as always, highly encouraged.
Flats of any type that have appeared in The Enigma are acceptable. Remember that your fellow Krewe will be solving these flats without references and under time constraints, so I suggest keeping those NI2-findable, obscure bases and writing super-clever flats on them for The Enigma instead. Familiar non-MW bases are fine.
Please submit your flats to Saxifrage via email no later than June 1, 2014. Please put "Con flat submission" or something similar in the subject line of your email. Feel free to contact me with any questions, as well. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!