CONTEST: High Concept # 1, The Forgotten Man [DEADLINE JULY 3]

[Tom Russell]

Thought I'd try something a little different by creating the first in
hopefully a series of community-building competitions.  Here's the
basic idea: I throw a high concept character idea out there.  Everyone
who wants to take part writes a story that delivers on that concept.
After the deadline, RACC readers pick their favourite one.  The winner
then comes up with the concept for the next contest, and so-on.

Participants can execute the idea in any way they see fit and in any
universe they have permission to write for.  If Dvandom wants to use
it in ASH, he can; if I want to use it in Eightfold, I can; LNH, of
course, is open to anybody.  Or, you can execute it in no universe at
all.  It can be in continuity or non-canon.

You can even continue to use that character in your stories if you
find that you've taken a shine to them.  That version will be your
version.

And, to make things really interesting, ANYONE can write for the
Eightfold Universe when meeting this challenge and they can use ANY of
Tom Russell's characters in their story (Rosen's are still off-limits,
as I cannot speak for him).  That doesn't mean it'll necessarily be in
continuity, of course; it's still a closed universe but it'll be a
little more open for the purposes of this contest and any that follow
it.

Again, anyone whose story gets the most votes will throw the next
character concept out there.  To make sure there's always a new idea
from a new person each time, the winner will recuse themselves from
answering their own challenge.

Sounds good?

Well, here's the first idea: depression-era superhero/pulp hero/
vigilante, The Forgotten Man.  His power is that every twenty-four
hours, every being in the universe forgets everything they know about
him.  Does this mean that film evidence and late-breaking news reports
disappear over night, or can someone piece together his existence from
documentary evidence?  Does this power extend to his secret identity--
is he truly a forgotten man?  Does he forget everything about himself
and have to rediscover it anew each day?

That, my friends, is completely up to you to determine.  Deadline for
the first contest is July 3; voting will take place in the two weeks
following and then, hopefully, the whole thing will start up again
with someone else's idea.

Happy writing!

==Tom