They pursue their craft for the infamy and fun of it, often injecting a little humor in the staid world of literature. I don't like to announce the amount. It's a small check and the notoriety. The popular contest began at California's San Jose State University in 1982. Entries in the competition have increased from three the first year to several thousand in recent years.
Entrants compete to write the worst opening sentence to an imaginary novel.
There are no minimum age requirements for the competition. The Web site for that contest lists previous winners and their victorious introductions. In 1989, Ray Gainey won for his entry that included a reference to a large pimple. Another contest, the International Imitation Hemingway Competition, lets participants poke fun at Papa. These writers intentionally create sentences that would provoke teachers and editors the world over to whip out their red pens.