Intentionally Bad Fiction

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is a contest that asks contestants to write the worst possible opening sentence to a hypothetical novel in several categories. It is named for Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, who wrote this gem:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

The site is here: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/index.htm, but the good stuff, this year's results, are here: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/scott.rice/blfc2008.htm.

It's refreshing to read bad writing done intentionally, rather than intentional writing done badly.