Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire describes PTSD as "the injury that starts when the shooting stops." (CBC) Between 2004 and 2014, 160 military personnel have committed suicide-more than the amount killed in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014.

In honour of those suffering from PTSD, ChemNotCharacter would like to host a contest of sorts: a short piece of fiction concerning veterans afflicted by this disorder.

When is it?

ChemNotCharacter will be running this contest annually for the foreseeable future. Remembrance Day (otherwise known as Veteran's Day in the United States) is November 11, so we will be taking submissions up until Tuesday, November 1, 2016.

What's the criteria?

In order to qualify, your story must:

• Be no more than 2, 500 in length. (There is no formal minimum.)

• Consist of only 1 part (not including author's notes or dedications).

• Focus on a character suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of military combat.(Note: this combat is not limited to conflicts such as World War I and II, Vietnam or the Iraq Wars. Civil wars, UN peacekeeping missions and terrorist attacks are also grounds for the basis of your story.)

• Be well-researched and accurately portray the experiences of soldiers or other military personnel suffering from PTSD

• NOT glorify war and any of the events within.

How do I enter?

Add the tags #chemnotcharacter and #lestweforget to your story and link it in the comment section of this chapter.

How does winning work?

As the nature of Remembrance Day is very solemn, there won't be any first, second and third place winners, nor major prizes. Selected stories will be featured in an anthology honouring soldiers and Remembrance Day itself. There is no set number of stories that will be selected. Selections will be announced on November 11, 2016.