I just read an article about a man who booby-trapped cardboard boxes on his doorstep because porch pirates had been stealing his deliveries for months. He had a few interesting contraptions, but the first plan was to offer his cat's ripe litter box holdings to the next thief, which worked fine, but then the discarded box was found by a neighbor and returned to him. Not cool. Come up with some brilliant booby-traps, and let's see who gets the most "likes" for creativity and description. Multiple ideas are fine. Add, if you want, possible failures and fail-safes. How are you going to teach these thieves a lesson? Paint a picture of your porch if necessary; and an extra challenge for Sushishi, Sadhill, and PrettyScaries: try to keep them alive... you know... at least for a little while.

I came to a realization, after the 4th, that the first challenge of inspiration is inherently up to me. Apparently, 4's phrases weren't terribly inspiring, so that's on me. Hopefully this one will go better. Use the phrases below in a unique story or poem which begs a rejoinder of some kind from other Prosers. Responses need not be entered directly into the challenge--feel free to compose your response as a regular post, then put a link to it in the comments of the original piece so we can all find it. One winning original entry and one winning response entry will be blessed with a life-changing $5 prize! That's a whole pizza at Little Caesar's! (Or half a salad... somewhere... where people eat salads.) ______________Here are your challenge phrases: _______________ at your doorstep, Hate's last breath, carry on, alternate truth, the undertaker's dream, backward curiosity, nearing the End of Days, unnatural motives, I think of scales, forever in a ____________ Have fun! And no, "have fun" is not one of the phrases. Ugh... I know at least two of you are going to title your entry Have Fun just to mess with me. You know what? I don't care if you have fun or not--just do the damn challenge!

Tell me what it's like to bring a child into the world (whether you have or not). I always hear (... it was the happiest day of my life.) I'm going to need more detail than that. Poem, short story, essay... whatever conveys best your experience or interpretation of the miracle of childbirth.

Use the phrases below in a unique story or poem which begs a rejoinder of some kind from other Prosers. Responses need not be entered directly into the challenge--feel free to compose your response as a regular post, then put a link to it in the comments of the original piece so we can all find it. One winning original entry and one winning response entry will be blessed with a life-changing $10 prize! I know... it boggles the mind just to think on it. ______________Here are your challenge phrases: _______________ Fallen heroes, tempting fate, til it burns, in the eyes of strangers, like foreplay, for all the stars, torn apart, begging for mercy, Stairs of Valhalla, without a fight ____________ For clarity, when I say, "Bon chance, mes amis," that is NOT one of the phrases. **ahem** Bon chance, mes amis!

In the music industry, there are many "stars." Among them, there are what we might call "super-stars." Beyond the super-stars, there are "icons"--the timeless legends. Within a genre (or two, or more), tell me WHO you believe is an icon in the industry, and WHY.

Use the phrases below in a unique story or poem which begs a rejoinder of some kind from other Prosers. (Credit: Dr;) Responses need not be entered directly into the challenge--feel free to compose your response as a regular post, then put a link to it in the comments of the original piece so we can all find it. One winning original entry and one winning response entry will be blessed with a life-changing $10 prize! Breathe. Just breathe. ______________Here are your challenge phrases: _______________ Feeding frenzy, really pisses me off, juggernaut, various insecurities, popular fallacies, trapping perfection, run red, nothing good can come of this, created from the depths, this damned chair, between time and tears. ____Bon chance, mes amis!

Using the phrases below in a unique story or poem, inspire other Prosers to respond to your genius in kind. Responses need not be entered into the challenge--feel free to compose your response as a regular post, then put a link to your post in the comments of the original piece so we can all find it. One winning original entry and one winning response entry will take home a glorious $10 prize! I know--try to contain yourself. Here are your challenge phrases: _______________ '57 Chevy, faded blue jeans, rolling thunder, balls of steel, fire and ice, pillars of Heaven, the devil's last chance, torn leather jacket, dried-up tears, bat out of Hell

Tell me of your visit to this place, of the people with whom you stayed, and of the tales they told about the creatures which them from wandering into the woods at night. What place? This place: https://theprose.com/post/737656/this-place

My own stories bore me. Compose something interesting including the following phrases: on the night, of passion forlorn, youth's bravado, like it never happened, a silent plea, tireless wings, heartless tomorrow, shadows of dreams. Then, tag a fellow Proser and challenge them to compose a response to your submission (with or without the key phrases) in the comments. Your submission, and the author of your best response, will each receive an inflation-busting $10 for your efforts! Inspire great responses... win fantastic prizes!

Write me something clever using these eleven random words: entity, whimsical, foretold, intuition, indignation, fortress, melancholy, righteous, dastardly, moonstruck, and comedy. Let's keep it under 400 words, shall we?

Two ancient civilizations are suddenly at odds over who is to blame for the accidental killing of a lost juvenile Golden Protector wasp in the Taputini Rainforest. These civilizations have lived in relative harmony within their respective villages among the buttress roots of neighboring Kapok trees. _______ Rules were clearly broken--who broke them, and why? What other forest creatures play roles in the civilizations' existence? What do the Golden Protectors protect them from? How will they re-establish the trust of their Protectors and ensure their continued service and loyalty, and at what cost? _______ Extra points for: Biodiversity-- insects, birds, amphibians, birds, etc, ______ Never introducing anything relating to human environmental impact, ______ Links to internet photos along the way-- ie. If you've got a Green Thornytail iguana running notes between characters, try to include a pic, ie. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/green-thornytail-iguana-uracentron-azureum-an-arboreal-species-of-lizard-from-the-amazon-rainforest-and-forests-in-the-guiana-sh--6544361942312160/ ____________________________________ Collaboration is welcome, though you'll have to split up the prize if a team wins. There can only be one winner, but I'm not opposed to making donations to authors with respectable entries, so make a strong effort and let's see what comes of it!

I don't care what's going on, I just want it to end with one or more people juggling spaghetti.

In 1923, the first female graduate from the M.I.T. school of architecture, Annie Rockfellow, saw the completion of the Amado Schoolhouse in Amado, AZ. Nearly 50 years later, it was purchased by the Smithsonian Institute in a collaborative effort, along with the University of Arizona, to be used as a base of operations while constructing the Whipple Observatory atop nearby Mt. Hopkins. After its completion, Dick and Barbara Blake, eccentric world travelers, purchased the schoolhouse and transformed it into the oasis they called home until only a few years ago when they moved into an elderly care facility near Phoenix. The schoolhouse was succumbing to age as well. An estate sale found homes for the extravagant collection of furnishings and exotic decor, but something stayed behind. The home having fallen into disrepair, Ms. Anderson, a real estate entrepreneur, has had multiple contractors making necessary repairs and some "discoveries" have been made behind the aesthetic facades created by the Blake's over the past 40 years. Other discoveries--behind deeper facades--date much, much further back. Many local contractors wouldn't go to the property at all, others won't go back. Putting the property up for sale, Ms. Anderson had to answer the question: Is the home occupied or vacant? The spry 73 yr-old groundskeeper, Mr. Wik, doesn't believe in ghosts, even after having been called by the security system agency alerting him to movement within the main house multiple times (almost always in the 3 a.m. hour). Your challenge is to write the story for an Indie film. Let's face it, it's a long-shot, but if we make it happen, and it makes money, you're in for 5% for creating the idea. It doesn't have to be a ghost story... or even a horror story. Collaborations welcome. Do a little research. Don't be afraid to collaborate. Ask questions if you have any. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Annie Rockfellow: https://preservetucson.org/stories/annie-graham-rockfellow-1866-1954/# Amado schoolhouse today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_atBXCFheUU The Blake's: https://www.nogalesinternational.com/community/home-tour-features-remodeled-schoolhouse/article_d23377da-3306-11ea-9189-fbfd5e7c3a38.html Whipple Observatory: https://www.mmto.org/the-story-of-the-observatory/

Being fairly new to TheProse., I imagine this is nothing new. Still, maybe it's time again. What tips can you share from which we might benefit as writers? From finding the first word to finding a publisher... what have you got to share?

What other movies changed the industry forever, and why?

Show me the dialogue! I want two people arguing--one wrong/one right; or both wrong/both right. Substantive arguments, not just vulgarity, please--shock me with your creative genius, insight, and ability to argue both sides.

Most importantly... why?