Missed Connection Advertisement
"A missed connection is a type of personal advertisement which arises after two people meet but are too shy or otherwise unable to exchange contact details" (Wikipedia). Let's do a fun writing exercise. Let's write a "missed connection" ad! This is a great opportunity for an interesting (maybe weird) meet cute and some odd characters (both the subject and the narrator). Mostly, have fun!
Ended July 1, 2018 • 16 Entries • Created by desmondwrite
Rune Bear (upcoming digital literary magazine) is looking for stories about... Rune Bear.
What the hades is a rune bear anyway? All we know is that they're blue, covered in glowing runes, and often found in wintry woods. But other than that, they're a complete mystery. We're looking for petite prose and poetry about these wondrously weird creatures.
Ended June 11, 2018 • 21 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Fantasy
$1.00
Write the bio you'd send to a literary magazine.
Every writer needs a sassy bio that reviews their wonderful self and lists all their literary accomplishments. Let's share our best and may the best bio boil to the top. Remember! A bio should have all the chirp, charm, and charge of lightning-in-a-bottle.
Ended February 17, 2018 • 8 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Nonfiction
Write a piece comparing love to an ordinary object/event like a stapler, a board game, a shark attack, a job interview, a new car, etc.
Prose or poetry. Be innovative, original!
Ended October 22, 2017 • 37 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Romance & Erotica
See the world through an animal's eyes.
Entertain me. #entertainme hashtagentertainme
Ended October 8, 2017 • 20 Entries • Created by desmondwrite
Famous First Words: Write a great opening line to a novel.
Ended August 6, 2017 • 181 Entries • Created by desmondwrite
A Tale from the Forbidden Forest (and its borderlands).
Ended July 7, 2017 • 0 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Fantasy
Dinosaur erotica. Rawr.
Ended July 7, 2017 • 0 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Romance & Erotica
Write a detective story, preferably with 1) a murder, 2) suspects, and 3) a detective who's there to solve the case. Try to create a fair-play whodunit which can be solved by the astute reader.
Make sure you have a clear method the detective uses to solve crimes. Sherlock Holmes uses physical observation and induction. Monsieur Dupin uses the logic of puzzles and psychology. Father Brown knows human nature. Miss Marple uses domestic intuition, analogy, and logic. Sam Spade has his fortitude and constant cynicism. Good luck!
Ended July 4, 2018 • 1 Entry • Created by desmondwrite in Crime
Write a locked-room mystery.
Ended July 4, 2018 • 0 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Crime
Create a compelling detective character. (More in description.)
Make sure you have a clear method the detective uses to solve crimes. Sherlock Holmes uses physical observation and induction. Monsieur Dupin uses the logic of puzzles and psychology. Father Brown knows human nature. Miss Marple uses domestic intuition, analogy, and logic. Sam Spade has his fortitude and constant cynicism. Good luck!
Ended July 6, 2017 • 0 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Crime
Write a detective story, preferably with 1) a murder, 2) suspects, and 3) a detective who's there to solve the case. Try to create a fair-play whodunit which can be solved by the astute reader.
For more information on what a "fair-play whodunit" is: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FairPlayWhodunnit
Ended July 6, 2017 • 0 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Crime
Write a locked-room mystery.
According to Wikipedia: "The locked-room mystery is a subgenre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under circumstances which it was seemingly impossible for the perpetrator to commit the crime and/or evade detection in the course of getting in and out of the crime scene. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene with no indication as to how the intruder could have entered or left, i.e., a locked room."
Ended July 6, 2017 • 0 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Crime
Fantasy City Challenge: There are so many well-realized fantasy cities: Neverwinter, Braavos, Ankh-Morpork, the Emerald City, Mordor, etc. For this challenge, tell a story set in a fantasy city of your own creation. While the story should be compelling, I’m also interested in the unique design of your urban landscape. Become an architect and anthropologist, delving into infrastructure, culture, politics, race, etc. Is there a unique magic system here? What do citizens see on a regular basis, and what remains hidden from them behind a looming palace or in lurking alleys? How does it smell, sound, feel? How do these people think and feel? Set forth!
Try to stay within the sprawling genre of fantasy. I'll post a science-fiction city challenge when this one is complete.
Ended June 21, 2017 • 4 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Fantasy
$1.00
Craft a story about an old god (or some kind of divinity) in a contemporary environment. Put Thor in a college frat. Let Anubis run a morgue. Have Apollo start his own shoes company to rival Nike’s. The possibilities are endless, but make sure you show both mythological depth and wit!
Prose or poetry.
Ended June 21, 2017 • 15 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Fantasy
John Dryden once wrote that good satire is not offensive since the wise enjoy it and the fool doesn’t recognize it. That it’s one thing to butcher and another to cut so keenly you decapitate while leaving the head in place. “The Onion” has been delivering wonderful parodies of mainstream journalism since 1988. Their work is a careful balance of realism, wit, irreverence, and humor. To complete this challenge, write an Onion-esque satirical news article or advertisement. 75 coins “cash” prize!
Ended May 7, 2017 • 10 Entries • Created by desmondwrite in Comedy
Tell a story through a list:
1) It can be broken by numbers or bullet points or commas or something else.
2) It can be a collection or sequence or whatever you want.
3) Winner gets 50 coins.
Ended May 15, 2017 • 79 Entries • Created by desmondwrite
Reflecting on the Holocaust and the Nazi Party, Hannah Arendt wrote about the “banality” of evil, or the profound gap between the horrors of evil deeds and the incredible ordinariness of those who perpetuate them. Stories like Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Margo Lanagan’s “Singing My Sister Down” give us realistic societies except for some dark, violent ritual. Tell a story about a normalized societal evil – invented or real. 50 coins to the most memorable, well-written prose or poem.
Ended May 5, 2017 • 7 Entries • Created by desmondwrite