Anyone want more challenges?

[Onyx]

After a satisfying twenty minutes writing this month's 75 word challenge, I went looking for more. But I missed the quarterly 300 by a few days, so is anyone else interested in either doing 300's more often, starting a 1000 or something else?

If no, anyone have a suggestion for some other venue for similar challenges?

 

[Abernovo]

I believe the 300s are kept to quarterly as ,one, they're an addition to the original and main 75s, and two, because the official challenges are work for the mods to organise and monitor.

There are, of course, the regular anonymous challenges, and the semi-regular Sekrit Santa threads over in the Workshop. They're run by members, on a consensus basis, usually with the previous winners organising the following challenge.

If you're looking for 1,000-word opportunities, my best suggestion would be to take that as a personal challenge, and put forward some flash fiction to some of the online magazines which publish them. Some, like Flash Fiction Online, and Daily Science Fiction, even pay for your work. Plus, if you have a heap of 1,000-word entries to read and judge, that would take time for members to plough through.

Just my opinion, of course. Good luck with the writing.

 

[nixie]

Although there are some challenges run by members, as @Abernovo has excellently outlined, we don't have any plans for more official challenges.

 

[Onyx]

I'll look for the suggestions - thank you.

 

[mosaix]

I know it isn’t internet based but my local library runs a creative writing group and they have a monthly 1000 word challenge.

Maybe you could try local groups?

 

[Cathbad]

mosaix! Are you suggesting actually going outside the home to... to... meet and interact with other people?!

*screams in fear*

 

[Perpetual Man]

This might have been missed... Perp Challenge

 

[mosaix]

This might have been missed... Perp Challenge

Missed that, Perp.

 

[Joshua Jones]

mosaix! Are you suggesting actually going outside the home to... to... meet and interact with other people?!

*screams in fear*

I know, banish the thought! Real. Live. People? Surely you jest!

 

[The Big Peat]

I know, banish the thought! Real. Live. People? Surely you jest!

More like Banish the Real Live people.


I'd point out that other forums have other challenges. SFFWorld has a number of different lengths and Fantasy Faction has a monthly 1500. I'm sure other forums have them too. I'm sure a couple of days' looking would find an absolute glut.

 

[Phyrebrat]

SFFWorld has a number of different lengths and Fantasy Faction has a monthly 1500.

1.5k, eh? That’s kinda scary. Can you imagine trying to get a first draft down from 2-3k to 1.5??? It’d be heartbreaking!

I get altogether far too anxious over one-per-month.

pH

 

[Venusian Broon]

1.5k, eh? That’s kinda scary. Can you imagine trying to get a first draft down from 2-3k to 1.5???

Yep.

Consistently I find that my first draft of the 300 comes in at 1k+

Although, for when you do need to cut (not always of course, but it's a necessary skill IMHO), I do find it good practice to try and keep the same story alive but really strip it to the bone!

 

[The Big Peat]

I pretty much always write within the word limit to start with, so never really had that problem. Should try it the other way sometime

 

[Sum Dude]

I could probably go for one every 2 to 3 days. Given it won't always be that good.

 

[Cathbad]

What about a true flash fiction challenge?

It could be held on the same day each month, so people know when to expect it. Everyone would have only 24 hours after being told the theme and genre to produce a story of less than (1,000? 600?) words!

 

[Sum Dude]

So down for this.

We could resurrect the 6 word story thread in The Lounge.

 

[Harpo]

So down for this.

We could resurrect the 6 word story thread in The Lounge.

It was resurrected early last year, and hasn't skipped a month since.

How about stories with a certain letter missing? A month of stories without the letter J or the letter P, that sort of thing.

 

[Ursa major]

How about stories with a certain letter missing? A month of stories without the letter J or the letter P, that sort of thing.

A 500-word first person narrative (one that has more than just dialogue) without the letter I might be both a challenge and very useful**.


** - Useful in terms of getting used to removing all those veil words and phrases -- i.e. I saw... I heard... I thought... etc -- that unnecessarily place the PoV character between the story and the reader. (This would also be useful for those writing in third person, as s/he saw... s/he heard... s/he thought... etc, are not unknown in such narratives.)

 

[Onyx]

Or, you could just have a contest that requires you to write in third person or whatever POV. That sounds useful.

 

[The Judge]

Just to say if anyone wants to start a fun contest in Workshop, feel free to do so.

From memory I think there are a number of contest threads there which have never taken off for one reason or another, so if anyone wants to do some flash-fiction writing, just trawl through the subforum and see what's already available other than the Anonymous 100s and Secret Santas, which are, obviously, closed now even if not formally locked.