Writing Challenge #10 - Little Guys, Jump Scares, Coffee and the Apocalypse (Write Nov. 10th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is healing because it can bring attention to what is important - helping us focus on priorities and action that matters.
Thank you for creating.


Now that I have all the submissions from the first seven days, we can do some fun number crunching…

Yesterday’s initial numbers for Challenge 7 were:
83 playwrights submitting a total of 267 pages

The first look at the week’s overall numbers are mighty impressive:

The average number of writers submitting each day was (a new high) of 90 playwrights.
There were 630 total pieces of writing submitted this week, adding up to a total of 2,118 pages.
That’s the equivalent of 17 full-length plays (or more than two each day), plus another one-act play besides.

Nicely done, everyone.

A page or two a day really does add up, eh?

And again, if you ever find yourself missing a day of writing, don’t beat yourself, just get up the next day and write again.

As you can see, every little bit helps, accumulating day after day this month.

Keep going :)

Now let’s get you that next writing prompt…

**************************

Challenge #10 - Little Guys, Jump Scares, Coffee and the Apocalypse

Write Monday, November 10th - or earlier if you like
Due: Tuesday, November 11th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


This one comes to us courtesy of Threshold Theater company member (and stage manager) June Haider.

Three more of June’s selection of random evocative phrases are:


Just a little guy 

JUMP SCARE (June's capitalization :)

Out of coffee during the apocalypse


Any variation on one (or more) of these (or one of your own that just sparked in your head) intrigue you enough to write about it?

Go forth and write.

Or, as always, just ignore us and go write something else.

**********************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #10: Cars

Or try 2022’s challenge #10: Food Vs. Humans

Or try 2023’s Challenge #10: Inevitable (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Technical Director Nick Mrozek)

Or try 2024’s challenge #10: Nurse (from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Kate Cosgrove)

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

*************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #10

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 10 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)



Write Monday, November 10th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Tuesday, November 11th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

***********************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition


*********************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Tuesday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 20 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.

***********************


And that something can be:


Lights up.

Sam shambles, bleary-eyed, over to the coffee maker.

There’s no coffee in the pot.

Sam sighs.

Then a little guy leaps out from behind the coffee maker.

Jump scare for poor Sam.

LITTLE GUY: Ka-boom!

In the distance, a mushroom cloud appears the horrizon.

A flash of light.

Guess they won’t need that coffee after all…

Lights down.

The End



That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his) 

Writing Challenge #9 - Song Lyrics Quartet (Write Nov. 9th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is foundational because it gives voice and rhythm to the movement. Music and design have played central roles in global organizing.

Please keep making art because…
It becomes an archive: every painting, poem, mural, zine, song and photograph resists erasure.
Thank you for creating.

The day this is going out to you, 11/8 - after you’ve turned in your writing for Challenge #7 - you’ve all officially made it through your first week of writing for the the challenge!

The first seven days will be complete.

Update on yesterday, Challenge 6 statistics on the first pass look like this:

85 playwrights, turning in 266 pages (material totaling two full-length plays plus a short one-act play, not bad at all :)

Congrats to all who’ve been cranking out the pages and prioritizing your own writing a little bit (or a lot) each day for a whole week.  Well done.

And, as always, if you miss a day, don’t waste any time beating yourself up about it.

Just write again the next day.

On with week two!

Let’s get you that writing prompt…

************************

Challenge #9 - Song Lyrics Quartet

Write Sunday, November 9th - or earlier if you like
Due: Monday, November 10th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


This one’s courtesy of Threshold Theater company member (and costume designer) Aella Rose-Hill.  They said with their list, “I'm also someone who's inspired a lot by music, whether it's for costume designing, illustrating, writing, etc... so I've included some song lyrics as well.”

The first lines are from the song “Tiny Love” by MIKA

"It's not a sunrise over canyons shaped like hearts
It isn't bursting into song in Central Park... 
It's a 'still-there-Monday-morning' kind of love" 

There’s also a colorful and deeply strange video to with the song.


The second lines are from the song “Armies of the Night” by Sparks

"It's a sleepy sort of night, the last thing that I want is sleep
It's a peaceful sort of night, the last thing that I want is peace" 

Here’s the whole track


The last of Aella’s lyrical offerings is from the song “Whole New World/Pretend World” by SOPHIE

"Promises might come true
Promises of a life uncontained
Seafoam blue" 

Here’s the whole track


And the title of that song reminded me of a song I’m quite fond of, “Whole New You” the title track of an album by Shawn Colvin.  The chorus ends with:

“Take all your tears and save them for a rainy night.
Make a wish on every star that’s fallin’.
Shake your head in wonder when it’s all
Too good to be true,
Like a whole new you.”

Here’s the whole track


See if the words of the lyrics, the music they’re part of, the videos or the general sound, strike a creative chord with you and spur you on some writing of your own.

Or ignore us and do your own thing.

Just write something.

************************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #9: The Bechdel Test

Or try 2022’s challenge #9: “Whose Meadow Is This?”

Or try 2023’s Challenge #9: Not My Blood

Or try 2024’s challenge #9: Site Specific Theater in Anaconda, Montana

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

*****************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #9

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 9 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)



Write Sunday, November 9th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Monday, November 10th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

***************************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

***********************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Monday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 21 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.


**************************

And that something can be:



Lights up.

Morning light comes in the windows.

The cherries by the knife on the table look like they’re bleeding.

But two people lie side by side on the floor.  Not bleeding.

Just breathing contentedly, still half asleep.

Still there, Monday morning.

Lights down.

The End



That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his) 

Writing Challenge #8 - Weird Dialogue, Dreams, and Red Herrings (Write Nov. 8th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan - https://www.instagram.com/ericaelan/

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is loving because it can give witness to humanity, and hope for a shared future.

Please keep making art because…
It can activate our moral imagination: encountering beauty has the potential to shift us towards empathy, and understanding.
Thank you for creating.

Remember, you can also always find all the challenges (from this year and years past) posted on the blog
https://thresholdwritingchallenge.blogspot.com/

Raw numbers from challenge 5 being turned in yesterday (11/6) are:

88 playwrights turning in work, total pages 255 (more than two full-length plays’ worth of material)

Well done, everybody!

And of course there are some folks who are writing and just not turning something in.  That’s fine.  
Write, whether I get to see it and tally it up or not :)  
Your writing is the most important thing, not any number crunching I do on this end.

And if you miss a day’s writing, no worries.  
Don’t beat yourself up.  
Just write again the next day.

And now, the day’s challenge…


**************************

Challenge #8 - Weird Dialogue, Dreams, and Red Herrings

Write Saturday, November 8th - or earlier if you like
Due: Sunday, November 9th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


The suggestions for this challenge come once more from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Maren Findlay:

Among the options on the list she offered me were a trio that I thought would be good for giving everyone a variety of options to choose from:

“Think of the weirdest off the cuff thing someone’s ever said to you— write a situation in which it would fit in”

OR

“Write a scene based on a dream you had”

OR

“A scene with the most aggressive red herring you can accomplish”

This last one got me poking around to figure out, “Where exactly did the phrase ‘red herring’ come from?”

It comes up in the context of mystery stories, clues leading people off in the wrong direction, making the wrong assumptions, guessing incorrectly as to the culprit.

And it comes up in discussion of people who argue in bad faith, bringing up things that have nothing to do with the argument at hand.

So where do fish come in?

Well, if you cure and smoke a herring, the flesh can turn red, and it makes it especially smelly.

And humans would use these really pungent fish to train hunting dogs, first to get them to follow the smell, which the dog is enticed by, and then to help get them to focus on different smells, like a fox or a badger, and learn to tell the difference.  The red herring was used to distract the dogs from their prey, and then to each them how NOT to just be distracted by the smelliest thing in front of them, but to concentrate and zero in on the scent of the intended prey they were hunting.

And so, red herring - something used to lead one astray from their intended target or goal.

You can do the weird thing someone said, the dream or the red herring individually, or any combination of those that appeals to you.

Or you know, today and every day, just ignore this and write something else.

Just write - something…

**************************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #8: Series and Cycles

Or try 2022’s challenge #8: Chance Encounters

Or try 2023’s Challenge #8: Breakup Songbook (from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Kate Cosgrove)

Or try 2024’s challenge #8: Museum of Broken Relationships

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

***************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #8

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 8 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)



Write Saturday, November 8th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Sunday, November 9th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

***************************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

*************************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up till 12 noon Central Time on Sunday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 22 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.

*************************

And that something can be:


Lights up.

The architecture of the stage makes no logical sense.  

The stairs don’t lead anywhere, doors and windows open onto solid walls rather than other rooms or the outdoors.

Someone walks on.

Someone else crosses their path with a large fish flopping around on their shoulder.

The first person follows the other person out the only doorway that leads offstage, nose first.

Lights down.

The End


That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his) 

Writing Challenge #7 - Treat Yourself (Write Nov. 7th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is strengthening because creative problem solving increases neuroplasticity, making us more adaptable to change.

Please keep making art because…
When we collaborate creatively it builds collective trust.
Thank you for creating

The rough initial numbers on folks turning in challenge #4 yesterday are as follows:

89 writers, 307 pages total

So, almost three whole full-length plays in a day again.  You folks are beasts!  Keep up the good work!

And again, if you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up about it.
Just get up and write again the next day.
It’s all about getting in the habit, and habits take time - that’s part of the reason why it lasts a month :)

So let’s get you that writing prompt (which is one of my favorites)…


****************************

Challenge #7 - Treat Yourself

Write Friday, November 7th - or earlier if you like
Due: Saturday, November 8th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


Because it’s my favorite, I’m offering up this challenge again, our end of the first week tradition - authored by Aaron Sawyer from Red Theater in Chicago back in November 2015 (my first writing challenge as a participant):


“Write something that only you understand and that probably only you enjoy.

If you're not giggling to yourself or blushing you're doing it wrong.

Listen to your Id. 

Be naughty! 

Be coded. 

Be fun. 

Comment on your work as you do it. 

Break and forget any and every rule except that writing can be FUN. 

F-U-N!

Crack yourself up. 

Fall in love with yourself again.

Masturbatory writing can unleash some wonderful creative energies.

Treat yourself.”


I got a very unexpected full-length play out of responding to this prompt.  I wrote part of a scene that first day of the prompt, and then a couple of days later I thought, “Hey, I think I know what happens next on that scene I wrote the other day.”  

And I just kept writing, scenes in and out of order with the same set of characters for about two weeks until I ran out of gas.  And I looked up and I had over 120 pages, so I thought, “Well, I’m not sure exactly what this is yet, but I’ve got all the raw material for a two act play.  Wow.”

When developing this play in the following months after the challenge that year was over, a writer friend said to me that for quite a while as I was writing an early draft of the script and bringing it to our writing group, they thought, because of the play, that I was actually involved in a secret relationship with [celebrity name redacted] in real life.  This is still, on a number of levels, one of the nicest compliments about my writing which I ever received.  

The script also remains one of the plays I have the most fun working on.  I’m also constantly surprised by the number of other people who enjoy it - because when I began writing it, I was only doing it for myself.

And none of it would have happened if I’d restrained myself in responding to this first prompt.

What would you write if no one was looking or expecting you to take writing “seriously”?

I hope you’re always having fun with these writing challenges.  But for this one, really have fun with it, whatever that means to you.

Read over Aaron’s words again, and go for it.


****************************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021 or 2022 or 2023 or 2024’s challenge #7 
(in this case, however, it’s just a slightly different version of the same post - this is kind of my one and only challenge tradition, giving you all this prompt at the one week mark to encourage you to not forget to have fun):

Treat Yourself

(There’s an Easter egg of sorts, because the first year, I was doing pictures instead of Scrabble tiles, so there’s a clue to something redacted above, if you’re curious, and you read these emails more closely than I think folks have time for :)

If you really want some variety, you can peruse the full list of options from

Challenge 2021

Challenge 2022

Challenge 2023

Challenge 2024

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

**********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #7

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 7 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)




Write Friday, November 7th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Saturday, November 8th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

******************************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

************************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days.  No need to fret about anything except the writing (and hopefully that’s not something causing you to fret too much either :)

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Saturday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 23 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.


************************

And that something can be:


Lights up.

Someone you have a crush on turns out to be crushing on you, too.

Lights down.

The End



That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his) 

Writing Challenge #6 - Favorite Day (Write Nov. 6th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is defiant because beauty in the face of oppression declares: there’s a different way.

Please keep making art because…
It shifts perception: inviting the viewer to slow, look, interpret, and resist simplistic narratives.
Thank you for creating

And you certainly all have been creating at quite a clip so far.

The initial numbers for Challenge 3 yesterday are 90 playwrights turning in work totaling 382 pages (or more than three full-length plays’ worth of material)

Well done all!

And again, if you happen to not write one day, don’t kick yourself about it.
Just get up the next day and write.  
That’s what this month is all about, getting in the daily habit of creativity, even if it’s only a page or two a day.

Also, I haven’t forgotten about your comments submitted on the Google form as well, it’s just taking me a little time to get through them all.  I appreciate them, I’m not ignoring them, the two day jobs are just also requiring a chunk of my attention each day as well, so I’m still getting used to the November juggling act.  Thanks for your patience.

Now, let’s get you that writing prompt…

**************************

Challenge #6 - Favorite Day

Write Thursday, November 6th - or earlier if you like
Due: Friday, November 7th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


This quote recently appeared on my phone via the Instagram account for 365 Days of Thought

“Any day spent with you is my favorite day.” - A.A. Milne, via Winnie the Pooh

The quote was followed by the question:

Who would you spend today with if you could?

Not sure what it says about my state of mind right now but upon reading this the first time, the first three people I thought of were all dead - my mom, my dad, and my grandma.

There are also, of course, living people I’d love to hang out with as well.  I’m hanging out with one of them tonight and we’re seeing a play.

The “if you could” in that question just sent me down the path of people who are unavailable and irretrievable.

Oddly enough, just last night I had fragments of a dream I could still remember when I woke up.

And in one of the fragments my mother was there.  

She didn’t say anything, she was just present, standing right next to me.  

We were on a train or a tram of some kind, scooting closer together where we stood in order to make room for someone in a wheelchair, someone with little kids or a lot of luggage. It was crowded.  

I remember the feeling of one of us having an arm around the other.  I vividly recall the feeling of what it was like to touch.  Just a little thing, but she’s been dead over six years now, so to have that sensation cross my brain again was welcome.  Not sure what conjured all that up in my subconscious last night, but I’m glad I was able to hold onto a bit of it with my waking brain the next morning.


So answer that question of who you’d spend the day with if you could,

Or who your character would spend the day with if they could.

Or, as usual, ignore me and write whatever you want.

Just write something.

***********************************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #6: Bigfoot By Moonlight

Or try 2022’s challenge #6: Mascots

Or try 2023’s Challenge #6: Art Gallery Titles

Or try 2024’s challenge #6: Skyway Buddha

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

*********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #6

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 6 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)



Write Thursday, November 6th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Friday, November 7th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

********************************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition


****************************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days.  No need to fret about anything except the writing (and hopefully that’s not something causing you to fret too much either :)

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Friday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 24 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.


**************************


And that something can be:


Lights up.

Two people sit side by side, just enjoying the silence together.

One leans against the other’s shoulder and sighs, contented.

The moments tick past.

Lights down.

The End



That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his) 

Writing Challenge #5 - Hands (Write Nov. 5th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is vital because it keeps collective memory alive when history books are re-written.

Please keep making art because…
It builds neural resilience. In studies, regular art therapy correlates with significant reductions in PTSD symptoms.
Thank you for creating

HANDY TIP FOR QUESTIONS
Read the email

I know it’s a long email, but here’s how it breaks down.
There’s a preamble - this section - where questions are answered, etc. - you can skip it if you want
Then there’s the challenge of the day itself, you’ll want to read that, it also tells you what your deadline is
Then there’s a list of links for the challenges on this day of November in previous years - if you don’t like the current day's challenge, you can check out one of those, or skip that section
Then there’s the section which tells you how to submit and has a link to the Google form and runs through what it entails - this, like the challenge of the day, is important to read. It, too, tells you what the deadline is.
Then there’s a section with links to answers for common questions like “Do I need to worry about format?” “Is it required that I write to the prompt?” “Do I have to write a whole play by the end of the month?” (Spoiler alert, the answers to all those questions is no, and there are more)
Then there’s a section that tells you it’s not a race, and you can take all the time you want, right up until just before the noon Central Time deadline to write and submit via the Google form.  No penalties for turning it early, but no prizes either, so don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself.
Then there’s the closing section, which has an escape hatch mini-play.  If you’re just not feeling it for writing on a particular day, you can copy and paste that escape hatch mini-play into the Google form and that can be your submission for the day, or you can bang out a short play of your own of just a couple of lines.
This last section also just encourages you to write.

HOW TO GUIDE for the GOOGLE FORM
We had a playwright who didn’t understand how to submit their work, so I threw together a handy pdf complete with screenshots on how to enter your information and pages of the day into the Google form.  If anyone else needs such a thing, just give a holler via email.

And thanks to the magic of Ava’s Google form design, I already have some fun statistics to share from the first two challenges.

On challenge #1, 95 of the 111 playwrights submitted some material.

(As a point of reference, last year’s high watermark, which was the highest number of playwrights we had before this year, the high point of number of writers submitting in a single day was 88, so you all have already blown past that milestone and created a new one of your own.)

Challenge #2 didn’t have much drop off, 94 of the 111 playwrights submitted material.

And I’ll say this a number of times but if you happen not to write one day, don’t beat yourself up, just write again the next day.

First challenge, we had a total of 327 total pages turned in - and if you think of 120 pages being a standard full length play - that means that day you all cranked out almost three of them.  See?  A couple of pages, plus a couple more pages, plus a couple more, etc., that starts to add up fast.  Well done, very impressive.

Challenge two’s submissions totaled up to 299 pages, so again, more than two full-length plays - those two plus a one-act play, you could say.

Nicely done, everyone!  Keep up the good work.

Even a page or two or day definitely adds up.

You may think just having a page or two is nothing special, but any writing in a day is more progress than no writing.

And it doesn’t have to be perfect, that’s what rewriting later is for.

For now, just push through.

Thanks for prioritizing your own creativity, whether you’re responding to a prompt, or just writing your own thing and using the daily submission deadline to keep yourself moving forward on an existing script idea.

And if you aren’t feeling it one day here in November, remember that at the end of every one of these emails and challenge blog posts there’s an escape hatch option:

“Lights up
(Something happens)
Lights down.”

I change them every day to match the day’s challenge.  

So feel free to use something like that on a tough day if you need to.

(Over the past three years, playwrights have put their own spin on the mini-play option, often in very amusing ways, so feel free to have fun with that as well - I am.)

A BRIEF VOTING ASIDE…

The day I’m sending this out, Tuesday 11/4 is Election Day for everybody in the U.S.

Again, to those who’ve already voted, thank you.

And if you haven’t voted already, please do vote.  Deadline amnesty due to time spent voting is still in effect.  Just let me know you were out voting, and you’ve got more wiggle room to get that latest submission in the door :)

 And now, let’s get you that writing prompt for the day…


****************************

Challenge #5 - Hands

Write Wednesday, November 5th - or earlier if you like
Due: Thursday, November 6th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


This suggestion for a writing prompt comes from Threshold Theater’s managing director and co-founder, David Schlosser.  David is also a photographer so he often thinks in terms of images, which you’ll see a lot more of in previous years’ prompts from him. He also likes a good cliffhanger or unfinished phrase.  These two from his list both have to do with hands…


“I took her hand in mine, after a lifetime of living it was now frail and  warm and soft and felt like it was covered in tissue paper, I held it and said….”


“I remember the moment holding his hand, kissing in public, my arm around him thinking he felt the same, this was more than a moment. An hour later…”


Thinking of hands, I’m reminded of a young person on the street, probably unhoused, who regularly appears at a major intersection near my home where the wait for the traffic light in both directions is long because both streets are main routes across town.  Because the light is a long one, that gives the young man time to walk down the middle of the street, his hands pressed together as if in prayer, his eyes pleading wordlessly for some spare money from the drivers in the cars in a line, trying to avoid making eye contact with the guy until he moves on to the next car.  He’s not there every day, but he’s a regular.

And because I am old and sentimental, here’s the song “Hands” by Jewel (the video itself is ridiculous if you think about it too hard, so just roll with hit :)

So… hands…


Use whatever you find interesting in the trio above as a jumping off point and get writing.

Or ignore me and David and write something completely different.

**************************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #5: Random Phrase Generator

Or try 2022’s challenge #5: “This Guy Told Me He Was A Centaur…”

Or try 2023’s Challenge #5: Snapshots 1 (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser)

Or try 2024’s challenge #5: Dismantled Piano

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

****************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #5

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 5 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)



Write Wednesday, November 5th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Thursday, November 6th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


**************************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Deadline Amnesty for Voting (and other handy challenge tips) - 2025 edition

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

**********************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days.  No need to fret about anything except the writing (and hopefully that’s not something causing you to fret too much either :)

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Thursday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 25 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.


*****************************

And that something can be:


Lights up.

A person walks up to another person, their hands in prayer, their eyes pleading.

The other person gets a couple of bills out of their wallet and hands them over.

They stare at one another.

Lights down.

The End



That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

(After you vote, of course :)

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his) 

Writing Challenge #4 - Mirrors, Discovery, Leaves and Lizards (Write Nov. 4th)

Hi folks

More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan

If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is grounding because it regulates the parasympathetic nervous system, slowing down heart rate and steadying breath.

Please keep making art because…
It can survive censorship: coded visuals, allegory, metaphor, and abstraction can evade repression.
Thank you for creating

As for the status of the challenge, I’m still playing catchup on the flurry of input from all you very prolific playwrights.  It’s fun to have so much content to play around with the different sorting options on the spreadsheet the Google form creates, and see the number of lines for each submission grow and grow and grow.
 
Keep up the good work, keep writing, keep submitting your playwriting output through that Google form.

OFT-ASKED QUESTION OF THE DAY
“Did I miss an email, has the next challenge writing prompt gone out yet?”

Here’s a quick way to know if the challenge prompt emails have gone out.
Is it on the blog already?
I don’t post the challenge to the blog for the day until I’ve sent it out to everyone by email first.
So if the next post isn’t on the blog yet, the emails haven’t gone out yet.
I’m still getting into a rhythm of a regular time of day to send it out.  Between to the two day jobs and the fact that I’m also part of the negotiating team for the first union contract for our new bargaining unit at the Guthrie Theater, my schedule’s a little more fluid than it normally is.
My goal is always to get it out sometime in the morning - when in the morning, early or later, is harder to tell yet.
But if you’re ever wondering, check the blog.
If it’s there and you didn’t get an email, and it hasn’t gone to your spam or “All Mail” folder (for the Gmailers among us), then send me a note.  I’ve got a routine to make sure I don’t miss anyone, but I’m not infallible.
Also, if you check the blog, then you’ll also have the prompt and access to the Google form link (which is the same for all the challenges, but I send it out every day anyway, just to make it easier to find).

SIDE NOTE, AGAIN, ABOUT VOTING…

Minnesota playwrights, you have one last day of early voting yet today, Monday 11/3, when I’m sending this challenge out.
You can find early voting location information, and Election Day polling place information at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website 

Deadline amnesty for taking time out to vote is still in effect for the next several days. Full details on that in this post.

Happy writing to you all!

Let’s get you that writing prompt…


**************************

Challenge #4 - Mirrors, Discovery, Leaves and Lizards

Write Tuesday, November 4th - or earlier if you like
Due: Wednesday, November 5th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

This suggested writing prompt comes to us from Threshold Theater company member (and stage manager) June Haider.

June provided me with an assortment of fun phrases to play around with, so here’s three of them to provide you with some random different kinds of inspiration to get started:

Infinite hall of mirrors

Who doesn’t love a hall of mirrors?  Whether it’s Versailles, a funhouse or a horror movie, halls of mirrors get quite a workout in culture. This can of course, be literal or metaphorical.  Also, just playing around with the idea of a mirror, mirroring behavior or mirror image might lead to something as well.




An already discovered discovery

The thing that leaps to my mind here is the idea of taking credit for something that someone else found or created first, such as:

I’m sure the Native Americans and the Vikings have a few things to say about Columbus being credited with discovering America.

Also, it’s been argued that Rosalind Franklin probably should have gotten a share of that Nobel Prize that was given to Crick, Watson and Wilkins for the discovery of the DNA double helix.

And supporters of Hilma af Klint would like a word with Kandinsky and Mondrian about who really started the school of abstract painting.





Emotional support leaf

Oddly enough, the daily newsletter from local online news source MinnPost a few months back landed in my inbox with the subject line

“My emotional support lizard”

And the opening paragraph was:

When I lived in a more tropical clime, a lizard would visit me daily in the shower. I called him Luzardo. His presence had a calming effect on me, and I grew to appreciate how the company of different beings can affect one’s mood. And while Luzardo wasn't a certified emotional support animal, it got me thinking: What happens if your landlord doesn’t approve of your emotional support animal? Can they charge extra fees, or disallow certain breeds?

And when I think of leaves lately, my mind immediately goes to the graphic novels and Netflix series “Heartstopper”




But that’s just me.  Where does your mind go when you see those phrases?

Play around with any or all of that.

Or the exact opposite of it.

Or ignore it entirely and do whatever you like on the page.

Just write something.

********************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #4: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Or try 2022’s challenge #4: Smackdown

Or try 2023’s Challenge #4: Wonderland (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Technical Director Nick Mrozek)

Or try 2024’s challenge #4: Asteroid

Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)

**************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #4

We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form, 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header

but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.

After you enter the required fields of 
email, 
name, 
challenge number (for today, that’d be 4 :) 
and page count, 
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.

OR

Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.

OR

Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form

OR

Type directly into the Google form.

(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)



Write Tuesday, November 4th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Wednesday, November 5th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

**********************

And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:

Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)

Deadline Amnesty for Voting (and other handy challenge tips) - 2025 edition

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About Format

Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

No.  Really.  I Mean It.  Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt

Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)

Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”

Don’t Stress About What You’re Turning In Each Day

Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

*********************

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days.  No need to fret about anything except the writing (and hopefully that’s not something causing you to fret too much either :)

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Wednesday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. 

You have 26 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. 

Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.


*************************


And that something can be:



Lights up.

A female scientist wanders into a hall of mirrors.

A leaf wafts through the air nearby and leads her toward an exit.

She tries to follow it, though she does keep bumping into mirrors, following the image of the lear at times, rather than the leaf itself.

The leaf persists.

The scientist persists.

They make their way together offstage.

Lights down.

The End



That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day.

Just write.

(After you vote, of course :)

And take good care of yourselves, and each other.

Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his)