Writing Challenge #11 - Confessionals and Co-Workers (Write Nov. 11th)

Hi folks

Another milestone behind us - 10 days in - we’re a third of the way there!  

Well done, everybody!

Hang in there and keep going.

As much as anything, we’re just trying to establish a new habit of writing, even if it’s just a little bit, every day.

If you miss a day, no worries.  Don’t beat yourself up.  Just write the next day.

RAW NUMBERS:

Here’s what we have at first blush for challenge 8:

89 playwrights, submitting 322 pages of material
(Or the equivalent of two full-length plays, plus another 82 page one-act, which these days also counts as a full evening’s entertainment on stage.)

Nicely done, everybody!

Now let’s get you that writing prompt…


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

Challenge #11 - Confessionals and Co-Workers

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



This challenge comes to us via suggestions from Threshold Theater company member, and costume designer, Aella Rose-Hill.

There were two suggestions in the list Aella sent me that seemed to go well together, even though they’re not actually related.


This reality television confessional has gone off the rails

and 

Your least favorite coworker just clocked in...


Both, of course, have the benefit of conflict - reality TV confessionals are typically where everyone talks trash about everybody else on a particular show, and if that venting leaks out into later interactions, well… we’re off and running.  The fact that this confessional goes “off the rails” presents all kinds of fun possibilities.

Side note: it struck me just now that the parlance of reality TV has co-opted the religious ritual of confession.  Oh no, "Priests Gone Wild."

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”
“Not a chance, you filthy slut.”
“Father!”
“That’s what you get, Gary.”

Meanwhile, back at the office, how about that least favorite co-worker who just clocked in…?

Again, I have to admit that workplace scenarios aren’t my favorite.  I regularly write in order not to think about my day job.

However, work is one of the few third spaces we have left (as long as we’re not working from home, of course) - a place where people who might not otherwise cross paths are forced into proximity to one another, and ostensibly for the same “cause” - whatever the business or organization in question is doing, everyone needs to try and pull in the same direction so that the mission is accomplished.

And if we have a coworker we don’t like, well, we may be stuck with them.  Unless they leave, or we leave, and that’s not the most likely solution.  More often than not we need to find a way to co-exist, find common ground.  If it’s someone’s bad work ethic, that’s one thing.  If it’s just their general personality, that’s another.  And of course, the dreaded office politics of choosing sides and playing people against one another.

So there’s ample material.

What reality TV show that doesn’t exist would you create?  What would it explore about the human condition?  After all, The Amazing Race and The Real World and The Bachelor(ette) and RuPaul’s Drag Race and Survivor and Love Island and Below Decks and 90 Day Fiancé and Traitors and all the Housewives and Big Brother are all very different universes (and there are SO many more of them…)

And what if your least favorite co-worker isn’t the problem?  What if it’s your protagonist that’s the problem?

See what one or the other of those ideas from Aella might conjure up for you.  Also, feel free to throw them together if you want - since reality TV shows IN the workplace aren’t exactly a rare thing either.

Or don’t.

Just write something.


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

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

try 2021’s challenge #11: Punk Monkey, Film Noir and Ride The Pink Horse

Or try 2022’s challenge #11: Background Music

Or try 2023’s Challenge #11: Fake Tour Guide

Or try 2024’s challenge #11: SISU

Or try 2025’s challenge #11: Unfinished Thoughts (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser)

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

How to submit your work for Challenge #11

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


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

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 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 19 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 priest, FATHER JONATHAN, takes his place in the confessional.

GLADYS steps into the other side of the confessional.

FATHER JONATHAN exits the confessional and runs away.

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 #10 - Song Lyric Contradictions (Write Nov. 10th)

Hi folks

The first seven days are complete!

RAW NUMBERS

For Day 7, the end of our first week, we had:

85 playwrights, submitting 308 pages of writing
(Or the equivalent of two full-length plays, plus another long one-act of 68 pages, or about another hour and ten minutes of stage time.)

Overall for the week:

The average number of playwrights submitting daily was 92
(The high mark was the first day with 97, the low mark was day 7 with 85)

A total of 641 separate submissions, totaling 2,240 pages

That’s the equivalent of 18 full-length, two-act plays, plus another long one-act of 80 pages, which these days passes as another full evening of entertainment

Phew!

That’s a lot of writing for one week, and we’re only getting started :)

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 the next writing prompt…

**************************
 

Challenge #10 - Song Lyric Contradictions

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



This one’s another offering from Threshold Theater company member Jenna Mady.  This time around it’s audio rather than visual.

Jenna said, “Here are some various lyrics from songs I’ve had stuck in my head lately.”
 
A passage from “Haunted” by Phoebe Bridgers, off of her new album “Lost Weekend”

“I have no secrets, only feelings
And I know those go away
There is a difference
Between lying and deciding what not to say”

And a passage from “Brotherly Hate” by Hayley Williams

“Brotherly love
Brotherly hate
Don’t it sometimes feel like the same thing?”

Now I can go in two directions from a starting place like this.

I can ignore the music entirely and just go with the words of these bits of the song lyrics, both of which inspire contemplation of different ideas.

Or I can fold the music into it because, of course, the music fills in under and around the words in ways with a power that the lyrics all by themselves don’t have.

So if you pull up the lyric video for “Haunted” you have a bluegrass thing going on.

And if you pull up the official visualizer for “Brotherly Hate” you get hit with a indie pop/rock vibe.


I can sit in the music for a couple of repetitions of either song, hear the lyrics in context of the larger song, and get a different hit.

Also, it’s easy to mishear lyrics, so a good lyric video or liner notes will help you out - because, for instance, “deference” and “difference” will turn a whole sentence around, depending on which one you’re using.

Misheard or misunderstood lyrics, also a classic of the genre - so you can go down that side road if you want, turning something inside out by swapping words around to give yourself a whole other jumping off point.

So there’s a lot to muse on there.

Any variation on that (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 me and Jenna 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 try 2025’s challenge #10: Little Guys, Jump Scares, Coffee and the Apocalypse (from Threshold Theater company member and stage manager June Haider)

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

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

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

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 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 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.

JACOB stares down JUSTIN.

JACOB: Well, do you have an explanation for all that?

JUSTIN doesn’t respond immediately, having decided he needs to choose his next words very carefully.

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 - Superpowers and the Corporate Ladder (Write Nov. 9th)

Hi folks

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!

Well done, everybody!  Week one will be in the books (more overall stats on that first week tomorrow)

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

Just write again the next day.

RAW NUMBERS

Yesterday, folks turned in the responses to Challenge 6:

87 playwrights, submitting 266 pages

(Or the equivalent of two full-length plays, plus another 26 page (half-hour) one-act play.)

Nicely done, everyone!

Now let’s get you today’s writing prompt…


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

Challenge #9 - Superpowers and the Corporate Ladder

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


This challenge comes courtesy of suggestions from Threshold Theater company member Anya Naylor.  Anya provided two different unrelated suggestions that I couldn’t help being amused by the idea of conflating together:

- mundane/useless superpowers

- ways to skip rungs on the corporate ladder 

 

Again, two separate suggestions.  But what if they weren’t?

What if you had a mundane superpower that allowed you to skip rungs on the corporate ladder?

You could, of course, totally just pick one or the other.

What constitutes a mundane superpower?

What would be a useless superpower?

How exactly does one skip rungs on the corporate ladder?

Obviously by doing so, you would probably make enemies or at least make people jealous.

I suppose the same could be said of superpowers.  After all, what might be considered mundane or useless by you - the owner of said superpowers - might be just the thing some unpowered person might be quite covetous of?

Day jobs, and hence the idea of the corporate ladder, don’t interest me much to be honest.  But there’s still been entertaining pieces of art that sprang from that inspiration, whether it’s “9 to 5” or “No Other Choice”

9 to 5 trailer

No Other Choice trailer


Every now and again I’m reminded of the old Michael J. Fox movie “The Secret of My Success” from when I was back in college - not a particularly remarkable comedy, but I’ve never forgotten one exchange from a job interview sequence.  Michael J. Fox is a young man desperately trying to break into some industry or other, I don’t remember the specifics, and we see a montage of all these unsuccessful interviews where he’s turned down despite trying to put his best foot forward at all times.  Finally, in the last interview, he says to this female executive across the desk from him, please, I can do anything you need from me, really, please give me a chance, I can do anything.  She responds:

“Can you be a minority woman?”

And of course, he has no answer for that one.



All of this could go in any number of directions, so play around with that.

Or ignore me and Anya 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 try 2025’s challenge #9: Song Lyrics Quartet (from Threshold Theater company member and costume designer Aella Rose Hill)

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

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


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

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 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.

HANNAH is confounded at the company copy machine.

HANNAH: Oh no, the toner has run low!

COPYMAN swoops in to save the day in his spandex and flowing cape.

COPYMAN: There’s no need to fear! CopyMan is here!

He swiftly replaces the toner cartridge in the copy machine.

COPYMAN: Aha! I also see your paper supply is running low.

COPYMAN does bicep curls with several reams of paper and then expertly flutters the pages into the copy machine’s paper trays to replenish the dwindling supply.

COPYMAN: My work here is done!

He flies away.

HANNAH swoons.

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 - First To/And/Or Final (Write Nov. 8th)

Hi folks

RAW NUMBERS

As of right now, the submissions for challenges 4 and 5 look like this:

Challenge 4
90 playwrights, submitting a total of 340 pages

Challenge 5
89 playwrights, submitting a total of 334 pages

So that’s the equivalent of two full-length plays each of those days, plus an additional long one-act play of 94 to 100 pages each day, which might as well be another full-length evening of entertainment.

Way to go everyone!  Some of you may think “I only wrote a couple of pages today” but as you can see, those couple of pages can add up really quickly.

WHAT AM I WRITING WHEN AGAIN?

It can sometimes get confusing because I'm sending these challenges out in advance and people start working ahead, so what writing is due for what day can get shuffled around :)

No days off :) 
30 days, 
30 pieces of writing 
(Each piece of writing doesn’t need to be long, just needs to be something - and you’ve always got the escape mini-play at the end of each challenge email - I often wonder how many folks read the whole email.  There’s a lot of useful information and links in there :)

Here's the list so far, but just as a general rule, 
if you look at the subject line of the email, it has the number of the challenge (and the due date) and that corresponds to the date this way - 
Challenge 1, to write through November 1, and turn in on November 2; 
Challenge 2, to write through November 2, and turn in on November 3
and so on...

(You don’t have to hold yourself back and wait for a certain day to write, you can write ahead of time, but it needs to be turned in by the deadline - or beforehand - not after :)

Challenge 1 - sent Saturday 10/31, for writing through Sunday 11/1, to be turned in by noon Central time on Monday 11/2 - Random Bits of Dialogue

Challenge 2 - sent Sunday 11/1, for writing through Monday 11/2, to be turned in by noon Central time on Tuesday 11/3 - Great Things To Set On Fire

Challenge 3 - sent Monday 11/2, for writing through Tuesday 11/3, to be turned in by noon Central time on Wednesday 11/4 - Art Decays Over Time

Challenge 4 - sent Tuesday 11/3, for writing through Wednesday 11/4, to be turned in by noon Central time on Thursday 11/5 - Two Missed Calls at Midnight

Challenge 5 - sent Wednesday 11/4, for writing through Thursday 11/5, to be turned in by noon Central time on Friday 11/6 - 56 Seconds Into Your Favorite Song

Challenge 6 - sent Thursday 11/5, for writing through Friday 11/6, to be turned in by noon Central time on Saturday 11/7 - Elusive Images

Challenge 7 - sent Friday 11/6, for writing through Saturday 11/7, to be turned in by noon Central time on Sunday 11/8 - Treat Yourself - 

Challenge 8 - sent today Saturday 11/7, for writing through Sunday 11/8, to be turned in by noon Central time on Monday 11/9 - First To/And/Or Final


So you should have, as of this morning 8 emails from me that are labeled as challenges.  

If you're missing any of those, let me know and I can resend.

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


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 - First To/And/Or Final

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



This challenge comes to us from Threshold Theater co-founder and Technical Director Nick Mrozek, our in-house lighting and sound designer and overall tech troubleshooter.  He gave me a set of phrases and I’ll throw in two that seemed to go together as a pair:


-first date/meeting
-final date/meeting


Now, “date” to me first makes me think of a romantic context, but it doesn’t need to be - that’s probably why he also threw in the word meeting.

As for “final” - well, sometimes we know something’s going to be the last time, and sometimes we don’t.  Play around with that as you will.

I mean, other than looking down and seeing someone in a coffin, there aren’t a lot of situations where you know for sure it’s the last time you’re going to lay eyes on the person.

Only knowing in retrospect that something was “the last time” can color the way you see things in the moment vs. looking back on them later.

So you could do one or the other (first date, last date) or you could do both.  You could do them in order or out of order.

You could just play around with them as an experiment as you try to build a relationship and learn about new characters you’re creating - how did they meet? How did they part company?  What’s the beginning of their story together, and what’s the end of their story?

Noodle on that for a while and see what you come up with.

Or you know, today and every day, just ignore me and Nick 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 try 2025’s challenge #8: Weird Dialogue, Dreams and Red Herrings (from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Maren Findlay)

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

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


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

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 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 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.

DAN and CINDY walk into the same room.  They are surprised to see each other.

DAN: Wasn’t expecting to run into you here.  Thought I’d seen the last of you.

CINDY: Yes, this is awkward.

They stare at one another.

Neither moves.

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

Busy day today so let’s get right to it.

A writing prompt (which is one of my favorites)…


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

Challenge #7 - Treat Yourself

Write Saturday, November 7th - or earlier if you like
Due: Sunday, 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

Challenge 2025
 

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

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


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

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 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 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 - Elusive Images (Write Nov. 6th)

Hi folks

QUICK TIPS

Don’t forget to hit the Submit button at the bottom of the Google form - otherwise your submission doesn’t actually go through :)

If you hit Submit, you’ll get your confirmation email, and you should get taken to a screen that says something like Thanks for Submitting! 

Also, quick doublecheck where you typed in your email address at the top of the form (I goof this up all the time :) - the Google form will send to whatever email address you give it, even if it’s wrong.

GOOGLE FORM UPDATE

Thanks to the playwrights who pointed out to me that the form only allows one upload per submission.  I wasn’t aware of that.  I just went in and increased the number of uploaded attachments you can make to 10 (hopefully that’s enough :) If you have more than that, I’d just make an additional form submission for that challenge day, so the form isn’t holding you back if you’re super prolific.

Why more than one upload, others of you may ask?  Well, every year we have at least a couple of people who are writing longhand - and you can’t handwrite into the Google form.  However, if you take pictures of your handwritten physical pages of writing, you can upload those electronically.  But if you have more than one page, then you probably have more than one picture, etc.

Any way you write, we’re trying to get the technology to play along :)

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR NOTES

I’m still behind in acknowledging or responding, but it is nice to hear from you all, and I do see them.  Messages are the last ball I’m learning to juggle :) It’s good to hear from so many of you that the challenge is a big boost to your creative process and you’re having fun with it.  That’s what we aim for!

RAW NUMBERS

There’s little tweaks and updates day to day, but here’s what I know so far about the results on Challenge 3:

89 playwrights submitting a total of 280 pages
(Or two full-length plays’ worth, plus another one-act play of about 40 pages)

Well done, everyone!  Keep up the good work, and happy writing to you all.


Now, let’s get you that writing prompt…


************************** 

Challenge #6 - Elusive Images

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



This challenge comes from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser, who is also a photographer and enjoys giving me lists of random images and moments to construct a writing prompt around.  Here’s the first set for this year:


black and white photo who edges are torn
A crescent moon
Faded purple ribbon tied around a tree
car keys slipped from his hand 
Crushed beer can
Clicking of typewriter keys
needle and thread 
Flickering candle


I grouped these together in my head under the category of “faded, elusive things”

The sound of typewriter keys for instance, makes me conscious of the fact that I’ve owned and used my fair share of manual typewriters, and my father had some very imposing electric typewriters (the hum of those…) and even now as I just type on keyboards into computers at work people often wonder if I’m pissed off or something because I do type very loudly, even today, even though I don’t need to.  I’m a bit quieter on my own laptop, but give me a keyboard and…

A faded purple ribbon is such a specific thing.  But then I search for “purple ribbon meaning” and it seems like it’s used for a whole panoply of wildly different things - for starters there’s various cancers and dementia and domestic violence and animal welfare (which is a pretty broad umbrella).  And sometimes a purple ribbon is just a purple ribbon…

The number of reasons car keys could slip from a person’s hands…

Needle and thread always brings to mind the challenge of threading a needle, the need for threading a needle, and my mom’s sewing room, with a literal rainbow of different bright colored spools of thread - it was both impressive and a bit intimidating…

A old photo that’s seen better days, a crescent moon, a crushed beer can, a flickering candle…

Lots to mull over there.  What springs to your mind about any or all of these?

Grab just one or an assortment that suits you out of the list.

Or, as usual, ignore me and David 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 try 2025’s challenge #6: Favorite Day

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

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


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

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 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.

FRED is eyeballing the eye of a needle, just trying to get the end of a thread through so he can stitch something back together.

This initial step is not going well.  Coordination is not FRED’s strong suit.

He may be here a while.

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 - 56 Seconds Into Your Favorite Song (Write Nov. 5th)

Hi folks

A first look at the numbers for challenges 1 and 2 show that you all are cranking out the pages.  Well done.

96 playwrights submitted for challenge 1, writing 372 pages

If you consider a standard two-act play is around 120 pages, you all wrote three full-length plays plus another ten-minute play.  Not a bad way to kick things off!

Challenge 2 had 93 playwrights turning in 324 pages, which is two full-lengths, plus another 90-minute play that might as well be a full-length.  Nicely done.

 - and that’s just your first two days of output for the month.  Very impressive.  

Well 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 five 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.)



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

Challenge #5 - 56 Seconds Into Your Favorite Song

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


The challenge comes from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Kate Cosgrove.

“Think of your favorite song (could be all-time favorite or current favorite). Pull it up on your app of choice and go to 0:56 seconds. Use that lyric (single word or full phrase) and/or soundscape (if there are no words) to inspire a scene.”

As an experiment, I did a random sampling at the 56 second mark of either my most played or most recently in rotation songs and found the following

“Melancholy beasts at the gates of the zoo.”
(Plaintive sad piano)
(Side note: song from a truly weird and lovely musical romantic experiment by the French filmmaker Christoper Honore, called “Love Songs (Les Chansons d’amour)” which for a while was my entire personality after I first saw it and kept rewatching it - and yes, it’s the sad song I keep on repeat for some reason.)

Trailer (which doesn’t tell you the half of it, the film is bonkers)


“Good times, they’re still good
But the bad times, so much worse than they should feel”
(Old-style rock)

“If you find me sleep walking
I want you to be the one to bring me home.”
(Singer-songwriter, folk)

“It’s only making me feel smaller,
All the hidden love beneath.”
(Country music via Iceland)

“Give advice to my friends about their problems
But when they’re mine I forget how to solve ‘em.”
(Latino singer-songwriter)

“I know your skin.
I know the way these things begin.”
(Songwriter, her chanteuse era)

“Look at the mess you made of…
Just choose to stay for once.”
(Indie rock)

“Do you get lonely sometimes?
Do you want one more goodbye?”
(Pop)

So, hit your own music collection and see what you trip over.  I’m intrigued by mine and intend to mull them over a bit.  Nice to have a musical soundtrack you like playing in the background and sparking your muse.

Use whatever you find interesting as a jumping off point and get writing.

Or ignore me and Kate 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 try 2025’s challenge #5: Hands (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser)

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 :)


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

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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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

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


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

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 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.

CLAIRE sits at a keyboard, headphones on.

The music playing guides her fingers in a little dance over the letters creating…?

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)