Challenge #16 - Poetry

Hi folks

Just a bit of trivia as we launch ourselves into week three of the challenge (and the second half of the month) - we are holding pretty steady in terms of participation.  The number of writers submitting material for the day’s challenge each day last week went up and down between 31 and 35 over the course of week two.

So, we started with 47 writers intending to participate, and dropped down from the mid-40s to the mid-30s over the course of the first week.  

Now we’re down a tiny bit more, hovering in the area between the low to mid-30s.  

But still, this means that more than 30 of you every day are still clipping along, creating something new each day.  Which is fantastic!  Well done, keep it going!

And again, if you drop off one day and don’t write, don’t beat yourself up about it, just write again the next day.

(And you always have the escape hatch of my tiny mini-play at the end of each daily post and email I send you, if you just want to turn that in on a day you’re not feeling energized or inspired to write.)

Reminder - you can ignore the prompts

Reminder - you don’t have to submit something that’s complete with its own beginning, middle and end

Reminder - these are, by necessity, just first drafts, they don’t need to be good, they just need to exist on the page in a form you can come back and revisit and fix later

The only thing you need to do is write - something - and turn it in before 8am the next morning.

Have fun!



Let’s get you that writing prompt…


Challenge #16 - Poetry

Due: Wednesday, November 17th, 8am
(whenever 8am arrives in your time zone; we’ll do the math here in the Central Time zone, no worries :)

I’ve always found the turns of phrase of poets to be very inspiring.  I admire the way they play with language, because my brain doesn’t work the same way.  I see words differently when they use them.

For this one, you can substitute in one of your own favorite poems or poets, but if you’re looking for something from me, I suggest the following:

Here’s three different offerings from Tracy K. Smith’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of poetry “Life On Mars

Let them inspire you to do what you will:

Smith’s father worked on the Hubble telescope. One of her poems is about that work. The first images that came back from the telescope weren’t great, the scientists were still learning how to operate it. And the second batch of images blew everyone’s minds:

“We saw to the edge of all there is –

So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back.”


Also, this amusing title of another poem

“The Museum of Obsolescence”


And this, from the end of the poem “The Largeness We Can’t See:”

“We move in and out of rooms, leaving
Our dust, our voices pooled on the sills.
We hurry from door to door in a downpour

Of days. Old trees inch up, their trunks thick
With new rings. All that we see grows
Into the ground. And all we live blind to

Leans its deathless heft to our ears.
                                        and sings.”

Find something in a piece of poetry that jumpstarts something in your brain, and start writing.




How to submit your work for Challenge #16

You have options.  They are:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and send as an attachment to an email sent to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com

OR

Copy and past your script in the body of an email and send it to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com

OR

Post your script online (as a Google doc, or in a blog post, on your own personal website, etc.) - email a link to this script to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
(If you’re going to Google doc route, just make sure to have the document public, or give permissions to our email address to open it)

When emailing us, make the subject line of your email - Challenge #16
(That just helps us sort through the email more quickly)
(Or, you know, just reply to this email if you want :)

OR

Post the link for the online document option above in the comments section on this very blog post for this challenge on our writing challenge blog.


Again, this is: Due: Wednesday, November 17th, 8am
(whenever 8am arrives in your time zone; we’ll do the math here in the Central Time zone, no worries :)

 

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.  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 8am on Wednesday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

A friendly reminder - you don’t have to write to the prompts if they don’t inspire you.  You can ignore them and just write whatever you want, just as long as you’re writing (that’s the main thing, not what you write)

Someone had a good question about the overall goal of the month, are we supposed to write a full-length play, or two one-act plays, etc.?  The short answer is no (unless you want to).  The longer answer is here if you’re curious.

For those concerned about format, we’re pretty liberal about that, too - just as long as it’s legible and in English.  More on that here.

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 14 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 make sense to you.

It just needs to be something.

And that something can be:

Lights up.

There once was a man from Nantucket…

(I’m kidding.)

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 (and a half).

Just write.