Challenge #24 - Alternate Timelines

 

Hi folks

(2 of 2)

This prompt is the one you would be writing Wednesday to be turned in on Thursday morning, but just label your email for prompt 24 and you can turn it early and I’ll credit it ahead.

And of course, you can always use the mini-play at the bottom of the email and blog post as an escape hatch for the day’s writing.

Just some weekly trivia on the daily output: we still stayed in the low 30s, with one exception last week.  One day we only had 29 entries turned in, but other than that, it was 30 submissions or more for the day, getting as high as 35 one day.  Keep it up, folks, you’re doing great.

Again, if you miss one day, don’t beat yourself up, just write again the next day.





Let’s get you that writing prompt…


Challenge #24 - Alternate Timelines

Due: Thursday, November 25th, 8am
(whenever 8am arrives in your time zone; we’ll do the math here in the Central Time zone, no worries :)

There was a call a couple of years back from a theater in Seattle named Forward Flux (now on hiatus, sensing a theme?) that I continue to find intriguing and amusing.

They were looking for scripts inspired by one of the following three prompts:

One Nation, Under Water

or

This Land Is My Land

or 

Madame President

As the Thanksgiving holiday once again conjures thoughts of real history vs. American mythology, those three prompts still pique my interest.

Do any of them do something for you?

Or, you know, ignore the prompt and do what you want instead.

Just write something, one more day…




How to submit your work for Challenge #24

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 #24
(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: Thursday, November 25th, 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 Thursday 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 6 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.

The president and her entourage swim by in their scuba gear, on their way to an unusual State of the Union address.

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.