Hi folks
The day job has been kicking my butt this week, so I’m more than a little behind in processing the flood of material that’s been coming into the Challenge email inbox. Thanks for your patience with me as I play catch up today, finally. I haven’t been ignoring you - just too many balls in the air and I’m not the most skillful of jugglers some days. It has done my heart good, though, to see the message counter just keep ticking up and up and up. You all are on fire. Well done!
Just a reminder, as always, if the prompt below doesn’t fit what you’re working on or feel like doing right now, ignore it and write something else to turn in for the deadline instead.
The habit of writing, not the specific content, is the important thing.
Have fun!
Let’s get you that writing prompt…
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Challenge #12 - Omens
Due: Sunday, November 13th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
A couple of weeks ago on my commute in to work in the morning, I had just arrived in the city of Saint Paul and was just pulling my car into the intersection to cross the street after the light changed when
SPLAT
(No, I wasn’t in a car accident, nor did I hit anyone, or run over someone’s pet. It’s not that kind of story.)
The splat came from above.
Thankfully I had the presence of mind to keep driving and figure out what happened while waiting for the next light to change.
This greenish/brownish goop had fallen from the sky onto my windshield.
A bird had pooped on my car.
And on the windshield right in front of my face, in a way that seemed almost personal.
And I remember thinking at the time, “Well, that’s not a good sign.”
Made the full commute, had almost arrived at the office, and that’s how the birds of Saint Paul choose to greet me to start my work day.
As humans who want to make order out of chaos, and see a guiding hand and sense in an often random and nonsensical world, our brains can see signs and portents in pretty much anything.
I’m not saying you should write about bird poop. Whatever signs, good or bad omens, you choose to write about is fine. What superstitions or strange messages in the world around you (good as well as bad) can you manifest into a story - what sense of dread or four-leaf clover inspires you today?
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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021’s challenge #12:
Random Phrase Generator part 2
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 :)
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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 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 Thanksgiving
Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”
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How to submit your work for Challenge #12
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 paste 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 #12
(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 very challenge on the writing
challenge blog below
Again, this is: Due: Sunday, November 13th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
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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 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 18 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.
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And that something can be:
Lights up.
A person in a really nice outfit walks onstage.
A bird poops on them.
Is their day ruined? Or is it the best sign the universe could give them today?
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.
Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his)
Coming Up:
Threshold Theater’s New Play Reading Series
A reading of “Leviathan” by Bethany Dickens Assaf
Saturday, November 19, 2022 - 7pm
The Black Hart of Saint Paul - 1415 University Avenue West in St. Paul
Our video recording of our third live play reading in the New Play Reading series, Sam Walsh's "The Visible," is up on our YouTube channel (available to stream through the end of November) -
Support Threshold Theater on Give to the Max Day, November 17th
(Or feel free to give early, any time between November 1st through 16th)
Here's the link: https://www.givemn.org/story/Kssucf
"Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say."
- James Baldwin
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