Hi folks
(2 of 2)
This prompt is the one you would be writing Sunday to be turned in on Monday by noon Central Time, but just label your email for prompt 27 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.
Remember, if you get lost in this flurry of six prompts crammed into three days, just look at the date on your calendar - that’s the number of the prompt you should be writing that day, and turning in the next day by 12 noon Central Time, or, of course, as early as you want, to clear the decks for the holiday.
Let’s get you that writing prompt…
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Challenge #27 - Code Words
Due: Monday, November 28th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
Stick with me for just a second - but the source of this writing prompt was a random fact about a recent school shooting (I know, I know, how do you narrow that down? Sigh)
There was an active shooter in an arts school, and apparently their warning to students and faculty over the loudspeakers was the phrase:
“Miles Davis is in the building.”
(Tough hit on poor Miles Davis, but I guess his name is doing a public service in this context.)
This reminded me of another detail about the long term effects of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. After that tragic event, surviving children, if they were experiencing unsettling memories of that day while in school, they’re encouraged to stand up and say,
“Monkey!”
And a counselor would come and sit with the child until they were able to concentrate again and resume their day of trying to learn.
And there were apparently days when there were repeated cries of “Monkey!”, often in a single class period.
(That was almost ten years ago now. The surviving kids are in their teens. Their classmates will always be five, six, seven years old.)
This just got me thinking about using code words to indicate other things.
Like the codes they use in hospitals:
• CODE RED for fire
• CODE BLUE for adult medical emergency
• CODE WHITE for pediatric medical emergency
• CODE PINK for infant abduction
• CODE PURPLE for child abduction
• CODE YELLOW for bomb threat
• CODE GRAY for a combative person
• CODE SILVER for a person with a weapon and/or active shooter and/or hostage situation
• CODE ORANGE for a hazardous material spill/release
• TRIAGE INTERNAL for internal disaster
• TRIAGE EXTERNAL for external disaster
The one and only time in my dating life that someone said we should come up with a safe word, in case things got too intense, I was a little taken aback (because it seemed like a fairly laid back situation - I was figuring your standard No or Stop or Wait a Minute would do the trick). He admitted he hadn’t been with a guy in a while (he was in an open relationship with a woman at the time) and he was thinking things could potentially get overwhelming for him. He wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to feel. I admitted my mind was a blank so I suggested they should come up with a safe word.
Because it’s supposed to be a word that wouldn’t come up normally in an average conversation, so it would draw attention to itself, and get the people involved to stop and think, take a breath, etc.
His suggestion?
“Melancholy”
“Oh my god you have no idea who perfect that word choice just made you right now.”
(And yes, you’re damn right I’ve already used that in a play.)
What phrases could you use out of their natural context, because they’re supposed to be code for something else?
Take that inspiration, whatever it might be, and run with it.
And if that doesn’t do it for you, you can always ignore this prompt and do whatever you want, just like every other day in November.
Just write. Something.
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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021’s challenge #27:
She Blinded Me With Science
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 #27
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 #27
(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: Monday, November 28th, 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 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 3 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 rutabaga runs for its life across the stage.
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)
Now Playing:
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)
Coming Soon:
The
video recording of our fourth live play reading in the New Play Reading
series, Bethany Dickens Assaf’s “Leviathan,” will be swapping places
with “The Visible” on our YouTube channel in late November, early December
Coming Up:
Threshold Theater’s New Play Reading Series
A reading of “Zero State” by Allison Moon
Monday, March 13, 2023 - 7pm
The Black Hart of Saint Paul - 1415 University Avenue West in St. Paul
"Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say."
- James Baldwin
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