28 down, 2 to go!
We’ve nearly reached the end of November, folks.
Hang in there and keep on writing :)
Last year someone in my writing group (who shall remain nameless) was… pestering is a negative word so let’s just say enthusiastically and repeatedly suggesting… that “you should let all those writers know about the writing group and see if they might be interested in attending.”
Which wasn’t a bad idea.
But I did remind the person that the majority of the writers doing the challenge often aren’t local, and are situated in states all across the USA, sometimes also in Canada. So the time zones don’t always perfectly align.
In our time being fully online in 2021, we had a number of people in different states sitting in - but sometimes it was challenging because they were either an hour ahead or behind of the Central Time zone meeting hours of 7pm to 9pm. Still, we did make it work. Even now, in hybrid mode, with some folks meeting in person, there’s still a number of (even local) people who prefer or need to attend via video conference on the computer. So we have the capability of including folks wherever there’s internet connectivity. (Sadly our friend who moved from Minneapolis to Norway for a graduate program isn’t going able to join us - it’s always the middle of the night for her when we meet. Less extreme time zone differences may be workable.)
A handful of people did join us last year and a couple became regulars, which is fun.
Here’s an overview of how the group works
If you think you might be interested, just drop me a note.
Now, let’s get you that writing prompt…
*********************************************
Challenge #29 - Snapshots 5
Due: Thursday, November 30th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
One last assortment of random elements to spur your thought process from our co-founder and managing director David Schlosser:
A dead body
A rusted bike
A cemetery in the winter
A phone booth
A burn out motel sign
A fireworks display
If none of those cause a creative spark, revisit our previous snapshot image lists to see if anything there might be useful to get things going:
Snapshots 1
Snapshots 2
Snapshots 3
Snapshots 4
Or, as ever, write whatever you like.
Just write. Something.
Just two days more to the end of our challenge marathon.
************************************
If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021’s challenge #29:
The Best of Times, The Worst of Times, and The Future
Or 2022’s challenge #29:
Messages After You’re Gone
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 :)
************************************
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 “Succeeding” or “Failing”
Don't Stress About What You're Turning In Each Day
************************************
How to submit your work for Challenge #29
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 #29
(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: Thursday, November 30th, 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 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
one more day 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 neon in the motel sign by the road has seen better days.
Amusingly (for some), it just says “MO” with the unfortunate (?) coincidence (?) that there’s a message on the sign below the neon to passing motorists that says:
“Entrance in the rear”
There is, inexplicably, still a phone booth with a working pay phone out front.
We know it’s working because it begins to ring.
Someone passing by notices the phone ringing.
Looks around.
No one else here.
They walk over to the phone booth and pick up the receiver to see who in the world might be calling.
They are surprised by the answer.
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:
The video trailer for Threshold Theater's first virtual
play reading in the New Play Reading series (back in May/June 2021), our
reading of “Spellbound”
by Matthew A. Everett - Thanks to his mischievous friend Jeffrey, who’s
begun dabbling in witchcraft, Micah has accidentally dosed his best
friend Auggie with a love potion. Which might be fine, if Auggie wasn’t
straight, and married, or if Auggie’s wife Sarah wasn’t pregnant, or a
practicing witch. With the help of Duncan, who runs the local
metaphysical supply store, the race is on to whip up the antidote before
anyone does something they’ll regret. Now on our YouTube channel
Coming Soon:
The
video recording of Threshold Theater's seventh live play reading in the
New Play Reading series. Like all good LGBTQ+ theater companies, we
begin our new season of programming with "Mediocre Heterosexual Sex" -
which is a play by Madison Wetzell. Four hours after her girlfriend
dumps her, Erin switches her Tinder setting to dudes because she hates
herself. She quickly meets Aaron, who is straight, conveniently nearby,
and only too happy to indulge her masochistic fantasies. To translate
this deeply ambivalent first hetero experience, Erin seeks the advice of
the only straight people she knows, a couple in a Dominant/submissive
relationship. A vexed exploration of gender, sex, power, and kink.
Coming Spring 2024:
“4Play with Threshold Theater”
Dates and venue still TBA
Featuring:
Amsterdam, by Collette Cullen
Bluetooth, by Liz Dooley
Hurry Up and Wail, by Anna Ralls
Just for Context, by Bethany Dickens Assaf
The Weird Ellen Prom Queen Trendsetters, by Elizabeth Shannon
Coming for Pride Month 2024
Monday, June 3, 2024
Monster Girls at Sunshine Donuts, by Dani Herd
A
vampire, a werewolf, and a Frankenstein's monster walk into a doughnut
shop... Meet Louise, Tally, and Elsie: the crew behind Sunshine
Doughnuts! The ghouls have fallen into a pretty pleasant spooky routine
for themselves; pouring coffee, baking doughnuts, arguing over
Scooby-Doo cartoons, having crushes on their regulars. Along comes an
unexpected late night visitor to throw everything into question.
Sometimes it really sucks how much your past can come back to bite you!
"Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say."
- James Baldwin
"Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you make the whole trip that way."
- E.L. Doctorow
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