Hi folks
More words of encouragement for artists from Erica Elan
If you’re questioning the significance of making art right now…
Creating art right now is defiant because beauty in the face of oppression declares: there’s a different way.
Please keep making art because…
It shifts perception: inviting the viewer to slow, look, interpret, and resist simplistic narratives.
Thank you for creating
And you certainly all have been creating at quite a clip so far.
The initial numbers for Challenge 3 yesterday are 90 playwrights turning in work totaling 382 pages (or more than three full-length plays’ worth of material)
Well done all!
And again, if you happen to not write one day, don’t kick yourself about it.
Just get up the next day and write.
That’s what this month is all about, getting in the daily habit of creativity, even if it’s only a page or two a day.
Also, I haven’t forgotten about your comments submitted on the Google form as well, it’s just taking me a little time to get through them all. I appreciate them, I’m not ignoring them, the two day jobs are just also requiring a chunk of my attention each day as well, so I’m still getting used to the November juggling act. Thanks for your patience.
Now, let’s get you that writing prompt…
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Challenge #6 - Favorite Day
Write Thursday, November 6th - or earlier if you like
Due: Friday, November 7th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
This quote recently appeared on my phone via the Instagram account for 365 Days of Thought
“Any day spent with you is my favorite day.” - A.A. Milne, via Winnie the Pooh
The quote was followed by the question:
Who would you spend today with if you could?
Not sure what it says about my state of mind right now but upon reading this the first time, the first three people I thought of were all dead - my mom, my dad, and my grandma.
There are also, of course, living people I’d love to hang out with as well. I’m hanging out with one of them tonight and we’re seeing a play.
The “if you could” in that question just sent me down the path of people who are unavailable and irretrievable.
Oddly enough, just last night I had fragments of a dream I could still remember when I woke up.
And in one of the fragments my mother was there.
She didn’t say anything, she was just present, standing right next to me.
We were on a train or a tram of some kind, scooting closer together where we stood in order to make room for someone in a wheelchair, someone with little kids or a lot of luggage. It was crowded.
I remember the feeling of one of us having an arm around the other. I vividly recall the feeling of what it was like to touch. Just a little thing, but she’s been dead over six years now, so to have that sensation cross my brain again was welcome. Not sure what conjured all that up in my subconscious last night, but I’m glad I was able to hold onto a bit of it with my waking brain the next morning.
So answer that question of who you’d spend the day with if you could,
Or who your character would spend the day with if they could.
Or, as usual, ignore me and write whatever you want.
Just write something.
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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can
try 2021’s challenge #6: Bigfoot By Moonlight
Or try 2022’s challenge #6: Mascots
Or try 2023’s Challenge #6: Art Gallery Titles
Or try 2024’s challenge #6: Skyway Buddha
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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How to submit your work for Challenge #6
We’re streamlining the process this year with a Google form,
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy-wyjz-IITaNsOkXM1zVQu_yrt_o7E4Vp2eQnr-8VNnu49w/viewform?usp=header
but you still have multiple options for how you submit your playwriting output for the day.
After you enter the required fields of
email,
name,
challenge number (for today, that’d be 6 :)
and page count,
you can submit your writing in one of four ways:
Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and upload that document to the Google form.
OR
Post your script online (on your personal website, as a blog post, or as a Google doc) and put a link to that online script in the Google form.
OR
Copy/paste your work from another source directly into the Google form
OR
Type directly into the Google form.
(Whichever option you choose, you can leave the other ones blank.)
Write Thursday, November 6th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Friday, November 7th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
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And because we call can get in our own way so easily, here’s some words of reassurance on the basics of this month:
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 Format
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
Don’t Stress about November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition
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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.
We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days. 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 12 noon Central Time on Friday 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 24 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 makes sense to you.
It just needs to be something.
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And that something can be:
Lights up.
Two people sit side by side, just enjoying the silence together.
One leans against the other’s shoulder and sighs, contented.
The moments tick past.
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.
And take good care of yourselves, and each other.
Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his)
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