Writing Challenge #13 - Unfinished Sentences, Sights and Sounds (Write Nov. 13th)

Hi folks

Lucky challenge 13 on Friday the 13th!   We’re nearly two weeks into November.

Well done!  Keep at it!

I’m still working my way through the latest notes you tagged onto your submission forms the past couple of days so bear with me.  There’s over a hundred of you, after all :)

RAW NUMBERS

(Why are these raw numbers, you ask?  Well, people have technical difficulties or things are mislabeled, so sometimes there’s follow-up that shifts the numbers a little bit one way or the other.  This is what I know just at the moment at first glance…)

Challenge 9 had 82 playwrights responding with 285 pages of material

Challenge 10 had 84 playwrights responding with 284 pages of material

In both cases, that’s the equivalent of two full-length plays, plus another 44 or 45 page one-act play.  Not bad at all.  Well done, folks!  Keep up the good work :)

Getting this out a little earlier today because I’ve got both the day jobs today and I’m not sure when I’ll get to it later.  Better safe than sorry.

Let’s get you that writing prompt…


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 Challenge #13 - Unfinished Sentences, Sights and Sounds

Write Friday, November 13th - or earlier if you like
Due: Saturday, November 14th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



This raw material for this one comes from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser.

First, we have some unfinished starts of lines of dialogue:

“It should have been a red flag when….”

“He leaned in and said there are 3 things….”

“My back went out.”

“To hell with all of this, I….”

Second, we have some images and/or sounds:

Cat hissed

Spinning globe

Cell phone rang 

match strike 


Now that second line could just as easily be a stage direction followed by a line:

(He leaned in and said) 

CHARACTER: There are 3 things….


As well as someone telling a story about someone else where they say:

“He leaned in and said there are 3 things….”


Those lines could go anywhere.  You can use one or more than one, to get some dialogue going.

Similarly, with the second list, what questions leap out at you?

I wonder - why is that cat hissing? At what or who is that cat hissing?

Who’s spinning that globe and why?  Is it just spinning on its own?  What happens when it stops?  Is it just going to stop spinning naturally or is someone going to stop it in a particular place to make a point or help with a decision?

The cell phone ringing?  Who’s calling?  Is anyone going to answer?  And if so, is it going to be the person the caller expects to answer?  What if it just keeps ringing?  Why is no one answering?

Who’s striking the match and why?  For illumination in the dark?  To light something they want to smoke, and if so, what are they smoking and why?  To light a candle - what kind of candle - large for a dinner, small for a birthday cake?  Or are they trying to light a fire, for warmth or more nefarious purposes? (Remember that “Great Things To Set On Fire” challenge at the start of the month?)



Let that set of random jumping off points do for you what they will.

Or don’t.  

Write whatever you like.

Just write something.

Keep that dialogue flowing :)


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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can 

try 2021’s challenge #13: Your Favorite Song

Or try 2022’s challenge #13: Abscission

Or try 2023’s Challenge #13 - Box of Doorknobs

Or try 2024’s challenge #13: License Plates and Bumper Stickers

Or try 2025’s challenge #13: Impossible Scene (from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Maren Findlay)

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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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 26th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2026 edition


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How to submit your work for Challenge #13

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 13 :) 
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 Friday, November 13th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Saturday, November 14th, 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 Saturday 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 17 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.

Someone lights a match, startling a cat in the dark, which hisses.

The cat jumps away, alighting momentarily on a globe and immediately jumping away, setting it spinning.

Suddenly a cell phone rings.

The person holding the lit match shakes it out.

In the darkness, they answer the phone:

STRANGER IN THE DARK: Hello?

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)