Writing Challenge #11 - SISU (Write Nov. 11)

Hi folks

Another milestone behind us - 10 days in - we’re a third of the way there!  

Well done, everybody!

Hang in there and keep going.

As much as anything, we’re just trying to establish a new habit of writing, even if it’s just a little bit, every day.

If you miss a day, no worries.  Don’t beat yourself up.  Just write the next day.

Now let’s get you that writing prompt…


**************************

Challenge #11 - Sisu

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



One morning when I was out running, I crossed paths with a guy running in the other direction and his T-shirt read, “I run on SISU.”

And I’m thinking, “What’s SISU?  Southern Iowa State University or some other college abbreviation?”

So, like many mornings when I see something I don’t fully understand while out running, I hit the computer when I get home because as I was fond of saying to my mom, “That’s what the internet’s for.”

SISU in this case wasn’t intended to be an abbreviation, it’s a Finnish word that has no direct English translation but it can mean, among other things:

a person’s inner strength or strength of will
stoic determination
perseverance
tenacity of purpose
grit
bravery
resilience
hardiness
acting rationally in the face of adversity
(and perhaps my favorite variation on a theme…)
not momentary courage but the ability to sustain that courage

It literally translates as “to the guts.”

The self-help approach to Sisu sees it as an “action-oriented mindset” with applications to various aspects of life such as:

Confronting obstacles
Physical and mental wellbeing
Communicating with others
Progressing toward goals
Finding happiness
Leading an active, healthy life

(Some lists also throw “fighting a war” in there because, well, that’s the world we live in.)

When I was sifting through my bits of random inspiration for possible prompts, this one seemed apropos this week.

So what characters or situations in your writing might manifest some SISU?

See what that might conjure up for you.

Or don’t.

Just write something.



*************************************

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

try 2021’s challenge #11: Punk Monkey, Film Noir and Ride The Pink Horse

Or try 2022’s challenge #11: Background Music

Or try 2023’s Challenge #11: Fake Tour Guide

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 :)


*****************************************

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 FormatDon’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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


************************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #11

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 #11
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog



Write Nov. 11th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Tuesday, November 12th, 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 Central Time on Tuesday 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 19 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.


******************************
Lights up.

A hill.

A person runs on, sweaty, exhausted.

They see the hill in front of them.

They wipe their face with their T-shirt.

They see the words “I run on SISU” on the T-shirt.

They take a deep breath and start running up the hill and out of sight.

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.

Writing Challenge #10 - Nurse (Write Nov. 10)

Hi folks

The two day jobs currently still have me a bit behind on processing all your email submissions, but keep ‘em coming!  (I am definitely receiving them, even if I haven’t responded to your latest message yet.)

I had nearly completed processing all the last of the emails from November 5th when a project at the primary day job hijacked the rest of my evening yesterday.

And I’m off now to a split shift at the second job, which is with the Guthrie Theater Box Office. I’m hoping for some down time there to continue processing messages today but we’ve entered “Christmas Carol” season which is the busy season for the theater after two only half-attended productions prior to this so I may have less quiet moments than I’ve gotten used to.  We shall see.  At least Sunday is only an evening shift at the Guthrie, so there’s a part of my weekend that will be free of work demands before Monday and the primary day job roll around again.

Data on your first week of playwriting coming (I hope) in the not too distant future. (Because that will mean I’ve really caught up.)

For now, let’s get you that writing prompt…
(And I’ll get back to those emails…)


*************************************

Challenge #10 - Nurse

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



This one comes from Threshold Theater’s Literary Associate Kate Cosgrove:

“Over the course of an evening, an ER lab nurse draws the blood of three different strangers.”

You can transplant that idea if you wish into any number of scenarios where a person in service to the general public crosses paths with a series of people from very different walks of life.

For instance,

A librarian checks out the same book to a series of three different people.

A waiter or waitress serves people having three very different kinds of evenings/afternoons/mornings/conversations in the course of a shift at the same restaurant or diner or coffee shop.

A stock person organizing the shelves in a toy store or grocery store or the racks of a clothing store crosses paths with three different customers shopping for the same thing for very different reasons, or completely different things on the same aisle.

A religious leader of some stripe finds three different people visiting the pews to pray in a church or mosque or temple for their own particular reasons
OR
A janitor or housekeeper who has a business cleaning up different places of worship sees similar types of hope or despair as they’re tidying up around the edges of a temple then a mosque then a church.

You get the idea.

We have fewer and fewer places that different sorts of people are gathered together or crossing paths.

People working in roles or industries that a whole cross section of the population passes through are still a bit of connective tissue that can witness or pull together (even by accident) the stories of people who might otherwise never deal with one another’s existence.

Anything variation on that (or one of your own that just sparked in your head) intrigue you enough to write about it?

Go forth and write.

Or, as always, just ignore me and go write something else.


************************************

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

try 2021’s challenge #10: Cars

Or try 2022’s challenge #10: Food Vs. Humans

Or try 2023’s Challenge #10: Inevitable (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Technical Director Nick Mrozek)

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 :)


****************************************

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 FormatDon’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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


***********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #10

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 #10
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog



Write Nov. 10th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Monday, November 11th, 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 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 20 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.


****************************


And that something can be:


Lights up.

Over the course of an evening, an ER lab nurse draws the blood of three different strangers.

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.

Writing Challenge #9 - Site-Specific Theater in Anaconda, Montana (Write Nov. 9)

Hi folks

I know it’s been a bad week for a lot of people, myself included.  

But to find a tiny bright spot on the non-political front, guess what?  

The day this is going out to you, 11/8 - after you’ve turned in your writing for Challenge #7 - you’ve all officially made it through your first week of writing for the the challenge!

The first seven days are complete (though my sorting through all your many submissions as yet is not, but I shall get there with more fun numbers to report in the near future)

Congrats to all who’ve been cranking out the pages and prioritizing your own writing a little bit (or a lot) each day for a whole week.  Well done.

And, as always, if you miss a day, don’t waste any time beating yourself up about it.  Just write again the next day.

On with week two!

Let’s get you that writing prompt…


*****************************************

Challenge #9 - Site-Specific Theater in Anaconda, Montana

Write Nov. 9th - or earlier if you like
Due: Sunday, November 10th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



The Anaconda Ensemble Theatre in Anaconda, Montana does an annual series of new play readings inspired by businesses around town that have applied to be used as settings for storytelling.  
In fact, I just discovered on the theater’s website that one of the writers participating in the challenge this year had her play read as part of a double bill there just last month (small world).
The theater’s most recent call for scripts explained:

“The shows will be performed in locations where "theatre typically isn't" such as
coffee shops,
hotels,
bed and breakfasts,
bars/breweries,
shops,
restaurants,
cafes, and more!

The plays will hopefully, but don't necessarily have to, fit into our location or categories listed below

Plays must only engage 1 to 4 actors
plus an actor to read stage directors
and be between 20 and 90 minutes in length.

[They also helpfully give potential genres for each location :) ]

Sweet Pea Bridal:
the location is a locally owned Bridal/Wedding Dress shop
Possible themes/types of theatre:
Weddings,
Brides,
Eloping,
Family Ties,
Plays about Dreams,
Plays about the Future,
Plays that take place in retail shops or dress shops.

Gunslinger Gulch
this location is an 1880's Old Western Ghost Town, Gunslinger Gulch Guest Ranch
Possible theme/types of theatre:
Western,
Horror Theatre,
Ghost stories,
Murder mystery,
Montana ranch life,
things that scare us, etc.

Forgotten Times Barbershop
This location is a locally owned Barbershop
Possible theme/types of theatre:
Barbershop,
Haircuts,
Forgotten Times,
Community Spaces,
Looking at the Past, etc.”

More info on the theater's website


In addition, just the town of Anaconda, Montana is kinda fascinating.  It’s not named after a snake (or a certain bawdy popular song, or the horror film series, though both of those would be quite the origin story), but a copper mining company (now shuttered). Back in the early 1900s, they built a copper smelting stack that has the distinction of being one of the tallest free-standing brick structures in the world (585 feet, which is 30 feet taller than the Washington monument in DC) - and now stands in the middle of a tiny state park.

(As a former mining town, there’s a rather colorful history of pollution that needed cleaning up as well.)

All of this could go in any number of directions, so play around with that.

Or ignore me and do your own thing.

Just write something.


*************************************

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

try 2021’s challenge #9: The Bechdel Test

Or try 2022’s challenge #9: “Whose Meadow Is This?”

Or try 2023’s Challenge #9: Not My Blood

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 :)


***********************************

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 FormatDon’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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


***********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #9

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 #9
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog


Again, this is: Due: Sunday, November 10th, 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 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 21 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.


*****************************


And that something can be:



Lights up.

A person walks into a ghost town.

A person enters a bridal dress shop.

A person wanders into a barbershop.

Each is overwhelmed by a sense of history and possibility.

Something unexpected happens…

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.

Writing Challenge #8 - Museum of Broken Relationships (Write Nov. 8th)

Hi folks

Here’s another quick stab at yesterday’s conundrum    

It can sometimes get confusing because I'm sending these challenges out in advance and people start working ahead, so what writing is due for what day can get shuffled around :)

No days off :)
30 days,
30 pieces of writing
(Each piece of writing doesn’t need to be long, just needs to be something)

Here's the list so far, but just as a general rule,
if you look at the subject line of the email, it has the number of the challenge and that corresponds to the date this way -
Challenge 1, to write through November 1, and turn in on November 2;
Challenge 2, to write through November 2, and turn in on November 3
and so on...

(You don’t have to hold yourself back and wait for a certain day to write, you can write ahead of time, but it needs to be turned in by the deadline - or before hand - not after :)

Challenge 1 - sent Thurs 10/31, for writing through Fri 11/1, to be turned in by noon Central time on Sat 11/2 - Still More Assorted Dialogue

Challenge 2 - sent Fri 11/1, for writing through Sat 11/2, to be turned in by noon Central time on Sun 11/3 - RIP: HUGE improv theater

Challenge 3 - sent Sat 11/2, for writing through Sun 11/3, to be turned in by noon Central time on Mon 11/4 - Nazi Dildo Lady

Challenge 4 - sent Sun 11/3, for writing through Mon 11/4, to be turned in by noon Central time on Tues 11/5 - Asteroid

Challenge 5 - sent Mon 11/4, for writing through Tues 11/5, to be turned in by noon Central time on Wed 11/6 - Dismantled Piano

Challenge 6 - sent Tues 11/5, for writing through Wed 11/6, to be turned in by noon Central time on Thurs 11/7 - Skyway Buddha

Challenge 7 - sent Wed 11/6, for writing through Thurs 11/7, to be turned in by noon Central time on Fri 11/8 - Treat Yourself

Challenge 8 - sent today Thurs 11/7, for writing through Fri 11/8, to be turned in by noon Central time on Sat 11/9 - Museum of Broken Relationships (this very blog post)


So you should have, as of this morning 8 emails from me that are labeled as challenges. 

If you're missing any of those, let me know and I can resend.

But you can also always find all the challenges (from this year and years past) posted on the blog
https://thresholdwritingchallenge.blogspot.com/


And of course there are some folks who are writing and just not turning something in.  That’s fine. 
Write, whether I get to see it and tally it up or not :) 
Your writing is the most important thing, not any number crunching I do on this end.

And if you miss a day’s writing, no worries.  
Don’t beat yourself up.  
Just write again the next day.

And now, the day’s challenge…


*****************************

Challenge #8 - Museum of Broken Relationships

Write Nov. 8th - or earlier if you like
Due: Saturday, November 9th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



On a podcast I listen to, one of the hosts mentioned that they’d been to visit something called the Museum of Broken Relationships, so of course I had to look it up…

The museum started as a touring exhibit created by an ex-couple which eventually found a permanent home in a city in Croatia in 2010.  In 2016, they opened a new second branch in Los Angeles.

Here’s a write-up on the concept behind the museum from the LA location’s website:

“The Museum of Broken Relationships explores broken love and other human relationships – what they mean to us, what they tell us about what we share and how we can learn and grow from them.  It is composed of objects donated anonymously by members of the public from all over the world.  Each exhibit is an object (some of them ordinary, some of them extraordinary) and a story, which together recount a watershed event in someone’s life.

The exhibits reflect the full range of human emotions.  Some are sad; but many are amusing and hopeful and remind us that people change, grow and recover.  Love relationships may end; relationships with family members, business partners, cities, religions and even with our former selves may end.  But we learn and move on.  The dislocation of a broken relationship may be isolating, but the experience is universal.  No one is alone in this.

Most people have kept some object, memento or souvenir somewhere that, because of its meaning, they do not want to throw away.  The Museum is always accepting donations.  Giving it to the Museum provides a donor with an opportunity to tell their story anonymously and share it with others.  The reasons for doing so may range from therapeutic relief to simple closure.

The Museum’s concept was born when an artist ex-couple in the midst of their own breakup wondered what people did with objects that had been meaningful in their relationships.  In 2006 they had their first exhibit and the Museum has since toured internationally, amassing an amazing collection. They opened their permanent museum in Zagreb, Croatia in 2010.

In 2016, John B. Quinn founded the Museum in Los Angeles, a city of dreams – many realized and many not – which often leave broken relationships in their wake.”

The Croatia museum has a fabulous Instagram page with delightful examples of the museum’s exhibits and gift shop offerings:

Gift shop journals with covers saying things like
“A Complete List of My Jealous Observations”
or “Stories More Exciting Than Yours”
or “My Superior Findings of All of Life’s Trickery”


Each museum has a confessional space with a blank journal inside that quickly fills up with notes from museum visitors - notes like:

“Your dog doesn’t deserve you.”

“I’m not certain I’ve known real love, yet.”

“I forgive you, I forgive me,
Will always love you
- Snoopy”

“Together we shall find our place among the stars”

“If you’re ever in need of advice,
I don’t have it.”

“A life lived in love is never dull.”

“We found matching shells on the beach
I kept mine, did you keep yours?
You were my first love and I think I will always love you.”

“I deserved better.”

“Visit this place next year to see how far you’ve come.”

“Whatever is meant for you, it will find you, like I found you.”

There’s also a fun little twelve minute video profile of the LA museum with the curator, staff and museum visitors talking about the many and varied random keepsakes.

There’s a sign in the background of some of the interviews of the curator that says:

“Burning more bridges than fire.”

The curator mentions that though there are tears when people visit, there’s also a lot of making out among couples, and laughter.

Watch the video, it’s short, and has wild stories, like the guy working demolition who found an old bowler hat from the 1930s in the ruins of a fallen building and inside the brim of the hat was a broken-hearted letter from someone - was it the owner of the hat and they never delivered the letter, or was it written by someone else to the owner of the hat and they kept it tucked inside their hat?

Or the woman who donated the remainders of her husband’s collection of colognes after he died of cancer.

Or the woman who had breast implants at the behest of a lover who then left her.  So she had the breast implants removed and donated them to the museum.

That’s not the half of it.

So whether it’s this museum
or imagining a completely different museum of your own design,
or stories of heartbreak, loss or resilience,
or using some of those random confessionals as dialogue jumping off points,
hopefully you might find some inspiration to generate some interaction between characters or a monologue or two.

Or you know, today and every day, just ignore this and write something else.

Just write - something…


*************************************

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

try 2021’s challenge #8: Series and Cycles

Or try 2022’s challenge #8: Chance Encounters

Or try 2023’s Challenge #8: Breakup Songbook (from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Kate Cosgrove)

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 :)


******************************************

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 FormatDon’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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


************************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #8

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 #8
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog


 

Write Nov. 8th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Saturday, November 9th, 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 till 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 22 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.


******************************


And that something can be:
Lights up.

A person walks into a museum where on display are

An abandoned bicycle    

A radio that resembles another object entirely

A discarded bouquet of flowers.

There is an empty journal nearby.

The person contemplates the exhibit, and their own life, and begins to write.

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.

Writing Challenge #7 - Treat Yourself (Write Nov. 7th)

Hi folks

Since I don’t have a good answer to the question “What the hell just happened?” I’ll try answering a simpler question related to the November playwriting challenge.

There’s been some confusion, as there is every year, about when the challenges should be written and when they’re due.

The subject line of the email tells you when it’s due.
The due date and time are also listed just before the text of the day’s challenge itself, normally about a third of the way down the email and blog post.
The due date and time are also listed at the end of the section about how to submit your work, which is part of every challenge email about two thirds of the way down the email and blog post.

Again, if you ever get turned around, look at the date on the calendar:
It’s November 16th -
I should be writing Challenge #16,
which is due by noon Central Time on November 17th.

I’m sending you the emails a day ahead of schedule, to give you the opportunity to have more time to write.  I apologize that this also seems to cause confusion as the overlapping challenge messages pile up the further we get into the month.

To see if it helps, I’m going to start adding, as I did today, a suggestion for when to write the challenge, not just when it’s due.  This will be in the same three places in the email (including the subject line) and the same three places in the blog post on the challenge blog, as the deadline currently lives.

This is not to be prescriptive, telling you “you must write this day and only this day” - I’m sending it to you early, so feel free to write early. But I’m also not recommending that you wait until the morning of the day it’s due to start writing, unless that’s your thing :)

So let’s get you that writing prompt (which is one of my favorites, and needed more today perhaps than it was in previous years on the 6th and 7th and 8th of November)…


****************************

Challenge #7 - Treat Yourself

Write Nov. 7th
Due: Friday, November 8th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)





Because it’s my favorite, I’m offering up this challenge again, our end of the first week tradition - authored by Aaron Sawyer from Red Theater in Chicago back in November 2015 (my first writing challenge as a participant):



“Write something that only you understand and that probably only you enjoy.

If you're not giggling to yourself or blushing you're doing it wrong.

Listen to your Id.

Be naughty!

Be coded.

Be fun.

Comment on your work as you do it.

Break and forget any and every rule except that writing can be FUN.

F-U-N!

Crack yourself up.

Fall in love with yourself again.

Masturbatory writing can unleash some wonderful creative energies.

Treat yourself.”



I got a very unexpected full-length play out of responding to this prompt.  I wrote part of a scene that first day of the prompt, and then a couple of days later I thought, “Hey, I think I know what happens next on that scene I wrote the other day.”  

And I just kept writing, scenes in and out of order with the same set of characters for about two weeks until I ran out of gas.  And I looked up and I had over 120 pages, so I thought, “Well, I’m not sure exactly what this is yet, but I’ve got all the raw material for a two act play.  Wow.”

When developing this play in the following months after the challenge that year was over, a writer friend said to me that for quite a while as I was writing an early draft of the script and bringing it to our writing group, they thought, because of the play, that I was actually involved in a secret relationship with [celebrity name redacted] in real life.  This is still, on a number of levels, one of the nicest compliments about my writing which I ever received.  

The script also remains one of the plays I have the most fun working on.  I’m also constantly surprised by the number of other people who enjoy it - because when I began writing it, I was only doing it for myself.

And none of it would have happened if I’d restrained myself in responding to this first prompt.

What would you write if no one was looking or expecting you to take writing “seriously”?

I hope you’re always having fun with these writing challenges.  But for this one, really have fun with it, whatever that means to you.

Read over Aaron’s words again, and go for it.


************************************

If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021’s challenge #7
(in this case, however, it’s just a slightly different version of the same post - this is my tradition, giving you all this prompt at the one week mark to encourage you to not forget to have fun):

Treat Yourself

If you really want some variety, you can peruse the full list of options from

Challenge List 2021

Challenge List 2022

Challenge List 2023

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 :)


****************************

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 FormatDon’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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


**********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #7

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 #7
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog


Write Nov. 7th
Again, this is: Due: Friday, November 8th, 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.

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 23 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.

******************************

 

And that something can be:


Lights up.

Someone you have a crush on turns out to be crushing on you, too.

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.

Writing Challenge #6 - Skyway Buddha

Hi folks

This one’s going out a bit earlier because, well, it’s going out on the morning of Election Day.

I’ve said all the things in previous posts.

Deadline amnesty for time spent voting continues to apply yet today and tomorrow for that purpose.

So please get out and vote if you haven’t already done so.

Thanks!

Now, let’s get you that writing prompt…


*************************************

Challenge #6 - Skyway Buddha

Due: Thursday, November 7th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



As part of the primary day job, I have to take checks to the bank, and the most efficient way to get from my desk in the office over to the teller at the bank is to make my way through the twists and turns of the Saint Paul skyways.

There are some unusual corners.

And sometimes lurking in those corners are unexpected surprises.

One day as I was strolling along, just off in the corner, in a jog in the skyway path, in semi-shadow was…

Buddha?

No, it wasn't actually Buddha, of course - that’s just where my brain went.

It was a large African American man in one of those big motorized wheelchairs that also sometimes remind me of Davros or the Daleks from Doctor Who.

But on this particular day, this large smiling presence brought to mind the religious figure instead.

And it struck me as an odd idea - just Buddha hanging out where you least expect it.

Like running into a random figure from Greek or other mythologies at the bus stop or light rail station - or on the bus or train as a passenger.

People pray to Jesus and the Virgin Mary all the time but what if you actually crossed paths with them in the most mundane rather than grand of settings.

The bank, the local bar, an office cubicle.

(And now I’m thinking of Kevin Smith’s Dogma - that was weird film, but I have it in my DVD collection)

At any rate, it’s also hangover time from spooky season, so it could just as easily be any kind of supernatural creature or monster.

Take the everyday, and something or someone from an elevated plane of existence, throw them together and see what happens.

Or, as usual, ignore me and write whatever you want.

Just write something.


*************************************

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, 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 :)


****************************

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 :)

Deadline Amnesty for Voting (and other handy challenge tips)

Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play

Don’t Stress About FormatDon’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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


**********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #6

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 #6
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog


Again, this is: Due: Thursday, November 7th, 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.

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 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 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 make sense to you.

It just needs to be something.


****************************


And that something can be:



Lights up.

Moses, Buddha and Mohamed walk into a bar.

Jesus is the bartender, turning water into wine as usual
(show off, but he does have style)

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.

(After you vote, of course :)

Writing Challenge #5 - Dismantled Piano

Hi folks

Thanks again for your patience, as there’s a LOT of submissions to process.  But this is a challenge we like to have, SO many prolific playwrights.  Keep those emails coming, it’s just taking me a while to get through them.

I’m down to the end of the day on December 2nd so we have initial numbers on Challenge #1 - 87 of you turned in material for the first challenge, totaling 323 pages, which is enough for two full-length plays, plus another 83 pages for a long one-act - and that’s just your first day of output for the month.  Very impressive.  

Well done, everyone!  Keep up the good work.

Even a page or two or day definitely adds up.

You may think just having a page or two is nothing special, but any writing in a day is more progress than no writing.

And it doesn’t have to be perfect, that’s what rewriting later is for.

For now, just push through.

Thanks for prioritizing your own creativity, whether you’re responding to a prompt, or just writing your own thing and using the daily submission deadline to keep yourself moving forward on an existing script idea.

And if you aren’t feeling it one day here in November, remember that at the end of every one of these emails and challenge blog posts there’s an escape hatch option:

“Lights up
(Something happens)
Lights down.”

I change them every day to match the day’s challenge.  

So feel free to use something like that on a tough day if you need to.

(Over the past three years, playwrights have put their own spin on the mini-play option, often in very amusing ways, so feel free to have fun with that as well - I am.)

A BRIEF VOTING ASIDE…

The day I’m sending this out, Monday 11/4 is the last day for early voting here in Minnesota.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 11/5 is Election Day for everybody in the U.S.

One way I keep my head on straight is to find humor, even in politics.  One of my sanity podcasts for the past seven years has been “Lovett or Leave It” - this Saturday’s pod was “Last Call.”  Listen to the opening monologue if you need a laugh, or further inspiration to vote.

Again, to those who’ve already voted, thank you.

And if you haven’t voted already, please do vote.  Deadline amnesty due to time spent voting is still in effect.  Just let me know you were out voting, and you’ve got more wiggle room to get that latest submission in the door :)

And now, let’s get you that writing prompt for the day…


**********************************

Challenge #5 - Dismantled Piano

Due: Wednesday, November 6th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



On weekends, I head out early in the morning to run, to get some miles in before I have to work at the second job.  One summer morning, I was getting ready to back out of the garage when I noticed there was an obstacle I didn’t recognize showing up in the rear view camera. At first I was worried it might have been someone sleeping overnight in the alley, and thanked God I hadn’t started to back out without noticing, but the shape didn’t look human.  In fact, it didn’t look like anything I could make sense of.

Getting out of the car and walking around to the entry to the garage, I discovered a pile of - parts?

Piano parts.

And not “Someone took a sledgehammer to a piano and just left the shattered remains here.”

No.  Someone had very carefully taken an upright piano apart, and then very deliberately stacked each piece on top of the next in a neat and tidy little pile.

They took the black and white keys.  But left everything else.

At the very bottom of the pile was all the piano strings, then all the felt-tipped hammers that strike the strings, then the pedals, then each and every piece of wood of the body of the piano.

And they didn’t stack it all up right up against the garage door so it would fall over the minute the garage door raised, to to keep the door from raising.  They set it just off to the side, against the frame of the garage door.  So a car couldn’t get out without running into it, but it wouldn’t fall over when the door opened.

I have no idea why someone would do this.  Any of it.

Why would I take a piano apart carefully, piece by piece?
Why would I keep the keys?
Why would I stack it neatly just outside a stranger’s garage?
(I’m assuming it’s not anyone I know who did this, unless someone reads this and wants to take credit - but if it weren’t a stranger, that’s even stranger.)

You could apply this to the dismantling of any musical instrument, from a tuba to a drum set to a flute to a pair of maracas, and leave it in any unusual location.

What exactly is going on here?

Use whatever you find interesting as a jumping off point and get writing.

Or ignore me and write something completely different.


***********************************

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

try 2021’s challenge #5: Random Phrase Generator

Or try 2022’s challenge #5: “This Guy Told Me He Was A Centaur…”

Or try 2023’s Challenge #5: Snapshots 1 (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser)

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 :)


*********************************

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 :)

Deadline Amnesty for Voting (and other handy challenge tips)

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 28th (however you recognize the holiday weekend)


*********************************

How to submit your work for Challenge #5

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 #5
(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 noted above in the comments section below on this very blog post for today's challenge on our writing challenge blog


Again, this is: Due: Wednesday, November 6th, 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.

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 Wednesday 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 25 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.


***************************


And that something can be:



Lights up.

Someone rolls a piano on stage.

With a hammer and a screw driver and a crowbar, they carefully take the whole piano apart.

They carefully stack all the parts one on top of the other in a neat and tidy pile.

They walk offstage again.

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.

(After you vote, of course :)