Writing Challenge #27 - Sidewalk Poetry and the Whimsical Astronaut (Write Nov. 27th)

Hi folks!

A reminder, if you’re staying on the day to day schedule, the challenge you’re turning in today by noon central time is for Challenge 24.

Then you move on to work on Challenge 25, which you turn in by noon central time tomorrow.

Whatever challenge you’re turning in, for present or future days, just make sure you tag it with the right number :)  That’ll help my sorting here in the flurry of the last week.  Thanks!

Initial numbers on yesterday’s submissions for Challenge 23 look like this:
71 playwrights with material totaling 243 pages
(or the equivalent of two full-length plays with a couple of extra pages to spare)

You folks are remarkably consistent!  Keep up the good work :)

(1 of 2)

Again, I’m sending you two prompts from the future again today, so you can work ahead for the holiday weekend if you wish.

(Remember, you don’t have to work ahead, you can just keep plugging along day by day if that’s what’s working for you.  I’m just giving you the opportunity to bank a day or so ahead of time if you want to take some holiday time off and not get tripped up here in the home stretch but do writing for the full 30 days.  You don’t have to work ahead if you don’t want to.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re rounding the final turn :)

This prompt is the one you would be writing Thursday 11/27 to be turned in on Friday 11/28 by noon Central Time, but just fill out the Google form and tag it 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.

Always remember, if you miss one day, don’t beat yourself up, just write again the next day.

Let’s get you that first writing prompt of the day…

Including this daily prompt, there are only four left to share with you before our work is completed for the month.

Well done, everybody!  

We can all see the end of November dead ahead on Sunday, 

with the last work to be turned in by noon Central time on Monday, December 1st.

******************  

Challenge #27 - Sidewalk Poetry & The Whimsical Astronaut

Write Thursday, November 27th - or earlier if you like
Due: Friday, November 28th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


Recently, I ran across two unexpected sources of unsolicited advice and/or inspiration.

As often happens when I’m on a run on the weekends, I invariably find something that I hadn’t noticed before.

Two things had to do with the sidewalk around my regular route.  One of them is singular and I don’t actually know the source of it.  But someone somehow arranged to imprint the stencil of the following words directly into wet cement that later dried permanently into a section of the sidewalk.  The words said:

“I don’t know enough about balance to tell you how to do it

I think, though, it’s in the trying and the letting go

that the scales measuring right and wrong - quiver and stand still”

(Photo of the sidewalk message can be found here on the blog.)

This isn’t spray-painted or carved into the sidewalk.  It’s like some kind of giant poetry cookie cutter was placed there for the sidewalk to form around.  Unsigned.  No idea who did it or why.

In the same vein, a less mysterious person, a poet going by the name of Boots, spray painted stencils of two of their messages onto sidewalk in the same area.

One said, “Your best life won’t seek validation.”

The other said, “Accept people for who they are.  Expecting them to change will only cost you peace.”

Apparently Boots isn’t a local.  According to their instagram, they’re based out of Chicago and travel the country, leaving these words of hers behind wherever she goes, including a stop in Minneapolis.

Her profile says, “I write poetry, travel, spray paint sidewalks, explore abandoned places, & give unsolicited advice”

Other bits of spray painted advice to be found on sidewalks and lamp posts around the country include:

“No one is busier than someone who is not interested in you.”

“Feeling aren’t that complicated. They either want you or they don’t.”

“Imagine the love we could all have if we left our egos at the door.”

“Stop settling for less than you deserve just because you’re lonely.”

“We’re all damaged.  It’s how we still love with a broken heart that matters”


Another female artist I ran across on Instagram creates images using something I’ve taken to calling the whimsical astronaut.  The artist is based in Iran, goes by the name of either Luna or Mahsa, and since they’re a digital artist/AI designer, I immediately begin to wonder whether they’re real or not.  (Mention of AI in general prompts all kinds of misgivings.)  Still, this account has a pretty long trail for someone who was (potentially) born yesterday, and their work is funny, so give it a look.

The basics, whether they’re still images or video, is someone, face unseen, dressed in a full astronaut suit, complete with closed helmet.  Sometimes, I think we’re meant to think it’s the artist herself who’s in the astronaut uniform, sometimes it could be literally anyone.

Sometimes the astronaut is sitting on a chair or a park bench, sometimes it’s inside a record store or bookstore or laundromat or apartment.  If they’re sitting they might be reading a newspaper, a book or scrolling on their phone.  And there’s a sign next to where they’re sitting, or sometimes it’s in their lap.  Sometimes they’re standing in the middle of the road, holding up a sign for attention, or to get a point across.  Sometimes they’re spray painting their message on a wall.

The thing I appreciate most about it all is the sense of humor, or resilience, depending on the subject.

I have lost a lot of time scrolling through these images but a selection of my favorites include:

Astronaut sitting on a bench reading a newspaper.  A sign next to them says:
“No one’s jealous of you, go take a bath.”

Astronaut sitting on a bench working on their laptop.  A sign sits next to them, saying:
“I’m not free tomorrow.  I’m expensive everyday.”

Astronaut standing in the middle of a neon lit city street at night holding up a sign declaring:
“Listen up f*cker!  You are a magical piece of f*cking stardust and you deserve the f*cking world"

Astronaut sitting on the hood of a car in the middle of a suburban neighborhood with a sign saying:
“But darling, you need music to dance, not a partner”

Astronaut sitting among the library shelves, holding a sign in their lap that reads”:
“I like your weird brain very much!”

Astronaut standing outside a bakery holding out a box of cupcakes, next to sign that says,
“Not all ex’s are bad.  Look at me, I’m someone’s ex and I’m the best.”

A Halloween season astronaut sitting on a bench next to their friend the ghost who’s eating pizza under a neon sign that reads:
“Oh sweetie, monsters are real and they look like people”

Astronaut standing in the middle of a busy city street at night, holding a sign that says:
“Forget nudes. Send me a photo of your bookshelves.”

Astronaut sitting on a cabinet reading a book, between a lamp and an old-fashioned TV set, with framed poster behind them saying:
“I love acting dumb. It helps me to see people’s real intentions”

Astronaut sitting on a folding chair in the middle of the street, scrolling through their phone, next to sign on an easel that says:
“Tell me about the things you think don’t matter to anyone else.”

Astronaut taking a selfie in front a of spray painted wall that says,
“When they say you can’t do it, do it twice and take pics!”

From behind, two astronauts sitting side by side on a bench in the middle of a field of cows, with hills and mountains in the distance at sunset.  Next to them a sign reads:
“Imagine you and me as cows in Switzerland enjoying the view and saying “moo” every day”


Something about the melancholy loneliness and the out of context nature of the astronaut suit and the messages fascinates me and makes me smile, and sit and think for a bit.  There are so, so many more images, give the feed a look.

Write a scene duplicating how the images or the messages make you feel.

Or ruminate on the sidewalk poetry.

Or think about what makes someone turn into a traveling sidewalk poet, or don an astronaut uniform to express themselves.  What is someone who communicates or connects with either of those artists like?  Or are they just a catalyst, an observer, of their effects on other people’s lives?  Does anyone ever thank them, or damn them, and how could they?

Whatever strikes your fancy.

And if none of 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.

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

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

try 2021’s challenge #27: She Blinded Me With Science

Or try 2022’s challenge #27: Code Words

Or try 2023’s Challenge #27: The Ex Files (from Threshold Theater’s co-founder and Technical Director Nick Mrozek)

Or try 2024’s challenge #27: …Until All You Can Remember Is A Name

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 :)

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

How to submit your work for Challenge #27

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 27 :) 
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 27th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Friday, November 28th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

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

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 November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

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

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

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 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 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 makes sense to you.

It just needs to be something.

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

And that something can be:



Lights up.

A turkey runs for its life across the stage.

Followed by a potato, also running for its life.

Followed by a squash, also running for its life.

Followed by a box of stuffing, also running for its life.

Followed by a cranberry, also running for its life.

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) 

Writing Challenge #26 - Kidnapping/Reunion (Write Nov. 26th)

Hello again!

(2 of 2)

This prompt is the one you would be writing Wednesday 11/26 to be turned in on Thursday 11/27 (however you choose to recognize or re-invent the national holiday) by noon Central Time, but just fill in the Google form and tag it for prompt 26 and you can turn it early and I’ll credit it ahead.

Now, I’m going to say this probably a couple of times over the course of the week, but you don’t have to do any of these challenges ahead of schedule.  

You can keep writing one day and submitting by noon central time the next day, just like you’ve been doing the rest of the month up until now.

I’m only giving you the prompts early so if you want to write some ahead of time and bank it for a later date so you can take a holiday date or two off, you can.

It’s not requiring a sprint to the finish several days ahead of time.

Keep doing whatever works for you.  We just didn’t want the holiday to trip anyone up in terms of submitting, so we’re giving you another option.

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.

Let’s get you that second writing prompt for today…

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

Challenge #26 - Kidnapping/Reunion

Write Wednesday, November 26th - or earlier if you like
Due: Thursday, November 27th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)


And we arrive at our last writing challenge suggestion from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Maren Findlay:


“Scenario: you kidnapped someone but they turn out to be someone you know from high school”



As usual, I have so many questions.

Why would you kidnap someone?

Why would you kidnap someone you thought you didn’t even know, and how did the name not come up?

Once you realize it’s someone you know from high school, what do you do?
I suppose it depends on whether or not it’s someone you knew well.
And if you liked them, or didn’t like them.
And if you might enjoy, or be horrified of being in a position of power and control over them.

And what happens when the other person realizes they know you?
Were you the person in high school voted most likely to turn to a life of crime and kidnap people?  Or is this very unlike you?

What exactly Is supposed to happen to resolve this kidnapping scenario?
And how does the fact that you knew this person in high school complicate that?

Do you have to call for ransom the parents of someone you knew in high school, and I assume you probably knew the parents, too?

Or is it the spouse of the person, who might have been their high school sweetheart, so you know them, too?
Think of all the many ways your relationship with the significant other, or the two of them as a couple back in the day, might complicate matters.
 

So take any or all of that as a jumping off point.

Or, as usual, just write whatever you like and turn it in by the deadline.  Up to you.

Just write something :)

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

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

try 2021’s challenge #26: Random Phrase Generator part 4

Or try 2022’s challenge #26: Visual Writing Prompt

Or try 2023’s Challenge #26: Impossible Set (from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Kate Cosgrove)

Or try 2024’s challenge #26: Chat GPT, Gmail AI, and Off Book

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 :)

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

How to submit your work for Challenge #26

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 26 :) 
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 Wednesday, November 26th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Thursday, November 27th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

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

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 November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

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

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

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 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 4 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.

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

And that something can be:



Lights up.

KIDNAPPER, in a basic Halloween mask, pulls hood off the head of their HOSTAGE.

KIDNAPPER: Don’t worry, this’ll be over soon.

HOSTAGE: So why won’t you face me?

KIDNAPPER: The less you know the better.

HOSTAGE: Wait a minute.  Cooper?

KIDNAPPER: Nice try, buddy.

HOSTAGE: No.  Cooper Marshall?  From East Side High?

KIDNAPPER: The don’t sell “Cooper Marshall” costumes, weirdo.  Whoever that is.

HOSTAGE:  It’s not the mask.  I’m Stuart Draper.  I sat behind you in calculus class senior year.  I spent a lot of time staring blankly ahead of me not knowing what the hell I was doing.  I’d recognize the back of your neck anywhere.

KIDNAPPER turns to face HOSTAGE, still doesn’t take off his mask.

KIDNAPPER: Stuart Draper?

HOSTAGE: We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.

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) 

Writing Challenge #25 - Storefronts and Marquees (Write Nov. 25th)

Hi folks

24 writing challenges down.

Only 6 to go!

Keep up the good work :)

(1 of 2)

Yes, I’m going to send you two prompts a day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so you have all the prompts early to take you through the holiday weekend (oddly enough, also the end of the month, and the challenge).  That way, if you want to write extra ahead of time and bank it in order to give yourself a day off or two over the holiday stretch at the end of the week, you can do that.

This prompt below is the one you would be writing Tuesday 11/25 to be turned in on Wednesday 11/26 by noon Central Time, but just fill in the Google form and tag it for prompt 25 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.

Speaking of writing, as we always do, here’s the initial tallies for yesterday’s submissions for challenge 22:
71 playwrights with material totaling 251 pages
(or the equivalent of two full-length plays plus another ten minute play besides)

Happy writing to you all, in the meantime.

Let’s get you that first writing prompt…

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

Challenge #25 - Storefronts and Marquees

Write Tuesday, Nov. 25th - or earlier if you like
Due: Wednesday, November 26th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



The intersection of Lyndale Avenue and 26th Street in Minneapolis has a nice long traffic light so I can pause and take in that particular crossroads of the weird neighborhood.

The pandemic forced a lot of turnover in the restaurant industry and this one corner has cycled through a couple of different names in the same building.  For years it was a locally sourced eatery called Common Roots.  Then it had a period after the pause where it was called Hi Flora, which I thought was a florist but was also a restaurant, plant-based food and a temperance bar (which meant things like mushroom steaks and potion-like zero proof cocktails.  Now it’s about to open with yet another set of owners under the evocative name of

Dreamstate Cafe

(Not to be confused with the short-lived 1992 sci-fi/horror series from Wes Craven, Nightmare Cafe)

And they’ve rented out the back half of the building facing away from the street to Boneshaker Books, which calls itself your friendly neighborhood bookstore

Across the street on the same side of the road is an old neighborhood dive bar called the CC Club that appears to be as unkillable as Rasputin.

Across the road is Lucky Cat Records, which was itself two previous record stores over the years - Treehouse Records, and Oar Folkjokeopus (where the band The Replacements were discovered by the store manager at the time).

So that’s at least three of the nine lives so far…

On the other corner, a much newer ALDI grocery store attached to and topped by a building of apartments and/or condos.

And just down the block is Oddmart

The O in their name is an eyeball on the storefront.

A weird little store that features comic books, T-shirts, art, gumballs, and monster finger puppets, along with a weekly Sunday event where they feature nine local artists there to sell their own wares.

Their website is a hoot (the pictures really give you a feel for the place) but to give you a taste of their vibe, here’s some of the way they present themselves in words (which is what we’re playing around with this month, after all):

"Welcome to Odd Mart!
Discover an Enchanted Oasis of Sophisticated Elegance.
Experience Luxury Through the Lens of Local Craftsmanship and fart stuff.

Opulent events for the birth of limitless creativity? Affirmativly yes.
Explore the veiled intricacies of your innermost musings with beguiling comix and finger monsters.
Explore the Intriguing Sphere of Glorp Gum - Where gumballs Merge with the opulence of the future. 

Tired of your gum not coming with a free T-shirt? The Glorp Gum family of products is here to help! Each and every piece of our hand crafted “aged to perfection” bubble gum comes with a high quality limited edition T-shirt. So when you think of gum, think of GLORP! America’s CHEW value!

Please pass the sophisticated elegance, please.

Imagine yourself in a world of possibilities....
....where possibilities become maybes in a dream.

TASTE.
Sofistication.
Eleganphants."
(all their spelling, not a typo :)

Finally, to round things out, the old Uptown Movie Theater is now a music venue instead and their marquee sports some fun band name sometimes.

The most recent that caught my eye:

Wookiefoot

(that comes from the minds of a very specific fanbase, I’m sure)

Checking out their website is even wilder, however.  Again, the photos are a delight but so is the text explaining and what they heck they are…

“Wookiefoot is a band, a non-profit charity organization (BeTheChangeCharities.org), a circus, a philosophy, and a community of globe trekking bliss junkies and believers that are the fuel to keep this Tribadelic Spaceship going! Their charity organization (with the support of their community) has donated over $600,000 to international relief efforts, as well as other environmental and social justice causes. Wookiefoot invites their community home every September… when they host and headline their own Global Conscious Gathering called Shangri~La Festival at Harmony Park in southern Minnesota.

Wookiefoot’s live sets are an entertaining barrage of sonic and visual stimulation. The fast paced circus like set has been called “Short Attention Span Musical Theater”. These live performances are a one of a kind experience that mixes Reggae, World Beat, Hip Hop, Irish, Funk, Folk, Rock & more with a large band featuring everything from a vintage Hammond Organ to Bag Pipes! Combine that with a mind-blowing stage show that may include anything (such as a wild light show, projection, costumes, fire, dancers, aerialists, magic, clowns, puppets, etc) 

Welcome… and thank you for riding Wookiefoot!”


So,
Dreamstate Cafe
Lucky Cat Records
Boneshaker Books
Odd Mart
Wookiefoot

There must be a weird store in your town (or your mind’s eye) that seems like a good place to set a scene, or a whole play.  Play around with that.


And as always, feel free to just ignore the writing prompt, write whatever you want, and turn it in by the deadline.

Just writing something :)

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

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

try 2021’s challenge #25: Unstageable

Or try 2022’s challenge #25: Fun With Homophones

Or try 2023’s Challenge #25: Mood Music

Or try 2024’s challenge #25: Power

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 November 27th (however you recognize the holiday weekend) - 2025 edition

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

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

How to submit your work for Challenge #25

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 25 :) 
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 Tuesday, November 25th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Wednesday, November 26th, 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 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 5 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.

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

And that something can be:



Lights up.

Mary is putting on a monster finger puppet show for Louise.

Louise is enchanted.

They kiss, even though Mary still has the monster puppets on her fingers when she takes Louise’s face in her hands.

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) 

Writing Challenge #24 - Gas Station/Dystopia (Write Nov. 24th)

Hello folks!

23 writing challenges down.

Only 7 to go!

Yes, we are entering the final week of the November Playwriting Challenge :)

Yesterday’s submissions for challenge 21 turned out as follows:
73 playwrights with material totaling 248 pages
(The equivalent of two full-length plays with a couple of extra pages to spare)

Week three’s numbers
Average playwrights per day: 77
Total play bits submitted: 536
Total pages for the week: 1,813
The equivalent of 15 full-length plays, plus a 10 minute play

Overall numbers for the first three weeks
Average playwrights per day: 82
Total play bits submitted: 1,729
Total pages for the first three weeks: 5,856
The equivalent of 48 full-length plays, plus another long one-act of 96 pages

Heads up - starting tomorrow (Monday) through Wednesday, you’ll be getting two prompts each day in order to give you enough material so if you want to submit material early and bank it for the long holiday weekend this week, you can - so you’re not writing on Thanksgiving Day, for instance, if you don’t want to :) Each challenge will be marked with what day it’s for, when you should write, if not earlier, and when you should turn it in, if not earlier.

This year the holiday is odd again because it’s falling in the last week of the month, and the month actually ends on Sunday of the holiday weekend, so you’ll be turning in that very last challenge, that you’re writing on Sunday, November 30th, by 12noon Central Time on Monday, December 1st. (Normally we get at least a partial post holiday week inside of the month of November, but the calendar’s just a weird one this year.)

But for now, let’s get to today’s writing prompt…

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

Challenge #24 - Gas Station/Dystopia

Write Monday, November 24th - or earlier if you like
Due: Tuesday, November 25th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



We have reached the penultimate set of suggestions from Threshold Theater Literary Associate Maren Findlay.

Here’s a couple of items from her list of suggestions that I grouped together for consideration:


“Write a dystopian play set in a world after the AI takeover.”

(I think that’s just the Terminator movies or Battlestar Galactica but, hey, dystopia is a whole cottage industry of possibilities these days, right?  

As sci fi author N.K. Jemisin says in The Fifth Season, 

“Let’s start with the end of the world, why don’t why?  Get it over with and move on to more interesting things.”  

Or as Douglas Adams wrote in the prologue for the fourth book in the five book trilogy(?) of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “So Long and Thanks for All The Fish” - when a young woman has a flash of inspiration about how humanity can fix what’s wrong with the world and live in harmony at last: 
“Sadly, however, before she could get to a phone to tell anyone about it, the Earth was unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass, and so the idea was lost, seemingly forever.
This is her story.”

How about a title song?

“The earth’s about to be destroyed,
No point in getting all annoyed...”



The other prompt in this pair is as follows:

“Write a scene/play set at a gas station at 3am”


Now, this could also be part of the dystopia, or it’s own evocative time and place in a less grim reality.
 
You could go the dramatic route, like any number of William Inge plays about Bus Stops and Picnics

Or a more modern character study like the play by Sam Walsh, The Visible, which we presented as part of Threshold Theater’s New Play Reading Series back in September 2022

But just to remind you that you can always go in a comedic direction, there’s a particular gas station and convenience store on one of my routes whose name always makes me giggle.  It’s called

Pump ’N Munch

Take that however you will.

Also, some interesting recent license plates I’ve seen out in traffic

DIE 992

HUG 265

O BLA D
(A deep cut for the Beatles fans)

Then there were a couple of plates that had an interesting combo going with their license plate frames.

One plate read:
MRSPNUT
And the frame explained this was because they were associated with:
AmericanPistachios.org

One unintentional juxtaposition was a guy who had a Minnesota WILD sports team license plate frame, with the team’s name in all caps like that.

But the license plate was
LUVWIFE

However the frame with the WILD below it made it look like it was saying
LUVWIFE WILD

Sounds like a very happy marriage :)


As always, if these prompts don’t do it for you, you can always feel free to just write whatever you want and turn it in by the deadline instead.

Just write something today :)

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

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

try 2021’s challenge #24: Alternate Timelines

Or try 2022’s challenge #24: Band Name

Or try 2023’s Challenge #24: Snapshots 4 (from Threshold Theater co-founder and Managing Director David Schlosser)

Or try 2024’s challenge #24 - Leftovers from David (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 :)

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

How to submit your work for Challenge #24

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 24 :) 
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 Monday, November 24th - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Tuesday, November 25th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

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

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

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

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 6 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.

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

And that something can be:



Lights up.

A car pulls up to a gas station in the middle of the night.

The license plate reads O BLA D

While pumping gas, the driver looks at the blighted city skyline in the distance.

Suddenly, the city in the distance erupts in a big ball of fire.

DRIVER:  Hmmm.  I guess maybe life doesn’t go on after all.

They keep pumping gas, trying to figure out where else to go instead now.

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) 

Writing Challenge #23 - Podcast Inspiration (Write Nov. 23rd)

Hi folks

22 writing challenges down.

Only 8 to go!

And as of yesterday’s submissions of challenge 20, you folks are two thirds of the way there!
76 writers turned in material totaling 246 pages
(Again, just a little more than two full-length plays’ worth of pages in a single day.  Phew!)

Winter’s definitely starting to set in around the country but let’s warm up our hands and keep on typing.

On to the day’s challenge…

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

Challenge #23 - Podcast Inspiration

Write Sunday, November 23rd - or earlier if you like
Due: Monday, November 24th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



I listen to podcasts as background to a lot of the data entry work that’s part of my primary day job.  And invariably, every week something random pops out of the conversations that grabs my attention.

For instance, apparently there is a town called Poetry in the state of Texas

Poetry, Texas

Of course it has a website, which informs you, among other things, that the town hall is open on Thursdays from 1pm to 5pm.  That’s it.  You need to see on Thursday afternoons if you need something :)



Some intriguing metaphors for the current political situation arose that I wasn’t expecting.

Someone said that their mentor often told them:

“If you see a bear on a unicycle, you don’t criticize the bear’s technique.
It’s a bear on a unicycle.
You just stare at them and say, ‘Look at ‘em go.’”


Someone else commented that they often think of some political leaders as clowns.

“However, though a clown with a flamethrower may be a clown, they are still holding a flamethrower.”



The hosts of one podcast sometimes get a little punchy reading the ad copy and go way off script.

One sponsor was a job posting/recruiting website.

“It’s that time of year again, companies are hiring for seasonal roles.  Everything from Haunted Corn Maze Workers to Lead Elves and Real Bearded Santas to Snow Plow Drivers.”
“It is September”
“We’re in Los Angeles.”

Later in the same ad:

“I’m searching for a haunted corn maze Santa”
“Oh really? Bearded or unbearded?”
“Bearded, but I hope they can plow.”
“A Santa who can plow.”
“They’ve got it all.”
“They can help you sort through a lot, which I think you need to do.”
“That’s a tough filter for the candidate search.”

I had to rewind in order to be sure I was hearing them correctly.  They were completely off the rails that day.

(It’s also a heckuva Hallmark Channel holiday movie :)



On a completely different podcast, Vibe Check

Their guest on a recent episode was the author and activist adrienne maree brown
(and yes, she doesn’t use capital letters in her name)

Two of many things she said that struck me really stuck in my head so I wrote them down:

In the context of a discussion about working one’s way through dark times, and to embrace it rather than just be afraid of it:

“Going through the darkness is the best way to get to something new.”

And then literally out of nowhere elsewhere in the podcast, she said:

“Humans are just another form of water.  There’s rivers and ice and mist and fog, and there’s us.”


Humans are just another form of water.

I don’t know why, but I love rolling that around in my head.

So play around with what one or more of those bits of podcast randomness brings to your own mind.

Or, as always, just ignore this, write whatever you want and turn it in by the deadline.

Just write something… :)

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

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

try 2021’s challenge #23: Hidden Histories

Or try 2022’s challenge #23: Location, Singer, Poet

Or try 2023’s Challenge #23: The Vanishing Point

Or try 2024’s challenge #23: Embarrassing Guitar

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 :)

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

How to submit your work for Challenge #23

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 23 :) 
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 Sunday, November 23rd - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Monday, November 24th, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

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

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

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

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 7 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.

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

And that something can be:



Lights up.

A corn maze.

A lost human drenched in sweat, looking around confused.

Around a shadowy turn in the corn maze, Santa approaches.

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) 

Writing Challenge #22 - Childhood (Write Nov. 22nd)

Hi folks

There’s some midday meetings for work going on, so I’m sending this one out a bit earlier than usual.

21 writing challenges down.

Only 9 to go!

Initial numbers for yesterday’s submissions for Challenge 19 look like this:
76 playwrights, with material totaling 265 pages
(Equally two more full-length plays plus a half-hour one-act to boot)

Now let’s get to the writing prompt for the day…

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

Challenge #22 - Childhood

Write Saturday, November 22nd - or earlier if you like
Due: Sunday, November 23rd, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



Threshold Theater Literary Associate Maren Findlay didn’t have any suggestions in the mix for challenges last year but she’s more than making up for it this year.  Here’s another pair of prompts that center around the concept of childhood:

“Write a scene that conveys something you wish you had heard/learned as a child”


Hard to imagine someone who doesn’t wish they’d known something or heard something when they were younger that could have made things different, easier, more interesting, less scary, any different path that different words might have opened up or urged you to pursue.

That’s just me riffing.  What does that prompt say to you?


If that one doesn’t conjure play ideas, how about this challenge:

“Write a conversation with a character that is the personification of the house you grew up in”


How would I personify my childhood home?  That’s fascinating.

For me, the first thing that leaps to mind is that, for me, different rooms are different people.

The basement is my grandfather, because that’s where he had his work bench and his photography dark room under the stairs behind his wall of tools.  That’s also where he set up the model train sets.  

But the basement is also my mother because that’s where the laundry was done, and where she cut my hair when I was a kid.  

The guest room is both my grandparents because that’s where they stayed when they visited for Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

The living room had the upright piano in it, so that was Grandma.

The driveway and basketball hoop on the garage is imprinted with a guy I knew in high school when we were in the cast of a community theater production of Dracula - he was just out of college and playing John Harker; I was a high school senior playing Renfield.  He’d drive me home after the show, we’d talk in his car, then get out and play basketball in the middle of the night.

But who could personify a whole suburban two-story house with a later addition of a family room out in back of the kitchen.  A flower garden, a vegetable garden, a back yard, a tool shed, access to the woods and a creek far out back (so much lawn to mow), a swing set, two bathrooms, a powder room, a dining room, a front hallway, a front hall closet full of board games, a living room, three bedrooms, an attic, a sewing room, a one-car garage, goldenrod bushes, towering pine trees, birch trees. White wooden columns, blue shutters, brick trim.

Wild how the details still all so vividly come to my mind’s eye, even after all these years.  No one in our family has set foot in that house or even driven by it in over thirty years.

Then again, maybe it’s not so much the place as it is the way the place made me feel.
What kind of person is that?

I’ve got to sit with that one a bit longer.  I’m tempted to ask Maren exactly what she meant by this one, but then again, I think I just want to see where it takes me.



Take either or both of those items and do with them what you will.

Or, you know, like all days, just write whatever you want and send it in by the deadline.

Have fun!

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

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

try 2021’s challenge #22: Left Coast Theatre Prompts

Or try 2022’s challenge #22: Random Sentence Generator

Or try 2023’s Challenge #22: Self-Discovery (from Threshold Theater Technical Director and co-founder Nick Mrozek)

Or try 2024’s challenge #22: Sponge, Rhino, Tire Swing (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 :)

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

How to submit your work for Challenge #22

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 22 :) 
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 Saturday, November 22nd - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Sunday, November 23rd, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)

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

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

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

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 8 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.

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

And that something can be:



Lights up.

A mother in the front hall calls her teenage son down from his bedroom because he has a guest.

The boy, Jeff, descends the stairs.

It’s his (not so) secret crush, Phillip, who somehow figured out where he lived and drove over.

They stand there looking at one another.

JEFF: Hi.

PHILLIP: I figured we should talk.

JEFF: Yeah?

PHILLIP: Yeah.

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) 

Writing Challenge #21 - Altered Photography (Write Nov. 21st)

Hi folks

Once you’ve turned in your pages by the 12 noon Central Time deadline on 11/21 for challenge #20, you have officially completed two-thirds of the November Playwriting Challenge.

20 challenges down.

Only 10 challenges to go!  

Today is #10 in our final countdown to the end of the month and the end of this year’s challenge!

Congratulations on getting this far, with the finish line in sight!

Well done, one and all :)

Yesterday’s submissions for Challenge 19 tallied up like so:
79 playwrights, with material totaling 279 pages
(Equalling roughly two full-length plays plus another 40 minute one-act)

It'd sort of be theatrical malpractice of me not to mention the day I’m sending this out to you all (Thursday 11/20/25) is Give to the Max Day here in Minnesota, where every worthy cause you can think of asks for your support (it's actually part of the much larger Give to the Max month of November - so they don't destroy their servers on just a single day as they've done in the past.)

Threshold Theater is asking for support, too, of course.

If you're finding this month-long series of writing prompts useful to your process, and you can afford to toss us a little more than the original $15 you put in the kitty to take part in this challenge, Threshold certainly wouldn't say no :)

(If you can’t, no worries.  I know money’s tight, for writers more than most.)

Donations (along with ticket purchases at our events) help us to pay all the artists - playwrights, actors, directors and designers - involved in our ongoing New Play Readings Series and productions like our spring 2024 show “4Play With Threshold Theater” featuring a collection of short works from five female playwrights (four plays plus a monologue, hence the name :), our spring 2025 production of the play "Spellbound" (which came up through the New Play Reading Series), and the upcoming spring 2026 production "More 4Play With Threshold Theater" (featuring four new short works).

So give if you can.  Queer theater makers thank you.

Here's the link: https://www.givemn.org/story/Kssucf


So let’s get you today’s prompt…


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

Challenge #21 - Altered Photography

Write Friday, November 21st - or earlier if you like
Due: Saturday, November 22nd, 12pm noon Central Time 
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)



This one’s a series of visual jumping off points.

Photographer Jeffrey Czum takes evocative shots of cityscapes and buildings in various states of disrepair out in the middle of bleak landscapes and then alters the images with doctored signs, imprinted words, or phrases in neon.

Check out the gallery of images on his website and Instagram feed for the full effect


Here are some of my favorites that got me thinking:

A brick storefront in the middle of a barren landscape, an old red dusty sports car in front
Neon on top of the building saying 
“What doesn’t kill me better run”

A line of neon handwritten words strung on the wire where the traffic lights swing and bob above the road in the facing light, saying:
“Text me when you get home”

A cigarette butt with lipstick on it, and the typed words:
“I’m somebody’s crazy ex”

Upright piano falling apart on the beach, also the top of it’s on fire
Neon words above it saying 
“I f*cking love this song!”

A weathered old basketball net out by a grassy field and on the faded backboard are the words:
“Let’s Make Out With The Lights Off”

A faded blue port-potty in the middle of the desert with the phrase painted on it:
“Romance is not dead.”

A skyscraper at sunset and lit up on the outside of the top five floors are the words:
“You were a mistake I’d make twice”

An old beige and brown two-tone pickup truck parked out in back of a beige stucco building with the words painted on it saying
“You make me forget what Mondays feel like.”

A pink boxy two story wooden building, a couple of palm trees, an old blue car out front, seemingly in the middle of a desert, and painted in black letters on side of building
“F*ck it, let’s see what happens”

The view of a city multi-lane Intersection from above at night
Painted on the road in the middle of the intersection, the words 
“You and me and not a f*cking care in the world”

The kind of lighted roadside sign you regularly see outside a hotel or church or restaurant
Letters on it spelling out
“I honestly have no f*cking idea what I’m doing”

An orange-tinted art deco trailer home out in the desert at night, with its own wooden porch
All the lights on inside and neon letters across the top spelling out the phrase
“my hands all over you”

A lighted highway sign over the road at night with the message:
“I just want to see you naked”

Under a blooming bush of pink flowers hovering over the sidewalk sit three plastic trash bins, blue, black and green, and the green one on the end has a message on the side:
“I think we were made for each other”



Forlorn buildings
Barren landscapes
Road trips
The feeling of the world at night
Seeing messages everywhere, either from someone else, or the thoughts in your head manifesting in the real world around you
Love against all odds
Just enjoying being alive, and taking crazy chances



Find an image that grabs you, or an idea that it conjures in your mind
Write a scene that recreates the way the image makes you feel



Give one of those a go.

Or combine different items somehow, if you like.

Or, as always, ignore those suggestions entirely and write whatever you want.

Just write.

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

try 2021’s challenge #21: Technology Gone Awry

Or try 2022’s challenge #21: Mystery Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Or try 2023’s Challenge #21: Flower People

Or try 2024’s challenge #21: Lamp Posts, Crows and Colors

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 #21

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 21 :) 
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 21st - or earlier if you like
Again, this is: Due: Saturday, November 22nd, 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.

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 9 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 on a bus or subway or light rail train standing near one another.

They both start playing the same song at the same time.

We hear the song out loud they hear in their headphones or ear buds.

It’s a banger.

They both start bopping along to the tune in their own ways.

Then they sense a person nearby moving to the same rhythm in their peripheral vision.

They look up cautiously, but still kind of dancing.

They start mouthing the same words at the same time.

Confirmation.

They start grinning like idiots.

They don’t get any closer.

They just keep dancing together at opposite ends of the train car or bus.

The music keeps blaring.

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)