What The Good Doctor Ordered
It was the season finale of Dr. Who this week, and what a humdinger! There was action, there was pathos, there were monsters, there was a compelling storyline, it was a great package. It was also Steven Moffat’s last full series for the show. After 12 years of writing for Dr. Who, he’s hanging up his sonic screwdriver… or sonic pen… or sonic laptop… or whatever sonic instrument a Time Lord-writing showrunner is likely to use. Saying goodbye to a project you’re deeply invested in is always hard, and though my meagre two months doesn’t really compare to Mr. Moffat’s 12 years, I’m still a little blue about letting go the reins to the Micro Challenge.
Christine will be back on deck next month to steer you all forward. Thank you for allowing me to play here, I’ve had a wonderful time. In the meantime, in the words of the Tenth Doctor (and any number of French-speaking people), allons-y!
This month’s prompt comes from my own writing. Use the prompt verbatim somewhere in the body of your microprose entry. For those of you who didn’t click the link on “verbatim,” that means “exactly as written.” No rearranging words, no changing tenses or punctuation. The prompt can be at the beginning of your piece, or the end, or anywhere in between, but it must be used exactly as written. [Ed’s note: it’s not necessary to put the prompt in bold or italics, though. In fact, your piece will probably flow better if you don’t try to isolate the prompt. When we read through the microprose grid to make sure everyone’s work complies with the submission guidelines, we’ll be able to find the prompt if it’s there, trust me. /rbg]
You have exactly 81 words (the six word prompt, plus exactly 75 words of your own) to create your story. This month’s prompt is:
The ashes fall lightly on me.
This is the badge you need:
Below is the YeahWrite badge you need for this month’s microprose challenge. Under the badge is a few lines of code. See that? Copy it and then paste it into the “text” or HTML view of your post editor. If you don’t copy it exactly, the image will not appear correctly in your post, and you will receive an error message when you submit the post to Inlinkz. If you have any questions regarding adding this code to your post or website, please contact us at editors@yeahwrite.me.
How to submit and fully participate in the Microprose Challenge
Basic YeahWrite guidelines: must be in response to the six word prompt The ashes fall lightly on me.; your entry can be dated no earlier than Wednesday, July 5th; fiction or nonfiction, told in exactly 81 words (the six word prompt, plus 75 words); no poems, please. You may enter only one microstory per monthly challenge.
How to submit and fully participate in the challenge:
- Please grab the code beneath the microprose badge in the body of this week’s post and paste it into the HTML view of your entry;
- Follow the Inlinkz instructions after clicking “add your link” to upload your entry to this week’s challenge grid;
- Your entry should appear immediately on the grid if you don’t receive an error message;
- Please make the rounds to read all the entries in this week’s challenge; and
- Consider turning off moderated comments and CAPTCHA on your own blog.
Submissions for this week’s challenges will close on Wednesday at 10pm ET. Voting will then open immediately thereafter and close on Thursday at 10pm ET. The winners, as always, will be celebrated on Friday.
Thank you for sharing with us your hard work! Good luck in the challenge…
Loading InLinkz ...About the author:
Christine Hanolsy is a (primarily) science fiction and fantasy writer who simply cannot resist a love story. She joined the YeahWrite team in 2014 as the microstory editor and stepped into the role of Editor-In-Chief in 2020. Christine was a 2015 BlogHer Voices of the Year award recipient and Community Keynote speaker for her YeahWrite essay, “Rights and Privileges.” Her short fiction has been published in a number of anthologies and periodicals and her creative nonfiction at Dead Housekeeping and in the Timberline Review. Outside of YeahWrite, Christine’s past roles have included Russian language scholar, composer, interpreter, and general cat herder. Find her online at christinehanolsy.com.
