Round One Closes in:
Day(s)
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Hour(s)
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Minute(s)
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Second(s)
Here we go again
Or, really, here we go for the first time. YeahWrite’s 18th Super Challenge is our first microfiction challenge. We hope you’re as excited as we are to test drive this new format. We also hope you’re as excited as we are about our FINAL PRIZE AMOUNTS:
First place: $250
Second place: $150
Third place: $100
Now that the best part is over, let’s talk about the good stuff: prompts. You should already have received your email with your group assignment, but before you dive in, let’s take a deeper look at prompts in general.
In order to score well with our judges, the prompt sentence will need to be integral to the story, so let’s take a minute to talk about what “integral” means. (Some of you will have read this or something like it already. You know what? You still shouldn’t skip it. It’s a good reminder.)
First of all, here’s a long, unpacked version of what I’m about to say, and it’s worth a read if you’ve never seen it. Second: integral means that if the prompt were changed, the story would necessarily change.
One friend calls it “the banana test.” Could you replace the prompt with a banana without changing the story? Then it wasn’t integral. So if your prompt was “picking up a coin” you might write a story where the main character finds bus fare to a magical place. If they picked up a banana, that would change the whole story, right? But if you were writing a story about a character riding a bus and they found a coin under their seat and put it in their purse and it never showed up in the story again, what would change if they found a banana instead? Nothing. One word. Meh. That’s the difference between an integrated and not-integrated prompt.
Now, the whole story doesn’t have to revolve around the prompt: in the magic bus fare story, the plot is about going to a new place and maybe what the character finds out about themself there, right? And it doesn’t have to be super innovative. Using a coin to buy a bus fare isn’t unusual at all. But you’re going to tell your story in the way only you can tell stories. That’s what makes it unique, not necessarily the plot or the characters. Don’t worry too much about coming up with a unique take on the prompts or pushing the limits of what the prompt might mean. Worry about telling a good story, the way you tell it, edited well and with the prompts integrated.
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s talk a little more about these prompts, specifically.
For this challenge you’ll be given an opening sentence, and you’ll need to add 50 of your own words to make a complete story. Not a poem. A story.
The opening sentence must be the first words in your story (after the title page, of course). You need to use the entire sentence exactly as it appears in the post (including verb tense). No changing that period to a comma (except if you’re using the sentence as dialogue)! It’s fine, however, to put the phrase in quotes and make it part of the dialogue in your story. You just can’t continue it. So if your sentence was [There were no bananas left.] you could write
There were no bananas left. Not in the store, not in the pantry, not even on the tree.
or you could write
“There were no bananas left,” Mom explained, putting an apple in my sister’s hand.
but not
There were no bananas left, and I didn’t like apples.
Make sure your writing style matches the voice and vocabulary of the opening sentence. This may mean that you need to adapt your writing style a bit. For example, if your sentence is “He hadn’t a sixpence to scratch with” and you ordinarily write in a broad, casual modern style, you might need to adjust the rest of your vocabulary so that the prompt doesn’t stand out awkwardly, or figure out a reason to use it in the context of your normal voice. More importantly, you might need to change your favored verb tense. You’ve got 48 hours and around 50 words: use your time to make sure your story doesn’t abruptly change tenses!
The prompt will call for an exact number of total words for your story, including the prompt sentence. Works that go over or under this number will be disqualified, so count carefully. We recommend that you count your words manually (as the judges will do), rather than relying on your word processor or other word counter.
Properly hyphenated words count as a single word (nitty-gritty, a one-year-old child, twenty-four hours). Improperly hyphenated words will be counted as multiple words, which will affect your word count. (I.e., “The child was one-year-old” counts as six words, not four.) Not sure if you’re hyphenating properly? Here’s a resource to help you double-check.
Numbers may be written as digits (1984) or spelled out. Note: for simplicity’s sake, “1984” counts as one word, but “nineteen eighty-four” counts as two.
There are no genre or setting restrictions on your story, although if you think your story requires a content warning, please feel free to include one: we won’t add it to your wordcount.
Your title page should include: title, group number, prompt, and any applicable content warning.
As always, if you need clarification on a prompt, don’t contact our general email! Use superchallenge@yeahwrite.me
Ready? Let’s get to it.
Group 1
OPENING SENTENCE: My flight was late.
Prompt notes: The only change you may make to this sentence is to add quotes (and a comma if relevant) to change it to dialogue: “My flight was late,” he complained.
Total word count: Exactly 54 words (Add 50 words of your own to the prompt sentence.)
Group 2
OPENING SENTENCE: Luck had nothing to do with it.
Prompt notes: The only change you may make to this sentence is to add quotes (and a comma if relevant) to change it to dialogue: “Luck had nothing to do with it,” she explained.
You may NOT continue the sentence of dialogue after the comma.
Total word count: Exactly 57 words (Add 50 words of your own to the prompt sentence.)
Group 3
OPENING SENTENCE: The trouble started on Tuesday.
Prompt notes: The only change you may make to this sentence is to add quotes (and a comma if relevant) to change it to dialogue: “The trouble started on Tuesday,” he explained.
Total word count: Exactly 55 words (Add 50 words of your own to the prompt sentence.)
Group 4
OPENING SENTENCE: There was nothing behind the door anymore.
Prompt notes: The only change you may make to this sentence is to add quotes (and a comma if relevant) to change it to dialogue: “There was nothing behind the door anymore,” Grandma mourned.
Total word count: Exactly 57 words (Add 50 words of your own to the prompt sentence.)
Wait, wait, there’s more!
Don’t post your story anywhere on the Internet until after our judges are done and you get your feedback! But if you want to talk up the competition or live-tweet your writing process, use the hashtag #YWsuper. Just remember not to include identifying details about which story is yours!
Your stories are due Sunday at 10pm US Eastern Time. Remember to check the rules for formatting, including all those fiddly details like title page, font, and filename. Don’t get disqualified on a technicality! We know it seems really useless at times, but all those rules have a purpose, from helping get your file where it needs to be to making sure you’re read anonymously and fairly.
Email your questions to superchallenge@yeahwrite.me—we will not be reviewing other email addresses or social media for your questions over the weekend and we want to make sure you get the answers you need! Using any other contact method or email address could be grounds for disqualification.
You’ll receive your feedback on December 9, and we’ll announce our shortlist that day at noon US Eastern Time. Shortlisted writers will receive a second round of feedback on December 26; winners will be announced on December 28.
We hope you have as much fun with the prompts as we had picking them out. Good luck, and good writing!
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
