
Brain Power Playlist
Share a work or study playlist that keeps your head in the game.
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 25, 2020
Submissions closed
Oct 02, 2020 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 06, 2020
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 25, 2020
Submissions closed
Oct 02, 2020 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 06, 2020
About this challenge
It's time to browse through your music library and find the best tunes for helping you stay focused. Especially now, when we're all either working from home or starting online classes. What are your go-to jams when you're working from home? What songs have helped you pull an all-nighter studying for a big exam?
Enter the Brain Power Playlist Challenge and share a list of songs that keep you concentrated, head in the game, and eyes on the prize. Tell us why you chose these songs and how they have helped you successfully meet all your deadlines. Please embed your playlist––we'd love to listen along!
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until October 1, 2020, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Brain Power Playlist Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://shopping-feedback.today/vocal-plus%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E.%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="css-1923z11-Text">To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 39 countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
Instructions Included
Tell a story in the form of instructions, guidelines, or a how-to manual for something fictional or mundane.
$200 Grand Prize6 days leftNothing But Voices
Write a complete short story using only dialogue. No descriptions, no dialogue tags, and no internal thoughts. Just voices on the page.
$200 Grand Prize13 days leftPublic Announcement
Write a poem that takes the form of a public announcement, notice, or warning.
$200 Grand Prize18 days leftMismatch
Write a story that blends two contrasting genres, such as horror and romance, science fiction and western, or fantasy and noir.
$200 Grand Prize20 days leftCraft Over Catharsis
Write a story that prioritizes structure, technique, or form over emotional release.
$200 Grand Prize27 days leftInstructions for a Feeling
Write a poem that gives instructions for how to experience, create, or avoid a feeling.
$200 Grand Prize32 days leftRituals of Affection
Write a story about a recurring ritual tied to love, romance, or connection. Something about it is unusual, unsettling, or unexplained.
$200 Grand Prize34 days left
Challenge resources
The Ritual of Winter Challenge Winners
Welcome to the Winners Announcement for The Ritual of Winter challenge. This prompt focused on winter rituals and the meaning that settles into them over time. The top pieces stay grounded in ordinary acts and repeated routines, letting winter shape the work through pace, attention, and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Teama day ago in Resources
FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Team3 days ago in Resources
FPS: Villanelle of Regret Challenge Winners
Some feelings don’t fade. They repeat. The Villanelle of Regret challenged poets to write into that return. To let regret, longing, and obsession build with each pass, rather than resolve. The strongest entries trusted repetition to carry the weight.
By Vocal Curation Team29 days ago in Resources






