James & Oneg’s Summer Writing Extrav-again-za!

Guess who’s back? Back again? Shady’s back. Tell a friend.

Actually, it’s not Slim Shady, just our shady weird ass summer writing EXTRAV-AGAIN-ZA!

That’s right, James and Oneg have- 6t55555555557y6666666 and apparently my cat, have teamed up again to bring to you some super random semi-delusional writing prompts to spice up your love life. Love of writing, that is.

Why are we doing this again?

Well ya nosy noodle, let me paint you a story and spin you a picture.

James and I are from wildly different places. He has trees and doctors, I have permafrost and polar bears. And yet we’ve been best buds for a few years now. Last year, we wanted to encourage each other to write more, so we came up with that silly summer challenge. And it was so much fun! Definitely pushed us. And we got to share all the excitement with you! And your stories were a delight to read.

This year, we’ve both been through the wringer and sometimes have struggled to write. James especially has been having a tricky time, and writing seems beyond daunting for him. So I suggested we try this again. Even if he helps with just coming up with the prompts (and the real silly names for them) Gotta start somewhere. So here is somewhere.

The Usual Water Works:

A new challenge will be released and announced every Friday for the month of August, the first, starting today (so make sure you read to the bottom of this ya lazy bum).

You can choose when and which challenge to participate in, or do them all. There is NO deadline to finish, but you can choose to use the weekly stretch as one if you’d like. For those who go the extra mile and actually finish them, you get a metaphorical gold starred-water hose that’s been in storage from last summer’s challenge, and an octopus-level high five from us. Which with our coordination, is basically just 8 slaps.

We will be announcing/posting the challenges mostly on Facebook in the various Vocal groups such as, but not limited to:

The Medium Writers and Vocal Creators Support Group | Facebook

Vocal Social Society | Facebook

Voices in Minor (ViM & Mus'd) | Facebook

Queer Vocal Voices | Facebook

Along with the Facebook posts, we will be releasing our own examples/stories and tagging you (if only Vocal had a tag option) to play in! We will also be updating this page here with the updated challenges so you can keep track of what has been released and when. So make sure you check back here from time to time.

To Participate In the Madness:

Here’s what you need to do to participate to the MAX. And I mean, like Mad Maxx, all riders on the road blasting music and guns a-blazing.

• Make sure you put the challenge title in your subtitle

• Give a brief intro of what the challenge is somewhere, either in the beginning or end.

• Make sure you link this main page as reference for others.

• Link another creator’s entry at the bottom of your story. Maybe even two. Just do it. Support each other. Read each other’s chaos. Be a community.

And hey, while you’re at it, why not challenge another creator to the task? You might have to let them know they’ve been challenged or “tagged” through other social media means. But the goal is to share the word. We’ll even take yelling while standing on top of a recycling box in the middle of the street.

Lastly, have fun ya noodle! Be creative with these prompts, and if you want to tweak it to your liking, go for it! We won’t even get mad. Promise. (I can’t speak for the cat though)

So what's the first challenge James & Oneg?

We're starting you off with a tricky one! Welcome to the Countdown Conundrum Challenge. For this challenge, you need to create a short story that includes some sort of countdown. Either the countdown is happening for a reason as part of the plot, or you structure the story with numbers counting down in some form.

Maybe it's a bomb, maybe it's a surprise. Maybe you're counting down till you turn 100, or till your work day is over. Make it extravagant.

And feel free to post your stories in the comments below!

Schedule of Challenge Releases & Brief Explanation:

August 2nd- #1 Countdown Conundrum: include a countdown of some sort in a short story.

August 9th- #2 Taste the Rainbow: either choose your own, or have someone give you a color to write a poem about. Use all your senses to describes and visualize that color. The challenge: don’t say the color that you were given in the poem itself. Synonyms are fine.

For example: can’t say red, can say crimson

August 16th- #3 Picture This!: Write a story using the picture provided as your inspiration. The picture must be included somewhere in your story. (You can screenshot and choose your image)

August 23rd- #4 New Phone Who Dis? - Write a story based on the last text you received (you can choose from whom)

August 30th- #5 Not a Bummer Summer- As the summer comes to an end, write a story about what you've learned, what you experienced, and what you hope for in the coming seasons.

A link to last year’s EXTRAVAGANZA in case you feel like having even more writing prompts easily accessible: