Hello, Bewildered Onlookers and Blown Minds!
We expect life to be straightforward, more or less. We get into our habits when WHAM! Someone flips the script. All new possibilities are open to you! I think it’s time we explored those possibilities, because…
This week’s Writing Group prompt is:
Wait, You Can Do That?
RULES AND GUIDELINES BELOW!
Make sure you scroll down and read them if you haven’t! You may not be eligible if you don’t!
When we grow up, we see one world, one point of view: our own. As we gain friends, are assigned groups for projects or get to know coworkers, we begin to hear different ideas. We think to ourselves, “why didn’t I think of that?” Little by little, our point of view grows. We learn about more and more prospects available to us. In turn, we grow as people. We have moments when we ask it and moments it is asked of us. It constantly questions our morals and our beliefs, and we are better for engaging with it.
Take, for example, that one kid your parents didn’t like you hanging out with after school. Maybe they led you to a place you weren’t allowed to go, or they took something they shouldn’t have taken. You ask the question either to yourself or to them. Depending on the answer you came to or got, maybe you didn’t go or maybe you took that thing. That action and its consequences shape people into who they become, what they do, and what they question. It changes lives for good or ill.
Likewise, this question can be used to ask permission. Imagine a scared child approaching a strict parent or a new employee asking something of their new employer on their first day. How relieving it is to have permission, but perhaps some doubt stirs in their chest. They ask the question and either their fears are confirmed or their relief is justified. We are either freed or trapped. We are either shunned or accepted. It’s all because we asked that question.
Maybe the question is used to ascertain ability. You don’t know if Bill in the next cubicle can whistle. You don’t know if Daniel can code in Java. You don’t know if Myrtle can make a mean bowl of eggnog. You never will unless you ask the question. When you have the answer, it can be a linking of spirit, an instant friendship. It can be a repulsion. It can even call from the recesses of your mind a fear that human beings rarely experience.
There are many people that can be asked. There are many ways to ask the question. There are many ways to respond to the answer.
Will you bind lives together or pull them apart with just an inquiry? Will you bring joy, sadness, or something else?
It all starts with one simple question. Go ahead; ask it.
—Pearce
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Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.
Tune into the stream this Saturday at 3:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!
The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit! Get ready not just to share what you’ve got, but to give back to the other writers here as well.
Rules and Guidelines
We read at least four stories during each stream, two of which come from the public post, and two of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected by a bot, but likes on your post will improve your chances of selection, so be sure to share your submission on social media!
Text and Formatting
- English only.
- Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
- Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
- Your piece must be between 250-350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
- Use two paragraph breaks between each paragraph so that they have a proper space between them (press “enter” or “return” twice).
- Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name). Do not include any additional symbols or flourishes in this part of your submission. Format them exactly as you see in this example, or your submission may not be eligible: Example Submission.
- No additional text styling (such as italics or bold text). Do not use asterisks, hyphens, or any other symbol to indicate whether text should be bold, italic, or styled in any other way. CAPS are okay, though.
What to Submit
- Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
- Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
- Write something brand new; no re-submitting past entries or pieces written for other purposes
- No fan fiction whatsoever. Take inspiration from whatever you’d like, but be transformative and creative with it. By submitting, you also agree that your piece does not infringe on any existing copyrights or trademarks, and you have full license to use it.
- Submissions must be self-contained (everything essential to understanding the piece is contained within the context of the piece itself—no mandatory reading outside the piece required. e.g., if you want to write two different pieces in the same setting or larger narrative, you cannot rely on information from one piece to fill in for the other—they must both give that context independently).
Submission Rules
- One submission per participant.
- Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
- Submissions close at 12:00pm CST each Friday.
- You must like and leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible. Your reviews must be at least 50 words long, and must be left directly on the submission you are reviewing, not on another comment. If you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post. The two submissions you like need not be the same as the submissions you review.
- Be constructive and uplifting. These submissions are not for a professional market, and shouldn’t be treated as such. We do this, first and foremost, for the joy of the craft. Help other writers to feel like their work is valuable, and be considerate and gentle with critique when you offer it. Authors who leave particularly abrasive or disheartening remarks on this post will be disqualified from selection for readings.
- Use the same e-mail for your posts, reviews, and likes, or you may be rendered ineligible (you may change your username or author name between posts without problem, however).
- You may submit to either or both the public/private groups if you have access, but if you decide to submit to both, only the private group submission will be eligible.
- Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or attributions are guaranteed.
Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.
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