50-Word Writing Challenge for $5 SBD

Monetizing talent—something we’d all love to do. I’ve found that contests on Steemit are a great way to accomplish this. No, we can’t win them all. But if everybody gets a takeaway, then nobody loses.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME AND THE FICTION WORKSHOP

I’ve been serving as co-mod of the MSP Discord Fiction Workshop channel for a brief time, and the interest and enthusiasm I’ve seen from minnow writers is unlike anything I’ve seen in other workshops. The level of raw talent is mind-blowing. Many of these writers are new to the craft, fresh-faced and eager but lacking structure and discipline. That’s no crime. In fact, that’s exactly the kind of writer I was born to work with.

I’ve been a participant in the Internet Writers Workshop (IWW) for nearly a decade. In my opinion, it’s the best critique circle on the web. But it’s a blood sport—members need a certain level of writing skill and a very thick hide to survive there. It’s no place for a newbie.

So what else is out there? Any other online critique groups to help inexperienced writers perfect their craft? I’m sure they exist. I’m not personally aware of them.

One original vision for the Fiction Workshop at MSP was for it to be a channel where fiction writers could hang out, discuss the craft, critique and review each other’s work, and learn to produce better stories. The goal of the @minnowsupport project is to encourage, endorse, and curate quality content. These two purposes dovetail perfectly. I’ve predicted from the beginning that Steemit will eventually become a goldmine where literary agents and publishers scout new talent. There’s no better time than the present to start generating that talent, honing skills, and showcasing powerful new voices—and there’s no better platform to do that than the Discord MSP Fiction Workshop.

LEAVE THOSE DARLINGS ALONE

When writers have been nurturing a particular work, whether it’s a novel, short story, or flash fiction, they often want feedback, but not serious critique. This is not the case every time, but I’ve learned over the years that tearing apart someone’s “darling” often results in conflict. The best way I know to introduce many ideas to new writers are writing exercises. Writing exercises don’t go after the darlings. Instead, they provide a prompt which the writer responds to and doesn’t invest as much emotion in.

EVERY GREAT IDEA STARTS WITH A THOUGHT

Today I had the pleasure of speaking at length with @anarcho-andrei about his “Descriptions on the Spot” contest. @nexusfyre was also involved in the discussion, and between the three of us, we came up with what we believe is a stellar idea. Let’s do a writing prompt contest especially for MSP’s Fiction Workshop, where entries are short enough to post directly into the chat window so we can gather ‘round the campfire and dig into to what makes each submission work, and what makes it fall short.

HERE ARE THE RULES

1. Based on one of the writing prompts below, write a 50-word response that tells a story. Please do not submit poetry. We’re not qualified to evaluate poems at the Fiction Workshop. There’s a separate channel for them at MSP.
2. Post this in the Fiction Workshop at MSP with these tags: @rhondak @carolkean . You don’t have to be a minnow to visit the channel. MSP has honorary whale members, dolphins, and witnesses who participate regularly. If your submissions aren’t tagged properly, they are likely to become lost in the thread and not seen by our judges.
3. Deadline is Monday night, July 3, at midnight. Winner will be announced by Friday.
4. Each submission will be used for community evaluation of technical writing and content. Your submission means you acknowledge and agree with this.
5. The winner will receive $5 SBD. Everyone else wins, too, though. Because we will give your entry a thorough evaluation and offer tips about how you can improve and strengthen your writing.

PROMPTS:

You do not have to use the actual word or phrase you chose below in the submission, as long as you indicate in your post which topic you're writing about. In fact it may be best that you don't use the word or phrase, but simply devote all 50 words to evoking its meaning for your reader. An example follows the list, for "homesick."

1. apathy
2. turnabout is fair play
3. team spirit
4. the power of one
5. homesick

It’s just a serving dish, displayed in a thrift store window. But I’d know that pattern anywhere—Indiana fruit. Mom serves fresh veggies on it every Thanksgiving. It’s probably on the table now, but here I am, a thousand miles away. Employed and in the black, but eating turkey alone.

The purpose of this contest is to train an army of fiction experts who will be on the ground and ready when Steemit explodes in the mainstream. We want the fiction platform to be rock solid, with authors of stand-out fiction who are not only creative but skilled, and knowledgeable about industry standards. Oh, and we want to have fun, too! So CLICK HERE to log in or join the PALnet MSP group, and head right on over to Fiction Workshop. We look forward to seeing you!