Announcing the Steemit School Poetry 100 Day Challenge! (Total Prize Fund 2000 SBD)
--Announcing the--
---Steemit School Poetry---
--100 Day Challenge!--
Introduction
Hi everyone! I'm ecstatic to announce that I'll be launching a 100 day long poetry challenge for all skill levels from total beginner to advanced. It involves writing one short piece of poetry every day for 100 days with a maximum of 7 skip days. This will run 14 weeks and 2 days from March 7, 2018 to June 14, 2018. (Update: registration is now closed! You can still participate by posting along with us, and joining our daily classes in the Steemit School Discord. Thanks for understanding!)
Please also check my blog for the daily updates that list the changes to the operation of this challenge. There are now three categories for Beginner, Intermediate, & Advanced for 3 SBD each daily. The remaining 1 SBD is going towards a weekly prize of 5 SBD in each category among the daily winners.
Why I am doing this challenge
My motivations for hosting and coordinating this challenge are manifold. First, I come from a perspective of having taken this challenge myself. In fact, I am going on 200 days of daily posting with a handful of missed days. It has done wonders for my creativity, consistency, and confidence in my craft. It has also empowered me to connect more deeply with others and myself through the art of poetry. I want to facillitate and encourage others to take this journey of self-discipline in self-expression. Secondly, I want to expand the budding poetry community on Steemit on a grassroots level. Sometimes poets (and artists in general) can get to feeling rather isolated. So we will come together on a daily basis to discuss, share, and learn from each other. Thirdly, I want to give back to a community that has shown me amazing support since day 1. With that being said, let's look at the structure of the challenge.
Poetry challenge (100 days)
- Write one poem every day using the tag "steemitschoolpoetry" as one of your five tags.
- You may write in your mother tongue (if other than English.) (Optional!)[Note: this is first and foremost an English poetry contest due to limitations of not having judges arranged for other languages!]
- Translate to English version (please do not just copy + paste in Google Translate.)
- Minimum length = 14 lines (3 quatrains + 1 couplet)
- Find or create at minimum 2 images that fit the poem & include your sources.
- Make it look nice to the best of your ability using your markdown skills.
- Include a current link to the Steemit school discord at the bottom of your post.
- You have 10 break days (only.) Use them wisely!! That one per ten days.
- You may only skip two days in a row. Three days skip in a row results in disqualification for prizes.
- Days will begin at 6 PM GMT (1 PM EST, 12 PM CT, 5 PM CET)
- Each day 3 winners will be chosen in each category (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) to receive 3 SBD.
- Weekly, one of the daily winners for the week in each category will be awarded 5 SBD each.
Challenge operation, cont'd
- There will be a few large prizes based on exemplary achievement for students that complete the entire 100 day period. (TBD)
- Challenge will run from March 7, 2018 to June 14, 2018. (Days start & end at 6 PM GMT.)
- Daily winner will be invited to read their poem in our Steemit School discord and speak about its meaning, the inspiration behind it, the construction, etc.
- There may be additional challenges added along the way as surprises.
- We may look into different forms (sonnets, limericks, etc.) according to participant interest.
- Please comment on at least 3 other participants' entries daily to give them feedback.
- There will be tutorials along the way regarding markdown, creating and editing images, and different aspects of poetic expression.
- Intended for both experienced poets and those who want to learn to write poetry.
- Donations are highly appreciated for the 9 SBD daily prizes / 15 SBD weekly prizes and I will list your name in daily updates as a donor to the cause.
- Let's create strong habits together for daily creativity & expression through the art of poetry!!!
Registration
- There are two days to signal your intent to join this challenge.
- Please comment on this post and resteem it to signal your intention to participate.
- Basic comment format "I will join the 100 day poetry challenge. I (have been writing poetry for X years, months, days...)/(I have never written poetry before.) For me, poetry is... (...) "
- Join the Steemit School Discord Channel and take part in one of the fastest growing Steemit communities for education with 24/7 support.
- Introduce yourself in the Discord, saying you were invited by @d-pend and tell us a bit about yourself.
- Tell as many people as you think are interested in this challenge over the next two days.
- Again, both experienced and first-time poets are greatly needed to build momentum and community in this challenge!
- Experienced poets especially will be invited to lead workshops in their poetic style.
- I am honored to be your companion and friend on this journey through cultivating the daily habit for writing & sharing poetry!
Criteria for selecting winners
The criteria for selecting the daily 10 SBD winners will be extremely varied, such that I find it difficult, and even undesirable to give a rigid set of guidelines for the choice. For instance, some gravitate towards whimsical poetry, others are skilled with wordplay, or abstract imagery, or powerful emotion, etc. It is my intention to spotlight as many styles as possible. That is why there are no requirements for form as long as the poem is at least 14 lines in length. I will also take into account experience and skill level, so new poets will have the chance to be rewarded and featured just as established poets will. You may only win once in each 25 day period, for a total of 4 times possible. However to be eligible for the large prizes at the end, you must create at least 93 poems in the 100 day period (because there may be up to 7 days off.)
Daily updates
I will post daily updates announcing the previous day's selection, what we are studying and discussing in the Steemit School Discord, and listing all of the participants in the challenge. I will also list the donors to the prize fund of the challenge.
Donations
If you would like to contribute to the 2000 SBD total prize fund for this challenge, it is very much appreciated. Simply transfer any amount of STEEM or SBD to @d-pend with the memo "Donation for 100 day poetry challenge" and you will be listed in the daily update posts that I publish.
Conclusion
This is only the beginning! As always I take your feedback and insight into consideration and will mould this challenge according to how things unfold. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below. (If you want to ask me something privately use @d-pend on Steemit.chat or @d-pend#5693 on Discord.) Please share this post to anyone you feel may be interested in participating. It is my firm belief that anyone can learn to write excellent poetry and enjoy the process, so please do not exclude yourself because of self doubt. If you have the interest, give it a try! It might just change your life. And lastly, please consider joining the Steemit School Discord and becoming part of one of the fastest growing Steemit communities centered on self-cultivation, education, and self-empowerment. We have around 1000 members in only 7 days. Much gratitude to everyone who is helping to make this challenge a reality and to everyone who has supported me on my Steemit journey in the past 8 months. You all are amazing and I'm continually in awe of the great people I meet on a daily basis!
Wholeness,
@d-pend
3/5/18
Update: some rules will be shifting slightly. We will now have categories for beginner, intermediate and advanced, with daily 3 SBD prize for each. (3+3+3) Remaining 1 SBD out of 10 daily will be distributed as weekly spotlight post (7 SBD reward.) I will also resteem the Weekly Pick and give 100% upvote (~15 SBD.)
Also, I am looking for assistance! This is a huge task and already we have about 80 entrants. There are 12 hours left to enter. Look out for the update post which I will post later tonight. Another big thing is please put Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. somewhere in your title so it is easier to find and document your posts.
We need more whale and dolphin assistance, especially. I am only one dolphin and my upvote and influence only goes so far. Please appeal to other large users on the platform to see if they will get involved in this project.
A very nice contest! I will learn from it too! Thanks for the great contribution to Steemit School. That’s a very big task! Bravo!
@aidasfg7 it is a very big task, but with this contest it serve as an avenue or opportunity for people especially newbie who are good in writing poems to showcase their talents to the whole steemit community. As far as i am concern this contest will b e the biggest contest ever on steemit platform. People that triumph from big task always get big reward and big recognition. Thanks @d-pend for bringing in such a big initiative, i'm pretty sure Alot of steemians will participate in it.
@aidasfg7 i'd love to know are you on steemitschool discord platform? cos i'm not really sure if i have seen you.. it will be great to see as part of it.
Hey @segunreus thanks for your input, I appreciate it! @aidasfg7 is Hongkong&phillipines on Discord.
What an interesting Idea!
I wonder how many people will go till the end...-)
Daniel, the authors can choose any style of poetry, no boundaries, no requirments for rhyme presence in every poem?
The only rule is 14 lines - is it right?
I would like to take part in this challenge but amn't sure about the amount of my creativity-))
you have seen my poetry talant already-))
but who knows after such 100-day practive it can develop to something better maybe!-)
I'm wondering how many will stick with it too, Talia!
Yes, at least 14 lines of any style whatsoever!
I would be honored to have you participate & quite confident that you can look back fondly on your progress after this course :-)
Either way you decide, please consider joining our Steemit School Discord channel! I know you are passionate about education, homeschooling, etc. and we would love to hear you speak about your Steemit journey and areas of interest in life if you so choose.
We have people from all over the world coming together over the common belief that knowledge is empowerment and life is a constant journey of learning. :-D
thank you for reply and invitation!
It's so adventurous -)
I will join-)
Great!! )))
You know I am with you all the way @d-pend. I love the way you included everybody equally. This motivation with real incentive. I have never seen a challenge go more than 7 days. I have been following you closely now for 3 months. I just liked reading your poems but they rubbed off on my. I think my first poem was written about that time. I like to write about what is happening to me or take some poetic challenge to express what is going on in words. I will post one poem a day and put in that tag #steemitschoolpoetry and paste a link to the discord. https://discord.gg/rx9Fgp
Awesome @mineopoly! Can't wait to see your creations and thanks for sharing about your experience. I find it great that my poems have rubbed off on some people, because it can be a quite enjoyable method of expression once one practices the skill for a while. See you in the school!
Hi @mineopoly I'm in too! 😱
That's great news @coachjj. I'm glad you took the challenge. Don't worry about a thing. Don't even change your style. Just add a poem at the end and put it in the right tag and link the discord and you totally are in. Thanks for taking this creative leap.
Hello all,
I am @nicholas83. I will join the 100 day poetry challenge. I have been writing poetry on and off for about several years. Nothing serious though because my first love is prose, but I use poetry when I have writer’s block. These days, for reasons I cannot tell I have been writing a lot of poems. For me, poetry is a different way of telling stories, and it is always wonderful working in a different genre. I am just here to learn and grow and see how much I can assist even one person to develop their craft.
Hey @nicholas83 I'm really happy to have you on board! Thanks for adding your experience and perspective on poetry. When you get the chance, please join our school discord and say hi. Looking forward to learning much from your approach towards writing!
You are welcome. I have already joined the discord group.
I will join the 100 day poetry challenge. I have been writing poetry for about 10years. For me, poetry is a hobby, and it is also the best way to express myself, my inner thoughts and sentiment towards a course or towards a subject. There is no other better accurate way of saying and showing others our mind and the deep truths we cherish other than via poetry. It ll be intriguing and inspiring to read the creative, deep, or entertaining writings of of every participants.
Awesome initiative @d-pend.
Great to have you @scoloscope I'm looking forward to your contributions!
Please also join and introduce yourself here @scoloscope if you haven't already https://discord.gg/hyfYQ9P
I totally intend on joining this awesome challenge. I've been writing poetry on and off since I was a kid. I wrote my first song at 7, but I didn't really get into it until I was about 14. So around 8 years. I'm used to free verse style poetry, never been real big on directions and structures but I love the challenge. Hopefully I'll be able to stay in the loop enough to know if any themes change. For me, poetry has always been the only way I can release my darkness in a healthy manner. It's one of the few things in my life that gets my mind moving when it's stuck in cement (:
Hey @charlotteroze I appreciate your entry and this explanation of your perspective. Please come to say hello in our school discord at your earliest convenience :-)
I will join the 100 day Poetry Challenge. I've been writing poetry since I was little, as far as I can remember. It doesn't mean I'm a veteran poet though. I have never attended any classes and the farthest I've gone with regards to publication is two national newspapers. I love poetry and see it as a means of self-expression. Painters have their brushes to paint with and I have my words to paint with. I hope to learn a lot as I embark on this journey. Thanks for the opportunity!
Very cool @theverve I appreciate your entry and looking forward it! Thanks for sharing a bit about your poetry journey. Please check out our school server on Discord when you get the chance! That's where we will hold the events related to this challenge.
Cheers @d-pend, this is a wonderful step towards the growth of the creative writing community and I must say that your initiative is truly inspiring - thank you for this.
I can't imagine I'll be writing a poem a day, I've long left a lot of my stream of consciousness or daily writing behind me for a more focused approach that better suits my writing styles, but I'd love to participate from time to time, leave comments on as many poems as I can, and be the best supporter of this initiative as I can be.
I have been writing poetry for a decade, and a voracious reader and consumer of poetry for a few years longer. For me, poetry is. This is my favorite aspect of the artform and always keeps me coming back.
Thanks for the comment! I definitely agree that this approach of constant smaller output is sometimes more fitting to newer writers. You have some great writing on your blog so it seems you've found the approach that fits!
We'd be honored to have you speak sometime, if you're interested, to share about your writing process. It might prove quite educational!
Would be honored, my friend, and happy to share anything that could help some of the inspiring writers growing here in the community.
Definitely keep me posted, mate, as I said happy to help in any way I can.
Love what you are doing to support and grow the community and I aspire to learn a lot from this initiative on how I can make those dreams a reality when I have more experience on the Steem platform.
Poetry has been with me since before I could write! I would sing it at age 3...sometimes to the shock of the adults around me. I used to have it pouring through me 24/7 and poetry helped through some very difficult times in life. Like the music of the soul always in the background feeding wisdom or beauty. For the last 10 years, I've lost my muse and miss it greatly - nothing compares to living life as one interlinking poem. The prospects of forcing myself to write - even when the well seem dry (did I use all my words up? ) is both unsettling and exciting. But I will certainly enjoy reading others' poems none the less...and maybe I will be inspired. Thanks for organizing this - I really enjoyed reading your intentions behind this - very nice!
Thanks for sharing your fascinating story @youhavewings. If you'd be interested, we'd love to invite you to tell this story to our class sometime. Our channel is at https://discord.gg/hyfYQ9P. We'll hold class sessions quite frequently with different workshops, lectures, guests, etc.
Great username, by the way. Welcome to Steemit!
I know nothing about Discord but it sounds wonderful! Excited :)
My story is pretty interesting...still being written. Came to a milestone, thus....youhavewings became my life mantra - and everyone's really. We all have wings, we just need to be inspired to use them (or realize we have them).