The 2005 Regular Monthly Challenges
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Write something short... a poem, a drabble, a snippet, a limerick... our theme is tequila. |
Include the Following Challenge:
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Use at least three of the four listed items in a story... water lilies, fireworks, a sleeping bag and gummi worms. |
Song Challenge:
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Write a fic based on, or inspired by, one of the two following songs. It does not need to include the lyrics. TRULY MADLY DEEPLY IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I'M BREATHING |
Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Challenge:
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Write a story in keeping with one of this month's special occasions... Canada Day - July 1 |
AUs Challenge:
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Harem - your character is sold, kidnapped or otherwise finds themselves as the newest prize in a prince's seraglio. Let the training begin. |
Beginnings Challenge:
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Write a fic starting with the following first sentence: "This is 911. What is the nature of your emergency?" |
Shakespeare Challenge:
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Use the quote in some way, whether title, dialogue, theme, etc: "But then I sigh, and with a piece of scripture, |
Famous Quotations:
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"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." |
Ripped From the Headlines Challenge:
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Use the following news item as a basis to build a fic around... Frostbitten lover deported to U.S. |
RANDOM CHALLENGES:
Tattoo -
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whether on a drunken escapade or a dare or for some more personal reason your character gets him- or herself a tattoo. Now comes the time for potentially embarrassing explanations. |
Mercury Rising -
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an air conditioner malfunction at home or work causes temperatures and tensions to flare. |
Nude Recreation Weekend -
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(July 9-10) Have your characters do something in the nude that's NOT sex. Any recreational activity will do. It may or may not lead to more. |
August
REGULAR CHALLENGES:
Quickie Challenge:
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Write something short... a poem, a drabble, a snippet, a limerick... our theme is Elvis Lives! |
Include the Following Challenge:
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Use at least three of the four listed items in a story... champagne, blue suede shoes, a basket of peaches and a broken record player. |
Song Challenge:
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Write a fic based on, or inspired by, one of the two following songs. It does not need to include the lyrics. SAVE A HORSE THE SOUND OF YOUR CRY |
Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Challenge:
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Write a story in keeping with one of this month's special occasions... Ice Cream Soda Day - Aug 2 |
AUs Challenge:
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Watchman - based on "The Sentinel"... your characters are now in a world where every city has it's own Sentinel and Guide. It may or may not still be something that needs to be hidden from the general public for the sake of a reasonably normal life. Each Sentinel may have all 5 heightened senses or as few as only one, in your world, you decide. |
Beginnings Challenge:
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Write a fic starting with the following first sentence: "It was just a kiss." |
Shakespeare Challenge:
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Use the quote in some way, whether title, dialogue, theme, etc: "Assume a virtue, if you have it not." |
Famous Quotations:
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"True friends stab you in the front." |
Ripped From the Headlines Challenge:
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Use the following news item as a basis to build a fic around... Giant Popsicle Melts, Floods Park |
RANDOM CHALLENGES:
Long Live the King -
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this one will be a fairly open challenge. Pretty much anything goes. The only rule is that it must feature Elvis in some way, and more than just a simple mention. Impersonators, movies, recordings, Graceland, Elvis sightings, the flying Elvises, whatever your heart (and muses) desire. |
Suspicious Minds -
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rumors are circulating among family and friends that your character's partner is cheating. Why is your character the last to know? And true or not, what impact will the doubts have on the relationship? |
And You Are...? -
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let's dive into the fanfic cliché pool and try amnesia on for size. Is it one of your characters that has lost their memory? Maybe it's a friend or family member instead? Is the amnesia real or faked? Permanent or temporary? |
September
REGULAR CHALLENGES:
Quickie Challenge:
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Write something short... a poem, a drabble, a snippet, a limerick... our theme is Honey. |
Include the Following Challenge:
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Use at least three of the four listed items in a story... a book of coupons, an overdue library book, a rake and a pile of leaves. |
Song Challenge:
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Write a fic based on, or inspired by, one of the two following songs. It does not need to include the lyrics. WISHING THAT BREAK YOUR HEART |
Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Challenge:
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Write a story in keeping with one of this month's special occasions... Be Late For Something Day - Sept 5 |
AUs Challenge:
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Pirates! - Arrrrrgh! In celebration of "Talk Like A Pirate Day" (Sept 19)... your characters can be pirates of old, or of a more modern day variety. A bottle of rum (or several), a search for buried treasure, an eye-patch, tattoos... it's all good. |
Beginnings Challenge:
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Write a fic starting with the following first sentence: A soft moan echoed through the darkness, "Where AM I?" |
Shakespeare Challenge:
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Use the quote in some way, whether title, dialogue, theme, etc: "Be great in act, as you have been in thought." |
Famous Quotations:
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"One of the most adventurous things left us is to go to bed. For no one can lay a hand on our dreams." |
Ripped From the Headlines Challenge:
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Use the following news item as a basis to build a fic around... 'Brokeback Mountain' Wows at Festivals - According to the first reviews of the long-anticipated gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, which made its debut at the Venice International Film festival and the Telluride Film Festival this weekend, the film more than lives up to its hype. |
RANDOM CHALLENGES:
Unrequited -
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your character loves someone who doesn't love them back (or doesn't love them the same way) and never will. Do they accept the love that's offered? Try to make the other person love them? Is it fair to them? Fair to the other person? Or do they accept and try to move on? |
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire -
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your character is caught in a lie. Big or small, embarrassing or not. Maybe it suggests a whole hidden part of their life or personality? Maybe it's a tiny, white lie that snowballs into something much bigger in order to maintain it? |
Stuck in a Rut -
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your character decides that they've been stuck in a rut, doing the same old, same old for way too long. Work, eat, sleep. Work, eat, sleep. It's time to shake things up a bit, make some changes. Try spending some time on the wilder side. What do their friends think? Do they like this new attitude? Hate it? |
October
REGULAR CHALLENGES:
Quickie Challenge:
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Write something short... a poem, a drabble, a snippet, a limerick... our theme is Spooky. |
Include the Following Challenge:
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Use at least three of the four listed items in a story... gauze bandages, a Bowie knife, cranberry sauce and a black cat. |
Song Challenge:
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write a story based on the song of your choice. Lyrics may, but need not be, included. |
Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Challenge:
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Write a story in keeping with one of this month's special occasions... Scare a Friend Day - Oct 1 |
AUs Challenge:
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Fairy Tales Revisited - let's take fairy tales once more as our inspiration, only this time the darker, more Brothers' Grimm, less Disney versions. And if these fairy tales happen to be populated with a few vampires, ghosts, werewolves or other things that go bump in the night, so much the better. |
Beginnings Challenge:
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Write a fic starting with the following first sentence: "A blood-curdling scream pierced the night." |
Shakespeare Challenge:
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Use the quote in some way, whether title, dialogue, theme, etc: "Your face, my thane, is a book where men may read strange matters." |
Famous Quotations:
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"I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are." |
Ripped From the Headlines Challenge:
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Use the following news item as a basis to build a fic around... People-smuggling ring smashed |
RANDOM CHALLENGES:
Mistaken Identity -
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a costume mix-up leads to confusion at a Halloween party, and maybe some secrets get spilled that might otherwise have never been revealed. |
Monster-in-Law -
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the classic meddling story. A prospective in-law does their best (or more likely worst) to break up a relationship. |
The Wedding Date -
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your character asks someone to be their fake date to make an ex jealous. Will it work? Or will the fake date turn out more real than they'd ever imagined? |
November
REGULAR CHALLENGES:
Quickie Challenge:
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Write something short... a poem, a drabble, a snippet, a limerick... our theme is Stuffing. |
Include the Following Challenge:
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Use at least three of the four listed items in a story... a typewriter, pinking shears, popping corn, and a live turkey. |
Song Challenge:
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write a story based on the song of your choice. Lyrics may, but need not be, included. |
Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Challenge:
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Write a story in keeping with one of this month's special occasions... Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) - Nov 1 |
AUs Challenge:
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Prison Break - inspired the the TV show of the same name. Put your characters in prison, staging a break. Maybe some of them deserve to be there. Or perhaps they got thrown in jail on purpose, to break someone else out. Or maybe they got themselves a job in the prison, as a guard or a doctor or nurse, to help someone escape. You decide. |
Beginnings Challenge:
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Write a fic starting with the following first sentence: "I know this sounds like a line, but do I know you?" |
Shakespeare Challenge:
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Use the quote in some way, whether title, dialogue, theme, etc: "For they are yet but ear-kissing arguments." |
Famous Quotations:
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"Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." |
Ripped From the Headlines Challenge:
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Use the following news item as a basis to build a fic around... Key West Fantasy Fest rolls on |
RANDOM CHALLENGES:
Nothing Left to Lose -
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somehow, your character has lost everything that is of value to them... their job, their home, their family. Time to find out who their real friends are. |
Random Acts of Kindness -
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your character decides that bringing smiles to strangers is a perfect way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. And maybe that anonymous favors for friends are even better. |
A Home for the Holidays -
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November is Adoption Month, so let's have your character(s) somehow come across a child in need of a home and family. Will they choose to adopt the child themselves? Will they give the child temporary shelter? Or will they find the child a good home with loving parents? |
December
REGULAR CHALLENGES:
Quickie Challenge:
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Write something short... a poem, a drabble, a snippet, a limerick... our theme is Frosty. |
Include the Following Challenge:
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Use at least three of the four listed items in a story... a gingerbread house, mulled cider, a silver bell and an old wooden toboggan. |
Song Challenge:
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write a story based on the song of your choice. Lyrics may, but need not be, included. |
Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Challenge:
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Write a story in keeping with one of this month's special occasions... Bathtub Party Day - Dec 5 |
AUs Challenge:
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It's a Wonderful Life - re-work this classic into your fandom. How would the world be different, if your character had never been born? How many lives would be irrevocably changed? Show them that they really do have a wonderful life. |
Beginnings Challenge:
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Write a fic starting with the following first sentence: "Would you just kiss me already?!" |
Shakespeare Challenge:
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Use the quote in some way, whether title, dialogue, theme, etc: "Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind." |
Famous Quotations:
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"For this I bless you most: You give much and know not that you give at all." |
Ripped From the Headlines Challenge:
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Use the following news item as a basis to build a fic around... Creativity linked to sexual success |
RANDOM CHALLENGES:
Office Party -
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secret Santas, spiked punch, drunken fumblings... one way or another, your character gets more than they anticipated, maybe more than they ever dreamed, at the office holiday party. Will it last? Or will the new year burst that holiday bubble? |
Blue Christmas -
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your characters are far apart over the holidays, and oh so lonely. Can they manage to get together? Or will they have to find another way to bring a bit of cheer to a long distance yuletide? |
Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire -
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a major winter blizzard rages outside. Your characters may be stranded, but they are toasty and warm in front of a fire, and need only to find a way to pass the time and share a little holiday spirit. |
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