Monday's Minute Challenge: Writing Prompt Contest for Teens & Up

A quick writing challenge (and contest) to help get your creative juices flowing for the new week.

1. The entry must be between 150 - 300 words. Otherwise, your entry will not be accepted. (In order to see how many words your entry is, write it in Microsoft Word, or you can copy and paste it here.)
2. The deadline for the contest will be the following Friday. 
3. You do not have to be a teen to enter the contest.
4. The same person cannot win first place two weeks in a row. (Some exceptions may apply.)
5. If there is at least 5 entries, the panel of judges will select a 2nd and 1st place. If there is at least 10 entries, the judges will select a 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place. However, if there is under 5 entries, the panel of judges will only select one winner.
6. If there are at least 10 entries, there will be a few Honorable Recognitions, which are the next highest winners. They will receive a badge, as well as 3 points.
7. The winners will receive a badge for their blog, as well as extra points (see the point system below).
8. The winner will be chosen based on the judges's preferences, as well as the following questions: Does this entry capture my attention immediately? Does it make me want to continue reading? Is the writing clear? They will also take into consideration the writer's voice and style--not necessarily technical issues, such as grammar, punctuation, etc. 
9. If you have entered at least 3 contests and have yet to place, send me an email and I will be happy to give you a critique of your last entry, which will include tips and suggestions.
10. This is only for fun and to stretch your writing muscles--not necessarily to be taken too seriously. =)

Prizes:
More prizes to come!

• 30 points: You will be able to create your own prompt that will be used in Monday's Minute Challenge!
• 40 points: You will receive a critique based on your current week's entry.
• 50 points: You will receive a free blog critique and helpful suggestions.
• 70 points: You will receive an 700 word critique on your novel, short story, article, etc.
• 80 points: You can help judge one of the contests!
• 90 points: You will receive two weeks free in my Write Now Mentoring Program!
• 100 points: You will receive a free ebook of PURPLE MOON. =)
• 150 points: You will receive a personalized handmade notepad. 

Earning Points:

• 20 points: If you sign up for a month of my Write Now Mentoring Program!
• 5 points: If you post a review of Purple Moon on Amazon and/or Goodreads. (Let me know in the comments if you do!)
• 5 points: If you join the Purple Moon Publicity Group on Facebook. (You will have the chance to participate in monthly giveaways!)
• 3 points: If you cast your vote! (See the end of this post.)
• 3 points: If you post your entry on your blog, linking back to this post
• 2 points: If you post a tweet about Monday's Minute Challenge, with hashtag #MondaysMinute (You may tweet more than once in a week, however the points will only count for one tweet.)
• 2 points: If you follow this blog via Google Friend Connect. (Let me know in the comments if you do!)
• 2 points: If you "like" my Facebook page. (Let me know in the comments if you do!)
• 2 points: If you follow my Twitter account. (Let me know in the comments if you do!)
• 2 points: Become a "fan" of me on Goodreads. (Let me know in the comments if you do!)
• 2 points: Follow me on Pinterest. (Let me know in the comments if you do!)
• 2 points: If you respond to another person's entry. (Positive feedback only! You may respond more than once, however the points will only count for one response per week.)
• 10 points: If you win 1st place in the writing prompt contest.
• 7 points: If you win 2nd place in the writing prompt contest.
• 5 points: If you win 3rd place in the writing prompt contest.
• 3 points: You receive an Honorable Recognition. 

Points Tracker:

• TW Wright: 68
• Mary B: 42
• Elisabeth: 45
• Funto: 9
• Benj. Evans: 30
• S. Brightly: 62
• Jacqueline: 50
• Rebekah B: 27
• Anna: 18
• His Princess: 40
• Tara T: 35
• Evan: 10
• Rcubed: 49
• Sarah: 40
• Jillian: 10
• Brooke: 12
• Kaley: 2
• Karina: 23
• Kaira Anne: 16
• Lottie Le: 4
• CeCe: 4
• Marsh: 3

*Points are updated every Monday.

*When you request to use your points for a prize, the points you use will be taken away from your total. In other words, when you reach 30 points, you can claim the prize for 30 points--but it will cost you all of your points. Or you can continue to try and earn points so you can claim a bigger prize.

 

If you have entered at least 3 contests and have yet to win, please send me an email and I will be happy to give you a critique of your last entry and offer suggestions.

The judge panel chooses these winners based on a point system (not to be confused with the point system mentioned above!) 

Since there were two entries that had the same amount of points for 3rd place, we have decided that they both deserved to place. 

(Keep in mind that the judges are not aware of which entry belongs to which participant until after the judging is complete.)

The entries that the judges thought was the most intriguing (based on rule #4) is ... 

Third place winner (Tie): 

It was the scariest thing I would ever face... but I also knew it was only my chance to find freedom.

So I stepped onto the swaying bridge. Looking ahead, I could see the red eyes flashing back at me. I held my breath and took another step.

I reached for the rope on the side, but it disappeared. I gasped and looked at the other side, the rope was gone there too. I froze, and slowly looked behind me.

Slowly, each plank I had passed disappeared. I looked in front of me, were they disappearing too?

This all seemed like the fairy tale Mother used to tell me every night. The fairy tale about the girl with a big fluffy “princess dress” who ran away thinking that what was on the outside of the castle was better than the inside.

She ran and ran until she came to the bridge and had to make a choice—to give up or keep going. She decided to keep going. But after each step, the plank behind her disappeared.

I shivered all over, she somehow had made it to the end, but then was taken as a prisoner.

Instead of walking the rest of the way, I ran to the red eyes. When I reached the end, I looked up at them.

They cackled endlessly, they grabbed me when I tried to run. My throat clogged up. I shook all over.

It seemed like the walked for hours before they threw me into a pit of come sort.

“No, please,” I screamed.

“I’m no longer the only one here, am I?”

I froze.

Congratulations, TW! Click here for your badge. =)

Third place winner (Tie): 

“Tilly, RUN!” Pip jerked my hand, pulling me behind him.

“I can’t! My dress!” I desperately tried to hold my blue skirt up out of my way.

Our beautiful paper sky was busted, and strange black birds were flying through the hole. The last reader hadn’t caused problems, what was this reader doing to us? Did she hate our story? Why was she doing this to us?

“Just RUN, Tilly! Mother won’t care if you rip it, just RUN!” My brother kept pulling me along. His eyes were full of horror as he looked at me. Nothing scared Pip. Ever. But this did. That was terrifying.

I didn’t say anything because my mouth was full of my red hair. We both looked back. It was a terrible sight. Anything could enter the story, ruin it completely, and destroy us. At the time I never thought of the possibility of anything getting out.

Congratulations, Rebekah! Click here for your badge. =)

Second place winner: 

It was the scariest thing I would ever face… but I also knew it was my only chance to freedom. I wiped a tear of fatigue from my cheek as I stepped on the first stair. It held. I whispered a short prayer of thanks, finally beginning to breathe again. I climbed up the staircase about halfway before I stopped for a slight rest. As I lay there feeling as if in dream, I heard the pounding footsteps of my pursuers coming up the stairs that I myself had walked on merely a few minutes ago. I scrambled to my feet and picked up my long flowing skirts and ran for my very life, blinded by the fear that they had put into my mind. After running for a few minutes with the heavy footfalls only thirty-two steps on the winding staircase behind me, my skirt snagged on one of the stone stairs, throwing me back down part of the ominous staircase. “Come on boys, she’s down!” the leader shouted when he saw the state I was in, and all his followers threw their heads back with a terrifying gurgle of triumph.

Congratulations, Anna! Click here for your badge. =)

First place winner: 

The desert air turned cold as night fell. Chained with the other slaves, I tried to keep up the fast pace the merchants kept. Their heavy laden camels strained under the weight of figs and dates to be sold in the north, perhaps in Asia Minor or even Russia. The moon rose in the east, casting a pale light upon the caravan, showing me the scars on the backs of the heavyset man in front of me. His roughly cut hair fell in locks upon his weathered face. He was strong, that was easy to tell. His calf muscles tightened and bulged; he had endurance. I tried to see his face, but I couldn’t see his countenance clearly. From what I saw he held a peculiarly noble bearing. The yank of the chain woke me out of my curiosity. I had much to learn about being in captivity. 
At last we came upon what looked to be an oasis. I saw the silhouettes of a few palms against the starry sky. The merchants started a fire and told us to sit. The man passed me a flask from which I took a greedy gulp of water before passing to the next man. I questioned the scarred man about his identity in hushed Arabic, hoping he would respond.
He said nothing, but drew an arc in the sand, then looked intently at me. A moment of silence passed. It was the scariest thing I would ever face, but I also knew it was my only chance to find freedom. I drew another symbol in the sand, and looked up at the man. The corners of his mouth turned upward and a light shone in his eyes.
“Well met, friend.”

Congratulations, Benj.! Click here for your badge. =)

Honorable Recognitions: 

These winners will receive a badge, as well as 3 extra points:

1. Kaira
2. Tara
3. RCubed

Congratulations! Click here for your badge. =)

Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

• Submit your response in the comments below. 
• Your response should range between 150 - 300 words. 
• The deadline for the contest will be this Friday. 
• Let me know which prompt you have chosen.
• If you'd rather not submit your post in the comments, you may email it to me instead.

Remember:

1) Your response should range between 150 - 300 words, otherwise it will not be accepted. (Copy and paste your entry here to count the words, or you could write it on Microsoft Word.)
2) The deadline for the contest is this Friday.

Choose at least one:

• Write a passage continuing your entry from last week week (or whichever week you'd prefer). If you can, try to continue it using one of the following prompts.
• Write a passage using these items: sea shell, paper bag, and typewriter. 
• Write a passage based on this picture. 
• Write a passage using this piece of dialogue: "We will never be the same again."

Cast Your Vote!

We're going to try something new at Monday's Minute Challenge.

Since choosing the winners is such a time-consuming process for the judges, and since you already read each others responses, we have decided to give you the opportunity to take part in the judging process. =)

Here's how it works:

• You can vote for 3 entries per week, but you may not vote for yourself.
• You can only click "submit" once per week, so be sure to wait until you have selected your top 3 entries before casting your vote.
• Please do not vote until at least 7 entries have been submitted. (If you do before then, your vote will not count.)
• Only the participants of Monday's Minute Challenge may vote.
• Voting will only take place from Monday - Friday.
• We will choose the 3 people with the highest amount of votes, then select another 3 or 4 that we think deserve to win as well.
• From those 6 or 7 entries, we will then select the winners (including the Honorable Recognitions.)

You will also receive 3 points for voting. So when you are done, please post a comment below saying that you have casted your vote.  

To vote, please enter the names of the 1 - 3 writers you are voting for below (or click here instead):

Current Judge Panel:

• Sarah Holman
• Penny Tritt
• Tessa Emily Hall (me)
• Kate Petty