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 Friday after next. 
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. 
5. The winners will receive a badge for their blog, as well as extra points (see the point system below).
6. 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. 
7. 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!
• 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!)
• 5 points: If your writing prompt is selected for Monday's Minute Challenge.
• 3 points: If you cast your vote! (See the end of this post.)
• 3 points: If you post your entry on your blog via ILink, 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!)
• 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:

• Ana I.: 22
• Angela: 29
• Anna S.: 59
• AnnaMarie: 17
• Armina: 52
• Ashley: 7
• Benj. Evans: 40
• Brittney: 3
• Brooke: 20
• CeCe: 28
• Christine: 22
• Elisabeth: 127
• Emily F: 45
• Emily S: 6
• Evan: 10
• FlyGirl: 49
• Funto: 9
• His Princess: 121
• Jacqueline: 59
• Jillian: 10
• Kaira Anne: 51
• Kaity: 15
• Karina: 23
• Katheline: 32
• Kaity: 9
• Katie Grace: 91
• Kendra: 59
• Laura: 9
• Lottie Le: 39
• Naomi: 10
• Maddie Jay: 20
• Mary B: 127
• Marsh: 20
• Michael: 26
• Mickayla: 34
• Rcubed: 72
• Rebekah B: 53
• Russian Pianist: 38
• Samantha: 8
• Sarah: 126
• S. Brightly: 113
• SK Lupu: 25
• Sofia Marie: 16
• Tara T: 104
• TW Wright: 202
• Victoria: 35

*Points are updated every other 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.

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

There are 2 second place winners today. Thanks to everyone who participated!

(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: 

Sometimes I was sure I was confused or delusional. But there was no doubt today. 3 blinks told me the same thing. We had found it.

Isaac next to me seemed almost in shock- as if his brain had suddenly stopped working and there was no one to rescue it, no one to shock him awake. No one to shock him from his slumber that he lived in, trapped inside his head by the true reality of the moment. We had done it.

All those months of searching, all those months that we spent looking for everything and anything worked out. It worked out and provided. We were safe, safe from harm, at least for now. Safe within the thing that we had been searching for, safe within the very thing that had ruined us so many years before.

We were safe. Safe from all that we were running from, running from with fear coursing in our veins. We could pause now, feel the oxygen return to our lungs from the last sprint, the last mad dash to the finish.

And we had made it. We had lost everything but we had made it and that was all that mattered in the second. For we had found our safe house.

The sinking city.

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

Second place winner (#1): 

I swing myself morosely on the swing and gaze out at the lake. A light mist hangs over it, and a couple vultures circle sleepily up in the sky. I smell the homey scent of smoke from a cozy fire in someone’s home. There is no wind to play with the mist today as it usually does. It is probably staying home as if avoiding my bitterness.

Yes, it had been five years ago. So what? That doesn’t mean I have forgiven them yet. I still hate them. Hate them for their carelessness. For their stupidity. The campfire, it had been right there, near the lake, and we had sung songs into the warm night. Until some of them decided to wade into the water. And of course, he wanted to go in with them. As the older and therefore wiser sister I should have realized that it was not safe. But I saw no danger. Actually, I simply didn’t want to take care of him.

I close my eyes as the swing I am on slows to a stop. He had lost his foothold. And hadn’t come back up again. And they had gotten him out.

I shake my head violently, trying to get rid of the memory. It was all their fault. I know it.

Suddenly, I feel someone’s hand on my shoulder. I quickly open my eyes and look up. Our new pastor, he’s standing next to me. He’s a young man, strong and always there for anyone.

I wipe my tears. I have forgotten that he is visiting my family today.

Kneeling next to me, he asks me what is wrong. I look into his eyes, and I see that he cares.

With nothing left to do in my bitterness, I tell him the story.

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

Second place winner (#2): 

I just stand there, looking at her. Finley's wispy brown hair blows across her face, twisting in the cold breeze. Solemn green eyes peek between the strands. She sniffs and swipes at the grime on her cheek with the back of her hand. Somehow she's even more beautiful dirt-streaked and beautiful--if that's even possible. Something else shines through her exhaustion-- in her wide, solid stance, in the anger hardening her eyes, in the whitened knuckles of her clenched fists. She's not defeated--no. She's fighting inside, building to the climax, the final battle, the deepest kind of strength bleeding through the outer wounds. 
"All right, Adrian?"
She's caught me staring. Again. I smirk, beyond caring by now. Hoping that maybe she doesn't mind--maybe hoping for more than that. No, not hoping-- aching. 
"I guess." I shrug, lifting one shoulder and letting it drop again.
She sighs and shakes her head. "Of course you're not. I'm so stupid."
"No you're not." I want to say more than that. Do more than that. Want to run my fingers through that flyaway hair. But I won't, because I'm afraid I'll scare her away. If she runs, I'll die, burn inside. Be reduced to a twisted mess of ashes and smoke, just like our city.
She's all I have left.

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

First place winner: 

“Water,” I croaked, pointing to a shiny mass in the distance. I licked the raw sores at the top of my dry mouth and thought about clear, cool water flowing down my throat and soothing the sores. “Run!” I shouted as I grabbed my brother Jayden’s hand. We bounded across the ground, feet pounding, hair whipping about in the wind, breath heavy and dripping with exhaustion. By the time we finally reached what I had seen we had slowed down to a walk.

There it was: the ruins of a flooded city. I peered closer and stepped into the water, closely examining the suspiciously familiar buildings. Most of them were torn down, but the ones that weren’t looked shabby and warped.  It was then I realized with a chill that this was the city in which we had once lived. But why had we stumbled upon it once again? I shook my head, trying to clear the vision from my mind. I had no energy to contemplate the meaning of this now; it could wait. Instead, I focused on the water. I knelt down and brought my mouth to the cool, glorious water. I sucked up a mouthful, and-the city and the water disappeared! I sputtered, coughing up a mouthful of gritty, hot sand. The wind laughed in my face and stole my breath away as I gasped, “Jayden! “Where did the water go?” I saw him open his mouth to answer, but before he could, he, too, vanished.

Then, it all rushed back to me. My city had been destroyed. My family was gone. And here I was, trudging through the desert trying to find out if other people actually existed. But so far I had only discovered the piercing wind and this sandy, barren wasteland of illusions.

Congratulations, Ana I.! Click here for your badge. =)

Honorable Recognitions: 

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

1. Elisabeth
2. FlyGirl
3. Anna S. 
4. SK Lupu

Congratulations! Click here for your badge. =)

Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

• Submit your response in the comments below, or post it on your blog via InLink (below -- you will receive 3 extra points!). 
• Your response should range between 150 - 300 words. 
• The deadline for the contest will be the Friday after next. 
• If you'd rather not submit your post in the comments or on your blog, 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 the Friday after next.

Choose at least one:

Note: You can always combine the prompts into one entry.

There were no entries for prompts this week, so these were chosen based on previous posts.
(Please make sure to send in your prompt ideas!) 

• (Optional) 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: winter hat, old house, skeleton key (submitted by FlyGirl)
• Write a passage based on this picture (submitted by AnnaMarie)
• Write a passage incorporating this phrase: Fairytales usually end well. Mine almost did. (submitted by Ana)

Post your entry on your blog!:

If you're posting your entry on your blog (+3 points), please add your link below rather than in the comments:

Submit your prompt idea!:

The prompts that are used for Monday's Minute Challenge are submitted by the participants. Here's how this works:

• You will be able to submit 3 prompts each week in the same format as above: three objects, one picture, and a piece of dialogue or phrase.
• On Mondays, I will choose 3 prompts that have been submitted by 3 different people.
• If your prompt is selected, you will receive 3 points!
• You may submit in the comments below, Monday through Sunday.

Cast Your Vote!

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 - Thursday.
• 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:

• Tessa Emily Hall (me)
• Kate Petty