Just a Minute
Write a short fiction story that takes place within the course of 60 seconds.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Apr 10, 2024
Submissions closed
May 03, 2024 3:59 AM CUT
Results
May 21, 2024
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Apr 10, 2024
Submissions closed
May 03, 2024 3:59 AM CUT
Results
May 21, 2024
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a 500-1,500 word fiction story that takes place within the course of 60 seconds.
Can you create a compelling story filled with tension, drama, or excitement that plausibly takes places within 60 seconds? For this challenge, we would like you to write a short fiction story where all the action takes place within a single minute. Whether it's a dramatic confrontation, or a fleeting goodbye, you must fit everything into a very tiny window of time. The word count limitation of 500-1,500 words means you won't be abe to write it or read it in a minute. Are you up for the challenge?
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- Between 500-1,500 words.
- Be submitted to Fiction community. Choosing a community is a final step in the submission process.
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $200
- 10 Runners-Up: $20
Special shout-out to Breezy for inspiring this challenge idea in Share Your Ideas to Shape the Future of Vocal Challenges.
How to enter
For your piece to be eligible, it should adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on May 2, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Just a Minute Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.
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Challenge resources
Already Here Challenge Winners
Useful tools can change your life before you think to question them. That’s really what made these Already Here entries interesting. Writers looked past the initial “how is this possible?” and paid attention to how quickly something remarkable becomes part of the routine. The strongest pieces didn’t ask us to choose between being impressed and being uneasy. They understood why people welcome these changes, then noticed what else shifts once we get used to them.
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Last Call Challenge Winners
There were plenty of ringing phones and closing bars in Last Call , but the prompt took us to some unexpected places too. A fading birdsong, a goodbye that doesn't quite get finished, and people who don't suddenly become better versions of themselves just because time is running out. Some held on, some let go, and some missed their chance entirely. That's what made these stories stick.
By Vocal Curation Team14 days ago in Resources
Twenty-Four Hours Challenge Winners
The best Twenty-Four Hours entries weren’t really about fitting as much as possible into a day. They were about showing us a version of a place that felt personal, shaped by favorite stops, old memories, local quirks, and the little things you only notice only after knowing somewhere for a long time.
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