Misplaced
Write a fictional story from the perspective of a misplaced item.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $50
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 10, 2024
Submissions closed
Feb 09, 2024 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Feb 22, 2024
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $50
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 10, 2024
Submissions closed
Feb 09, 2024 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Feb 22, 2024
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a fictional story from the perspective of a misplaced item.
In this challenge, you are tasked with crafting a compelling and imaginative fictional story from the unique perspective of a misplaced item. The type of item and the identity of the owner is up to you.
Consider the journey and experiences of the misplaced item. How did it end up in its current location? What events led to its abandonment, and what emotions or thoughts might it harbor? Explore the world from the item's limited perspective, delving into the sights, sounds, and interactions it encounters along its unexpected path.
Feel free to incorporate elements of mystery, humor, or drama as the misplaced item navigates its surroundings. Perhaps it becomes a witness to significant events or plays an unintentional role in the lives of those who come across it. Use this challenge to explore the less noticed details of the world, offering readers a chance to see familiar surroundings through a fresh lens.
Remember to infuse personality into the object, giving it a voice and emotions that resonate with your audience. This challenge encourages you to think outside the conventional narrative structures and experiment with a distinct and unconventional point of view. We can't wait to find your Misplaced stories!
In order for your submission to qualify, it must:
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $200
- 15 Runners-Up: $50
How to enter
For your piece to be eligible, it should follow the rules above and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on February 8, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Misplaced 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
Summer Solstice Challenge Winners
‘Safety Net’, by Meredith Harmon, begins in a confiding tone. ‘What town?’ the tale asks. ‘We're an enclave. We're farmers. We till the soil like our forefathers, and our children's children's children will till it, till the end of time.’ There is a folkloric sensibility here, suited to the prompt, but also something contemporary and practical. This winning story of a community trying to protect and preserve itself has echoes of Shirley Jackson’s famous tale ‘The Lottery’, Meredith is a strong Vocal Creator with 225 stories to her name; and this is her second first place win of a challenge; huge congratulations.
By Vocal Curation Team9 days ago in Resources
Let's Talk About AI and Vocal Challenges
We might as well cut to the chase. Yes, we run every challenge entry through our AI detector; if we find an entry has been generated, it’s disqualified. As Justin Maury, Founder/CEO of Vocal has written, we use these detection systems because we know our readers enjoy authentic content; we also ask you to disclose when you’ve posted on the platform using AI assistance. But a different issue comes into play when we’re thinking about Challenges, and we believe it’s an important one.
By Vocal Curation Team11 days ago in Resources
Dialogue Poetry Challenge Winners
Hannah Moore is a first-time grand prize winner with her dialogue poem, On Receipt of Bad News. This was a poem that genuinely engaged both with the exchange of our prompt, but also focussed on the way poetic rhythms of language could support the writer's conceit. It felt very truthful, too, the way one speaker wishes to ignore the news and focus on practicalities; there was a quiet heartbreak, here. Well done.
By Vocal Curation Team16 days ago in Resources