Solo Trip
Plan your next trip or adventure, solo-style.
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Nov 27, 2020
Submissions closed
Dec 04, 2020 5:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 08, 2020
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Nov 27, 2020
Submissions closed
Dec 04, 2020 5:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 08, 2020
About this challenge
There's nothing like the thrill of packing your bags, scanning your passport, and flying through the skies in the comfort of a window seat. That feeling of stepping off a plane and into a new city all on your own has no comparison. Traveling alone is great for getting to know yourself without interruption and making once in a lifetime memories. While we can't wait for the first chance to travel safely again, many of us with a severe case of wanderlust are already planning our next solo journey.
We could use your help with planning this future trip. We'd like for you to create and share an ideal itinerary for the solo trip of your dreams, or a trip you're already planning to take next year when it's safer!
Enter the Solo Trip Challenge and let us know where you're visiting and why you've chosen this destination. What sights will you see, memories will you make, what food will you enjoy, and where will you stay? In addition to your itinerary, think about how this trip will impact you: what adventures will you endure by yourself, and how will you benefit from this vacation and time alone? Pack your virtual bags, and please include photos and share links to where you're going!
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until December 3, 2020, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here. You can learn how to embed rich media into your story here.
The Solo Trip 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 third place 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 39 countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
October
Write a poem that makes October feel like a place you can enter.
$1,000 Grand Prize4 days leftDead Air
Write a horror story about a broadcast, recording, phone call, or transmission that should not exist.
$1,000 Grand Prize11 days leftScroll No More
Imagine that every smartphone in the world suddenly stops working. Write about what happens next.
$1,000 Grand Prize18 days leftNo One Remembers It That Way
Write about a memory that you and someone else remember completely differently.
$1,000 Grand Prize25 days leftSteal From Yourself
Return to something you wrote years ago and use one idea, image, character, or line from it to create something entirely new.
$1,000 Grand Prize32 days leftNot on the Menu
Write about something memorable you ate that you'd never find on a restaurant menu.
$1,000 Grand Prize39 days left
Challenge resources
Out of Season Challenge Winners
We’re trying something new with our challenge awards structure. Starting with Out of Season , each challenge will recognize one grand prize , four winners , and ten honorable mentions . That’s 15 stories to celebrate, with a little extra love for the top pick. For this challenge, the strongest stories made the timing matter. Something showing up early or returning when it shouldn’t changed what people did, what they assumed, or how they saw each other. There was humor in trying to carry on as usual, and sadness in realizing why the usual schedule no longer worked. Sometimes the wrong time of year turned out to be just when someone needed it.
By Vocal Curation Team5 days ago in 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.
By Vocal Curation Team19 days ago in Resources
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 Team26 days ago in Resources
