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.
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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