Steal From Yourself

The Prompt

It's time to dig through your old writing and steal something.

Find a story you abandoned, a poem you haven't read in years, a half-finished draft, or something your younger self was very proud of. Somewhere in there is a line, character, image, idea, or tiny detail worth taking.

For this challenge, take that one thing and give it another life. Drop an old character into a completely different story. Turn a forgotten line into a poem. Take the best idea from your worst draft and finally do something with it.

Don't rewrite the old piece. Rob it. Then use what you stole to make something entirely new.

In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:

• 3,000 words or less.
• Submitted to the Writers community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
• Submitted before November 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.
• Your work must be original and unpublished.

The Prizes

• Grand Prize: $1000
• 4 Winners: $200 each
• 10 Honorable Mentions: $15 each

For your story to be eligible, it must be 3,000 words or less and adhere to our Community Guidelines.

Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until November 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Steal From Yourself Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win, you must be over the age of 13 and reside 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 a Stripe account created and connected to receive prizes. Entrants located outside of these countries will not be eligible to win.