From the "Old Barn" to the "Pear Tree"

I recall checking the Challenges section of Vocal.media one day with raised eyebrows; a multitude of new challenges were listed. “Summer Fiction Series” - 8 challenges in as many weeks. Top prize in each was $5,000.

I browsed through each respective challenge to determine what the premise of each was. 2,000 word limit and even just mention the topic of the Challenge, and the entry was good to go. Simple enough.

I used a scrap piece of paper to write down the basics: challenge, topic, date entries needed to be in by, and when winners would be announced. There were also a few other challenges listed at the time, which I added anyway. It helps me keep track if I write the information down as well - sometimes I write old school on paper instead of constantly typing, and having the paper on hand saves me the trouble of having to look the information up so often.

I then got to work.

Starting from the “Old Barn” Challenge, below I briefly reflect on each of my 10 entries into the challenges. Each tried to include as many of the other challenges as possible, with the first entry, “Mischief at the Barn” being eligible and entered into all 8 challenges! For most of the challenges, I also made playlists on Spotify, so links for those will also be included!

Challenge 1 - “Old Barn”

Main Entry: “Mischief at the Barn”

Playlist.

My 9th post on Vocal, “Mischief at the Barn” has so far also been my most viewed. It was a shock and thrill to find it as a Top Story shortly after publishing! So just what makes this first entry into the SFS so interesting? This entry took on the challenge of incorporating all 8 challenges into one story. This meant it included a barn, chocolate cake, a brown paper box, marigolds, a bull, a green light, a frozen pond, and a pear tree! As the first entry, it was also given the least amount of time to complete. So what did the entry look like?

Set at an old barn - an old haunt - a class reunion takes place. Humor and hijinks follow the main protagonist as he connects with his peers - from the crude jesting to the punch line! It’s a lighter, funnier piece than I had previously attempted, and folks seemed to enjoy it. Each additional challenge lent its own unique flavor to the tale, from the loose bull in their teen years, to the stolen open sign, to the mention of a past incident with a frozen pond. It truly came together pretty well, and it stands as one of the better pieces I’ve submitted on Vocal.

Challenge 2 - “Death by Chocolate”

Main Entry: “The Icing on the Cake”

Playlist.

My main entry for the “Death by Chocolate” challenge followed suit with, “just how many of these challenges can we fit in”. Minus the barn of the first challenge, it fit the remaining 7 into a crime story. Fictional, of course.

Set at a cake and coffee shop, two women discuss the horrible circumstances one has had to endure over cake and coffee; the murder of her lover by the roommate he was cheating on her with. Not all is as it seems, however - these two harbor a dark secret. Cheaters get their just desserts in this tasty morsel. The non-tippers are just the icing on the cake!

This was a fun write, though it was more difficult to figure out how to squeeze a bull into this theme. The results were still pretty decent. Maybe not quite as polished as the previous entry, but I think it holds its own.

Secondary Entry: “The Big Gulp”

Playlist.

As well as a main entry, I also managed to wrangle my primary entry for the unrelated “Deep Dive” challenge going on at the time into this. Initially, after the incident in the tank, this story was going to end with the protagonist eating some well-deserved cake. However, once I tried to make the story fit the “Death by Chocolate” challenge, I tried making it fit the remaining ones as well, and the result is… a bit quirky, admittedly.

“The Big Gulp” sees an underwater performer as she puts on her show. When she sees something is wrong with the aquarium’s pregnant sand tiger shark, she struggles to save the shark - all the while holding her breath. Once she leaves the tank, though, the story doesn’t quite end. In an attempt to fit the other challenge requirements in, her best friend comes to visit her the next day, having learned of the drama. And she comes bearing the odd gifts of coworkers and friends - like the pear tree wrapped with green lights.

Overall, the entry isn’t terrible, but the transition from “Deep Dive” into the rest of the challenges isn’t as smooth as I’d have liked. I did enjoy my random, “not a bull shark” doodle though, and am glad I kept that. It makes the awkward ending a bit more entertaining.

Challenge 3 - “Brown Box”

Main Entry: “The Legacy of Cousin Tom”

This was a difficult challenge for me to get excited about, and I had a harder time with it. As such, this is the only challenge for the SFS that I did not create a playlist for. This entry was also my secondary entry for the “Deep Dive” challenge, as one of the things found in a box is a shark!

“The Legacy of Cousin Tom” tried to revive that fun humor I had for “Mischief at the Barn”, but came across a bit forced. It is also shorter than most of my other entries, which I usually get as close to cap as possible. In it, we discover the main character’s prankster cousin, Tom, is back in town for the family reunion. He has a habit of leaving her brown boxes, and she is overdue for a prank! Just what has he left her this time?

Challenge 4 - “Golden Summer”

Main Entry: “Marigolds Dancing Beneath the Aurora Borealis”

Playlist.

When I started working on this entry, the whole thing was quite abstract, and I was surprised where the story wound up going by the ending. I didn’t really know what to write about for the theme of marigolds. It wound up being very sweet and emotional, which I had not expected, and while it’s kind of hard for me to read, it’s also one of my favorites for the Summer Fiction Series challenges.

This story sees a man recalling the dream that led him to the woman he would marry. Initially supposed to be a story of a young man dreaming of himself as old and seeking out the girl he wants to date upon waking, it instead turned into a bittersweet tale of an old man recalling a dream from his youth, and upon waking, struggling to recognize himself and his own wife as he struggles with memory loss. It’s serious, and makes me tear up, and I kinda love it for that.

Challenge 5 - “Raging Bull”

Main Entry: “$500 on Bruiser”

Playlist.

After including bulls in all the other challenges, I was wondering what else I could do with a bull. I thought rodeo stories would have been more prevalent, so I steered away from them. Ha. Steered.

Any case, this story features bored teens doing something stupid: whoever gets through the corn maze with the meanest bull in 300 miles loose wins the $500 prize pool. Months later, that same bull is in desperate need of help, and it’s up to one of the teens to save the bull. I had fun with this story, and enjoyed playing around with the idea of a bull loose in a corn maze. I wouldn’t say it’s the most polished, but it’s not a bad short.

Secondary Entry: “The Pleistocene Death Trap”

They never specified what type of bull needed to be involved in the challenge, and I found myself itching for a new dig. As such, my secondary entry featured archaeologists scouting a new site and making an incredible discovery! A fiction story about finding a prehistoric buffalo carcass isn’t going to jive with everyone - but I sure dug the experience of writing it!

It was still a rough one to work on, as I was out of state helping relatives at the time and I was struggling to find the time to write. And a bit of fatigue from the weeks of challenges was starting to make itself known - hence the red bull!

Challenge 6 - “Green Light”

Main Entry: “Laser Cat Jack”

Playlist.

By the time I started work on this entry, fatigue was fast setting in. This story and the previous 3 had been written while I was helping relatives for weeks out of state. With the last three challenges of, “Green light”, “Long Thaw”, and “Pear Tree”, it seemed fitting that this one should take place around the holidays.

I regret to say that there is no laser cat Jack. Still, it was fun to recall my own experience of getting a pet for Christmas and turn it upside down. Where I was overjoyed to get my two pups as a kid, the main character in this piece couldn't care less about the kitten he’s received after his heart is broken. With a little laser pointing him in the right direction, however, Jack soon becomes a beloved friend. The piece comes off a bit lazy, and I largely place the blame for that on the fatigue.

Since there is no black cat named Jack, let me include an image of our very own Catfish Hooktail!

Challenge 7 - “Long Thaw”

Main Entry: “The Icebreaker Assignment”

Playlist.

I was having issues thinking up how to combine a frozen pond and pear tree in this challenge for maximum effect. My solution? Pear tree is the subject of a homework assignment. And the paper gets frozen in the pond. Say what now? Yeah, you read that right - the homework lands on the edge of a pond and is frozen.

The story starts out at the stereotypical teenage party. Three boys get a text from a classmate who needs help at the nearby pond; two ignore it. The third responds, curious as to why his classmate is out at the pond when it is so late and cold. Upon getting there, he finds his classmate has spent hours chipping away the ice surrounding his homework. The two work through the night, and the teacher offers just punishment to the two boys who didn’t help.

It wasn’t the most interesting thing for me to write, admittedly, but the result seems decent enough. Hard to say - it wasn’t a popular read. Still, I had fun with the frozen homework aspect. I wanted to freeze a paper and defrost it to see what it would look like and take pictures for the piece, but I was running out of time. Maybe I’ll try it sometime just for kicks.

Challenge 8 - “Pear Tree”

Main Entry: “Paring a Pair of Pears”

Playlist.

By the time this final challenge rolled around, I was pretty done with trying to figure out how to fit pear trees into things - this was the 10th story I had tried to fit in a pear tree! I had intended for it to be a very detailed, pretty story surrounding the growth and symbolism of the pear tree, probably from the viewpoint of the tree.

But instead…

I continued from the last story. Sort of. This entry can be read separately from “The Icebreaker Assignment”, but can also be read as a continuation. It follows two brothers who have been made fun of for an incident involving a pear tree and how each represents the dual symbolism of the pear. One hates the teasing and all the plant stands for, the other has grown fond of the plant. It’s not very tight as far as writing goes, but it’s still enough to come across as a nice, soft piece.

Overall, I enjoyed taking part in the Summer Fiction Series this year. There were some struggles, but each piece is unique and they all stand on their own. Some are better than others. Taking part in these challenges showed me that I can crank out shorter pieces much quicker than anticipated, if needed, but that the quality will vary.

None of these won anything, and the views range from nothing all the way to 255 for the one that hit Top Story; very much a mixed bag of both content and reception. But it was undoubtedly fun, and I welcomed the challenges!

Having entered into all 8 challenges, I have since received a $20 bonus! So that’s pretty spiffy! I wonder if there will be more opportunities for such bonuses in the future?

As well as my own works, I enjoyed the outpouring of stories from others on the site! There were truly some unique entries! I look forward to the next series of challenges - I can’t wait to see what comes from future challenges. What I’ll write. What others will.

What’s that next prompt?

Thank you for taking the time to read! I hope you found some of the stories themselves to be of interest!