James & Oneg's Summer Writing Challenge Extravaganza

Are you feeling dry and hung out? Heatwaves got you down and sweaty? The summer feels like it’s dragging out and you don’t know what to damn write about anymore?

Have no fear! The James & Oneg Dream Team is here to save your writer’s block, sanity, and word count!

Enter Oneg and James' whacky fun summer writing challenge list like a splash of ice cold water from the backyard hose, these challenges are meant to shock you, and wake up any sense of credible creativity. Solely cultivated to go against your standard writing prompt for the purpose of inviting some much needed fun, we present to you the shenanigans that we somehow came up with (and totally sober too!)

So how does it work Oneg?

Well James, I'm so glad you asked, because honestly it took a while to put it in sensical sentences and I can’t believe we actually did it.

The Works:

A new challenge will be released and announced every four days for the month of August, the first, starting today.

You can choose when and which to participate in, or do them all. There is NO deadline to finish, but you can choose to use the four day stretch as one if you’d like. For those who go the extra mile and actually finish them, you get a metaphorical gold starred-water hose and double, no, QUADRUPLE high five from us.

We will be announcing/posting the challenges mostly on Facebook in the various Vocal groups such as:

Vocal + Assist | Facebook

The Medium Writers and Vocal Creators Support Group | Facebook

Vocal Social Society | Facebook

Saloon for Writers | Facebook

Vocal Media Creators Support | Facebook

Writers Sharing Community | Facebook

Vocal Media Article Promotion | Facebook

Along with the Facebook posts, we will be releasing our own examples/stories and tagging you to play in! We will also be updating this page here with the updated challenges so you can keep track of what has been released and when. So make sure you check back here from time to time.

To Participate:

Here’s what you need to do to participate to the FULLEST. And I mean, like Turkey Dinner, all the sides, extra stuffing, and dessert kind of full.

Make sure you put the challenge title in your subtitle, and give a brief intro of what the challenge is somewhere, either in the beginning or end, and link this main page for reference.

Link another creator’s entry at the bottom of your story. We want to spread the lovin’ like butter on hot dinner buns.

Challenge another creator to the task! You might have to let them know they’ve been challenged or “tagged” through other social media means. But the goal is to spread the word, again, like butter on hot dinner buns. (Definitely not writing this while I prep dinner…)

Lastly, have fun! Be creative with these prompts, and if you want to tweak it to your liking, go for it! It’s all about getting our ballpoint pens rolling, and our word vomit spewing.

So what's the first challenge James & Oneg?

Well Vocal peeps, your first challenge is... The Sweet Summer Song Challenge!

Your task is to pick a song that represents summer for you. Use the song as the title of your piece, and to inspire either a poem or a short story/micro fiction about summer. Feel free to use some of the song's lyrics in your piece as well, and add a link to the song so we can hear it too.

You have until August 4th before the next writing challenge is released!

Schedule of Challenge Releases & Brief Explanation:

July 31st - Challenge #1 Sweet Summer Songs: Pick a song that reps summer for ya. Use the song as the title to inspire a poem or micro fic about summer

August 4th - Tag You’re It! Challenge: pick a Vocal community and tag/nominate another writer to write a poem or 100-word micro fic about it BUT you only have 15 minutes to write!

August 8th -Awkward Elevator Challenge: write about a time you did something embarrassing (or make it up), and the person that saw it happen, suddenly gets in an elevator with you shortly after. There is no word count limit.

August 12th - Beware the Mundane: Your task is to choose either a non-scary/mundane object or task and create a horror story around it!

August 16th - You’ve Got Mail! Challenge: start a story/poem with the last line of an email or letter you recently received.

August 20th - The Gossip Cap Challenge: write a micro fiction (under 250 words) as a cab driver who just picked up a customer- what story do you hear?

August 24th - The Dream State Challenge: write a fantasy fiction or poem about a recent dream that you had. Whatever you remember, use as your fuel for this epic piece!

August 28th - The Home Sweet/Sour Home Challenge: write a little excerpt or poem about why you love (or not) where you live, and something unique about it that no one else would know.

August 31st - The Break Out of Your Cocoon Challenge: Butterfly poems are a genre of poetry that use the butterfly as a symbol or metaphor to explore themes such as transformation, growth, beauty, and the fleeting nature of life. Write one.

We can't wait to see what y'all produce! And don't forget to tag some friends to join in on this chaotic writing fun!