Introducing SFS: The Summer Fiction Series

A series of eight Vocal fiction prompts meant to inspire you, challenge you, and induce some serious summer lit nostalgia.

By Vocal TeamPublished 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago 3 min read
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Welcome to Vocal's Summer Fiction Series! We're giving away $6,500 weekly for short fiction Challenges running now through August 31st, and we're inviting you to be a part of it.

The series is comprised of eight short fiction Challenges ranging in length from one week to eight weeks long, and each offers a $5,000 grand prize to a new winner every week for the duration of the series.

The Challenges

For this series, the Vocal Team dusted off our old summer reading lists and revisited some old favorites. So, each prompt is inspired by a different book from a traditional summer reading list that the Vocal Team loves, full of the classics that so many of us read and reread throughout childhood and adolescence to prepare for the school year ahead.

The prompts start off inspired by childhood classics like Matilda and Charlotte's Web, and work our way up through those high school staples like Catcher in the Rye and The Bluest Eye. It’s a little nostalgia, and a whole lot of creativity.

Keep in mind that just because each prompt is inspired by an old classic doesn't mean that your story is required to draw inspiration from that story. Free to write in your own style, or your preferred genre. As long as you've taken the ask of the prompt into account, the rest is up to you.

Feel free to enter only one Challenge, or all eight, or anything in between. Your entries can be totally independent, or can be a series of stories, or have one common theme or thread running through them. Or, if you're feeling ambitious, you can try to create one entry that follows two, or three, or eight prompts at once.

The lineup

1 Week (July 7 - July 13) The Old Barn Challenge. Inspired by Charlotte's Web, we're asking you to create a fiction story set in a run-down barn.

2 Weeks (July 7 - July 20) The Death By Chocolate Challenge. Inspired by Matilda, we're asking you to create a fiction story that includes a piece of chocolate cake.

3 Weeks (July 7 - July 27) The Brown Box Challenge. Inspired by The Phantom Tollbooth, were asking you to create a fiction story that includes a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper.

4 Weeks (July 7 - Aug 3) The Golden Summer Challenge. Inspired by The Bluest Eye, we're asking you to create a fiction story that includes a marigold flower.

5 Weeks (July 7 - Aug 10) The Raging Bull Challenge. Inspired by The Sun Also Rises, we're asking you to create a fiction story that includes a bull.

6 Weeks (July 7 - Aug 17) The Green Light Challenge. Inspired by The Great Gatsby, we're asking you to create a fiction story that includes a green light.

7 Weeks (July 7 - Aug 24) The Long Thaw Challenge. Inspired by The Catcher in the Rye, we're asking you to create a fiction story that includes a frozen pond.

8 Weeks (July 7 - Aug 31) The Pear Tree Challenge. Inspired by Their Eyes Were Watching God, we're asking you to create a fiction story that includes a pear tree.

The rewards

Each Challenge offers:

  • $5,000 grand prize
  • $1,000 second place prize
  • $500 third place prize

But in addition, you'll be rewarded via bonuses for entering multiple Challenges throughout the duration of the series. After the end of the final 8 week Challenge, we'll be giving out the following rewards, just for your participation:

  • 2/8 Challenges entered: $2 bonus
  • 3/8 Challenges entered: $5 bonus
  • 4/8 Challenges entered: $7 bonus
  • 5/8 Challenges entered: $10 bonus
  • 6/8 Challenges entered: $12 bonus
  • 7/8 Challenges entered: $15 bonus
  • All 8 Challenges entered: $20 bonus

Ready?

We hope that this Summer Fiction Series challenges you and inspires some amazing stories. We can't wait to see what you create.

Challenges
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About the Creator

Vocal Team

By creators, for creators.

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Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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  • Mike Singleton - Mikeydred8 months ago

    This would be a great idea to revive

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