Writing My Way Through A Challenge
Being forced out of my comfort zone, getting feedback, and meeting deadlines...
Last January, I competed in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge, where over 6,100 writers were placed in random groups and assigned a genre, subject, and character. We had 8 days to write an original story no longer than 2,500 words (roughly 10 pages, double spaced).
Round 1: Suspense, A Decorator, Amenities
My assigned topics in Round 1 were suspense, a decorator, and amenities. My short story "Permit to Redecorate" earned 3rd place in my heat, which moved me to Round 2.
Coming Up With A Story
After 2 years writing content forAdventureSmith Explorations, the word "amenity" always makes me think of small ship cruising. When my fellow writer bemoaned how vaquita porpoises are often mistaken for whales, he provided me with a key breaking moment for my poacher-turned-environmentalist character Manuel. The rest was just a mad dash to get words on the page. Read "Permit to Redecorate."
Round 2: Political Satire, Damage Control, An Insider
In Round 2, I was assigned 3 new topics: political satire, damage control, and an insider. I had 3 days to write a 2,000-word story. My story "The Coop Coup" earned 2nd place in my heat.
Coming Up With A Story
At that moment, I was fighting a real life mouse invasion in our actual chicken coop. With only 3 days to write, I just followed my instinct and this is what came out. It was easier to write an allegory than pretend I know enough about actual, human politics. About this story, one judge said, “I LOVED this story. It’s like Animal Farm meets Chicken Run…This was not only political satire, it was also a cautionary tale PLUS it was truly funny.” Read "The Coop Coup."
Round 3 Starts Tonight!
Tonight, I will get 3 new topics and begin Round 3, where I'll have 2 days to write a 1,500-word story. If I make it to Round 4 (very hard to do), I'll have 24 hours to write a 1,250-word story (very hard to do). The winner of the whole thing gets $6,500 in prize money. I've never made it past Round 2, so I'm in uncharted territory here. I am very proud at the stories this competition has pulled out of me. And I'm grateful that many of you have asked to read them. So here I am, for once, finally, sharing some of my writing with you...
Why This Challenge?
Paying to submit my writing isn't my thing, but the NYC Midnight Challenge is worth the $45 entry fee because
It forces me to write way out of my comfort zone (suspense, political satire, romantic comedy, what?)
Every round you get feedback from the judges, which is more than the usual ghosting done by most publications
Turns out, I love deadlines! There's no better editor than a deadline and a word limit, so here I am...
Thanks for reading. Happy Friday, and if you were waiting for the right moment to finally call me after all these years, this weekend is not the time, my friend. I'll be frantically trying to make something out of nothing and wondering why this creative stress feels so damn good.
I hope you're all doing well.
Cheers,
Meghan