Can You Survive This Writing Challenge?

One winner will receive $50 (Due date updated May 14, 2022)

“All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive.” ― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

You all rocked Flint & Steel’s first writing challenge back in January, so I’m excited to announce our next challenge.

Before I get to all the details, I want to first thank pockett dessert, Mary Chang Story Writer, Marilyn Flower for donating on Ko-fi. Writers should get paid more, so it is my intention to host a writing challenge here on Medium each quarter. Money donated via my Ko-fi page goes towards these challenges, so I thank you!

A Two-Part Writing Challenge

For this writing challenge, you will submit two separate articles to tell your story. These two articles are connected. The first article will lead the reader to a type of “cliffhanger” ending to leave the reader wanting more, like in serial stories or TV shows.

My advice for a serial two-part story is to write the completed story and find a good spot to break the piece into two.

The Prompt

So what story will you tell? The prompt is survival. You can take that prompt in any direction you wish. This does not have to be a serious article about a life-threatening event that you survived (or it can be!). This could be satire, a rant, a light-hearted take, a fiction story, a poem, a photo essay, whatever format you wish.

Write about a specific moment where you didn’t think you would make it through, mentally and/or physically. For example, first time serving jury duty, getting through the first day of high school (as a student or a teacher), giving birth to your first child, being stuck in an elevator, getting through the day with no coffee (I’m not sure I could survive that folks!).

Or a fiction story of your character surviving something, again something small or something major.

There is no right or wrong, in terms of the prompt.

Winner Selection

For this writing challenge, I will select between three to five articles (will depend on the number of submissions) as editor favorites.

Then the winner will be selected by reader judging. I will set up a Google form and allow 5 days for contest judging. The winner will receive $50 (Paypal, Venmo, Ko-Fi or BuyMeACoffee).

I will not edit your submissions, except for the contest subtitle and required tags (see below). Please submit your best work. Use Grammarly to check for basic grammar and punctuation mistakes. Also, read your stories out loud to yourself to check for missing words.

Articles must be published by Flint & Steel by May 16, 2022 at 5 pm, CST.

I will select three to five articles as editor favorites, which will be announced on May 19, 2022.

Reader judging will begin on May 19 and end on May 24 with the winner announcement on May 31, 2022.

🎉Contest Guidelines

✔ Must submit two articles and they must be related stories, not two independent stories.

✔ In the second article, place a link referring to the first article. Once the second article is published, edit the first story with a link to the second story.

✔ Each article must be a minimum of a two-minute read, no longer than a six-minute read.

✔ (Updated: May 14, 2022: Removing this rule as I, the editor, had forgotten about it myself) Must allow a minimum of 24 hours in between the two articles with a maximum of 7 days. You may submit both articles at the same time, leaving me a note of how much time you would like in between publishing them.

✔ The headline titles are up to you, but please add “Flint & Steel Two-Part Writing Challenge” for the subtitle.

✔ Use the tags “survival” AND “Flint and Steel.”

✨Contest Eligibility Rules

✔ You must be following Flint & Steel.

✔ You must be a writer for Flint & Steel. (click on the link for the writer page or leave a comment on this post to be added as a writer. Please allow 24 hours to be added).

✔ Submissions must be published at Flint & Steel.

✔ Use the tags “survival” AND “Flint and Steel” and the subtitle “Flint & Steel Two-Part Writing Challenge.”

✔ You must submit two articles with the first serving as a “cliffhanger” leading to the second article. Please link the articles (as noted above). Each article must be a minimum of a two-minute read, no longer than a six-minute read.

✔ Articles must be published at Flint & Steel by May 16, 2022 by 5pm, CST.

Questions?

Please leave any questions in the comments and if you would like to be added as a writer to Flint & Steel.

Flint & Steel Writers

Sahil Patel, Shirley Jones Luke, Samantha Jensen, MA, MAEd, Trista Signe Ainsworth, MIGHTY MISCELLANY, L Burton, Heathere CW, Kaori Mitsui, Penelope Mayfield, Pierce McIntyre, Pene Hodge, Yean Foong (M.Ed.), Elin Melaas, Sarah Minnis, Mindy Morgan Avitia, JM Heatherly, Nikki, Andria Kennedy, pockett dessert, Dennett, Diana Lotti, Ronald C. Flores-Gunkle, Mulan, Amanda Laughtland, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Penny Grubb, Sorina Raluca Babau, Prashansa Chandekar, Will Hull, Ravyne Hawke, Jane Grows Garden Rooms (Jane Frost), Mimi Bordeaux, Adrienne Beaumont, Karen Schwartz, Divina Grey, Sangeetha Shankar, Ellen Andaya, Barb Dalton, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Beverly Annette Little, Aabye-Gayle F., AliciaMarie Belchak | Master Life, Build Dreams, Danielle Hestand, Rick Allen, Jennifer Pierce, Tamil, Amy Rosie, Jennifer McDougall, Susan Poole, Adrienne Parkhurst, Chelsea Marie — Charlie Cole — Katie Michaelson — Sandra B — Buse ermen — E. Katherine Kottaras — Bingz Huang — Winston — Stephanie Stephenson — Marilyn Flower — Kris Bedenian — Kathy K — Nick Stockton — VerityAlways — Makena Darya — Umme Salma — Călina Mureșan — Anne Bonfert — Jennifer Dunne, K-kun Writes!, M Cher, CARMEN F MICSA, Annette Liron, Sam Finlayson, Ian Hanson, LM, Elizabeth Kasujja, Sandi Parsons, Veronica Haunani Fitzhugh, BichoDoMato, Jules Starley, Jordan Richardson

✍ Written by Ellie Jacobson, @2022 all rights reserved.

✨ I’m a freelance writer and editor from Minnesota, writing my first novel, a psychological suspense novel. Are you a writer? Check out Sparks, my newsletter filled with writing prompts to spark your creativity.

📣 Want to read more? Or even join Medium as a writer? Join Medium and have unlimited access to so many excellent writers & get started on your own Medium writing journey.