Monday Mash-Up 20

Summary

The "Monday Mash-Up 20" webpage presents a creative writing challenge with prompts and constraints for authors, along with a points system to track participation and engagement.

Abstract

The "Monday Mash-Up 20" is an interactive writing initiative designed to stimulate creativity among authors by providing unique story prompts and constraints. Participants are encouraged to write stories between 100-1000 words, incorporating specific elements such as an overworked secretary, a brick, or magic beans, and can earn points for their creativity and adherence to the challenge rules. The main themes for this round are time stopping for everyone but the protagonist or the protagonist living in a musical. Authors are also challenged to include literary devices like dramatic irony or metonymy for extra points. The webpage showcases the current standings of participants from the previous challenge, highlighting top entries with their respective points and providing links to their stories. The initiative fosters a sense of community and friendly competition, with authors tagging each other and sharing their work on platforms like Medium's "The Kraken Lore."

Opinions

The author of the webpage expresses admiration for the creativity of participants, particularly noting the impressive responses from erotica writers Sonja Glucksberg and The Night Bunny.
The playful tone of the webpage suggests that the challenge is meant to be fun and engaging rather than strictly competitive.
The use of a points system indicates a lighthearted approach to motivating writers and acknowledging their efforts.
The inclusion of a "Hardcore Constraint" and the option to choose or flip a coin for certain elements adds an element of chance and excitement to the writing process.
The webpage serves as a platform for writers to challenge each other, as seen in the direct challenges issued to specific authors, fostering a collaborative and interactive writing community.

Story writing prompts to spark your creativity with a challenge

Star eclipsed by a black hole | Image created by Author using Nightcafé AI

I hope the amazing Kraken Crew has enjoyed the last 2 weeks, because this time around is quite different!

I was pouring maple syrup over my favourite cereal (Don’t judge me!) when suddenly it all disappeared!

Where did everything go?

Rules:

Write a story based on one of the main prompts.

Include as many of the constraints in your story as possible.

Keep your story between 100–1000 words. Feels too short? Consider a serial, like the David Hawke stories or my Furnace Guy series.

Use the tag “Mashups” so we can easily find your story.

Tag Jonathon Sawyer so that I may read it and credit you for points in the next Mash-Up!

Challenge your fellow writers! I’d like to challenge FJCMontenegro and Jay C Wells to submit a story to the challenge!

Publish where ever you want but consider The Kraken Lore.

Add a section that tallies up your points at the end of your story. You can look here for an example. (Worth 1 BONUS point)

See you in 2 weeks, Kraken Crew!

AUTHOR TOOLS | MASH-UP

Monday Mash-Up 20

Story writing prompts to spark your creativity with a challenge

Tally of the points earned from Mashup #19:

Life Outside The Bowl

It’s blow or die out there.

They Fucked Me in the Elevator

I smiled back at them, my body all vulnerable and exposed.

“Rainbow, Dead Ahead!”

A Kraken Lore Monday Mash-Up x March Prompt Response

The Journey’s End

A vampire MacGuffin story

The Clock is Ticking

This problem is nothing to sneeze at…

Pigeons in Black

Let’s take this from the top again.

Main Theme (Worth 2 points; pick one or flip a coin!)

Prompt #1 (Heads):

Prompt #2 (Tails):

Constraints: Worth 1 point each (Choose 4 or roll 4 6-sided dice):

Hardcore Constraint: Worth 2 points (Flip a coin or choose one):

Literary Device: Worth 5 points (Flip a coin or choose one):

Rules: