GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT
Skyscrapers — The Finale
From the top of the world
While I usually tend to create writing prompts surrounding nature as I prefer exploring natural environments over urban ones, I have to offer a diversity of topics to our community. Just because I’m not the city-trip kind of person, doesn’t mean others aren’t.
But it seems most of the writers in our community feel more inspired by the first kind of topic than the latter one as the participation rate in this one was far lower.
Anyhow, I am still happy we offered a platform for the stories that appeared in response to the challenge and I thank each writer who submitted one and also thank all of our readers who read the submissions, clapped and commented on them.
And now to us. These are our choices:
Adrienne Beaumont
I thought having fewer entries would make picking favourites easier…how wrong was I! I have re-read your stories to help me decide. Erie Astin’s story from “The Top of the Rock” won me over not only with brilliant photos but with fascinating facts about the Empire State Building. And who doesn’t love NYC!
Aaron Paulson put in a sterling effort to submit his photostory from his iPad. His black and white photos jumped right out at me.
Manali Mitra dares to write a poem for the challenge and does so beautifully. She brings the green parks back into focus after her lofty climb.
Michele Maize
I have to admit that although I haven’t been to the top of many skyscrapers, I’ve been around them enough to appreciate their magnificent structure. Even though there weren’t as many submissions this month, the stories that we received were all so interesting.
We don’t usually see poetry for these challenges so I was pleasantly surprised by the unique story from Manali Mitra. After taking in the bustling city, she finds solace in the park.
Marianne O’s story struck me, especially this quote below, along with her unique description and interesting facts about the skyscrapers in Hong Kong. Her story was indeed a fresh perspective on skyscrapers.
“The sky-high skyscrapers do not necessarily represent what is happening on the ground. Life is similar. What appears shiny on the surface may be different inside. Something that looks easy to do requires decades of learning and practicing. Someone who looks rough on the outside may be the most vulnerable inside.”
Even though Claire Elizabeth Levesque has a phobia of elevators, she didn’t let that stop her from climbing to the top of the John Hancock Tower in one. The fact that she went up to explore at night was a perfect way to view how peaceful Chicago can be at night.
Jillian Amatt
This was a challenging topic for me and I think it has also been for many others based on the lack of responses that we received this month. Or maybe it is simply the fact that summer is upon us and most of us are doing better things with our time than grinding behind a computer all day.
Either we, we are always grateful to those of you who do respond. As usual, the stories were varied and interesting.
I truly appreciated Marianne O’s post. As a native Hongkonger, she really gave us an insight into the highrises in Hong Kong, and I love how she tied it all together in the end by letting us know that you can never judge what is inside a building by what it looks like on the outside.
The sky-high skyscrapers do not necessarily represent what is happening on the ground.
There is much to unpack from that statement with regard to most things in life.
But really, her photos are stunning and I just love that view from her parent's place! What a place to sit and contemplate life from!
I always love Kim Baker’s writing and this month was no exception. I’m mostly impressed that you were able to check your fears at the door to enjoy a fun afternoon. Those light-saber chopsticks are just too cool! I would love to see them in action:)
Bell KS shares some life lessons with us from a popular location. New York City is all about skyscrapers and while it looks like there is a lot of opportunity there because of them, how on earth does one stand out amongst them?
Thanks, everybody! It’s always a pleasure to read your stories and learn of your experiences.
JoAnn Ryan
Can I say that I loved each and every submission equally this month? Yes, I think I can.
We didn’t have as many as usual so it may have been a difficult subject for some. For those who did submit, I had fun reading about your adventures in visiting tall buildings.
I did particularly love the photos in this story by Kim Baker… Star Wars just never gets old does it?:
Loved the magnificent photos in this story by Aaron Paulson as well… such neat perspective shots:
Also, appreciated this lovely poem by Manali Mitra… such creativity:
Looking forward to reading more of your fun travel stories next month!
Anne Bonfert
I did notice several writers picking New York City as their topic for this challenge which is probably understandable as there are plenty of skyscrapers in the city. Tokyo was also a favorite place, such as Hong Kong.
I did enjoy the presentations of these cities I’ve never been to and probably never will visit as I have no desire to go there. The photographs and narrative were enough for me.
Just a few days after the prompt went online, Marianne O had her response ready and surprised me with some very interesting facts on Skyscrapers. I didn’t know there was a definition of them about how high they have to be to earn the name.
Either way, I did enjoy her photographs presenting the megacity of Hong Kong and its skyline.
The next writer took some more time to respond but instead of writing much Aaron Paulson gifted us with some stunning color but also black and white photography of the business district in Tokyo.
I did enjoy the different take on the challenge and loved the quality images of the skyscrapers.
The last story I would like to mention is my favorite one because the format is so different from what we normally publish.
Manali Mitra wrote a poem on New York City, the concrete jungle and its green heavenly parks in between. The words flow naturally and the narrative takes you from the top of the skyscrapers to the bottom again.
If you haven’t read this piece, I can only ask you to please take those few minutes and let the prose sink in.
Once again, we thank each and every writer who has contributed to this writing prompt. The stories were all interesting and inspiring. I loved getting taken around to see the world from above.
If you missed the deadline and still want to share a travel story showcasing skyscrapers, you can do so. The article will just not be part of the challenge. We are always open to travel posts.
I also encourage you to stay tuned for our next writing prompt for the month of July. We will announce it here on Globetrotters on the 1st.
The team of editors also has contributed to the challenge with the following articles. These posts never join the contest.
JoAnn Ryan with “A Skyscraper View of The World: Your Favorite Photos and Travel Memories”
Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages with “I Like To Climb Big Towers”
Michele Maize with “Would You Walk The Ledge at One of the World’s Tallest Skyscrapers?”
Adrienne Beaumont with “I’ve Been to the Top of the Tallest Building in the World” and “If There’s a Tower, I Have to Climb It”
Anne Bonfert with “I Thought I Liked Climbing Skyscrapers”
And now, please give credit to all participating writers and do give a read to these awesome submissions if you haven’t checked them out yet:
Kim Baker with “Skytree and Stormtroopers”
Marianne O with “Heights Do Not Represent What Happens on the Ground”
Claire Elizabeth Levesque with “Going to the Top of the Magnificent Mile: Chicago 360”
Bell KS with “On Top of the Big Apple”
Osan Fernando with “Skyscraper: A Travel Goal”
Erie Astin with “Past and Future Collide At the Top of Rockefeller Center”
Manali Mitra with “Echoes of Concrete, Melodies of Green”
Carol Labuzzetta with "This Month’s Sky Scraper Challenge for Globetrotters Is A Challenge"
Aaron Paulson with “Shinjuku Kills Me: Skyscrapers”
Your Globetrotters editing team (JoAnn, Adrienne, Jillian, Michele & Anne)
