Weekly Challenges

Venture outside with paper and a pencil and find some flowers or greenery that catch your eye. Hold them up to the light with one hand, and outline the shape with the other. Finish the basic silhouette in your own style. 

What is something you have always considered downright absurd, that either cracks you up on a day-to-day basis or makes you so frustrated, all you can do is throw your hands up in the air?

Write a short fiction piece from the point of view of a “sidekick,” wingman, or meek best friend of a more gregarious social butterfly, finally coming into their own. 

Choose your favorite face card from a deck of standard playing cards (that is, the jack, queen, or king of spades, diamonds, hearts, or clubs) and recreate it in your own style.

Imagine you are a parent or caregiver struggling with “Empty Nest Syndrome” after your child has left the family home for a college dorm, apartment, etc. Reflect on their youth through the memories surrounding you.

In the days before GPS – and MapQuest, even! – there were only… foldout roadmaps. Write a poem or short story about someone who must decipher an outdated auto map to “find their way back.” 

You are at a crossroads in life. A decision must be made, but which path do you follow? Give us the visual representation of the fork in the road as you see it in your mind.

Set a poem or story in a silent house by the sea. Include atmospheric details such as the weather, the tide, etc., that correspond to your character’s own emotions (cheery, broody, etc.).

What are you looking forward to most this summer (or beyond)? Travel plans, camp, sleeping in? Do you plan to set any goals for yourself? Whatever is in store for you, we want to hear all about it!