Heya folks! I know it's a bit late, but here I am to announce a challenge for next month: Random Inspirations!

This time 'round there are a few things we'll be doing different though:

1. I won't be able to provide a prize for this one. Don't worry: prizes for the January contest are still gonna be a thing! But I won't be able to do that again for a while after those are delivered, and this month is the first of that. Sorry.

2. There will be no winners or losers this time 'round: instead, everyone who completes the challenge will get a special mention in a "Thank You" blog post in April.

I know I'd said I was considering a Henry Harrelson challenge for March, but let's be honest here: as much as I've always REALLY liked the stories that have come from the universe in the past it isn't popular or open enough to really get the amount of participation I want to see. So what am I doing instead, you might wonder? Well, it's very simple.

I've found a random word generator online.

Each Friday in March I will post a selection of 3 words chosen by the generator. Those will be the prompts for that week.

The challenge? Use those 3 words provided as inspiration to create a story of at least 500 words. I'd like to humbly request avoiding anything too risque' as well, but that's mostly personal preference and I won't actually hold anyone's choices for story content against them.

The "inspiration" provided by the words can come in a variety of ways. Perhaps you use them literally, building a phrase or theme around them. Maybe you use them as points of interest or character quirks. Try your best to find ways to utilize them where their influence is obvious, but devious twisting of the concepts and creative use of them can also be very interesting too!

Entries can be submitted up until the time I post the blog entry with the new words the next Friday: I'll try to maintain consistency as best I can, but best bet is that I'll likely be posting the new words around 1-3 AM CST each week.

The challenge officially ends on the fifth of April, and I'll try to throw out the congratulations blog the following weekend.

Sound fun? I think it does.

As an example, using the word generator I've found I generate the following list of words:

Sleep
Crook
Youthful

How do I use them? Maybe I write something like an inverted Rip Van Winkle, where an elderly conman falls asleep and awakes as a beautiful young woman in another century. Or perhaps I write a story set in the land of Dreams, wherein a princess must stop a thief from taking Morpheus' power? Maybe the words are traits for three different characters in a more real-world tale: how would I weave those characters into an interesting storyline? Wait! Maybe my story's title is "Sleeping at the Youthful Crook," and takes place in the Youthful Crook tavern on a fateful night? Whatever you choose to do, be creative with the use of the inspirational words and you'll be fine.

Most importantly, even if you can't keep up with the whole challenge, feel free to tackle them when and if you can! The point of my contests and challenges is simple: to get more stories on the site from more authors, new and old. So long as we're doing that, we're all winning.

:)

If anyone wants a practice, here are a few sample sets to get you going. Remember, though, that none of these will be used for the actual challenge: they're just here for you to get an idea of what you'll be tackling when the first rolls around.

Practice set 1:

Gather: Window: Glistening

Practice set 2:

Escape: Follow: Adventurous

Practice set 3:

Cabbage: Earsplitting: Productive

Practice set 4:

Basin: Please: Spill

Practice set 5:

Past: Back: Rake

Anywho, let me know what y'all think of this challenge, and if anyone wants to run a more normal contest-type thing, feel free! Thanks to all of y'all for everything you do.

Melanie E.