The final Writing Challenge of 2019 is here!
Photo by Osman Rana on Unsplash
Thanks to Literally Literary for hosting our final Writing Challenge of 2019! Much as I expected, the prompt they’ve come up with is not your typical holiday prompt. This one manages to be both specific and broad at the same time, with plenty of room for creativity.
The prompt
Like last month’s challenge, this one is a single word prompt. Ready for it?
“Exulansis”
“Can you use it in a definition?” you might ask.
Sure!
exulansisn. the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it — whether through envy or pity or simple foreignness — which allows it to drift away from the rest of your life story, until the memory itself feels out of place, almost mythical, wandering restlessly in the fog, no longer even looking for a place to land.
You know the feeling, right? Of course you do, I’m sure. In one way or another, this thing called exulansis is something everyone can relate to. If not, think about it through a different lens…can you imagine a character experiencing this? Or a friend? What might have triggered it? What memories have you allowed to drift away and why? How can we, as humans, form meaningful connections? Maybe there are no clear cut answers, but this is up to you to explore.
The details
This prompt runs from November 25th to December 25th and is open for poetry, fiction stories, and/or nonfiction stories (emphasis on ‘stories’) under 1500 words. For all the details, visit Literally Literary.
Be sure to follow all of LL’s Submission Requirements, too. If you’re not already an LL writer, you’ll need to submit a request.
To discuss your submissions, toss around ideas, or get help on a draft, join the challenge channel in our free Slack community.
The prizes
Accepted submissions will be published in Literally Literary. The editors of both publications will review submissions and select our favorites. A winner will be chosen in both prose and poetry. Each winner will receive Writing Cooperative swag, a copy of From the Start: Literally Literary Anthology, Volume 1, and a guaranteed spot in the forthcoming Literally Literary Anthology, Volume 2!
Personally, I am looking forward to reading your submissions! This type of prompt is my favorite. I can’t stop thinking about this new word I learned and how it might inspire my own writing. I hope it does the same for you.
Thanks again to Literally Literary editors, Heath ዟ, Indira Reddy, & Jonathan Greene! From all of us at The Writing Cooperative, Stella J. McKenna, Jessica Jungton, Sand Farnia, & Justin Cox 🍩.
Not Another Holiday Prompt was originally published in The Writing Cooperative on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Read more: writingcooperative.com