Young Writers Project is an independent nonprofit that engages students to write, helps them improve and connects them with authentic audiences through more than 20 Vermont newspapers, YWP’s website, youngwritersproject.org, and the YWP monthly digital magazine, The Voice, The Crow on medium.com, and other partners, including vpr.net and vtdigger.org. Anyone from anywhere can join the site and will be considered for publication in the digital magazines and YWP’s annual Anthology.
A team of editors, mentors and student leaders choose the best each week for publication, including submissions to these weekly challenges as well as daily challenges on the homepage of youngwritersproject.org. Check out the full list of weekly writing challenges at http://youngwritersproject.org/prompts16-17.
Students from elementary, middle and high schools are encouraged to submit their best writing, photos, audio and video from inside or outside school for publication and/or presentation. For information on how to sign up for an account, submit work, and get published, go to youngwritersproject.org/publication.
YWP is supported by this newspaper and foundations, businesses and individuals who recognize the power and value of writing.
1. General writing in any genre. Due anytime through the year.
2. Photo 1: Feet. Write a story or poem inspired by the photo (by August Spagnuolo-Chawla of Essex High School). Alternate: Stars. Stargazing one evening you watch as a bright star disappears. Tell the story either from the perspective of the viewer or the star. Due Sept. 16
3. Brainstorm. Create a single blog post on youngwritersproject.org where you list all your story ideas. Start with a few from your own life, and keep adding as more come to mind. Use this blog to spark your creativity through the year. Alternates: Learn. Tell a story about a time when you had to learn something you didn’t know how to do, like using new software, taking a photo, riding a bike. How did you learn it? Who helped? How?; or Inanimate. Think about an inanimate object that has been thrown away. Write a story or poem following its journey after it is considered trash. Due Sept. 23
4. Never. Create a story of 250 words or less using the phrase “never saw it coming.” Alternate: Cellular. Keep a log of how many times you look at your phone in a day (roughly 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Is it more or less than 46 times, the U.S. average for all age groups? Write about how your cell phone affects your life. What would you do if you lost it? Due Sept. 30
5. Photo 2: Cabin. Write a story inspired by the photo (by Steve Mint, Creative Commons license). Alternates: Scary. “On this black night …” Begin or end your story with this phrase. Make it terrifying! or Mirror. What is your most defining feature? What do you like most about yourself and how does it define you? Due Oct. 7
6. Sports. Write a story about one of your best sports moments or create a slideshow of your own images that show how a sport or sports affect your life. Alternate: President. What message would you like to send to the next president of the United States? Due Oct. 14
7. Sound 1: Witch. Listen to the sound on this prompt (at youngwritersproject.org/prompts16-17) and write a story inspired by it; Alternates: Five. What are five things you wish you could tell your 5-year-old self? or Beauty. What is beauty to you? Do you have a unique view of beauty, one that might not be shared by others? Describe someone or something that is beautiful to you. Due Oct. 21
8. Photo 3: Lights. Write a piece inspired by the photo (by Alagich Katya, Creative Commons license). Alternate: Silence. “The house was dead quiet …” Finish the story. Due Oct. 28
9. Ridiculous. Write a ridiculous lecture about anything. Use nonsense words, make crazy connections, be silly. Record yourself delivering the lecture and post the audio on your blog. Alternate: Chocolate. Write a persuasive essay or poem in rhyme about why chocolate is the best thing in the world. (Replace chocolate with ice cream, liverwurst or any other favorite food.) Due Nov. 4
10. Sound 2: Funk. Listen to the sound on this prompt (at youngwritersproject.org/prompts16-17) and write a story inspired by it; Alternates: World. Create a new world, either in words or drawings. You can go elaborate or simple — it’s your world! or Veteran. Interview a veteran about his or her experience. Write a story about the person’s overall experience, or focus on one aspect of it. Due Nov. 11
11. Photo 4: Chair. Write a story or poem based on the photo (by Gabrielle McKitty of Essex High School.) Alternate: Shirley. Write from this scenario: “Shirley stepped off the train with three things in her bag: a notebook, a picture, and a loaded handgun.” Due Nov. 18
12. Name. Write about the history of your first name (its heritage, its history in your family, why your parents chose it, etc.) Do you like your name? If you would prefer another name, what would it be? Alternate: Fable. Write a fable starting with a specific moral. How do the characters in the fable come to understand the moral? Due Nov. 25
13. Fear. Write about a fear you have that others might think is irrational. Why does it have a hold on you? Alternate: Embarrassing. Write about your most embarrassing moment. Can you laugh about it now or is it still too painful? Due Dec. 2
14. Photo 5: Woman. Write a story or poem based on the photo by Mario Mancuso (Creative Commons license). Alternate: Home. Where do you feel most at home, most confident, most strong, most you? A room, a park, a workshop, a sports field? Why? Due Dec. 9
15. Sound 3: Talking. Listen to the sound on this prompt (at youngwritersproject.org/prompts16-17) and write a story inspired by it; Alternate: Recognition. Tell a story about two characters who pass each other on a strange street and immediately recognize each other, but are not sure from where. Do they turn around or keep going? Describe what happens. Due Dec. 16
16. Catch 22. Pick 22 random words or phrases that you find on your phone or see around you. Include all 22 in your piece. Alternate: Day. You literally wake up on the wrong side of the bed (perhaps you also bump your head), and it just goes downhill from there. Describe this bad day. Due Dec. 23