Challenge Me
After the incredible popularity of the September Challenge (and the massive fun I had) I’ve decided to have another 2 months of challenge! December and January will be dedicated to short fiction…and all the ideas will come from you!
Here’s how it’s going to work this time:
1. You give me one character with a name and one characteristic
2. You give me one setting
3. You give me one (yes, only one very specific) conflict
I’m only accepting 26 story ideas. So, act fast to make sure you’re one of the first ones to submit an idea! I’ll post stories Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week.
There will be a winner for each week. The finalists from each week will go on to the semi-finals at the end of each month. Both semi-finalists (one for January, one for December) will win a journal made by Love Calcutta Arts (I’ll purchase this from Better Way Imports)…
Then the semi-finalists will go head to head in a final vote that will be held the beginning of February. The Ultimate, Super Cool winner will be awarded with a bag from Freeset (also purchased from Better Way Imports)…
So…put your idea in the comment section. Remember, keep it simple and get ready for some fun in December!
susiefinkbeiner.com 
Character: Anne (20 yrs old) – Caring
Setting: Catholic Church
Conflict: The love of her life, Seth, whom she has cared for through years of sickness though recently they were off, has died, and now she must say goodbye.
LikeLike
Okay. Great. Hmmm…this is a good one. Thanks, Annette!
LikeLike
Names have been changed, but this just happened last week to a very close friend of mine and I watched her go through it. So incredibly hard. Interested as to your thoughts.
LikeLike
Okay, just one question for clarification. “though recently they were off”, does that mean that they were broken up for a time?
LikeLike
Ok, it won’t let me reply in line, but, yes, they had been broken up for a while, but were still in close contact.
LikeLike
Nevermind 🙂 It worked.
LikeLike
Okay. Great. Thanks so much. I wanted to make sure I had it right so that I could really build a little tension. 🙂
LikeLike
Character — Jane; after several miscarriages, is finally through the first trimester of a healthy pregnancy
Setting — either the doctor’s office or home, just after an appointment with the doctor
Conflict — Jane has just been diagnosed with cancer
LikeLike
Oh. Wow. Great story idea. Thanks, Kristi!
LikeLike
……………………………………. So glad that you are doing the short stories again. I enjoyed them.
LikeLike
Thanks, Nancy! I’ve missed writing them.
LikeLike
Character/Characteristic–Katie; a teen who is lonely and isolated from friends and from her faith
Setting–an internet cafe she frequents after school
Conflict–she is involved in an internet relationship with a college boy–she calls it just a long-distance friendship, but it is really “friends with benefits” and their online chatter has become quite sexual in nature
LikeLike
Oh, dear. This is very relevant. Great idea…I have some ideas for this already! Thanks, Michelle!
LikeLike
1. Drew- indecisive
2. Family Christmas Dinner
3. Has planned to propose, but now isn’t so sure.
LikeLike
Oh…this could be an awkward moment for our Drew. 🙂
LikeLike
Anna …who is… “driven”
Anna lives where it never snows 🙂
She just found out that she has a sister- 16 years younger than she- by her deceased mother who abandoned her.
LikeLike
Wow. This is a good one, Tanya! Thank you! And I’ll like writing about a place with no snow. 🙂
LikeLike
Are you accepting more than one from each person?
LikeLike
Sure! Now that I think of it…if I have to overflow into February a little, that’s fine. 🙂
LikeLike
You totally have your entire next year planned out don’t you?
LikeLike
Nope. Not really. I wish! 🙂
LikeLike
Character — Frank; 40(ish)-year-old father of three
Setting — his kitchen
Conflict — with his wife out of town, Frank must make his 10-year-old daughter’s princess birthday cake; he’s never baked anything in his life
LikeLike
Oh…good. This one will be funny/cute!
LikeLike
Yeah, why is it I can come up with all sorts of ideas for you but nothing for myself?!? *sigh*
LikeLike
{sigh} Sorry. Maybe you should pretend that you’re coming up with ideas for me and then trick yourself!
LikeLike
Ok, so #2…
Character: Lilly (age 7), Innocent
Setting: A psychologist’s office
Conflict: After being mute for 3 months, while playing with her favorite Horse begins to describe the accident that claimed her own life, and from which she was miraculously healed.
LikeLike
Oh. Interesting. I’ll have to do a little research for this one.
LikeLike
Character — Larry Kotter; an 11-year-old boy
Setting — the cupboard under the stairs of his aunt and uncle’s home in London, England
Conflict — he finds out he is a wzard who must fight the most evil wizard of all time
Man, this sounds familiar! Maybe I should tell you about my idea for a story about a sparkly vampire named Fredward, instead . . .
LikeLike
You are so funny! I almost fell for that. 🙂
LikeLike
Okay, seriously, last one:
Character — Milton; a small brown mouse
Setting — his home, which happens to be in a castle (I leave it to your discretion what that home will entail)
Conflict — needs to get past the cat to the dungeons, where a cheese-hoarding rat has his girlfriend held hostage
(You can blame Drew for this one.)
LikeLike
Okay. I’ll write your little mouse story, but you have to know that I’m going to lay the snark on pretty thick, right?
LikeLike
We wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂
LikeLike
#3
Character: Kate (late 30’s), Extremely witty
Setting: The docks.
Conflict: Kate and her husband, Sam (both CIA), seem to be walking into a trap by the ones they are about to arrest. They are completely confident, though the new recruit is completely overwhelmed.
LikeLike
Interesting. Thanks, Annette!
Just to let you know…last time we had a 3 idea limit. So, I’ll probably have that rule for this time, too.
Thanks so much for the great ideas! I can’t wait to write them!
LikeLike
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Otherwise just go with the first one. I came in too late to submit any ideas last time so I was excited, maybe too much 🙂
LikeLike
Nope, not too much, Annette! I’ll write the 3 you gave me…because they’re quite creative! 🙂
LikeLike
Character: Sarah
Trait- intuitive
Setting- Park
Problem- notices 3 year old son does not appear to be developing the same as his peers (speech patterns and social interactions)
LikeLike
Oh, Holly! This is a good one. I’ll have to do a wee bit of research for this! Thanks!
LikeLike
Sally is 10 and fun-loving.
She lives in an orphanage.
Conflict: A 4 year old girl just came to live there and they share a room. Sally wants the little girl to warm up to her, but is so exuberant she scares her…at first…
LikeLike
Ooo…nice idea, Karen. Yes. I have ideas spinning for this one!!! Thanks!
LikeLike
Character: Sasha
Conflict: Russian Immagrant, moved to the US to make a better life, but married a man who has an addiction, has 2 sons, 1 with a minor disability and has just found out that her youngest has been diagnosed with a Long Term Disability (Williams Syndrome), Due to her children’s disabilities she has to put her career on hold.
Setting: Anywhere USA present day.
LikeLike
That’s a lot of conflict. Is this based on someone you know? Thanks for the idea, Jessica. I think this will be a good one!
LikeLike
Uh. . .MAYbe??
LikeLike
Character: Sam
Character Trait: Likes Routine/Does not deal well with unexpected interruptions
Setting: In a van with spouse and 4 kids. Travelling back home after holiday with the in-laws. Still a few hours from home travelling through a snow storm.
Problem: One of the children ate too many Christmas goodies and just threw up.
LikeLike
Ha! This one will be fun. Thanks, Kelly!
LikeLike
Harvey- 50 years old, farmer
Small farming community in the Mid-west 1960’s
An old childhood aquaintance (now a lawyer) arrives who happens to know things about Harvey’s past that would threaten his reputation and possibly change his life completely.
LikeLike
Oh. Good one, Darcie! I think this! Thanks!
LikeLike
Elizaveta, 74 years old.
Elizaveta is an impoverished Russian immigrant who has been living in the United States for the past 35 years with her husband. Her husband of 50 years has just passed away. She is returning home after the funeral, feeling very alone.
LikeLike
{sigh} This is a great idea, Trevor. Makes me feel a little homesick for her. Thank you for the idea.
LikeLike
1. Luke- 16, Handsome
2. North Dakota- November 2011
3. Luke attends a small high school in North Dakota and although he’s been raised a boy, he identifies himself as transgender. He plans on announcing his true struggle and identity to his family this coming Christmas.
LikeLike
Oh my. This one will be a challenge. Thanks, Julie!
LikeLike
1. Harold, middle aged man
2. Christian couples retreat
3. Harold is happily married except that his wife is no longer interested in or capable of, intimacy. Harold meets a nice woman who actually seems interested in his life and begins to wonder: what if.
LikeLike
Oh, wow. Good story idea. Thanks, Steve!
LikeLike
Character: Jane, an eighteen year-old who has escaped her abusive family in an old car which is on its last legs.
Setting: Side of the road in the middle of nowhere, pouring rain, car (not a Subaru!) which has just stopped working.
Conflict: a man stops to help her, but she’s not sure if she can trust him. Inclined not to … but what else can she do? Note: she has a gun in the glove compartment which she stole from her old man.
LikeLike
Too bad she didn’t have a Subi! Thanks, Rob. This will be great to write!
LikeLike
Character: Castalia, a struggling 15 yr old torn bewteen following the crowd or following her heart and living for God. She was abused by gpa, mom abandoned her and her dad raised her alone.
Setting: amish country ( just moved here to start over, used to live in big city)
Conflict: internal struggle with following the trend of being rebellious or living a life for God as she truely wants to but is afraid of where God may lead her.
LikeLike
Thank you, Carrie! I look forward to writing this one!
LikeLike