Challenges

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Weekly Challenges

Every fortnight we set mini challenges for you to try each time. Should you wish to take up the challenge, you can send us the results via email (rasc@writeme.com) and we will put them up on the Showcase page. Feel free to discuss the challenges on the forum too.

See the Previous Challenges Archive>>>

24/09/08
The challenge for the next fortnight is a bit geographical - armchair travel writing! We'd like you to find a map - any map, of anywhere, be it of plans for a new carpark in your local paper, in the front of some novel, or just a bit of the world that looks interesting from Google Earth. Take a comfortable sized section of the map, and give it some life - what is going on in that place? Who lives there? What does it actually look like on the ground?

On-going Challenges

Some of our favourite writing challenges in the past have been online, and so RASC was formed to bring our writing back in to the real world. However, that is not to say the online ones weren't fun. Here's some web-based projects to get you in the mood.

(clicking on the icons will link to the project pages and away from the RASC website. Please do come back though!)

Where it all began. Nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month. The event happens every year in November, and participants have 30 days to write a 50,000 word novel. The competition is designed to force you to write, and focusses on quantity and not necessarily quality! Jo and Bel are Nanowrimo veterans, and Bel is the Municipal Liaison for the Darlington area. We have write-in sessions in local cafes, and at the end of the month, the Novelling Oscars are held for the winners. The entire month can be utterly caffeinated and insane, but believe it or not, it is actually a lot of fun!

script frenzy

Similar to Nanowrimo, but this time you get 30 days over the summer to write a 20,000 word script for film, TV or theatre. Although this is less than half the length of the novel, it seems to be much harder, as neither Jo nor Bel finished last year! Obviously the focus is on dialogue, and it is a good opportunity to try writing in a different medium.

Does exactly what it says on the logo. This is another online writing experiment, where participants are encouraged to write exactly 100 words, everyday. Not 99, not 103, it has to be spot on 100. You log your 100 words every day on the site, and at the end of the month, if you have completed each day, your month's batch is published on the site. If you miss a day and don't catch up before the end of the month, your whole batch gets wiped. A very good way of disciplining your writing and teaches that brevity is indeed the soul of wit!