January 2024 The Great Substack Prompt Celebration
Your Inspiration Invitation
It’s a new year so Heather Huffman, Nicole Rivera and the Fictionistas crew have been thinking about new ways to help build community around our fiction creations on Substack. We have loved the fiction that’s been inspired by the monthly prompts and the parties we have with them, but we are beginning to rethink the model of how we can all best share that fiction and the Substacks where we respectively publish it. This adventure of ours has been called The Great Substack Prompt Celebration (read a detailed explanation here of our intial model).
Each month we share writing prompts, have a live Zoom call where we write together, and then wrap up the month by asking all participants to share their stories and read submissions from their fellow Fictionistas. This year we are going to start off the month the same way, but may be asking for a shift in your reading participation by the end of the month. While we brainstorm our big reveal we want you to mark your calendars and get the link for our Writing Prompt Party. But first…
Let’s Talk How You Want Your Fiction Shared With the World
Our goal has always been two-fold: build community engagement and shine light on the fiction Substack pages of our participants. With respect to that second part of our mission, we are wondering
How do you prefer your fiction gets shared?
Up until now we have created a Spotlight post at the end of each month, highlighting some of our favorite stories of the month. This has ensured that the moderators of the project have read everyone’s story, but what about everyone else? Those under the spotlight have their links shared in a Fictionistas post, but how many clicks are those links getting?
What if your posts were shared in Notes? What if a reader shared a favorite line of theirs from your work while recommending it? Do you prefer getting a chance at a Spotlight slot in a Fictionistas post, or having your post shared by others in Notes on Substack? Do you have another way you wish your fiction was shared by the community here at Fictionistas? Let us know in the comments!
Mark Your Calendar & Grab Your Link
You officially have one week to warm up before this month’s fun begins. Remember, Fictionistas who join the Writing Prompt Party will be the first to get this month’s prompt and the first to get some real-time reactions to their first drafts!
Your Official Invitation to Party
The November Writing Prompt Party will be on January 11, 2024 at 6PM Eastern. We would love to see you there (but keep in mind, if you can’t make it, we will be posting the prompt to Fictionistas after the meeting)!
Topic: FICTIONISTAS Writing Prompt Party JANUARY 2024
Time: Jan 11, 2024 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81098047860?pwd=cVI1SmNNTjRSakZ3RU5vc2xXNmxlUT09
Meeting ID: 810 9804 7860
Passcode: FICTION!
Let’s write together this month, Fictionistas!
I’m Heather, creator and face behind Sprinkled Inspiration. If you’re looking for more prompts I’m your girl! I post daily prompts and Have a feature Friday where other creatives share a prompt of their own. Join Here
I’m Nicole creator of all things Stop Writing Alone including a podcast, a YouTube channel, and a Substack community hosting multiple monthly Live Zoom Events for writers seeking community. If you are ready to truly stop writing alone, join here.
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Looks good! Unfortunately I won’t be able to join the meeting as it will be 1 a.m. here in Romania, but I look forward to trying out the prompt. As for the sharing part, I think a restack on Notes (or multiple) is preferable to links inside a post, simply because there are fewer clicks involved.
I really like the idea of sharing with a favorite line - highlighting a favorite line from the story and restacking the story on Notes. I think it would also be helpful if everyone who writes a story for the prompt would also be encouraged to restack one or two other stories that they enjoyed.