The Great Substack Prompt Celebration
Your Inspiration Invitation
Hey Fictionistas,
Welcome to The Great Substack Prompt Celebration — the latest and greatest opportunity for you and your writing right here in Substack! The goal of the Fictionistas Substack has always been to bring fiction writers on Substack together and find new ways to shine a light on the fiction they write. A number of community members had a blast taking a part in The Great Substack Story Challenge (both parts one and two), so we thought it was time to invent something new for even more writers to take the opportunity to participate in. We are looking to Inspire you, to give you a chance to Write Together, to Share Your Stories, and to have a chance to Feature Your Fiction on our Fictionistas Substack page. Are you ready?
What is The Great Substack Prompt Celebration?
The Great Substack Prompt Celebration is a month-long writing adventure open to any and all fiction writers who are currently writing their own Substack. Simply put, we will be sharing a monthly writing prompt to inspire you to write fiction with added support, community, and celebration. You’ve already taken the plunge to share your writing on Substack (which is a huge leg up from most writers lacking such fortitude), what we want to offer you is threefold:
we want to have some fun with fiction,
we want to meet up with fellow Fictionistas to write together, and
we want to shine the spotlight on your fiction and your Substacks here on our Fictionistas page!
In an effort to support one another in our writing aspirations and Substack readership we have developed a series of writing activities, throughout the month. We will
host a live Zoom Writing Prompt Party
send a Writing Prompt to all Fictionistas subscribers
host a thread for Substack writers to share their fiction based on the prompt, and
at the end of each month, we will feature a handful of Substacks and fiction pieces from the thread.
What is a Writing Prompt Party?
The Great Substack Prompt Celebration will begin each month with a live Writing Prompt Party on Zoom. A Writing Prompt Party is a live event that Nicole Rivera has been hosting in her Stop Writing Alone community since 2019, and in her local writing group for well over a decade. In a Writing Prompt Party, writers gather together, do some quick intros, and then get ready to write. The host shares a writing prompt with the group and sets a timer (usually 15-20 minutes) for all writers to write their short story to the prompt. When the timer goes off, then it is time for the truly wonderful (and initially terrifying) part: the read-aloud! Each writer then reads their first draft fiction aloud to the group. This activity builds community and confidence, and gives you some quick content for your Substack!
If You Can’t Make It To The Live Zoom Call
We would love to write with you each month as part of this challenge, but we understand that writing isn’t the only thing in your life, and your schedule may not allow for a Writing Prompt Party or two. No worries! Each month, as the party concludes, a Substack post will be sent with the monthly prompt shared at the party so anyone can then write their stories based on the inspiration!
Where Are the Writing Prompts Coming From?
Both Heather Huffman and Nicole Rivera, make it a habit of sharing writing prompts with their communities on a regular basis. In the Substack Sprinkled Inspiration, Heather Huffman shares daily Heather-created writing prompts with her readers. The Stop Writing Alone readers receive weekly writing prompts that Nicole either invents or borrows from various writing prompt tools and games out in the world. These two writing prompt addicts will be putting their heads together month after month to provide the prompts to inspire your fiction!
Sharing and Spotlighting Your Writing
Each month we will share writing prompts with you in the second week of the month, which gives you one week to write a story (1000 words or less), post it on your Substack page, or put it in a view-only Google Doc shareable link. On the third Thursday of the month, Fictionistas will host a thread post for you to share those links! Once you share your stories, the community will start reading, and we’ll be looking for the stories that impress us most. Get your friends, family, and subscribers to check them out too, and give those shares a ‘like’ to help shine the light on your flashy fiction.
When Does This All Begin?
We are ready to start the inspiration! Our first Writing Prompt Party is scheduled for Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 6PM Eastern Time.
Here Is Your Inspiration Invitation for February
Remember, if you can’t make it to the Writing Prompt Party, be sure to check your inbox later that night to get your prompt so you can get started on your story to share with us here later on in the month!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86071081759?pwd=dCs0VytvdGdrZTh3enpNbnFmSEdldz09
Meeting ID: 860 7108 1759
Passcode: LetsWrite
One tap mobile
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Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 860 7108 1759
Passcode: 567923156
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kjB2e3w10
Was This All Too Long To Read?
If you are a bullet-points kind of person, I’ve got a PDF for you. The Zoom link you need to participate is above, but all the details of our plan can be found in the document below.
Printable PDF:
What It Looks Like:
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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Sounds like a blast! It’s a Prompt-ibration!
What better way to treat my prompt aversion than to try writing to a prompt! I’m in. 🙂