Come in, sit down, let us tell you a tale…
Many moons ago, in a quiet room above a pub in Brighton, Writers’ HQ used to run a wee little night of fiction called Flash Face Off. It involved prompts and drinking and writing and sharing and gentle feedback, and was generally considered a Good Thing by all.
But those times are gone, and we are all stuck inside for the foreseeable, so we thought we’d take it – as the kids say – ONLINE.
And lo: a brand new weekly writing challenge was born! A place to be inspired, to workshop your writing, exchange feedback with your WHQ buddies, and even read your story at one of our live online open mic nights!
Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.
– Ray Bradbury
1. Every Monday we post up two opposing sets of writing prompts on our blog (eg: up VS down, or never VS always), comprising images, quotes, or interesting story starters.
2. Pick your side. Pick a prompt (or two, or more). And write a piece of flash, or a poem, or something in between (max 500 words).
3. Post up your piece on the Flash Face Off forum (it’s private and free but you’ll need to register for an account to access) for feedback, praise, oohs and aahs, and suggestions from your fellow flashers. You will have until midday Friday of the same week to complete your story and post it up on the forum. Our team will do our best to read all the posted stories and contact selected writers to take part in the live Friday Flash Face Off.
4. Join us at 9pm each Friday for a free flashin’ webinar session where we will invite writers to come and read their work (or we can read stories on your behalf if you prefer), showcasing a balanced set of flashes from each prompt. There will also be time for author Q&As, general writerly chat, and a vote for the winning story/prompt…
5. Next Monday, a new prompt goes up, and we do it all again…
Sound like your kinda thing? Excellent. JOIN US!
Where? Crowdcast. No download needed, just log in. Register using the form up there ↑ or down there ↓ and you’ll get an email with all the info you need.
When: New prompts go up on the blog and forum every Monday morning. Live events every Friday from 9pm GMT (if you can’t watch live, you can still register for a place and watch playback at any time)
Who? Anyone* who wants to take part in a friendly, supportive, non-competitive weekly writing challenge and share their work with the frankly DELIGHTFUL Writers’ HQ online community (*teens and up with parental consent – there will likely be swearing)
Why? Because it’s a great way to practise, get feedback, and meet some lovely writers along the way.
How much? FREE! NADA! NUTHIN!
Where are the prompts? Just click on the big orange button right under this sentence.
I just wanted to say how much I love Writers’ HQ
A story I wrote for Flash Face Off has been accepted for publication (on a website I found in the WHQ competition listings). Thank you so much for giving me the confidence to send my work out ‘there’ and to all those wonderful people on the forums who give such amazing constructive criticism!
Sarah Gallego
Flash Face Off
Katy M
Flash Face Off
