The 2007-08 Prompts

Here are the writing prompts -- with deadlines and publication dates -- for the 2007/08 YWP Newspaper Series. Make sure you also check Special Projects as well. Things to remember:

• Submitting. To submit a piece for the Newspaper series, sign in (or register for an account), click "create content," create an "ENTRY," fill in boxes, paste story in "body," preview work for errors, click SUBMIT. For more info see our guidelines. We will take entries by email or mail if it is not possible to register and create an entry.
• Art. We are also seeking photos and other scanned artwork. Click here for more.
• College Mentors. Most Newspaper Series submissions will receive feedback from top college students in our College Mentors Program; you will be notified by email when you have feedback.
• Student Judges. A team of student judges each week selects which work gets published; you will be notified by email only if your work is selected. (Make sure your email information is correct and up-to-date in your profile.) If you are interested in judging, click here to email us.

Publishing schedule: (Free Press publishes on Tuesdays AND Thursdays of the given week; Times Argus, Rutland Herald, Brattleboro Reformer, The Valley News publish on Tuesdays.)

2008 Prompts

Ongoing "prompts:"

Feel free to submit GENERAL WRITING or great writing on any topic at any time during the year. There are also specific deadlines to encourage submissions.
Also, we are always looking for submissions that on My Life -- anecdotes or essays about things happening in your lives or that have happened in your lives. These should be conversational and may be considered for airing by Vermont Public Radio with the author going into studio to record his or her reading of the piece.

NEW DEADLINE28. Graduation. Write the graduation speech you’d really like to hear. Choose a celebrity’s viewpoint if you want.
Alternate: The Prom. Tell a story about how you did or how you are going to ask someone to be your date. Deadline: April 30. Publication: May 20.

NEW DEADLINE29: General Writing. Final chance to send in your best work – poems, short stories, poems, essays -- for publication. Deadline: May 2. Publication May 29.

Final content appearing the weeks of June 3 and June 10 will consist of best work during the year that had not been published.

To send by email, click here.

To send by mail: Young Writers Project, 69 Swift St., Suite 300, South Burlington, VT, 05403.

To call us: 802-860-0570

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Previous Prompts
(Do not submit work to these prompts; their deadlines have passed.)

1. Expectations. What expectations do you have? What are others’ expectations of you? Have you ever had an experience that didn’t meet your expectations? Or did?
Alternate: Listening in. Take a moment to listen carefully to conversations at school, home or in a public place such as the hallways, or a restaurant or store. Write a story, poem or other piece about what you hear. Fill in the gaps. Deadline: Sept. 19. Projected publication date: Week of Oct. 9

2. Persuade. How do you persuade others? Write a story or poem about how you convince someone to do what you wanted him or her to do.
Alternate: Attic. Imagine a wooden box found in a Vermont attic. Who do you think it belonged to? What was in it? Write a story or poem about it, or about something you have found in an attic you have explored. Deadline: Sept. 26. Publication: Oct. 16

3. Point of view. Write from the perspective of someone else – either someone involved in an experience you had or someone who lived in a different historical era.
Alternate: Super powers. You’ve been granted powers never thought possible. What will you do with them? Deadline: Oct. 3. Publication: Oct. 23

4. Ghosts. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you seen one? Is there a house or a building in your town haunted by ghosts? Tell us a ghost story. Make it believable.
Alternate: Magic. Imagine a magical world. What does it look like? Who lives there? What do they do? Deadline: Oct. 10. Publication: Oct. 30

5. General Writing. Send in your best work – poems, short stories, essays. (Feel free to do it throughout the year, but this gives you a deadline.)
Alternate: Hunting. Share your favorite hunting stories, or tell us how you feel about hunting. Deadline: Oct. 17. Publication: Nov. 6

6. Performance. Do you crave the limelight? Or does just thinking about standing up in front of an audience give you butterflies? Write about what you love – or hate – about performing, or describe a memorable performance.
Alternate: Grateful. Go beyond the cliché: Write about one thing for which you are grateful that no one knows about or no one expects. Deadline: Oct. 24. Publication: Nov. 13.

7. Stress. What stresses you out? How do you deal with stress? Write about a time when you have felt stressed out, or create a story in which the characters have to deal with a stressful situation.
Alternate: Sibling rivalry. Write about how you compete with a brother or sister. If you don’t have a sibling, write about what it’s like to be the lone child. Deadline: Oct. 31. Publication: Nov. 27.

SPECIAL PROMPT -- NEW DEADLINE 8. Winter Tale. Tell a story about winter; it can focus on the holidays or the season – the weather, the outdoors, and the emotions. A dozen selections will be given dramatic presentations by Vermont Stage Company in early December.For more click here. Deadline: Nov. 2. Publication: Dec. 4.

SPECIAL PROMPT -- NEW DEADLINE SYMPHONY POEMS. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is seeking poems written in response to “The Skater’s Waltz” by Emil Waldteufel. Listen by clicking here. Selected poems will be read at the Holiday Pops concerts in Barre, Burlington and Rutland on Dec. 7, 8 and 9 respectively. Five poems by students in each area will be chosen and read at the students’ respective area concert. Winners will also receive two tickets to the concert. The poems should be about skating and, if possible, about sleep dreams, another theme of this year’s concert. Deadline: Nov. 2.

The boy.

9.The Boy This photo was taken of a young cotton mill worker in Burlington in 1909. Who was he? What was his life like? Be inspired by what you see and use narrative or poetry. If you wish incorporate information you learn about this period in U.S. History. Read about the photographer, Lewis Wickes Hine who had this caption for the photo: "Joe Bodeon, a back-roper in the Chace Cotton Mill." (Click on photo for larger version.) Deadline: Nov. 7. Publication: Dec. 11.

10. Three. It can be a time of day or night, the number worn by an athlete or NASCAR driver, or how many sisters you have, or the number of castles in a magical kingdom. Write about the number 3 and what it means to you.

Alternate: Surviving the 1927 Flood

Write a story or poem about this photograph of the cleanup in Montpelier after the November 1927 flood in Vermont. How did Vermonters pull together? What would they do today in the face of this type of natural disaster? Or write about a natural disaster you have experienced. Deadline: Nov. 14. Publication: Dec. 18.

11. General Writing. Send in your best work – poems, short stories, essays. (Feel free to do it throughout the year, but this gives you a deadline.) Deadline: Nov. 20. Publication: Jan. 8.

12. Memorable moment. Think back on your weekend, or the last few weeks. Tell a story about the most memorable moment you had. Tell a story. If you want, drift into fiction.
Alternate: Closet. You open your closet door: What do you see? Deadline: Nov. 28. Publication: Jan. 15.

13. Mistakes. Have you or someone you know ever made a terrible mistake? Write a story or poem about it. Can all mistakes be forgiven?
Alternate: The Big Game. Whether you score a buzzer-beater to win the championship or your little brother knocks over the Monopoly board when he starts to lose, games always have an element of drama. Use the idea of “The Big Game” in a story. Deadline: Dec. 5. Publication: Jan. 22.

14. Back yard. Do you have a favorite place or an activity you like to do in your back yard? Can you imagine what it looked like and who lived there before your family moved in? Write a story or poem about something that happened in your back yard.
Alternate: Losing weight. What does that make you think? Deadline: Dec. 12. Publication: Jan. 29.

15. General. Send in your best work – poems, short stories, essays. (Feel free to do it throughout the year, but this gives you a deadline.) Deadline: Jan. 9. Publication: Feb. 5.

16. Evidence. Tell a story in which a specific detail is key to establishing whether something is true or false.
Alternate: Global warming. Wave a magic wand; you are President of the United States. What would you do about global warming? Deadline: Jan. 16. Publication: Feb. 12.

SPECIAL PROMPT17. “My Life.” Write about something important that happened or is happening in your life – an event, a milestone, a memorable moment. Write a narrative, something conversational; tell an anecdote that helps bring your point alive. Up to 500 words. We will publish the best AND see if the story story or essay might be suitable to be recorded and aired on Vermont Public Radio. Click on PUBLISH and Radio Guidelines for more tips. These can be submitted at any time.
Alternate: Cheating. How much cheating happens in your school? How do you feel about it? What have you done about it? Tell a story if you’d like, but no real names. Deadline: FRIDAY Jan. 25. Publication: Feb. 19 (north) or Feb. 26 (south).

18. Faking it. Admit it, you’ve had to pull the wool over someone’s eyes when trapped at an unexpected moment. Write about it.
Alternate: Role Model. Who is your role model? Or is there someone who looks up to you? Why? Deadline: Jan. 30. Publication: March 4.

19. Pride. When did pride help you? Hurt you?
Alternate: The last time. You could write about the last time you did something. Or write in reaction to this: “That is the last time I will ever….” Deadline: Feb. 6. Publication: March 11.

20. Bullying. Have you been the recipient? What did it do to you? Have you bullied? Why?
Alternate: Iraq. Write what comes to mind when you hear that word. Deadline: Feb. 13. Publication: March 18.

21. Beginning. Write about a memorable beginning.
Alternate: Mud Love it or hate it, springtime is mud season in Vermont. Write a poem or story about mud. Deadline: Feb. 20 (north) 27 (south). Publication: March 25.

23. Mannerisms. Write about a funny or annoying mannerism you’ve observed in someone.
Alternate: Waiting. Waiting can be filled with anticipation, frustration or boredom. Write about a time when you have waited for something. Deadline: Mar. 12. Publication: April 8.

NOTE CHANGES24. Lyrics. Is your writing the stuff of music? This prompt is aimed at seeing lyrical poetry, ballads that create a sense of music.
Alternate: Premonition. Have you ever had a premonition about something that later came true? Write about it
Deadline: Mar. 19. Publication: April 15 (north); April 22 (south).

NOTE NEW DEADLINE: SPECIAL PROMPT -- Cash and cheese to winners. Cabot Cheese is sponsoring 22. Farming. Do you farm? Have you ever worked on a farm? Visited one? Write about it. Do you know a farmer? Talk to her or him and tell their story. Try not to romanticize. Tell a story that describes the reality of farming today. This will have a cash award. Alternate: Green. Spring, envy, your favorite shirt, or illness? Write a story or poem about what green means to you. NEW DEADLINE: Mar. 28.

25. Fear. What’s yours? How do you deal with it?
Alternate: Fishing. Write about your favorite fishing spot, the “one that got away,” or another fishing tale.Deadline: March 26. Publication April 29

26. Tests. Your worst nightmare: You fall asleep in the SATs. Write about taking tests, studying for tests, escaping tests. Whatever.
Alternate: General Writing. Send in your best work – poems, short stories, poems, essays. (Feel free to do it throughout the year, but this gives you a deadline.) Deadline: Apr. 2. Publication: May 6.

27. Grandma. (Or Grandpa.) What comes to mind when you hear this word? Tell a story about either one. Or, if they are still alive, get them to tell you a story you’ve never heard before and retell it.
Alternate: Breaking up. OK, so does anyone have a funny story about breaking up? Deadline: Apr. 9. Publication: May 13.