Showerthought: That writing prompt about a murderous toaster won me my first ever contest

I entered a flash fiction contest last month with a prompt about a kitchen appliance turning evil, and I honestly thought it was too silly to win. But I wrote a 500-word story from the toaster's perspective, adding in burnt toast memories and a tragic backstory about being left plugged in overnight. The judges loved it and now I'm wondering if humor prompts are actually the secret to standing out in contests. Have any of you had luck with a weird or funny prompt that you almost skipped over?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_flores794d ago

Oh man, I gotta disagree with you there... humor prompts are kinda risky in my experience. I entered a contest with a silly prompt about a haunted vacuum cleaner years ago and the judges trashed it. They said it was too unserious and didn't fit the "literary" vibe they were going for. I think it really depends on who's judging and what they want. Sometimes dark and serious stuff wins because it feels more important or deep... humor can read as lazy if it's not perfect. Not saying your toaster story wasn't great, just that one win doesn't make it a secret formula or anything.

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joseph_lewis924d ago

Totally fair point. A haunted vacuum cleaner prompt sounds great to me, but I've seen judges kill fun concepts just because they weren't "serious enough." It's a total crapshoot who's behind the table and what mood they're in.