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Thu, Jan 15, 2026

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The Contest Challenge

by Schnujo

Rated: 13+ · Message Forum · Activity · #2109126

Join by entering a contest a month for 12 months--Win Badges! Catching up is allowed!

Click here to SKIP TO THE CONTESTS

Click here to SKIP TO THE FORUM

Click here to SKIP TO THE TIPS

COME ON!
You're already entering contests!
Why not get Merit Badges for doing it?

A giant thank you to Warped Sanity for this lovely banner!

Short and Sweet Version

Rules ▶︎

CURRENT CONTESTS

Note: Not every contest begins on the 1st and ends on the last day of the month. It is YOUR responsibility to know the final entry date for the contest you choose to enter. If a contest deadline is during the month, but then reopens that same month, feel free to enter any time during that month. If it closes during the month and doesn't reopen that month, choose another contest.

FORUM

PromptMaster !

(18+)
A relaxed writing competition inspired by Taskmaster! January round open!
#2329438 by Jayne

FORUM

BlackAdder's Cantina Space Opera Contest

(13+)
A place for spacers, washouts, and dreamers of dreams. Open for May 2023!
#2275750 by BlackAdder

FORUM

The Weekly Quickie Contest

(18+)
Can you excite in under 969 words? Romance+ Contest. January - New Romance
#1355442 by Dawn Embers

Prizes

Everyone completing 12 months straight receives 2 exclusive Merit Badges at the end!
(You can catch up if you get behind.)
Get a Trinket after each time you enter all 3 contests 3 different times--consecutive times not required. ** ENDED APRIL 2025 **

Extended Rules Here ▶︎

CLICK BELOW FOR HOT TIPS ON COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE

Tips ▶︎

Can I...? ▶︎

YES

Can I rearrange a couple of contest entries? "The Whatever Contest -- Closed for Now"

is the only thing available for November 2020, but I used "Honoring Our Veterans - Challenge"

for that month/year. Can I move "Honoring Our Veterans - Challenge"

to count for the August 2020 round so I can apply "The Whatever Contest -- Closed for Now"

to November 2020? YES! As long as you have 1 contest per month and they are of appropriate length and difficulty, the arrangement of them is rarely important. Just tell me what you need counted for which month.

Can I replace this contest I find offensive? It's the only thing open for the month I'm working to catch up on. YES! If you find a religous, horror, or sexual contest offensive, you can replace it with a contest of similar length and difficulty.

Can I post that I won a contest? I'm very excited about it! YES! I'm excited for you! Please share your success in the forum either on your original thread or start a new one.

Can I catch up? I got busy/forgot and am behind on the challenge. YES! I always encourage people to catch up. Just be sure to use one of the appropriate contests for the month(s) you missed and enter using the current prompt. Then post like you normally would, but include the month and year you are catching up on so you get the correct credit. There's an example of how to post just above the forum.

Can I catch up on all the entries since the challenge began? You spend tens of millions of GPs on the giant January celebration for those people and I want to be celebrated! BTW, I wasn't even a member when the challenge started. YES! Anyone willing to work to catch up is welcome to! The prizes are massive in the giant January celebration for people who have done every single month of the challenge since it started! Even if it takes you 2-3 years to complete the entire thing, it's worth it. Just choose the appropriate contests from the lists under the "Previously Highlighted Contests" dropnotes and use the current prompt to enter. When you post here, be sure to include the month and year you want credit for. There's an example of how to post just above the forum, in case you need a reminder.

Can I get a replacement contest for X month? Nothing is open anymore. YES! Though if you are working on catching up and that month is far away and you stil have other months to do, I may ask you to wait and work on other months first. But you'll never be unable to participate simply because everything is closed for that month. You are also encouraged to ask the contest owners if they are going to reopen their contest. Sometimes they've been thinking about it and just need a little nudge to do so.

Can I enter more than one contest per month? YES! You can enter as many contests as you want each month. Though if you haven't done 12 months in a row yet, consider looking at previous months to see if there is something you want to enter from before or perhaps a current contest was highlighted previously so you can finish sooner. Check former contests in the dropnotes labeled "Previously Highlighted Contests" and enter using the current prompt. Be sure to include the month and year you are catching up so that I know what to give you credit for. Examples of how to post a catch-up entry or regular entry are just above the forum.

Can I enter this contest twice this month and count it for this month and the other month this contest was highlighted? YES! As long as the contest allows multiple entries, you can enter as many times as allowed and count those entries for any other months the contest was highlighted.

Can I do previous months to finish faster? My life is about to get crazy busy and I won't be able to do the rest of my required entries. YES! I only require 12 consecutive months. If you want to do all 12 months in a single week, you are welcome to. Just be sure to use the appropriate contests as highlighted in the "Previously Highlighted Contests" dropnotes, use the current prompt, and let me know the month and year you want credit for.

Can I write an entry for my own contest or get a replacement contest? The only thing open for X month is my own contest. YES! While I might prefer you enter another contest, you can also write something for your own since officially it was a highlighted contest that month. Of course, you can't actually enter or win.

Can I wait and enter X contest next month? I hate this prompt. YES! As long as the contest is open next month (or you are willing to wait until it reopens), you can absolutely wait until you get an inspiring prompt. The only time this might be a problem is if you are trying to finish for the giant January celebration for those who have done every single month of the challenge since it began. To get maximum rewards, you need to finish by January 1 when the celebration begins and to get any rewards, you need to finish by January 31.

Can I finish my contests for the giant celebration for those who have finished every single month of the challenge since it started even after January 1 and still be celebrated? YES! While you might miss some rewards, such as the Newsfeed celebration, you won't miss everything, so long as you finish by January 31. Rewards given by me, such as GPs, raffle tickets, MBs, etc. can still be given to you up until the end of January. You only miss out on rewards given by the community or rewards that are otherwise no longer available such as raffle tickets to a raffle that is now closed--but I'd get you raffle tickets to a different raffle.

Can I join the challenge late? YES! Actually, there's no "late" time to join the challenge since you can start any month you'd like. Join today!

Can I work on catching up my entries in a different order? YES! You are welcome to catch up on previous entries in any order you'd like. If you are working on just 1 year, consider working in reverse order so that you are working both forwards (as the challenge progresses) and backwards (as you catch up) at the same time and can make the 12 consecutive months meet that way. Otherwise, you could end up with 12 or more months that are not consecutive so they wouldn't yet count for rewards.

Sorry, No, You Can't

Can I replace this romance contest with a sci-fi one? I don't write romance. Sorry, no, you can't. Part of the challenge is to write something out of your wheelhouse. But be creative with it. I had to write a Dungeons & Dragons story, but know nothing about D&D so I wrote about friends getting together to play, but since I don't know the rules, before the game started, the main friend who was acting as dungeon master was called away so the others decided to watch a movie instead. However, if you find something offensive, such as one of the sexual contests, and it's the only thing available, I will allow you to replace the contest in that case. And no, you can't claim romance is offensive, though I might tend to agree.

Can I replace this contest with a really short one? Sorry, no, you can't. Unless the contest you are replacing is also a really short contest, you need to replace it with a contest of equal length and difficulty. It's not fair to replace something requiring a minimum of 500 words with something requiring a maximum of 140 characters, for example.

Can I use contest entries I wrote from before, even though I'm just joining the challenge now? Sorry, no, you can't. One of the points of the challenge is to get entries for contests that might not have gotten as many entries. Obviously, you were going to enter already. However, you are welcome to write new entries for those contests (using the current prompt) and enter again to count for previous months so you can get your 12 consecutive months finished faster.

Can I get a replacement contest for X month even though I still have another 8 contests to catch up on? Sorry, no, you can't. Work on the other contests first. A contest for that month may reopen in the meantime. However, you are welcome to contact the contest host(s) to ask if they will reopen it. Sometimes they are thinking about it and hearing there is interest will encourage them to do so. But don't worry about being able to finish. If you are almost done except some months with nothing open, I'll find you some replacements.

Can I count this contest for several months because it was highlighted several times? Sorry, no, you can't. Unless you actually entered the contest several times, you can only count it once. However, if it allows multiple entries, that still counts as entering several times if you actually entered it more than once. In that case, entering twice in the same month, if it allows multiple entries, can count for 2 different months if the contest has been highlighed multiple times.

Thank you to all the participants!

WINNERS ▶︎

Winners of the Special Quick and Easy Months Challenge ▶︎

Special Appreciation
A Special Thank You to... ▶︎

Signature image for Honorable Mentions for 2017 Quill Awards

Be sure to check out my contest at

FORUM
The Whatever Contest -- Closed for Now (13+)
This irregular contest will change each round. Nature poem? Horror story? Whatever.
#2232242 by Schnujo

EXAMPLE

(Post Title = Contest Title) Pink Fluffy Unicorn Contest
(Post Body = Link to Contest Entry Post) {post:XXXXXXX}

CATCH UP EXAMPLE Note: The month is added

(Post Title = Contest Title & Month/Year for Credit) Pink Fluffy Unicorn Contest--December 2018
(Post Body = Link to Contest Entry Post) {post:XXXXXXX}

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