WRITER'S GAMES TIPS & EVENTS

Use the menu below to jump to the selected section. We recommend reading the tips/hints to reap the most benefit from this competition. The list of possible Events is a good place to take notes.

Tips/Hints

Tips & Hints for Gamers

There are no bonus points awarded for "first received". Each Event lasts 72 hours, so take your time and make sure your entry says what you want it to, the way you want it to. Put your best work forward in the time allowed.
All submissions should be publication ready to the best of your ability: edit and proofread before you submit.
Title Information is crucial. Missing, misplaced, or incorrect Title Information will disqualify your entry (but you still get feedback for it).
Entry DQ does not stop you from a future win!
Judges want to see your best expression of the Event's Core Concepts.
You're encouraged to make notes for each Event on the list below but allow yourself the flexibility to create when the Event announcement comes.
If you read the FAQ and the Rules but still have questions, ask! Our staff is here to help you succeed.
Try every Event. The more Events you enter, the more feedback you receive AND the higher your overall score. The highest overall score wins!
Unreasonable demands will be met with the Wrath of Righting.
Be respectful of your fellow participants. Remember, there are all ages and cultures here.

The Writer's Games Events List

was last updated:

May 2022

Possible Events

Games Events List

For each portion of Writer's Games, judges choose the six Events from this list. Events are selected in advance, before registration opens (except for People's Choice). We try to avoid running the same Event two years in a row.

Pay close attention to the Event announcement: it may include special requirements, instructions, or information that could help you develop your entry.

You should create your own characters, settings, and situations for your entry. Event announcements are provided as examples and are the judges' original work.

We update this list regularly. Events marked "New Event!" have never been used in a Writer's Games portion before.

ACT III

Life stays interesting as long as you keep learning. For this Event, your character, aged 60+, finds a new hobby.

Core Concepts: dialogue, pacing

BEING HUMAN

There are so many morphing creatures out there that sometimes our characters forget about the perils of being human. For this Event, the ability to shapeshift does not exist and all your characters are human.

Core Concepts: pacing, perspective

BIZARRE BAZAAR

Festivals are full of new sights, sounds, and experiences that can bring out both the best and worst in human nature. For this Event, your characters explore a festival of some kind.

Core Concepts: cohesion, foreshadowing

BRAND NEW

An unfamiliar place can feel like adventure as the experience overwhelms your senses and twists your understanding of language. For this Event, your character explores a location they've never been.

Core Concepts: dialogue, description

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Though obstacles come in many shapes and sizes, life can be easier when we work together. For this Event, a group of characters works together to survive a difficult situation.

Core Concepts: character development, dialogue

CHILDREN’S STORY

A child's imagination is a powerful tool. For this Event, access your inner child and write a story for children that targets the specified age group.

Core Concepts: description, tropes

CREATION

Everything comes from somewhere. For this Event, your character’s or world’s origin story is the primary focus.

Core Concepts: backstory, cohesion

DIALOGUE ONLY

Dialogue does more than express conversation: it helps show the characters' personalities without telling the reader who they are. For this Event, tell an entire story using only dialogue.

Core Concepts: dialogue, pacing

DON’T LOOK

Sometimes all it takes is a change in perspective to reveal the horrors of ordinary life. For this Event, your character is scared of an object everyone else finds ordinary.

Core Concepts: pacing, perspective

DOOMED

New Event!

Whether they’re being attacked, completely peaceful, or somewhere in between, sometimes characters fail despite their best efforts. For this Event, your character(s) encounter a situation they cannot win.

Core Concepts: cohesion, tropes

DOORS

Life is all about options. For this Event, your character goes through at least one real door that will change their life.

Core Concepts: character development; show, don't tell

EVERY VILLAIN'S STORY

Every villain is the hero of their own story. For this Event, your character must face their villainous deeds.

Core Concepts: backstory, dialogue

FAKE TRUTH

Memoirs tell the true story of someone's life through narrative. For this Event, your character lied in their memoir.

Core Concepts: backstory, character development

FATAL FLAW

We love to see the good in characters so we can root for their success but flaws are just as important and interesting. For this Event, choose a character flaw from the list and help your character ruin their life.

Core Concepts: character development, foreshadowing

FEAR ITSELF

Every character is afraid of something, but if they always run away they will never grow. For this Event, your character faces what scares them the most.

Core Concepts: backstory, tropes

GAME SHOW OF DEATH

Game shows reward people for feats of strength, ingenuity, or knowledge with monetary gain and notoriety. For this Event, your characters enter a competition where the cost of losing is grave.

Core Concepts: cohesion, dialogue

HERE COMES THE SUN

Some find comfort, some find horrors; the night means something different for everyone. For this Event, your story begins at sunset and ends with the sunrise.

Core Concepts: pacing; show, don’t tell

HIDDEN TREASURE

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. For this Event, an unassuming object is worth its weight in gold.

Core Concepts: perspective; show, don’t tell

IN ABSENTIA

Some of the best stories revolve around people you’ve never met. For this Event, your story revolves around a character who never actually appears.

Core Concepts: backstory; show, don’t tell

IT'S A DISASTER!

Life gave us lemons and now citrus is taking over the world. For this Event, unlikely heroes step up to save humanity from something so ridiculously over the top, all you can do is laugh.

Core Concepts: backstory, tropes

IT'S ALIENS!

"First contact" with alien life is arguably one of the biggest and most widely anticipated events in academic society. For this Event, tell a fictional story of the first contact with aliens from another world.

Core Concepts: show, don't tell; tropes

JUST THIS ONCE

Just because everyone survives doesn't mean it's a happy story. For this Event, tell a tragic story where no one dies.

Core Concepts: foreshadowing, perspective

LUCKY

New Event!

Change can be extraordinary but it can also unearth a nightmare. For this Event, your character wins a prize that changes their life.

Core Concepts: cohesion; show, don’t tell

MEET CUTE

Who knew that bumping into a stranger at your favorite coffee shop could turn out like this? For this Event, your romantic characters meet in an adorable way.

Core Concepts: dialogue, foreshadowing

NOT THE END

Places flourish and fade, leaving nothing but sad reminders of what once was. For this Event, an abandoned place is more than it seems.

Core Concepts: backstory, description

ON THIS DATE

History is distilled into distinct dates that can hold a great personal or societal meaning. Often when people live through something, they don’t realize its importance until after the fact. For this Event, select a decade and country from the list provided and write a historical fiction story.

Core Concepts: cohesion, foreshadowing

OOPS

New Event!

Every choice we make carries with it the weight of both good and bad effects. For this Event, your character makes a mistake with consequences that haunt them.

Core Concepts: foreshadowing, perspective

RUMOR HAS IT

New Event!

Nothing travels faster than a lie. For this Event, your character is the center of gossip.

Core Concepts: dialogue, pacing

SILENCE

Sometimes the most powerful words are the ones not said. For this Event, write a complete story with no dialogue.

Core Concepts: description; show, don't tell

SOLO

New Event!

Sometimes a solo mission is the best way to find out what you can do. For this Event, whether others exist or not, yours is the only character influencing the story.

Core Concepts: character development, perspective

SPLIT UP, GANG

Mysteries plague life for everyone: who killed Jim, who ate the last cookie? For this Event, write a mystery that is solved by the end.

Core Concepts: foreshadowing, tropes

STRONGER

New Event!

Life often throws challenges at us that we’re not sure we can withstand. For this Event, all your character has to do is survive.

Core Concepts: description, perspective

STUCK

When a character stays in one place, the setting plays an even bigger role in the story and every detail matters. For this Event, your whole story takes place in one physical space.

Core Concepts: description; show, don’t tell

THE BEST AROUND

A goal is a target you haven't hit yet. For this Event, your character succeeds in a big way.

Core Concepts: backstory, description

THE SPIN

New Event!

Honesty really is the best policy. For this Event, a little lie has big, unintended consequences.

Core Concepts: cohesion, perspective

THUNDERSTRUCK

Lightning never strikes the same place twice. For this Event, your character gets an important second chance.

Core Concepts: character development, foreshadowing

TICK, TOCK

Making an important decision under pressure often reveals a person’s true character. For this Event, your character(s) must meet a pressing time constraint.

Core Concepts: character development, pacing

UNLOCKED

Mystical, magical, or completely unremarkable, unlocking a gateway can change your character’s reality forever. For this Event, your character goes through a gateway to another world.

Core Concepts: description, tropes

WE BUILT THIS CITY

People have relied on landmarks for millennia but sometimes their stories are lost in time. For this Event, a landmark plays a pivotal role in the narrative.

Core Concepts: cohesion, pacing

WHAT WAS THAT

Rumors and theories of long lost civilizations and cryptids waiting to be photographed exist the world over. For this Event, your character comes face to face with the impossible.

Core Concepts: foreshadowing, tropes

WORLD BUILDING

Worlds are silent characters in the stories we tell; they inform, describe, and bring to life the environment your characters call home. For this Event, tell a story in which the setting is the main character.

Core Concepts: character development, description

Prizes

Writer's Games Prizes

Prizes for the 2024 Writer's Games are donated by the co-founders of The Writer's Workout and the judges.

Overall: Each of the top three winners overall are interviewed for our winners section.

Event: Each of the top five winning entries is published in the Portion's anthology volume of 72 Hours of Insanity.

Event winners receive 25% off any single service at our affiliate, Premier Literary Services.

Submissions: Each entry submitted by a registered participant before the deadline receives critique from multiple judges, regardless of qualifying or placement status.