Read the prompt, put on your writer’s hat, and tell us a story that passes the Bechdel Test, for the Muse of the Month, September 2018.
In 2017, we had a very successful Muse of the Month series that culminated in an ebook that you can buy here (titled When Women Speak Up!) with the top 19 stories of the year, which are examples of the raw, untapped talent that we have among us.
In 2018, we come back with a new Muse of the Month series, that focuses on stories that pass the Bechdel Test. (Yes, we know this test is mostly for movies, but duh, we’re appropriating it for stories, too!) Effectively,
Every month, we will give you an unusual prompt, a slightly open ended one, so that you can set your imagination wild – but within certain rules.
Step 1. Read our prompt, and put on your thinking hat. “Hmm…what can I write on this?”
Step 2. Write your own story. (But of course!)
Step 3. Send your work to us. Please email it to [email protected] with ‘Muse of the month – September 2018’ in the subject line, and your story as a word/txt attachment. Do include the name we should use if we publish it, and a brief introduction of yourself (2-3 lines) in the mail.
Please note: Given the number of entries received, we won’t be able to respond to each one, but every single entry is being read through very carefully and is much appreciated.
Please send in your stories by Monday, 17th September 2018, 3 p.m. IST. The 5 best stories will be published on Women’s Web between the 24th and 28th of September 2018, one on each day.
~The material should be previously unpublished elsewhere. (Copyright stays with you and you’re free to subsequently publish it elsewhere).
~The story should pass the Bechdel test. (Please read details of Bechdel test above.)
~Keep it between 250 and 2000 words. Please keep this in mind; in past editions, we have had to disqualify some good entries purely due to word count issues.
~Please avoid typing the story as inline text. Send it as an attachment only.
~The editors may change the title of the story if they think it works better.
~The winners cannot publish their story in whole anywhere else. They are, of course, free to publish an excerpt with a link back to the story on Women’s Web.
The 5 best entries will each win an Amazon voucher worth Rs 250. Plus, the winner automatically qualifies to compete to be one of the top few winners at the end of 2018!
Do not forget to send in your entries by Monday, 17th September 2018, 3 p.m. IST
Header image source: pixabay
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I could hear grandmother mumbling in the background, “I’ve served my family throughout my life. Never turned away from responsibility like this. She isn’t even going to work like Kala or Malathi. Why can’t she cook then?”
The breeze bullied the reeds forcing them to swish and sway to its vagaries, forwards and backwards, this way and that. Everything was as it had been yesterday and the day before. The cuckoo bird continued its ‘coo-coo-once-is-not-enough-here’s-another’, coo-coo call, pleased with its own poetics, its rhythm unfaltering. So much had transpired, yet nothing had changed.
The driver obliged and immediately stopped the bus for them. Many men got down. They shamelessly lined up just by the side of the bus and peed on the other side of the road.
I work in Pune. My family lives far away from me in a small town along the coast of Konkan. I get to meet them once every fortnight for which I have to take a nine-hour long overnight bus journey.
Read the prompt, put on your writer’s hat, and tell us a story that passes the Bechdel Test, for the Muse of the Month, November 2018.
Read the prompt, put on your writer's hat, and tell us a story that passes the Bechdel Test, for the Muse of the Month, July 2018.
Read the prompt, put on your writer’s hat, and tell us a story that passes the Bechdel Test, for the Muse of the Month, July 2018.