Challenged

Writing by Lois

A year ago – well, a year and a month ago, I signed up for a writing challenge called The 3 Peaks Writing Challenge. Now there is another more famous and probably much, much harder –  no, definitely much much harder Three Peaks Challenge where competitors have to actually climb three very big peaks:

The National Three Peaks Challenge is an event in which participants attempt to climb the highest mountains of England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours. It is frequently used to raise money for charitable organisations. Walkers climb each peak in turn, and are driven from the foot of one mountain to the next. The three peaks are:
Ben Nevis / Beinn Nibheis , 4,413 ft, the highest mountain in Scotland
Scafell Pike  3,209 ft, the highest mountain in England
Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa  3,560 ft, the highest mountain in Wales
The total distance walked is estimated at 26/27 miles, with a total ascent of 9,800 feet

This writing challenge might have been a struggle, but in no way compares to climbing mountains! However, I was intrigued and may have been in the writing doldrums, so I took up the challenge to write three, three thousand words stories in fifteen hours,  9 a.m. to midnight.

  • each story must be 3000 words (minimum)
  • each story must start with the opening line provided
  • each story must be original and the participant’s own work
  • each story must be submitted via email before the next opening line is released
  • the total permitted length of time is 15 hours for all 3 stories

Entry was free but each entrant was expected to contribute to a charity of their choice, either by getting sponsorship or by digging into their own pocket. The challenges were only released at the time they should start, 9 am, 12 noon, 3 pm, and here they are:

  1. ‘The surf lapped my face, licking me into consciousness. I raised my head and brought a layer of beach with it. How had I ended here?’
  2. ‘When does the future begin? Is it personal, a crossing of boundaries from one state to another, from youth to adulthood, like a butterfly emerging from a pupa? Is it tomorrow, and can never be entered, a horizon in a curved world? Or was it the invention of the hydrogen engine, now cheaper than a car and enabling the populous to fly, that made this the future?’
  3. ‘Do the dead know they are dead? And if so, what did that make her?’

I completed them all – phew! The first one was most straightforward and I settled down and to be honest, I stormed through it. I obviously had no idea beforehand what the challenges would be so #2 took several minutes to think about before I began. I think the way the challenge was framed offered a support to writers and although it was a struggle – especially to reach the target, I managed it. However, I think there was waffle and padding in my 3000 words, even though I wrote a serious piece and tried my best. The third I chose to make a story although some might have written a factual opinion piece. It was somewhat complicated and with too many characters, but it came to a proper conclusion and reached the target.

I was relieved and somewhat proud of myself but – well, that was it! I submitted my stories so they could be checked for meeting the target and – well, and then nothing! I wasn’t expecting a detailed appraisal of my entry, but I expected something – and some comment on how others had got on and how successful as a whole it was. Maybe I missed an e-mail, maybe something went astray, maybe it was never intended that there should be any response, but it all just seemed a bit odd that there was no comment or acknowledgement. Never mind, I was pleased with what I did, and writing practice is never wasted!

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