The Friday Challenge - 8/27/10

This Week in THE FRIDAY CHALLENGE

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Bruce Bethke again gives us a plethora of topics to discuss from Ray Bradbury’s ninetieth birthday to a Stupefying update to finding joy in writing by lowering your expectations—I mean, enjoying writing for writing’s sake. Join the discussion...

Henry Vogel continues the long-running debate as to the future of publishing. Join the discussion... then join this discussion…

Splattering Guts for Fun & Profit asks the age-old question, what is more scary, the known, the unknown, or a house that automatically cleans up the remains of an irradiated dog and has burn silhouettes of the family on the outside wall? Join the discussion…

Ultimate Geek Fu asks which parody was worthy of its inspiration. Join the discussion...

Kerlsey Fitzgerald starts in a new semi-regular presentation, “Critique-al Thinking,” by ruthlessly eviscerating one of Henry’s short stories. Read the story, then join the discussion...

Guy Stewart takes the win in the 8/13/10 Friday Challenge with a dog tale. The inmates discuss the view from their respective locations in the asylum. All this and more, this week in THE FRIDAY CHALLENGE.

And now for the current challenge.

"The Sound of Summer Running (Void Where Prohibited By Law)"

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Here are the entries for the 8/20/10 lesser Friday Challenge, in which we challenged you to take a quaint, nostalgic story about a boy and his shoes and show how completely unlikely it would be for anything so innocent and light to happen in today’s litigious world. Entries are presented in approximately the order in which they were received:

Miko, “The Sound of ‘Tweener Texting”

[Cue crickets]

If we've missed any entries, or if anyone has snowdogged in an entry after the deadline, please let us know so we can fix this list. As always, even if you haven't posted an entry this week—even if you never enter in any week—you are invited to read, comment on, and vote for your favorites. Don't be shy about leaving feedback on the writer's sites, either. Writers thrive on knowing that somewhere out there, someone is actually reading the words that they have written. The winner will be announced Sunday evening.

And now for this week's new challenge.

"What I Did Last Summer"

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It's the source of silly sitcom plots and the cliche assignment handed out at the beginning of school. Well, boys and girls, school is back in session at the Friday Challenge and your teachers want to know how you spent your summer vacation.

Did you battle zombies at your favorite hang out?

Maybe you solved a tricky, twisty murder mystery which had the police baffled?

Did you go to Disney World the discover and foil plans by the House of Mouse to take over the world?

Or perhaps you went to the beach and swam in the ocean? Far fetched, we know, but stranger things have happened.

So, tell us about your actual summer vacation, the summer vacation you wish you'd had, the summer vacation that would make a good blockbuster movie, or just about any summer vacation you wish to invent. Just do it by midnight on Thursday, September 2 or all is lost!

As always, we're playing by the loosely enforced and rarely updated Official Rules of THE FRIDAY CHALLENGE, and playing for whatever is behind Door #3. The deadline for this one is midnight Central time, Thursday, August 26.