Challenge One Sentence Challenge

One Sentence Challenge

Welcome to the One Sentence Challenge in which all are invited to participate and both Star Wars and non Star Wars fanfiction are embraced!

Brevity is the soul of wit, or so the long-winded Polonius declared. The One Sentence Challenge offers all participants an opportunity to hone their brevity by telling an entire story in a single and, thus, their wit by telling an entire story in a single sentence, though it is understood if like Polonius writers find themselves indulging in run-on sentences. The goal as ever is to do the best we can and be creative in our ideas and execution. As inspiration, below is a classic example of a one sentence story often attributed to Ernest Hemingway:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Those six words carry so much meaning and pack so much emotional punch, showing how much writers can convey in a single, seemingly simple sentence. It is this meaning and emotional punch that we’ll be trying to channel into our own one sentence stories throughout the One Sentence Challenge.

The Nitty, Gritty Writing and Structural Rules for Your Stories:

1. Only one sentence per story is permitted.

2. Each story must be able to stand alone, though writers are welcome to compose a series of one sentence stories as long as each sentence can work independently of the others in the series.

3. All stories must comply with the standard board rules regarding content. Standard rules regarding content can be reviewed here. If you have a question about whether the particulars of your story are within the rules, please contact a mod before posting your story for guidance as to whether it complies with the rules of our community.

4. Each writer may submit as many stories as he or she would like as long as they are submitted before the deadline of November 23rd.

5. Not a rule so much as a tip, but keep in mind that punctuation marks like colons, semi-colons, and dashes may be your best friends throughout this challenge, so be creative and free with using them!

The Posting Rules It’s Super Important You Read Before Posting Your Stories:

Due to the unique one-sentence format of this challenge, there have been special posting rules made for this challenge as a courtesy to the fanfiction community to avoid clutter. That is why it is very important that all participants in this challenge read this section before posting and comply with these rules when posting their entries.

1. Once this challenge starts, I will post threads in both the Star Wars and non Star Wars sections of these boards for people to post their stories. The Star Wars thread will be for Star Wars entries, and the non Star Wars thread for all non Star Wars entries.

2. I will post the links to each of those threads in this one once the challenge begins so that it is easy for all readers and writers to find those threads from this one.

3. Writers are limited to one post per day with one sentence challenge responses, so if you wrote seven one sentence stories in one day, simply compile them all in one post, and post to the appropriate thread.

4. All entries for the One Sentence Challenge should be posted in those respective threads unless you already have a multi-story thread in existence in which you can post your entries. If you have such a multi-story thread, you can link to it with the relevant post or posts containing your entries in this thread.

5. The most important point is that no new threads apart from the Star Wars and non Star Wars ones I make may be created for this challenge.

6. If you believe your situation warrants an exception to the above rules (i.e. if you’ve made a longer story consisting of a bunch of single sentences you’d like to make its own thread), please contact a mod for approval before posting. If you receive this mod approval, you can create that thread, post a link to it here, and just add something simple like “mod approved” so I don’t worry that you might have broken this rule by mistake.

If after reading this section, you have any questions about the posting rules, please contact me or one of our lovely mods for clarification.

Threads for Posting Your One Sentence Challenge Stories:

The threads where you may post your One Sentence Challenge stories are linked below for your convenience:

Star Wars One Sentence Challenge Stories

Non Star Wars One Sentence Challenge Stories

The Timeline for the Challenge:

The One Sentence Challenge will begin on November 3rd when I post the threads in the Star Wars and non Star Wars sections. The deadline for submitting all entries will be November 23rd.

Voting for the best one sentence stories in the Star Wars and non Star Wars categories will begin tNovember 24th and run for two weeks through midnight EST on December 7th. The top ten stories in both the Star Wars and the non Star Wars category will be named at the end of this two week voting period.

Due to the high quality and quantity of stories entered (everyone’s participation in this challenge was awesome and beyond my wildest dreams) may submit ranked ballots for up to ten stories in each of the Star Wars and non Star Wars categories. The best story on your ballot in each category should be ranked number one and so on through a maximum of ten in each category (you may vote for less than ten but not more than ten in each category). For each story, please list the title and author if the work is titled. If it isn’t, please list the author, post number with the story, and the first three words in the story.

You may submit your votes to me via PM. It goes without saying, but please do not submit multiple votes beyond the ten votes in each category, vote for yourself, or try to use a sock to circumvent these rules.

Once I’ve tabulated the results, I’ll try to announce them as soon as possible once the voting period is over. In the fun spirit of the challenge, the prizes will be nothing more than the the satisfaction and knowledge of doing well. In the end, the fun will all have been in the participation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in this thread or via PM.

Thank You:

Thank you to all who will read or write for this challenge! Your interest is appreciated.

Also a special thank you to our kind mods, who were generous in their time and advice when it came to me creating this challenge. Without them, this challenge would never have gotten off the ground.

An Index of Star Wars Entries by Author:

From @Kit': Bury Them in Your Heart-Post #2; Best laid plans and all that...-Post #48; Lifesticks-Post #94; A Work Not in Progress-Post #118

From @brodiew: Post TLJ, Legends, OT, and Pre-TFA-Post #5; ESB, ANH, ESB,ROTJ,TFA,TLJ,TLJ-Post #29; Turlock, Solo, Organa, Solo 2, Andor-Post #56;Laughter Among Friends, Soft Epilogue, Running Late, Again?, Heartbeat, Masterpiece-Post #66; Han and Leia (Three Sentences)-Post #76; Five Sentences-Post #81; Six Sentences-Post #112, One Sentence-Post #115; One Sentence-Post #117; Five Sentences-Post #121

From @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: No Sparks Here, Bitter Irony, A Miscommunication-Post #6; Finding Each Other Again, Dancing in the Rain, Getting Soft?-Post #24; An Unlikely Friendship-Post #32; Friends and More-Post #53; Hiding in Plain Sight?-Post #59; Behind a Waterfall-Post #64; Sisterly Approval, 'Bout Time, Take Some Getting Used to, Basking in the Bond-Post #108

From @Raissa Baiard: Skywalker's Home for Wayward Clones, Not Just Another Life Day, Imperial Youth, A Pirate's Life-Post #7; We Meet Again, and My Spirit Animal is a Loth-Rat-Post #35; The Tragedy of Jocasta Nu, The Mandalorian Girl, A Mother's Heart-Post #61; Guilty Pleasures-Post #70

From @pronker: Crescendo-Post #8

From @Togruta: I'm Not Ready-Post #9; Sleeping Sith-Post #49

From @devilinthedetails: First Sight, First Kiss, Dreams of being Queen, Queen One Day, Artist, Incompatible with Love, Chosen Politics, Fairy Tale Romance, Firepit, Vain Efforts at Diplomacy, Unafraid--Post 10; Adoption, Dreams of Flying, Just a Droid-Post #26; Hyperdrive, Free from Suffering, Slave to Fate, Sick of Red Sand-Post #38; Nightmare of Leaving, Back to Sleep, Climate Control, Forced Sleep, Needed Rest-Post #54; Retain Warmth, Number the Stars, Swiftly Spinning Planets-Post #63; From a Distance, So Small in Space, So Cold, Chilling Prophecy, Beginning and End-Post #68; Pierce the Atmosphere, So Much Water in the Galaxy, Master, Master in Reverse-Post #88; Happiest and Most Heart-Stopping, Pregnant, Mother's Love, Scandal-Post #90; Pretending Not to See, No Longer Turn a Blind Eye, So Sorry-Post #109

From @Ewok_Slayer: Family Resemblance-Post #14; Memories-Post #23; Oversight, Betrayal, Human Touch-Post #30; Anakin's Burning Thoughts, Regrets, Baffled on Myrkir-Post #41; Mara's Musings, Soulmate, Fear of Temptation, In An Alternate Universe, In Another Time, Another Place-Post #52

From @Mira_Jade: Respite, Azure, Warranty, Wager, Freedom, Ordnance, Outcry, Absolution, Autonomy, Impending-Post#37; Bemusement, Lucrative, Merciless, Courtesy, Reconsider, Next, Assess, Guardian, Type, Reflection, Precedent, Winding-Post #45

From @Oddly_Salacious: The Good Transmitter Moves Along-Post #44

From @Carlos Danger: Three Sentences-Post #79

From @Jedi_Lover: One Sentence-Post# 93; Two Sentences-Post #123

From @afterlight: PR Stunt, Pillar of Salt, A Balanced Diet, Jedi Mind Trick, Closure, Final Girl, Binary Suns, Turning Point, Desert Child-Post #95; Dust, Eternity, Relic, Stigma, Unreachable, Haunted, Cost-Benefit, Rejection, Cosmos Mariner, Spaces, Surprise, The Second Noble Truth, Balance-Post #105;Luminous, Ripple Effects, Pregnant with Anticipation, Aftermath, Biosphere, Roots, Tradition, Discontinuity, Traffic Stop, Paternity Test, Said in Ignorance, Woven, Last, Chosen One, Separation Event, Gravid, Meet Your Match, Time Enough At Last, Tikkun Olam, Pale Horse, Next-Post #125

From @Cowgirl Jedi 1701: One Sentence-Post #98

Important Indexing Note: All post numbers mentioned are in the Star Wars One Sentence Challenge thread linked earlier in this post.

An Index of Non Star Wars Entries by Author:

From @brodiew: The Rookie, Star Trek: 2009, Stranger Things, NCIS: LA, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, Castle (two entries), Lost-Post #2; Lazy Afternoon (Stranger Things), Verbal Blunder (Stranger Things), Grasping at Straws (Stranger Things), Tickled Pink (Stranger Things), Tried and True (Stranger Things)-Post #21; Stranger Things, Stranger Things, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek: 2009, Star Trek: 2009-Post #29; The Rookie, Flurry of messages (Stranger Things), No regrets (Stranger Things), Shadow of your smile (Stranger Things), Out on a limb (Stranger Things), Bridging the Gap (Stranger Things), Lord of the Rings-Post #42; Stranger Things AU (Five Sentences)-Post #46; Winter Wonderland, Beautiful, Accept, Her, Max-Post #58

From @divapilot: Save Your Breath (Hadestown)-Post #3; Alone but not alone (Stranger Things), Etude (Hamilton)-Post #41

From @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Len's Considered Opinion, Capturing His Attention Immediately-Post #4; Origami Shapes, Finding Love with a Colleague, Shore Leave-Post #13; A Perpetual Noon (LOTR), The Peace of Rivendell-Post #27; Just the Thing-Post #32; Grasping at Straws (Star Trek)-Post # 45

From @pronker: Penguin Persistence-Post #5; Shotgun Wedding, Pengotter Pending-Post #14; Day One (Penguins of Madagascar), Day Fifty-Three (Penguins of Madagascar), Day Four-Hundred-Twelve (Penguins of Madagascar), Day Seven-Hundred-Forty-Four (Penguins of Madagascar), Day Eight-Hundred-Ninety-Six (Penguins of Madagascar), Day Eight-Hundred-Ninety-Nine (Penguins of Madagascar), Day Two-Thousand-One-Hundred-And-Ninety(Penguins of Madagascar)-Post #23; Undertow (Hades/Persephone)-Post #33; The Night They Invented Champagne-Post #54; You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means-Post#70

From @Briannakin: Backup (West Wing AU), Pallbearer(West Wing AU)-Post #10

From @Sith-I-5: What Happened to the Starliner?-Post#11

From @Mira_Jade: Intialism (Hamilton), Concession (Hamilton), Sobriquet (Hamilton)-Post #18; Conquest (pre-LOTR), Spoils (pre-LOTR), Victor (pre-LOTR)-Post #24; Heritage, Repeat, Shelter, Bulwark, Satisfaction, Penance, Farewells, Greetings, Welcome, Homecoming, Insistence, Atonement, Memory, Hope, Eternity-Post #34; Effervesence, Intoxication, Handy, Nail, Soldiers, Shield, General, Truce-Post #36; Portent (Doctor Who), Beholder (Doctor Who), Inspiration (Doctor Who), Mooring (Doctor Who), Inebriation (Doctor Who), Infinite (Doctor Who), Doctorate (Doctor Who), Ephemeral (Doctor Who), Headfirst (Doctor Who), Tenure (Doctor Who)-Post #47; Interpret, Promise, Jolt, Equation, Consonance, Repeat, Inevitable, Speed, Calculate, Messenger, Balm, Fissure, Malady, Blessing, Intrepid-Post #52; Wellspring, Deviation, Decrescent, Severance, Echo, Recompense, Asunder, Cost, Precious, Worth, Equal, Reparations, Divide, Spirit, Withhold, Denounce, Sportsmanship, Valor, Burden, Rival, Level, Equipoise, Comprise, Maneuver, Epitome-Post #67

From @Jedi_Lover: Meddlesome Parent (Lucifer TV), Confusion (Lucifer TV), Different Sides of the Same Thing (Lucifer TV), The Nerve (Lucifer TV)-Post #31

From @amidalachick : Married with Children, Archer, Stranger Things-Post #49; Three Sentences (Stranger Things)-Post #60; King of the Hill, Archer, Stranger Things-Post #66

Important Indexing Note: All post numbers mentioned above refer to posts in the Non Star Wars One Sentence thread linked earlier in this post.

Our Top Ten Finishers in each category:

For the Star Wars One Sentence Challenge:

1) Guilty Pleasures by @Raissa Baiard and Beginning and End by @devilinthedetails
2) Ordinance by @Mira_Jade and Desert Child by @afterlight
3) Stigma by @afterlight, Lifesticks by @Kit' , We Meet Again by @Raissa Baiard
4) Oversight by @Ewok_Slayer and The Good Transmitter Moves Along by @Oddly_Salacious
5) Mara Jade was not...by @brodiew, Such a funny little bag of dirt...by @Findswoman, and So Small in Space by @devilinthedetails
6) Baffled on Myrkr by @Ewok_Slayer, The second night...by @brodiew, PR Stunt by @afterlight, Time Enough at Last by @afterlight, Master in Reverse by @devilinthedetails, and Spaces by @afterlight
7) Mara's Musings by @Ewok_Slayer, Luke Skywalker was not...by @brodiew, Free from Suffering by @devilinthedetails, I'm Not Ready by @Togruta, A Mother's Heart by @Raissa Baiard, I am Never by @Carlos Danger, and Sleeping Sith by @Togruta
8) Master by @devilinthedetails, Ripple Effects by @afterlight, and So Sorry by @devilinthedetails
9) Discontinuity by @afterlight, Impending by @Mira_Jade, Unafraid by @devilinthedetails,and Drained as he was...by @brodiew
10) Tragedy of Jocasta Nu by @Raissa Baiard, Reconsider by @Mira_Jade, and Takes Some Getting Used To by @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

For the Non Star Wars One Sentence Challenge:

1) And that's why...by @amidalachick
2) Pallbearer by @Briannakin and Etude by @divapilot
3) Save Your Breath by @divapilot
4) Welcome by @Mira_Jade, Shield by @Mira_Jade, and Concession by @Mira_Jade
5) Homecoming by @Mira_Jade, Worth by @Mira_Jade, Victor by @Mira_Jade, and Ahoy Ladies, Steve...by @amidalachick
6) Epitome by @Mira_Jade
7) Shotgun Wedding, Pengotter Pending by @pronker, Memory by @Mira_Jade, Perpetual Moon by @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, and Seeing Kirk in...by @brodiew
8) Equation by @Mira_Jade, Tenure by @Mira_Jade, It was a hard thing...by @brodiew and Bridging the gap...by @brodiew
9) Nyota Uhura gazed...by @brodiew and Undertow by @pronker
10) Blessing by @Mira_Jade and Married with three children...by @amidalachick

 

I'm excited for this challenge, and I'm so glad you are too

Great questions. Individual sentences can definitely be like sequels to one another as long as each sentence or story makes sense by itself, but in your Han and Leia example, it sounds like they would make sense independently, so you'd be good with that.

And the one sentence can definitely be a line of dialogue if you'd like.

 

@Raissa Baiard good question!

I hope you won't mind if I pick out two more examples from my own writing for a one sentence challenge I did in the past. Unfortunately, the challenge I wrote them for was not in the Star Wars fandom, but in the YA fantasy fandom of Tamora Pierce, but hopefully they should still be examples of ways you might make a one sentence story.

My first example with the context that Lalasa and Tian are a romantic couple in the Tamora Pierce fandom:

Softer than Silk

“You’re softer than silk,” Lalasa breathed, trailing a finger along the smooth skin of Tian’s arm late at night as they lay in bed above her shop.

My second example with the context that Roald and Lianne are a married couple who have experienced fertility/childbearing struggles but have one son named Jon, and that Duke Baird is basically a magical doctor known as a healer.

No More Children

“Duke Baird said it would be unsafe for me to attempt to bear any more children,” Lianne told Roald the morning after the baby that should have been Jon’s brother or sister turned to blood on their bedsheets.

Sadly, my examples aren't so amazing as Hemingway's shoe story, but for me, sometimes I've found it helpful to think on a somewhat smaller scale with my stories and just focus on one moment in time or one piece of character interaction. It's almost like the simpler the story is, the more likely I'll be able to fit it into one sentence. Of course, some people are the opposite and find it easier to think big picture or on a large scale.

Really, though, I think for this challenge, we'll be very liberal and generous about what constitutes a story, so it doesn't have to have a really complex plot unless you want it too.

Does that help at all? Or did I make it more confusing?

 

Another great question. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even think of having separate Star Wars and non Star Wars categories for voting but now that you mention it, it seems like a wonderful idea to do that so authors in each category have a chance to get recognized and both categories get equal acknowledgement. That would mean you can cast a vote in both the Star Wars and non Star Wars categories.

I'll edit my opening post to include that information since I think it's good for everyone to know.

Thanks for bringing up that point nice and early

 

@Raissa Baiard That probably means that you're really good at plotting. I really like @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha's suggestion of approaching it like a trailer for a movie. I have used one sentence stories to come up with those kind of ideas that I then explored in more detail in longer stories so it's definitely an option that is available to you if it helps spark some inspiration for you

 

Wow, I'm impressed with your productivity and excited to see what you came up with!

 

Yes, definitely take advantage of all the many punctuation marks that exist! They are totally your best buddies in this challenge

 

Oh, this looks to be really fascinating! Count me in; I’ll give this a try. I think I may even have something already...

 

@Findswoman happy to have you aboard and can't wait to see what you come up with for the challenge!

 

Yay!! I am thrilled beyond words to see this challenge up and going. Thanks so much for hosting something this new and unique, @devilinthedetails! It's been ages since I participated in a good ol' fashioned sentence challenge, but I remember it being an absolute blast - mostly because I do have the tendency to write long. Sentences, drabbles, ficlets - for authors they are like what sketching is to artists! I love painting a full picture with my words, but these quick impressions can be really useful for sharpening skills, exorcising pesky plot bunnies, and for cleansing the muse's palate between projects! At least, that's my outlook, and I can't wait to go with these! I already have a few ideas percolating and can't wait to share . . .

 

@Mira_Jade I'm so excited to be hosting this challenge (and thank you again for encouraging me to host it), and I'm thrilled to see how enthusiastically so many people have embraced it so far.

Sketches are a great way to think of these one sentence stories, and sometimes I've found they've inspired a full painting later on when they give me ideas for further projects, so that is awesome.

A palate cleanser between other, larger projects is also another excellent approach to thinking of these one sentence stories!