July 2026 Bamboo Shoots Writing Contest Prompts

I’m in London, and in a few hours I’ll be attending my first live, in-person BTS concert. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where NFL games are played when they come over from the US, holds 68,000 people. You can bet that every seat will be filled and the place will be rocking. If you’ve ever seen one of their concerts, you know what I mean.

I bought one of the BTS handheld lights a few months ago to take to the live broadcasts of their concerts in theaters around the world, including 6 on O’ahu alone. Sadly, as always happens when I travel, I forgot to pack something, and that something was my light. I will be lightless : ( However, I will be there, which is the most important thing.

I love two things most about these 7 young men. Number one, it is obvious both in their concerts and in the gazillion documentaries about them over the years, that they get along very well and genuinely like each other. I mean, Simon and Garfunkel — just two guys — couldn’t get along. This is 7 guys.  It’s amazing to me how they continually, through about 15 years together now, exhibit their great affection for each other.

Number two, they bring huge joy to the world with their songs and with their appearances. With the world as screwed up and lit like one massive Dump-ster fire as it is these days, we need all the joy we can get, and BTS brings it in massive, antidotal quantities. Pure, ecstatic joy.

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If anything here inspires you to write about BTS, or concerts, or going on trips, or forgetting to bring things with you, or whatever, please fell free to use these as prompts. As usual, however, feel free to write about anything you choose.

The main thing is that we all keep writing.  You can’t play Carnegie Hall if you don’t practice your scales every day. Benny Goodman said that.  Same thing with writing.  You gotta do it all the time to get better at it.

Oh, and feel free to publish a piece in any language. You do not have to provide a translation, but you may reach a wider audience if you do.

So came on all of you writers. Let’s write!

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