December 2021 Year of the Ox Writing Contest Prompts : )

Okay, November entries were great, so let’s try this.  Either choose something else in the space where you write that triggers another piece of writing, or go into another room/area next to where you write and choose something there.

Right next to my computer is a picture of a place called Cafe Bon Bon.  It’s gone, but the building it was in is still there at the corner of Merchant and Alakea.  I have that picture here becasue it shows the second floor on top of Cafe Bon Bon.  That was my dad’s office back in the day.  As a kid, I spent many hours up there, and in Cafe Bon Bon, too.  I knew everyone in the place. They made the best rootbeer floats.  Nobody cared about calories back then.  If you are what you eat, then I’m a large part rootbeer float.  Loved that vanilla ice cream with the tiny ice crystals, the way the foam would form.

Please include a mention at the end of what it is that prompted your piece.

Or, as always, feel free to ignore the prompts and write about anything you want to write about.

Let’s go 500 words max again.  Poem, short story, essay, play, monologue, hybrid — anything is good.  The more experimental, the more intriguing maybe.  You never know : )

Remember, your piece may be selected by the editors for publication in a future issue of the Bamboo Ridge Journal.  You never know about that either : )

By participating in the Bamboo Shoots community, you agree to the following rules:

1. We reserve the right to remove content that promotes hate or gratuitous violence. Be respectful and courteous to others.
2. All contest challenge entries must be submitted by the designated
3. Enter as many times as you like using a trigger/prompt (this page).
4. Contest Challenge entries can be prose (including short stories, nonfiction essays, or whatever you write), poetry, or plays -- or any type of hybrid writing you dream up.
5. Every entry must have a title -- unless you choose to enter a haiku, in which case you can simply enter the word haiku in the title section.
6. All content/entries should be original work. You retain ownership of your entries; however, we may ask to use them elsewhere on the site or on social media to help promote Bamboo Ridge and/or the Bamboo Shoots online writing community.
7. Winners will be announced with all possible speed after the end of each month. Winners receive 10 Bamboo Bucks credit to spend in the BRP online bookstore. Bamboo Bucks have no monetary value outside of the online store.
8. Entries may also be selected for publication in the regular Bamboo Ridge Journal. If your piece is chosen, the editors will contact you via the email address on file.
9. Please note that you need not enter the contest challenge in order to post on Bamboo Shoots. You may post other writing if you choose. We welcome that here:  Click this link to go to Shoot da Breeze.