April 2023 Year of the Rabbit Bamboo Shoots Writing Contest Prompts

Happy April. The cruelest month, or so I’ve heard some people moan about. I say the month is what you make of it. This month we’ll write between 100 and 500 words. And because Misty is on a roll, we’re going to use another one of her ideas.

The goal this month is to write your piece first in the present tense, and then in the past tense. So, your entry will look something like this:

My Dog Has Fleas (present tense)

Sparky, my dog, has fleas.  He scratches all the time. . . .  blah blah blah

My Dog Had Fleas (past tense)

Sparky, my dog, had fleas.  He scratched all the time. . . . blahed blahed blahed

So that’s two pieces in your entry, 100 to 500 words, first part in present tense, second part same story/poem/whatever you like in past tense.

Here now here are the prompts for April. Remember, you can use ‘um, or you can skip ‘um and write about whatever you want to write about.

April showers
April Fool’s Day
Taxes
Easter
Bunnies
Eggs
Spam
Rice
Musubi
Sushi
Color TV
Climbing trees
Climbing ladders
Climbing mountains
Falling down
Falling in love
Spring
Spring break
Springing into action
Springing a leak
Springing for dinner
Leaving
Trees
Leaves
Returns
Worms
Burns

Okay. 100 to 500 words. First part of the post is piece in present tense. Second part of the post is the same piece but in past tense.

Oh, and before I forget, go check to see if you were a March winner: https://www.bambooridge.org/bambooshoots-news/bambooshoots-winners/march-2023-year-of-the-rabbit-bamboo-shoots-writing-contest-winners/

And remember that any piece you post for the monthly contest might be selected by the editors for future publication in the Bamboo Ridge Journal.

Let’s write.

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.