First Monday Writing Contest Prompt Ideas for October : )

If we hike up the mountain far enough,
You and I will discover the shipwrecks,
The beautiful grottoes where orchids
Have grown in the boneyards.

From “Hiking by Moonlight,” by Tino Ramirez, Bamboo Ridge, The Hawaii Writers’ Quarterly, No. 1, December 1978, New Moon (https://dspace.lib.hawaii.edu/handle/10790/5207)

* * * * *

There was a clock on each face of the tower.  The one facing Ala Moana Center hadn’t worked properly when Yumi had left Honolulu. Now, years later, it still read 5:10. Yumi mused upon the fact. One could take it to mean 5:10 in the morning or 5:10 in the evening. There was a difference of twelve hours between the two times that time might have frozen.  How strange, to have time stop, and still to have twelve hours.

From “Evening Breeze,” by Yuko Saikawa, Bamboo Ridge, The Hawaii Writers’ Quarterly, No. 2, March – May 1979, First Quarter

* * * * *

Use these to inspire a piece of writing, any style, any length.  Or, as always, any other prompt you come up with : )  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.