Last night two readers laid down something of a challenge, two dispirit gauntlets which I have decided to accept as one. In so doing I cannot afford to permit too much of my writing energy to be diverted along such paths. So, for those who would like to challenge this old crackpot to address something in writing here are the stipulations:
1. The author must write off the top of his head without taking time for research within 48 hours of the challenge being issued.
2. The document will be written in a single sitting and posted as a first draft after a single proof on the back end of the web site, with the date and time of the start and completion appearing at the top and bottom of the document respectively.
3. The Challenge should be issued in three sentences or less.
4. The author may combine as many challenges in a single document as he receives in that time period.
5. Nonfiction articles, if specified, must run less than 500 words.
6. Fiction may be requested at vignette [1,000 words or less] or short story length [up to 3,000 words for this challenge].
7. James will retain the copyright unless other arrangements are made, and despite his assertions to the contrary, he is suspected of having a price.
8. The author’s efforts may be graded from 1-5 by any who care to use the comment section below each entry.
9. The challenger may form the basis for a fictional character in his or her story challenge, and the author makes no promises that said character’s fictional plight will be fulfilling or happily concluded.
10. Reader versus Writer entries will be executed in a spirit of dark humor, with no ill will intended.
