Hi guys...

To those of you who have been participating and writing, I want to thank you very much for your support! I hope you've enjoyed the challenges, and learned and grown from completing them.

You may have noticed, though, that we are a very small group this summer, and have never had more than a couple of participants on any given day. I don't think this is anyone's fault, but just a collection of varied circumstances that have prevented most of last years' members from returning. And without an active group, it's hard to recruit new folks.

It has also been very difficult for me to get the challenges posted each day, and posted on time, as you probably know. I wish I could be more active in the group, but my job and home life are preventing that this summer.

So, I would like to offer up Moderator status to any member who would like to take a shot at hosting the SWSC. If you have a clear schedule, it isn't too difficult to handle. The main requirement is to post the challenge each day. The secondary requirement would be to help the community grow and possibly even become friends with one another, through commenting on each other's stories and whatever other ideas you may have. And once the community is yours, c_l_woodard and I will still be around to offer advice and assistance if you need it...but you'll have ultimate control and do not need to consult us on any of your decisions.

If no one steps up to take over, I'm afraid c_l_woodard and I will probably have to shut the place down. It kills me to do this, because I know how much fun this group can be from last summer's experiences. I'd love to see it go on, but it needs new leadership.

Thanks again for your support. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or if you are interested in becoming the new Moderator.

~ Tawny

Challenge for June 23, 2005

Make it a Blockbuster night!

This story is due by noon, Friday, June 24th.

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It's movie week! Each of the challenges this week will somehow be associated with the film industry, and your challenge will be to believably weave them into the wizarding world. Have fun!

If you are following the Extreme SWS Challenge, don't forget to incorporate this challenge.

Challenge for June 22, 2005

Harry or Hermione is cast in a real Muggle film

This story is due by noon, Thursday, June 23rd.

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It's movie week! Each of the challenges this week will somehow be associated with the film industry, and your challenge will be to believably weave them into the wizarding world. Have fun!

If you are following the Extreme SWS Challenge, don't forget to incorporate this challenge.

Challenge for June 21, 2005

Movie quotes!

Use some of your favorite movie quotes in any creative way you like. I'll personally challenge you to use 10 quotes in your story. :) If you need ideas, visit The American Film Institue website, or watch their 100 YEARS...100 MOVIE QUOTES special tonight on CBS (in the US, of course).

This story is due by noon, Wednesday, June 22nd.

* * * * * * * * * *

It's movie week! Each of the challenges this week will somehow be associated with the film industry, and your challenge will be to believably weave them into the wizarding world. Have fun!

If you are following the Extreme SWS Challenge, don't forget to incorporate this challenge.

Challenge for June 20, 2005

Harry and Hermione go to see a movie (at a theatre).

This story is due by noon, Tuesday, June 21st.

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It's movie week! Each of the challenges this week will somehow be associated with the film industry, and your challenge will be to believably weave them into the wizarding world. Have fun!

If you are following the Extreme SWS Challenge, don't forget to incorporate this challenge.

Challenge for June 17, 2005

It was in a book...

Extreme SWS Challenge: Incorporate this challenge...see previous challenges. :)

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This story is due by midnight, Sunday, June 19th.

Since the highest vote from the poll is to run this year like last year, this challenge can be up to 2,000 words long.

Also, please note that beginning Monday, I am going to change the posting/due times a little bit. It's difficult for me to post challenges at midnight each night, so I will be switching back to the same schedule as last year; I will post the challenge by noon (US Central Standard Time) each weekday, and the story will be due by noon the following day, except on Fridays when it will be due at noon the following Monday. I'll remind everyone next week as we go along, so don't worry if you forget. :)

Finally, thanks to everyone who has taken the challenges so far. I will try to read the stories by early next week and review. I also want to encourage all of you to read and comment on the stories that are posted, because part of participating in this community is to give and receive feedback. Thanks!

Challenge for June 16, 2005

First thing in the morning...

Extreme SWS Challenge: Incorporate this challenge...see previous challenges. :)

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This story is due by midnight, Thursday, June 16th.

Challenge for June 15, 2005

The longest day of the year...

Extreme SWS Challenge: Incorporate this challenge with the previous two, making it the third chapter or a continuation of the first chapter.

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This story is due by midnight, Wednesday, June 15th.

Challenge for June 14, 2005

Rain...

Extreme SWS Challenge: Incorporate this challenge with yesterday's, making it the second chapter or a continuation of the first chapter.

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Just a quick hint...the topic for today, "rain", does not have to be the central focus of your story, although it certainly can be if you like. As with every challenge, the only requirement is that the topic is included in the story, so it may be as much or as little of the focus/plot as you like.

This story should be due by midnight, Tuesday, June 15th but because I was late posting it, I will extend the deadline until noon, Wednesday.

Challenge for June 13, 2005

A hot and humid summer...

Extreme SWS Challenge: If you're up for a big challenge, start with today's challenge and build on it all summer, weaving them all into one long story that connects them all seamlessly.

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If this is your first time writing in the SWSC, and you have questions, please feel free to ask away! If you need a refresher of the rules, click here, or if you want to see some samples from last summer to get you started, click here.

Don't forget this story is due by midnight, Monday, June 13th and is to be no longer than 1000 words.

Have fun!

Summer is here again, and so is the Summer Writing Series Challenge! We're happy to welcome back many of our great writers from last year's SWSC, and thrilled to welcome aboard any new H/HR shipper-writers who want to join in.

The 2005 SWSC will kick off next week and run from Monday, June 13th through Friday, August 12th. That's 9 weeks of mad writing for you to hone up on your skills, or to keep them brightly polished.

Whether you're new here or a seasoned SWSC writer, the first thing you need to do is read the rules. We've changed a few things, so please be sure to read carefully. You can also read about the birth of the SWSC here if you are a member at Portkey.org. (And if you're not, what are you waiting for? Go join your fellow Pumpkin Pie-ers!)

If you've read the rules and decided that you'd like to participate in the 2005 SWSC, then we need your opinions. This summer will be a bit more hectic for c_l_woodard and I, so we're giving you some options on how the show will be run.

Here's what we need you to do:

• First, apparate over to our message board and register for an account.


• Then log in to our message board and take the poll.

You can also submit your own ideas for this year's challenges here. We're looking for all kinds of plot bunnies, so if you have some you've swept under the rug or hidden in a closet, pull them out, dust them off and send them our way.

We hope you'll join us again this summer! See you on the message board!

Friday's challenge:

4,000 words

Pick an album, any album. Write a Harry/Hermione story that is based on each song on the album. The main hitch? You can only use the chorus part for each song. I'm sorry I didn't have time to write up an example, but ask if you have questions. :)

Pick any challenge issued on a Thursday from any week of the series. If you haven't done that one yet, go for it! If you have done it once, just do it again, but write a completely different story using the same challenge theme.

Pick any challenge issued on a Wednesday from any week of the series. If you haven't done that one yet, go for it! If you have done it once, just do it again, but write a completely different story using the same challenge theme.

Challenge for August 10, 2004

Pick any challenge issued on a Tuesday from any week of the series. If you haven't done that one yet, go for it! If you have done it once, just do it again, but write a completely different story using the same challenge theme.

This is your chance to write those other ideas you had - but were your second choice - the first time the challenge was issued.

(This week is going to be the same as last... Except for Friday! So here's today's challenge)
Challenge for August 9, 2004

Well folks, the end is near! Back-to-schools sales abound, and the end of summer is quickly approaching. We have just one week of challenges to go. And because of the craziness of this week, I'm sure we'll have scattered repsonses, as we experienced last few weeks.

To make things easy and a little bit fun, we've decided to wrap up the last two weeks with one theme - alternate stories. This should be nice and simple. All you do is pick any challenge that was given on this day of the week earlier in the summer, and do a different story from what you did before...or one that you missed.

So since today is Monday, you can start back at week one and pick any challenge that was issued on a Monday, then tomorrow you can pick any challenge that was issued on a Tuesday, etc.

Challenge for August 6, 2004

Pick any challenge issued on a Friday from any week of the series. If you haven't done that one yet, go for it! If you have done it once, just do it again, but write a completely different story using the same challenge theme.

This is your chance to write those other ideas you had - but were your second choice - the first time the challenge was issued.

The 2,000 word Friday special is in effect!

Challenge for August 5, 2004

Pick any challenge issued on a Thursday from any week of the series. If you haven't done that one yet, go for it! If you have done it once, just do it again, but write a completely different story using the same challenge theme.

This is your chance to write those other ideas you had - but were your second choice - the first time the challenge was issued.

Challenge for August 4, 2004

Hey, same as Monday's except look at what you have for Wednesdays and put an alternate spin on one of those stories instead ;)

Challenge for August 3, 2004

Hey, same as Monday's except look at what you have for Tuesdays and put an alternate spin on one of those stories instead ;)

Sorry, this was posted in the wrong journal... *sigh* LJ sucks sometimes... heh ;)