The Weekly is a community project in the form of a series of micro-fiction contests, inspired by the discontinued Community Writing Competitions on Halo Waypoint. Each week, users can challenge themselves to write a short prose response to a prompt chosen at the start of the week by the competition's judge. At the week's end, the judge selects a winner to receive a shiny new Weekly Winner eraicon on their entry's page, and the entry will then be displayed on Recent Changes for the next week for all to easily see and read.
The project was conceived in response to a long-standing downturn in prose writing on the site, in hopes of encouraging more prose by presenting a painless, easily-attainable length as a target instead of a hopelessly-long novel length. The ideas the writers incorporate to hone their craft under such constraints might then become the seeds for events their own characters go through, or even be worked into whole other long stories.
How To Participate[]
At the beginning of each week, a new prompt will be posted on this page, for users to write in response to. Working with in the length and topic restraints (which could have to do with the theme, or subject, or writing style like "only dialogue"), users then write their response and create a new page on which to post it. Remember to include a Writer Template ("{{Writer|your username}}") at the top and categorize it "The Weekly" ("[[Category:The Weekly]]") at the bottom. A paragraph at the top can be added to introduce the piece and context for it without going towards the word count, so long as there's a horizontal line ("----") between to make set them apart distinctly. The word length for each entry is variable and set by the prompt's judge, but typically ranges between 500 to 1000 words. While you may submit multiple entries for each week, they must be individual entries (while having multiple entries be sequels/prequels to one another is a grey area, they must still work as stories on their own, rather than multiple-part stories).
Once an entry is complete, simply add a link to your entry's page in the scrollbox for the appropriate week for it to be counted. The judge in charge of that week's prompt will then read the entries and pick a winner for the }}week. The judge will also provide feedback for each entry. Bear in mind, the judge's decision may be based on subjective judgements, but good spelling, grammar, and punctuation go a long way towards impressing by presenting a professional and easy-to-read appearance. Winners will then be given a unique Weekly Winner eraicon and displayed on the Recent Changes page.
Judges and Prompts[]
In order to facilitate community involvement in the Weekly project, any active site editor may put themselves forward to write a prompt for a given week. That individual will then be responsible for selecting a winner from among the entries provided as well as providing timely feedback for each entry. Administrators and site patrollers will hold primary responsibility for selecting prompts and ensuring project stability. If a prompt receives no entries, a new prompt will still be submitted for the subsequent week. Prompt suggestions may be submitted on the talk page.
Weekly Challenges[]
Week 346: We Don't Need No Education[]
Judge: Brodie-001
With the start of the new year comes change and, no doubt, our resolutions. Most of us, I imagine, want to improve our lives in some way, and for a lot of people that may come in the form of picking up a new skill or learning something entirely new. It can be anything from playing an instrument to driving a car to simply figuring out how to accomplish something that's bugged you for ages. In the spirit of learning and the new year, write a piece in which one of your characters learns something new. Extra points for creativity or something that's not strictly military-related, but as always the most interesting story wins! No more than 1000 words, please.
Start Date: 1 January 2025
End Date: 8 January 2024
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Week 347: Catching a Break[]
Judge: TheAussie1417
I’ll try and keep it simple, for my first judged Weekly. Oftentimes, Halo can be a bleak setting for characters. Tough circumstances and failure make for good character development, pushing people to be better than they are, physically and mentally. However, I for one think that every once in a while, people deserve a win. That’s why, for this prompt, I want you to write about a victory. It could be range from the big material victories, such as saving a planet, to more personal victories – no matter how big or small, as long as it is a win, it’s good enough for me. Your characters deserve a break every once in a while – why not reward them for everything you’ve put them through?
Word limit for this week is 1000 words, give or take – I won’t be too harsh if it’s a hundred or so over.
Start Date: 10 January 2025
End Date: 17 January 2024
Archives[]
- 2016 entries (Weeks #1 to #52)
- 2017 entries (Weeks #53 to #86)
- 2018 entries (Weeks #87 to #120)
- 2019 entries (Weeks #121 to #156)
- 2020 entries + Year In Review (Weeks #157 to #191)
- 2021 entries (Weeks #192 to #227)
- 2022 entries (Weeks #228 to #270)
- 2023 entries (Weeks #271 to #311)
- 2024 entries (Weeks #312 to #345)
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