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 311: In The Bleak Midwinter[]
Judge: Actene
Here we are, the end of another year. It's been a long year and I congratulate everyone who has contributed to the Weekly project in 2023. As the days get darker and the weather gets colder (for those of us in the northern hemisphere, at any rate) the holiday season provides ample opportunities to reflect on the things that matter most. For this final prompt of the year write a holiday or Christmas-themed story to deck our digital halls. I encourage you to look up some Christmas short stories out on the broader internet. Even a brief perusal of the literature will show you that a Christmas story does not necessarily have to be a cheery affair (But don't let that stop you if you want to write something jolly!). Write something that inspires you during the Christmas or winter season.
As this will be the final prompt of the year, write a full-fledged short story for this one. Hold your entries to within three thousand words in order to keep things under control. Good luck, Merry Christmas, and thank you for all your work and creativity!
Start Date: 9 December 2023
End Date: 31 December 2023
Week 312: So That's Our New Number Six[]
Judge: Ahalosniper
Welcome to 2024, folks! The lead-up to 2023's end already got a prompt about changeovers and new beginnings out of the way, so with this being one of those special Halo numbers, I want to take advantage to look back a little at SPARTAN-B312, and the game that got quite a few of us today into Halo and the background story Reach hinted at.
So the prompt is simple: give me a story about some minor character in Halo: Reach brushing up against Noble 6 during the campaign. It could be one of those civilians in Exodus waiting for the elevator as B312 holds off Brutes, an Army trooper holding out just long enough to be saved by Noble Six's arrival, or a Covenant soldier trying not to get killed by the hyper-lethal vector. Readers will be familiar with the scenarios you describe, so use it too hook them in! You can feel free to specify Six's identity in your own work or not as preferred. The 1000 word ballpark is the target as usual; try for within 100 words of the goal in either direction.
Start Date: 1 January 2024
End Date: 7 January 2024
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Week 313: Recollections May Vary[]
Judge: Actene
Last year I kicked things off with an attempt to create a series of interrelated prompts, an effort that I thought pretty well during the time I kept it up. I hope to do something similar once my schedule quiets down a little. In the meantime, here's a prompt I've had banked for a while now. Perspective is an important tool to use in prose, conveying nuances in character through how individuals understand what's happening around them. Just because you and your friend witnessed the same thing doesn't necessarily mean you have the same perspective on what happened. Prose can be a powerful tool for exploring this fascinating reality. A grizzled Marine veteran may experience a battle briefing on the Infinity very differently from one of the "egghead" support scientist. For this prompt, come up with a single scene and then depict that same scene from two different characters' perspectives. Do your best to show how the characters pick up on different things that may completely change the direction of the scene.
Since you're essentially repeating the same events, aim for brevity on this prompt - allow about 300 words for each of the perspectives you're depicting, with a combined total of approximately 600 words. As always, if you have any questions about this prompt feel free to ping me on Discord.
Start Date: 12 January 2024
End Date: 19 January 2023
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Week 314: To New Beginnings[]
Judge: Actene
The New Year is a time for resolutions and new beginnings. These resolutions are sometimes the hardest part of enacting change. It takes courage to change our circumstances for the better. This is doubly truth with writing, where sometimes the hardest part is simply creating space and time to put words to paper (physically or digitally). For this prompt, write a piece in which a character resolves to change something--either externally or internally--and takes steps to change it. Be sure to make it clear to the reader what it is the character is after as well as to include some challenge to their plan of action to make the entry more interesting. Aim for around 750 words with this one.
This is a prompt I'm shooting out on my way out the door to go out of town; next week's prompt will return to something a bit more thematically Halo in tone. I'll also get feedback in to entries for previous prompts next week.
Start Date: 19 January 2024
End Date: 26 January 2024
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Week 315: This Timeless Place[]
Judge: Actene
One of the most compelling components of the Halo universe are the eerily beautiful Forerunner ruins that make up the majority of the games' locales. From the very first scene in Combat Evolved we are invited into the haunting legacy of profound alien power. The organic environments of Combat Evolved, the overgrown temples of Halo 2, the incomplete ring in Halo 3 and the damaged superstructure in Infinite all tell a story that stretches beyond the science fiction battles raging on the screen. For this week, use whatever language you can to harness some of this sense of wonder and mystery at the heart of Forerunner technology. Feature any characters or situation you want. My one stipulation is that you not write any scenes featuring the Forerunners themselves and instead work to evoke the celestial mystery their absence evokes through what they left behind.
1000 words or so for this prompt.
Start Date: 29 January 2024
End Date: 5 February 2024
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Week 316: Spy Games[]
Judge: Actene
Despite all the action-heavy set piece battles encountered in the Halo games, a good chunk of the lore we enjoy in this universe is centered around espionage and cloak and dagger affairs. ONI plays a massive role in the Halo canon, influencing galaxy-shifting events from the shadows and inspiring countless concepts and characters present on this site. For this prompt, write a scene involving clandestine activities or backroom machinations. Naturally you don't have to limit yourself to ONI--there's also the quiet movements of Insurrectionist cells, corporate skullduggery, and even the vast machinations of the Covenant and other alien entities. Challenge yourself to limit the action and instead craft an interesting scene through more subtle methods.
1000 word limit for this prompt.
Start Date: 5 February 2024
End Date: 12 February 2024
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Week 317: Seasonal Hearts[]
Judge: Distant Tide
Actene requested I take over the Weekly this week while he takes a break to catch up on his backlog. It's that week this week, that day of the year again. Valentine's Day is here. Romance isn't a pillar of Halo fiction, but fanfiction certainly weaves romance into any and all fandoms through shipping wars and occasional canonical stories featuring B-plots about some relationships, even for Halo. Some are more steamy than others, of course. That said, this week, write a short story of about 1000 word-target featuring a theme relating to romance. This prompt does not require actual romance, but anything related to the genre is acceptable: heartbreak, one-sided attraction, etc.
Start Date: 12 February 2024
End Date: 19 February 2024
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Week 318: By The Waters of Babylon[]
Judge: Actene
There's been a tonal shift in recent Halo lore that seems to minimize the destructive nature of the Human-Covenant War. Decades of war, dozens of colonies glassed, and billions of humans dead, yet most of human society shrugs its shoulders, makes peace with the Sangheili and other ex-Covenant species, and moves on. While there is some historic precedent for the human desire to just get on with life it can be a little disconcerting when Olympia Vale starts chanting Sangheili prayers in front of HCW veterans like Locke and Buck. For this prompt, write a scene in which a character reckons with the destruction wrought by the "Great War." They can be a colonist grieving over lost home and family, a soldier coming to terms with the cost of war, or even a former Covenant warrior reckoning with what their holy war wrought. Hew to about 1000 words here.
Start Date: 26 February 2024
End Date: 4 March 2024
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Week 319: Strange New Worlds[]
Judge: Actene
After a few more specifically honed prompts, I'm in the mood for something basic this week. Write 1000 words or so of a scene featuring the sci-fi staple of an exotic alien locale. Do whatever you want thematically, just make sure to incorporate a strange planet or alien culture into what's going on. I'll narrow the scope a little bit by saying that if you choose to focus on the strangeness of a culture, use an existing Halo species and be creative within the bounds of established lore. Use your imagination and do something interesting!
Start Date: 4 March 2024
End Date: 11 March 2024
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Week 320: A Face in the Crowd[]
Judge: Actene
Sometimes characters surprise you. Sometimes a character you invented just because you needed a name dropped in somewhere or a minor detail smoothed out grows and takes on a life of their own - and maybe becomes one of your favorites in the process. For this prompt, take a minor character from your work and flesh them out. Think about things from their perspective, give them hopes and dreams and motivations. Do whatever you want as long as you aren't focused on your "main" characters. And if you don't happen to have anyone who fits the bill, create someone out of whole cloth and start writing fresh with them. 1000 words or so, please.
Start Date: 18 March 2024
End Date: 25 March 2024
Week 321: Hard Starboard, Aye[]
Judge: Actene
I'm stretched a little thin this week so I'll keep it simple and ask for a scene involving naval combat in some way. It's a Halo staple so there's not much need to elaborate here. Just have fun with the prompt and write a compelling scene in 1000 words or so.
Start Date: 25 March 2024
End Date: 1 April 2024
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Week 322: Heckplunging[]
Judge: Actene
You get two options for this week: you can take a more serious approach and write a 1000 word piece involving ODSTs or you can submit a 1000 word piece that embraces the site's new identity and takes place within the Helldivers universe, spreading managed democracy one word at a time. No other stipulations here, just enjoy yourselves with whichever option grabs your interest.
(For the latter option, be sure to post your entry in a namespaced article.)
Start Date: 1 April 2024
End Date: 8 April 2024
Week 323: Wordy Dreams[]
Judge: Actene
We all have that scene we're dying to write. The climax of story, a critical moment in a character's journey, a daring escape or exciting confrontation--these are the scenes burning a hole in your brain that you've just never had the chance to put into writing. Until now. And as someone who's managed to get many of these scenes out of my brain, I have to warn you: the end product isn't always the thrilling piece of literature you imagined. But that's all part of the writing process: get it out of your head where people can see and critique it, then double back and refine, refine refine. For this prompt, write a scene you've always wanted to write and give it a go. Be sure to provide a bit of context outside of the prose itself to help center the setting.
In order to give you more room to do your scene justice, I'm upping the word count to 2000 words on this one. Cut loose and have fun!
Start Date: 8 April 2024
End Date: 15 April 2024
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Week 324: Photo Bomb[]
Judge: Distant Tide
Hey again, Distant Tide here stepping in to assist Actene while he's going through another busy week. This week's prompt will be another close proximity to canon. Write a short story about your characters and concepts occurring in the same vicinity of canon events or characters. Were your ODSTs or Marine pilots helping the Master Chief behind the scenes? Was your civilian family among those evacuated by Noble Team's efforts at Visegrad and New Alexandria? Did your character and faction get stranded thanks to Cortana's attacks with the Guardians? Are your characters and troops stranded on Zeta Halo in parts unknown trying to survive under Escharum's thumb?
Word total is 1000 words this week, good luck!
Start Date: 15 April 2024
End Date: 23 April 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)
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