Last week, Erik of Red, White and Cru won Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #34 (#MWWC34) and just like all previous winners of the Challenge, his “reward” was to choose the theme for the following Challenge (in this case #MWWC35).
A few of us started the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge a couple of years ago with the desire to promote more creative wine writing. The thought was that we get caught up in tasting notes, winery visits, and the occasional food porn and we soon forget that part of the reason we put in all the hours that we do on these silly blogs is that we love to write!
I have never met Erik (I think), but based on his brief email to notify me about his choice for the next theme, it seemed clear that he likes to keep up on current events. He initially wanted to choose “alt-wine” but when I hinted that his choice might be a tad politically charged or at least mildly confusing, he offered another: “Kim-Jong Wine.” Needless to say, I had much the same reaction and urged him to find a less controversial or provocative theme.
His third stab at a theme produced a much less controversial, but still poignant theme, which I am happy to introduce to you now:
[Please note: all of the above is “fake news” as Erik did not offer either of the first two themes. Those were total fabrications on my part, unless, of course, you know Erik and think that he might have indeed submitted such themes, in which case believe what you want.]
I want to stress that the goal of this Challenge (at least for me) is to, well, challenge myself to get out of the norm and produce something I would otherwise not write, be it fiction, non-fiction, whatever. Recently, I have been falling into the trap of making the theme fit into my writing instead of having the theme inspire me to write.
A quick recap of the rules:
The rules
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- The Challenge is open to anybody and everybody. It helps if you have a blog, but that is certainly not a requirement (contact me if this is the case).
- Write a post based on this month’s theme: “Eclipse”.
- The post should be at least tangentially related to wine (after all, it is the name of the challenge).
- The post should be more or less around 1000 words (I routinely violate this rule, so it is just there as a “guide”).
- Include the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge badge (above) that was designed by the very first winner, The Armchair Sommelier.
- Remember to vote!
- Once you post on your blog, please do at least two of the following and I will be sure to include a link on all subsequent posts about this month’s challenge:
- Include a link back to this post in your entry.
- Use the hashtag #MWWC35 somewhere in your post.
- Tweet, using the #MWWC35 hashtag and include a link back to your post.
- Send me an email: jeff(at)thedrunkencyclist(dot)com
- Include a link back to this post in your entry.
The all important dates:
Deadline for submission: Monday, September 25th, 2017
Voting Begins: Tuesday, September 26th, 2017
Voting Ends: Monday, October 2nd, 2017
Winner Announced: Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017
Previous winners:
If you’re looking for some inspiration here are the links to the previous winning posts:
MWWC1 – Transportation
MWWC2 – Trouble
MWWC3 – Possession
MWWC4 – Oops
MWWC5 – Feast
MWWC6 – Mystery
MWWC7 – Devotion
MWWC8 – Luck
MWWC9 – Fear
MWWC10 – Value
MWWC11 – Friend
MWWC12 – Local
MWWC13 – Serendipity
MWWC14 – Tradition
MWWC15 – Success
MWWC16 – Finish
MWWC17 – Epiphany
MWWC18 – Crisis
MWWC19 – Choice
MWWC20 – Variety
MWWC21 –Pairing
MWWC22 – Second Chance
MWWC23 – New
MWWC24 – Pleasure
MWWC25 – Travel
MWWC26 – Solitude
MWWC27 – Bubbles
MWWC28 – Smile
MWWC29 – WineStory
MWWC30 – Obscure
MWWC31 – Faith
MWWC32 – Translation
MWWC33 – Once Upon a Time
MWWC34 – Memory
Please contact me if you have any questions: jeff(at)thedrunkencyclist(dot)com
the drunken cyclist 