Rules

The twos are upon us—and they are terrible. In this writing jam, you will draft a piece of writing based on the prompt, "Terrible Twos." There are four tiers, and you can choose any tier to complete. 

        Tier 1: 2 words. Write a two-word story.

        Tier 2: 22 words. Tier 1 AND retell the same story in 20 words.

        Tier 3: 222 words. Tier 2 AND retell that story in 200 words.

        Tier 4: 2,222 words. Tier 3 AND retell that story in 2,000 words. 

Any genre of writing is allowed: fantasy, romance, crime, poetry, literary fiction, memoir, horror, etc. However, all pieces of writing should follow the prompt, "Terrible Twos." 

FAQ

Does my story have to be exactly X words?

- Yes. For example, if you complete Tier 3, you will have to write a story that's exactly two words, another story that's exactly 20 words, and another story that's exactly 200 words. 

Do I have to start my 20-word story with the same two words as my 2-word story?

- Not at all! The two words from your 2-word story do not have to appear in any other story. If you would prefer to start your stories using the same words, however, that should be fine.  

How closely should my stories relate to each other?

- Each story should be a retelling of the story that came before. You can think of the shorter stories as a summary of the longer ones. This is meant to help writers focus on the essentials of their plot. 

How do I submit?

- Create a new project and include your story/stories in the Description box. Please see this link as an example: https://calypso475.itch.io/test. After creating your project, please submit it to the jam. 

What will the projects be ranked on? 

- The projects will be ranked from 1 to 5 stars on the following categories: 2-word story, 20-word story, 200-word story, 2000-word story, and how much the reader enjoyed the submission overall. If someone did Tier 4, their submission could be rated in all categories. If someone did Tier 3 or below, the non-applicable categories should be given 1 star. For example, if you are rating a Tier 3 submission, without a 2,000-word story, you should rate the 2000-word story category 1 star.

Does this mean that I'll get a bad score if I do one of the lower tiers?

- No! The winner of the jam is decided by the Overall category. The other categories are there for fun. 

Is there a prize?

- Not this time. However, subsequent writing jams may include prizes. 

What do you mean by "terrible twos"? 

- It's open-ended, so feel free to be creative with your interpretation. There's no one right way to understand it.