In an attempt to foster more wonderful fiction, Lady Angel instituted the Maniac 7 Monday Drabble Challenge.
The rules for the challenges are simple and can be found at: Challenge rules
To date, the following challenges have been extended. Not all drabbles are archived to date. Where they are, click on the challenge to read the fiction!
Sunday, April 6, 2003: Write a story about the First Day at School
Sunday, April 13, 2003: Throw our 7 with characters from another show/movie/book for the Crossover challenge.
Sunday, April 20, 2003: In a flashback to the start of everyone's 5th grade year — write a 100 word drabble involving "How I spent my summer vacation."
Sunday, April 27, 2003:
Write one of the guys taking a fall, nothing major, just a trip, tumble, or stumble.
Part 2-Write the others reaction to the moment's gracelessness, if you like.
Sunday, May 4, 2003: Have one of the guys driving, riding, operating, or traveling on something totally 'not' him.
Sunday, May 11, 2003: Have one or more of the boys 'assist' a lady in childbirth.
Sunday, May 18, 2003: One of the guys is having a birthday and one or more throws him a party. It can a surprise or planned, big or small, a theme party or a quiet ride through the countryside.
Sunday, May 25, 2003: The challenge is to write a story of the guys celebrating, remembering, observing Memorial Day — the last Monday in May, May 26th this year.
For those of you not in the States, Memorial Day is a national holiday set aside to remember the men and women who died while fighting for America. It started back in 1866 in Waterloo, New York to remember the men that died in the US Civil War (1861-1865). It was originally called Decoration Day. Since WW1, it has also been known as Poppy Day-volunteers sell small, red artifical poppies to help disabled veterans.
Monday, June 2, 2003: One of the guys (or more if you like) is sick and one or more of the others are taking care of him, but not Nathan (too easy)
Sunday, June 8, 2003: Let's try having one or more of the guys running. They can be exercising or chasing someone or being chased. Whatever tickles your fancy.
Sunday, June 15, 2003: Father's Day challenge. Now, we only have two fathers mentioned in the series — Nathan and Josiah's fathers. Also, Father's Day was not an established day until after the turn of the century. This would not allow for an Old West entry, sooooo...
Let's have two options this week.
Number One: Father's Day-let's try a story of how the day is celebrated. We have a lot of AU's with one or more of the guys as kids, or having kids, even having found their Dads. Let's see what you can come up with.
Number Two: (this is offered by LA) Start a drabble with these SEVEN words (and they do not count as part of the hundred) 'It was a dark and stormy night...'
Sunday, June 22, 2003: Send one or more of the guys hunting. For... whatever.
Sunday, June 29, 2003: Since Friday is July 4th and a day for American Independence celebrations, let's try having the guys plan a party. If you aren't from here or don't know much about the day, just plan a party—birthday, holiday, anniversary, big, little, whatever. Just have one or more planning a party.
Sunday, July 6, 2003: So, how about this week we follow through to the end or clean up AFTER that party. You don't have to use the same party that you wrote about before. Just the end of a celebration.
Sunday, July 20, 2003: Show our boys reacting to people of a different nationality or experencing a different culture. Have someone come to them or send them out into the world(or out of it). Old west, ATF, Star Trek, whatever. People from around the world, down under, or out of this world. Pick your guy, pick your culture.
Sunday, July 27, 2003: Have the boys-one or more-take up a home improvement project. It can be indoors or outdoors, their house or another's. We've seen Chris working at his place. We've seen Josiah and Nathan working on the church. So, I know we can see all of them, even Ezra (though it might not be the manual labor portion), working on building or improving something.
Sunday, August 3, 2003: This week the challenge is to write a scene with all seven guys involved in some way and, with 100 words, tell each guy's point of view-his take on the scene. And if you like, toss in a couple of others POV-Casey, Mary, Inez, the bad guy, whoever you think had an interesting 'seat' for the show.
This challenge calls for 100 words per point of view.
Sunday, August 10, 2003: The challenge is to use one or more of the following phrases, or about the same words, in the challenge.
Have the guys say them to each other or have someone say them to the guys. Whichever works for you.
Bonus points if you use all four. And, yes, they count toward the 100 words.
Sunday, August 17, 2003: Write a 100 word drabble and include the words, "I should have stayed in bed today" somewhere in the text.
Sunday, August 24, 2003: Use the words, 'He looked at the others and yelled...' These words don't count towards your total number of words.
Sunday, August 31, 2003: We'll do another 'seven word' statement. The seven don't count as part of the 100. And the statement we'll use is: "And this is a good thing how?"
Sunday, September 7, 2003: Write a drabble about something they use—animate or inanimate—that breaks down. Example: gun won't fire, they have a flat, their horse runs off, computer won't work. Have them dealing with working without it, or getting it fixed, whatever.
Sunday, September 14, 2003: Pick one of the following quotes and write a 100 word drabble, or do both if you like. This week...
"My, my, my. So many guns around town and so few brains." From 'The Big Sleep'
OR
"Choose your next words carefully...they could be your last." From 'Goldfinger'
Sunday, September 21, 2003: So this week write a drabble that has someone running. They could be running from something, to something, for something. One of the guys or all of them.
Sunday, September 28, 2003: Have the guys diggng a hole. Dig something up, bury something, dig to some place, use those fertile imaginations.
Sunday, October 5, 2003: This week is a 'wet' challenge. How about a drabble on the water-sailing, canoeing, boating, rafting, skiing, swimming...
Tuesday, October 14, 2003: Write one or more of the guys coming home. It could be from work, an undercover job, vacation, anything. The ones of you that were at a gathering know what I'm talking about.
Monday, October 20, 2003: The phrase for the day is from "The Breakfast Club"
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
That's eight words and, no, they don't count as part of the 100 word count.
Monday, October 27, 2003: Let's do a 100 word drabble about Halloween-scary, spooky, funny, whatever tickles your fancy. Any AU (long as it's open), due by... HALLOWEEN !!
Monday, November 3, 2003: From American Werewolf in London, the challenge is to use this phrase in a drabble of 100 words...
Believe me, this is not a lot of fun.
Once again, these nine words do not count.
Monday, November 10, 2003: This quote comes from The Green Berets. It's seven words and they don't count as part of the 100. The quote is...
"Out here, due process is a bullet."
Monday, November 17, 2003: This week— just fill in the blank. Oh, and then add 100 more. So, as before, you get a few extra words to play with. Thre phrase is...
Hey! Get your hands off of_________?
Monday, November 24, 2003: ...this week let's have the celebration of the end of a chase, a case, or a mission. (thought I was going for the Thanksgiving angle didn't ya?)
Monday, December 1, 2003: Traditionally, that is the kickoff for the Christmas season-decorating, shopping, cleaning, and planning. So what are your ideas on what the Seven would do to prepare for the coming celebration? NOT Christmas. Just the getting ready for it.
Monday, December 8, 2003: This week we're going back to a quote, this time from The Big Easy
"We're all family here...right?"
Monday, December 15, 2003: This week's challenge will not be due until the 26th of December. Yes, almost two weeks. Toss the drabble's out as you think of them-the more the merrier.
Write a 100 word drabble about...ohh, and here's the surprise...Christmas!!! The getting ready, the shopping, the day, the dinner, the party, the present. Anything and everthing Christmas. Take it right up to New Year's, but no further. We'll save that for the last challenge this year.
Monday, December 29, 2003: How did the guys celebrate the New Year?
Give us a drabble that shows either New Year's Eve or the day after.
Sunday, February 1, 2004: How about the boys competing in some sporting event? Against each other, or another group, one or all of the guys.
Monday, February 9, 2004: Today's challenge is to include this phrase in your drabble. It does not count against the 100 word count. The phrase is taken from the movie Arise My Love..
'I'm not happy...I'm not happy at all.'
Monday, February 16, 2004: The challenge is to write about what the boys do when the day's plans are ruined by weather. There's no power for movies or TV in the ATF world. No riding in the old west. I was snowed in Saturday (a mere 3 or 4 inches-a blizzard in this part of Texas). I had to get on the roof to remove snow from the dish in order to get a signal and then the Busch race was rained out. So, I slept. Not a good idea. The boys wouldn't do that, but what WOULD they do?
Monday, March 1, 2004: This week I was thinking that we could argue a little bit. No, not us personally, but the guys. So, let's see what happens when two or more of the guys disagree about something.
Monday, March 8, 2004: Today's challenge is a phrase. Work it into your drabble, but don't count it as part of the 100 word limit.
'What are you laughing at?' from Batman.
Monday, March 15, 2004: Hey, the guys have decided to go on a trip. The challenge is to tell where they're going, how they're traveling, or why they're going.
Monday, March 22, 2004: Let's everyone, take this statement and fill in the blank. Oh,and then add another 100 words.
Sometimes I feel so (blank).
Monday, March 29, 2004: I'm feeling a bit mean today, so let's do this. Have one of the guys coming to and asking, "What happened?"
Then you tell him (and us) in 100 words.
Monday, April 5, 2004: So, the challange is to give one of the guys a little boo-boo. Nothing major, just a bump, bruise, scrap, sore, etc. You can tell what happened, how one of the others help him or didn't help, or the aftermath of the boo-boo.
Monday, April 12, 2004: This week we have a statement that needs to be used in the drabble. It doesn't count as in 100 word count, so extra numbers, people.
"Where have you been? What's the idea of worrying me like that?"-Abbott and Costello in Hollywood.
Monday, April 19, 2004: So this week let's have one of the guys mad at another one, but doesn't tell him. He fumes or vents to someone else. Maybe give both guys side of the story. BUT don't leave them mad. They have to make up or get other it, something. But I don't want them mad at the end.
Okay, this one is a bit complex and I don't know that I can do it in 100 words, so if you can't, welllll...it is all about generating fic, so...break it into 3 sections-both sides and a resolution or something. OR, for the more talented among us, just 100 will be plenty.
My apologies for taking so long to get these up... real life is rather difficult for me right now (hence the slow rate of updating to the Library!)
If I have missed anybody's offerings, please feel free to contact me to have them added. Likewise, if you would prefer not to have the drabbles archived here, let me know.