battre la montre
A prompt-based writing challenge and fight against the clock!
The Challenge
Every week a prompt will be posted along with a specified amount of time. Writers are challenged to write a story based on the prompt within the amount of time provided.
Current prompt
1/29/2023
Prompt: "To be or not to be."
Time: 2 hours
Questions?
Have a question? Start here first!
The Challenge
Every Sunday this site (as well as our official Twitter) will be updated with a prompt in the form of a quote, phrase, picture, song lyric, single word, etc. along with a time frame of anywhere between 30 minutes to 24 hours. Writers are challenged to write a complete fic based on the prompt provided within the allotted time frame.This challenge is on-going and does not require any sign-ups. Participate whenever you feel like it and ignore it when you don't.Feel free to post your fic on whatever platform you like: AO3, Twitter, Wattpad, your own private server, wherever! We'll be maintaining an AO3 Collection for those who wish to utilize it, but it is absolutely not required for participation.This challenge is heavily inspired by the now-defunct contrelamontre LJ community.
Past Prompts & Collection
Challenge #1
Date: 2/27/2022 | Prompt: Celebration | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #2
Date: 3/6/2022 | Prompt: Rain | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #3
Date: 3/13/2022 | Prompt: Nostalgia | Time: 5 hoursChallenge #4
Date: 3/20/2022 | Prompt: Outsider | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #5
Date: 3/27/2022 | Prompt: Flight | Time: 6 hoursChallenge #6
Date: 4/3/2022 | Prompt: Split | Time: 30 minutesChallenge #7
Date: 4/10/2022 | Prompt: Alter Ego | Time: 4 hoursChallenge #8
Date: 4/17/2022 | Prompt: Vacation | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #9
Date: 4/24/2022 | Prompt: OmegaMart Products |Time: 5 hoursChallenge #10
Date: 5/1/2022 | Prompt: "What is stronger than the human heart which shatters over and over and still lives?" - Rupi Kaur | Time: 10 hoursChallenge #11
Date: 5/8/2022 | Prompt: Drive | Time: 1 hourChallenge #12
Date: 5/15/2022 | Prompt: New Beginnings | Time: 10 hoursChallenge #13
Date: 5/22/2022 | Prompt: Road Trip Time: 24 hoursChallenge #14
Date: 5/29/2022 | Prompt: Fire | Time: 45 minutesChallenge #15
Date: 6/5/2022 | Prompt: Noisy | Time: 1 hourChallenge #16
Date: 6/12/2022 | Prompt: Bathe | Time: 90 minutesChallenge #17
Date: 6/19/2022 | Prompt: Take-out | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #18
6/26/2022 | Prompt: Penpals | Time: 8 hoursChallenge #19
7/3/2022 | Prompt: Sweat | Time: 1 hourChallenge #20
7/10/2022 | Prompt: Anticipation | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #21
7/17/2022 | Prompt: Guilty | Time: 4 hoursChallenge #22
7/24/2022 | Prompt: Cabin on an alpine lake | Time: 5 hoursChallenge #23
7/31/2022 | Prompt: "The games we play" | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #24
8/7/2022 | Prompt: Mirror | Time: 1 hourChallenge #25
8/14/2022 | Prompt: Reunion | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #26
8/21/2022 | Prompt: Punishment | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #27
8/28/2022 | Prompt: Unexpected Visitor | Time: 5 hoursChallenge #28
9/11/2022 | Prompt: Competition | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #29
9/11/2022 | Prompt: Dusk/Dawn | Time: 45 minChallenge #30
9/18/2022 | Prompt: Party Games | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #31
9/25/2022 | Prompt: Autumn | Time: 1 hourChallenge #32
10/2/2022 | Prompt: Apparition | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #33
10/16/2022 | Prompt: Thievery | Time: 6 hoursChallenge #34
10/16/2022 | Prompt: "An apology is a good way to have the last word." - Unknown | Time: 1 hourChallenge #35
10/23/2022 | Prompt: Second Chances | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #36
10/30/2022 | Prompt: Dark & Stormy | Time: 4 hoursChallenge #37
11/6/2022 | Prompt: Propaganda | Time: 5 hoursChallenge #38
11/13/2022 | Prompt: First Meeting | Time: 1 hourChallenge #39
11/20/2022 | Prompt: Memory Loss | Time: 6 hoursChallenge #40
11/27/2022 | Prompt: Fresh Laundry | Time: 2 hoursChallenge #41
12/4/2022 | Prompt: Special Delivery | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #42
12/11/2022 | Prompt: The Answer | Time: 6 hoursChallenge #43
12/18/2022 | Prompt: Favors | Time: 1 hourChallenge #44
12/25/2022 | Prompt: Holiday Travels | Time: 3 hoursChallenge #45
1/1/2023 | Prompt: Midnight | Time: 1 hourChallenge #46
1/8/2023 | Prompt: Couch Surfing | Time: 2 hoursChallenge# 47
1/15/2023 | Prompt: Shelter | Time: 8 hoursChallenge #48
1/22/2023 | Prompt: Zombies | Time: 3 hoursAO3 Collection
FAQs
Who is allowed to participate?
Anyone! All fic writers regardless of fandom are welcomed and encouraged to participate.Do I have to participate every round?
Not at all. Participate whenever you feel inspired and have the time.Is RPS allowed?
Yep!Is there a minimum word count required?
Nope! Obviously writing only a few sentences isn't quite in the spirit of the challenge, but there's no official minimum word count required. Write as much or as little as necessary for your story.When does the stopwatch start?
Whenever you first start putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard. You can choose to include brainstorming/planning time as part of your allotted writing time or not. That's up to you!How will you know how much time I spend on my fic?
We won't! This challenge operates entirely on the honor system. But keep in mind that manipulating the time you spend writing your fic defeats the purpose of the challenge.Does the time I'm given include beta/editing time?
That's totally up to you. You can either write the rough draft in the time provided, can choose to include the beta/editing process in the allotted time, or decide to post your fic unbeta'd and/or unedited. Whichever is more fun and more challenging for you!Can I spread my time over a few days or does it all have to be written and posted in one sitting?
Again, that's totally up to you. We can't and won't be monitoring how you use your time so do whatever works best for your schedule.Can I write more than one fic for each prompt?
Of course!Can I write something for a previous prompt?
Yes! We encourage writers to work with the most current prompt, but if a previous one grabs you at a later time we definitely won't stop you.Do I have to post my fic to AO3?
No. Though we have a collection on AO3 you can post your fic wherever you'd like.Do I have to include my fic in the AO3 collection?
Nope! It's there for anyone who wants to be included but is absolutely not required.How do I add my fic to the AO3 collection?
Under the 'Associations' section of the AO3 posting page where it says 'Post to Collections / Challenges' just enter: BattreLaMontre and the collection name should pop right up. Enter all your other fic information per normal and it will be automatically added to the collection. Please note that if we determine a fic to be inappropriately tagged for triggering content or is racist, sexist, transphobic, or homophobic we reserve the right to remove it from the collection.Will you promote my fic?
If you want your fic promoted on Twitter please include @battrelamontre in your post and we'll be happy to retweet!Can I suggest prompts?
Sure! Feel free to hit us up on Twitter or email (see links below) with any prompt ideas. We can't guarantee we'll be able to use every prompt request we receive but we'll do our best.Other questions?
Hit us up on Twitter or email and we'll do our best to answer your question!