Saturday 1 April 2023

WEP - APRIL CHALLENGE "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL". What inspires you about this film? Write for us ...

WELCOME TO APRIL'S WEP CHALLENGE!
It's a new season!
A new prompt
ISN'T LIFE BEAUTIFUL!

Renee here! In my neck of the woods, it's spring, but Down Under it's fall/autumn. Both inspire beauty in all its glory. So, please write for us. Show us what inspires you! What makes your life beautiful?

XXX

* Did you catch our first 'How-to' post? We started with member Nancy William's story of how after writing all these years, she finally found a way to make some money. Catch Nancy's article HERE.

** Did you take note that WEP winners will be invited to submit their story for the WEP Anthology, an ebook, out early 2024? Stories will go through an editing process so they're publication ready, following the rigorous process used by the IWSG Anthology team. A committee will be formed to expedite the stories for publication. So if you've not been published, this is your chance to gain a publication credit. 




WHAT INSPIRES?

Photo by Daniela Paola Alchapar on Unsplash


At the basic level, Life is Beautiful is about protecting children from the trauma of war, paternal love, and one family's struggle for survival amidst the horrors of the concentration camp. 

The setting for the film is WWII and the Holocaust, and the wider issues surrounding them. But war and weaponry aren't the focus, more on using wit and humor as weapons. It's the story of Guido, a Jewish young man set in 1939 in fascist Italy. He meets Dora, a woman from an upper-class family and so, out of his reach. But he wins her over gradually by arranging 'accidental' meetings. 

They marry, run a bookshop, have a son, and...life is beautiful. This idyll is rudely interrupted by Guido and his son being captured suddenly and sent to a concentration camp. Guido seeks to protect the child from the harshness of camp life by making it into a game. 

In the end, Life is Beautiful teaches us that with courage, humor, and love, the most daunting of challenges can be overcome. That love doesn't balk at sacrifice and can triumph even over death. 

As with all our prompts - there are many potential directions to explore. First, the indirect - the setting: war, fascism, the Holocaust, Italy. Any of them can inspire a flash or a poem. The underpinning issues of World War II or any war - the racism, the random cruelty, the injustice, the tragedy, the humor and poetry, and other spinoffs. Then there is the direct, intimate angle - the not-so-rich-boy-meets-upper-class-girl motif. There's the bond between father and son to weave into a story. The games adults play with (their) children. The desire to safeguard one's own, even at the cost of death. Countless possibilities.

Go HERE to our Challenges 2023 Page to read about ALL our prompts for the year!

Post - April 19th to 21st 2023

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WEP NEWS!


Did you receive the WEP Survey? We at Team WEP want to make your experience writing for us as fulfilling as possible. We have begun collating answers which we will share with you at a later date.


 

 CRITIQUE PRIZE


This month's prize is from our IWSG liaison and friend of WEP, multi-published author C Lee McKenzie. 
It's always a treat when she writes

Lee says:

When I’m not writing, I’m hiking or traveling, or practicing yoga. I love to eat, I love being with friends, and while I’m not a snob about it, I appreciate good wine. 

I live in a forest and don’t exactly hate cities, but I can only take them in short stays before I itch to return to where there’re trees or an ocean.


 Links:

Ezvid Wiki features DOUBLE NEGATIVE in its TOP TEN Stunning YA Books That Chronicle The Tough Realities of Growing Up.

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COMMENTING
Commenting is the lifeblood of WEP. We are a supportive writing environment where you are welcome to try new ideas, take risks, and put forth your latest WIP for feedback.

If you have trouble commenting on blogs, please continue to leave a comment here (we're fortunate that Google hasn't messed up our commenting here) or on our C-Box. And if your blog comments are down and you have a blogger blog, consider changing your comment settings to Pop-ups, not embedded, temporarily, until google provides a fix.
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We'd love if you'd Tweet or post to FB or any social media site where you network!

WEP movie #writingprompt April 2023s "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/04/wep-april-challenge-life-is-beautiful.html Sign up & post-April 19th thru 21st! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction

Get your thinking caps on for April 2023s movie prompt "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/04/wep-april-challenge-life-is-beautiful.html Sign up & post your entry April 19th thru 21st! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser, for the second movie Challenge of 2023, "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL". Sign up and post your entry April 19th thru 21st https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/04/wep-april-challenge-life-is-beautiful.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction.

Check out #stories of #love, #loss, #sacrifice, & #war @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee, @SoniaDogra16 @jemifraser, for the April movie challenge "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2023/04/wep-april-challenge-life-is-beautiful.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

 

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Wishing you a fabulous APRIL
spring or fall. 
Bring on the entries!

Our next movie prompt is for June. How about this?


Post - June 21st  to the 23rd 2023


LE VIE EST BELLE!
Renee for the team:


15 comments:

  1. I look forward to lots of delicious reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Sue! Me too. It's an interesting prompt. So happy to see you here!

      Delete
  2. Looking forward to the challenge. I tried to use my Q excerpts, but that didn't work. So I went with my Lenni-Lenape roots for a flash fiction. 🤞🏽 Hopefully it goes well enough with the theme. I hadn't heard of this movie before, and couldn't find it streaming anywhere. 😕🤷🏽‍♂️
    It's April, so I'm focused on the #AtoZChallenge.
    Proof of Existence, book two in my dark urban fantasy series, is out this month. Very exciting.

    J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Reference& Speculative Fiction Author, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, and Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've no doubt that you'll have something amazing. Good luck with your challenge!

      Delete
  3. I'm so looking forward to reading Life is Beautiful stories! Don't forget to go to our CHALLENGES 2023 pages (above) for ideas, but really, whatever floats your boat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looking forward to some wonderful reads this month!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I know I'm offering the prize for this contest, but I'd like to participate as well, just because it's such a great theme! I'll do so and disqualify myself from being considered as any kind of winner! Okay?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's fine Lee. Glad you're inspired by the theme this month! Consider yourself disqualified from winning!

      Delete
    2. Yay! Just for the fun of writing. I love it.

      Delete
  6. This theme sounds wonderful! I look forward to reading as many stories as I can. It's been a LOOOOONG time since I participated with WEP or even wandered by to see the themes. I won't be participating this month, but I'm so glad I've gotten myself reacquainted with this lovely site and your wonderful, fun challenges. I look forward to it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jen! It would be lovely to see you around the ridges and to have you participate again when you find the time/inspiration. We at WEP do our best to up the inspiration. (I know April is a terrible month, so busy with everything).

      Delete
  7. Rescued comments from spam

    ReplyDelete
  8. I had the same problem. Some comments from friends went into spam. I fixed it. But I commented on C Lee McKenzie's post a couple days ago, and my comment is still invisible. In fact, she has only 2 comments visible. I don't believe only two people commented on her story. It was so warmhearted and full of humor, despite the war background. Maybe the rest of the comments are in spam too. Lee, you should check it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I checked Lee and she now has 25 comments showing, including yours, Olga. Who knows what's going on. We need to be so diligent.

      Delete
  9. This sounds so interesting
    https://www.melodyjacob.com/2023/05/how-to-know-that-you-are-addicted-to-nzu.html

    ReplyDelete

Have temporarily enabled comments without moderation. If the spammers hit us, it'll be reinstated.