Tags and Challenges

Introducing…the Write Your Worst Challenge!

Saraina Whitney

While making rice for dinner last night, I got a brilliant idea. What if I created a tag for writers to intentionally write the cheesiest, most cringe-worthy story they could manage? How would our ideas of ‘worst’ vary from person to person? What if the challenge could help conquer perfectionism and give everyone a few laughs in the process? Might it bolster a struggling writer’s confidence by showing how much they’ve grown since that first moment they picked up a pencil?

Maybe.

Probably.

So I spent way too long on whipped up a half-decent graphic and decided to make this a thing! Here are the rules!

The Rules

  1. Link back to the creator of the tag, Saraina Whitney
  2. Include the tag graphic in your post
  3. Thank the blogger who tagged you and link back to their blog
  4. Display the rules in your post
  5. In a thousand words or less, do your best to create the most poorly-written story you can. Indulge in cheesiness, stiff or overly flowery prose, poor grammar, and cliche premises to your heart’s content.
  6. Break all the writing rules you want
  7. Keep it clean, of course; do not take “worst” to mean morally so
  8. Though you can make fun of cliches you hate, do stay respectful of other’s opinions
  9. Tag any bloggers you’re dying to see try this, or leave an open nomination!
  10. You can repeat the challenge however many times you want
write-your-worst-4Download graphic

A Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind blew hard and mercilessly, and had something of an unearthly quality to it. Lady Lucianalynn Rose shivered in her thin dressing gown. Candles flickered by the mirror she gazed in, as if the wind tore through the castle walls and tried to snuff them out. Lucianalynn Rose sighed and stared at her bright blue eyes reflected in the mirror, her long, waving blonde hair that hung below her waist, her rosebud lips, the snub nose that had caused her such grief over her twenty-four years, and sighed again.

She was to marry a duke tomorrow, but she was not ready. Never would be. Uncle Hammond had not a bone of kindness in his body, she was sure of it. Perhaps she was more spunky and independent than any other lady in the kingdom, but her unusually undaunted spirit was no reason for Uncle Hammond to force her to marry the old, heavy duke, whose eyes were unbearably vapid and lacking any wit, any sense, any intelligence.

How was she to survive these coming years of marriage? She would rather be imprisoned, and do as she liked in those confines, than marry the odious Duke Ruttenson.

And yet, her fate was sealed.

Harsh clanging caught her ear. Lucianalynn Rose stiffened. It came again. Someone was banging against the castle doors, begging to have shelter. Poor soul, caught out in the torrents of rain that were nearly drowning the castle.

Lucianalynn Rose rose, holding a burning candle, and silently pattered down the cold stone corridor, down the winding staircase. The staircase had been built a hundred years ago, and been traveled by hundreds of feet. Thankfully, it never creaked, however, because it was not built of wood. The stone kept it strong and silent.

The servants were asleep, and most of the castle’s guards had been sent to join the soldiers guarding the border of the kingdom where a revolt was being threatened. Uncle Hammond had been sure that the heavy iron lock on the castle doors would keep them safe.

Yet another example of his lack of care for her.

Lucianalynn Rose worked at the iron lock until it finally gave way and she could pull the castle doors open.

Darkness and rain enveloped a cloaked stranger, tall and dripping and shrouded in mystery.

“Forgive me for interrupting your sleep, miss. Please give me shelter for the night.”

Lucianalynn Rose’s heart skipped a beat at the urgent desperation in his voice. “Of course,” she said. “I must retrieve any weapons on your person, however, before I let you in.”

He hesitated, then pulled out his sword, a dagger, another dagger, and one last dagger. Lucianalynn Rose’s eyebrows rose as she collected the weapons and set them on the floor.

She motioned him to come in. His leg dragged behind him as he limped in. “I can lodge in the servant’s quarters,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Are you injured?”

The stranger threw his hood back, and Lucianalynn Rose barely held in a gasp. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Loose brown locks hung about his face, his eyes were chocolate brown and his nose was straight and his jaw was strong.

She didn’t know why butterflies filled her stomach, but they did.

Am I…in love?

Then his features twisted in pain.

Apparently he didn’t feel the same way.

“Oh dear.” Lucianalynn Rose caught him as he swayed against her. “Good heavens. Oh dear. Oh no. You are injured.”

He took a deep breath and steadied himself, stepping away from her. Lucianalynn Rose blushed, but gestured him to follow her. She led him to the kitchen, where herbs hung from the ceiling beams and wooden cooking pots and utensils lined the shelves. She put water to boil, reached up for some of the herbs, and grabbed a knife to chop them finely.

The stranger sat on a bench and stretched his leg out. Blood glistened red, a dark shade of red like…blood.

“An accident,” he said gruffly, by way of explanation.

Lucianalynn Rose pressed her lips. “What might your name be, good sir?”

“Duke Ruttenson.”

Lucianalynn Rose gulped and the knife flew from her fingers to clash onto the floor, barely missing her foot. She staggered back, staring hard at the man. “No. You’re not. I’m to marry him tomorrow, and I wish you were he, I do, but…there is no way on this green earth that he transformed into you. Tell me you’re lying.”

The stranger’s brown eyes flashed, and his hand seized hers. “You are Lu Rose?”

He had a nickname for her? What to think of that? “Lucianalynn Rose, if you please.”

Her mother had chosen the name for her moments before passing away, and she clung to it as the only token she had of the dear lady’s memory.

The stranger seemed as shocked as she had been at his claim of being Duke Ruttenson. “But you are…more beautiful than I could have imagined. More so even than the fairest maiden I have ever seen.”

Lucianalynn Rose blushed again. “And you are…not nearly as…insufferable as the Duke Ruttenson I know.”

He released her hand and pressed his palm against his still-bleeding leg. “Lu Rose – ah, Lucianalynn Rose, you are in grave danger. Tonight, at the stroke of midnight, in the thick of this storm, you are to be murdered.”

Lucianalynn Rose felt very dizzy. The world tilted around her and she had to clutch the stranger’s – Duke Ruttenson’s? – shoulder to keep from toppling to the floor.

Duke Ruttenson, if this man be he, struggled to his feet and braced her. His fathomless eyes staring into hers didn’t help her dizziness much. “Lu, if you help bind up my leg, I can help you flee. I can bring you to safety.”

Lucianalynn Rose nodded, blinking hard. “I think that would be wise.”

I Tag…

If you don’t want to do this tag, you’re not obligated to! 😉 I’m just very curious to see what you would come up with. *chortles*

*clears throat* Well, that was quite cringe-worthy, and I have so many questions for Lucianalynn Rose and Duke Ruttenson. 🤨🤔 But it was also SO FUN to write. LOL. (It actually has more potential than I was expecting. 😂)

The point of this challenge is to shake things up. We spend so many hours trying to write our very best and follow the rules, and that can stifle our creativity a bit. For once in your life, let yourself write what you consider rubbish so that you can throw that perfectionist mindset for a loop. LAUGH AT YOURSELF. Hopefully, like me, you’ll find yourself feeling way more creative at the end of it, and maybe you’ll even find some hidden gems in the story you write.

Should I do this challenge again, in a different genre? What’s your opinion on long names for characters? Have you ever used the character-looks-into-a-mirror-and-describes-herself trope? (I’m sure there’s a more technical name for it. 🤭) What’s your opinion on rebellious, spirited heroines in medieval times who refuse to enter an arranged marriage, just on account of the person’s age and looks? Do you secretly love a dark and stormy night?

45 thoughts on “Introducing…the Write Your Worst Challenge!”

    1. AHHH I’M DEAD!! 🤣 LOL, I see I shall at least have to do a Part 2…maybe one day it’ll turn into a full-length novel. *chuckles and wonders what it would be like to actually publish a novel as a joke*

      Hahaha, yeah! Either way, PLEASE feel free to steal the tag, Hannah! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Lol….oh goodness!!! Saraina we were rolling!!!!!! We loved it!!! (but it definitely has potential!) That name though…hahaha…such a mouthful when reading it aloud…haha….that was so fun!!!! We can’t wait to try this out!!! Hehehe!!!! This was an epic idea!!!
    Thank you for tag!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. HAHA!! Thank you so much!!! 😆💖 (I could barely pronounce the name when I first typed it out, lol!) Yayyyy, I’m so excited to see what y’all come up with!!! Absolutely, you’re so welcome! Thank you for reading! 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Saraina, this was hilarious! And I was in need of a laugh today, so this came at a perfect time. I literally laughed out loud when she thought “Am I… in love?” and then “Apparently he didn’t feel the same way.” And honestly, aside from a few cliches and the repetition of Lu’s name, this was actually really good. I feel like I’m insulting you by saying that since the point of this was to write badly. But maybe you’re just not capable of bad writing, so take it as a compliment. 😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Ahhhh thank you, Joy!!! Aww, so glad to hear that! ❤ Lol, I laughed at that part too 😂 Hey, thank you!! I'll definitely take it as a compliment, hahaha 😛 (And I want to see you do this, if you want to and have time! XD)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. This is SUCH a great tag idea!! Also, I love the part,

    “The stranger threw his hood back, and Lucianalynn Rose barely held in a gasp. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Loose brown locks hung about his face, his eyes were chocolate brown and his nose was straight and his jaw was strong.

    She didn’t know why butterflies filled her stomach, but they did.

    Am I…in love?”

    I love how she’s like “Ooh handsome dude! Am I in love?” 🤣 And the long name… the six-syllable name repeated over and over XD

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Victoria!!! LOL YES! 🤣 I was laughing while I wrote that part, for sure. 🤭 (At least her name wasn’t seven syllables. 😜)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Hehehe, that was hilarious, Saraina! 🙂 Thanks so much for tagging me – I don’t know if I’ll get to it, but I’m excited to see more about … LR and the duke. 🙂 That’s all I can do with her name (which was epicness, haha!)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hahaha thank you, Vanessa!!! 😄 No worries at all! 😉 Aww, thanks! We’ll see what I come up with next. 😂 (I quickly decided to copy and paste her name instead of typing it out each time. XD)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. LOL THIS!! “Am I…in love?” I can’t hahah, Saraina this was GENIUS. 😳 Tell me why I’m actually curious about Lu Rose — Ahem, excuse me, *Lucianalynn* Rose and Duke. I’d love to see their relationship dynamic develop tbh lol.. 🥺 You’re so talented that even this story ended up being wonderful hahah, I enjoyed it! 💗

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. LOL thank you, girl!!! Ahh you are? 😂 I’m actually rather curious as well, so I’m going to have to continue their story some time. XD Aww that’s so sweet of you! Thank you for reading, Jasmine! 💗

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  11. This looks so much fun, Saraina; what a great idea! Thanks for the tag! And yes, please do this again Lol. I would love to see what happens to Lucianalynn Rose and the not-so-odious-or-old-or-unhandsome Duke Ruttenson XD.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. THIS WAS HILARIOUS. “Blood glistened red, a dark shade of red like… blood” I laughed out loud. This is brilliant. I can’t wait to see what others around the blogosphere come up with 😂😂😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Oooh, this is such a great idea! And I love the detail about you coming up with the idea while cooking rice. XD

    Your story was so fun to read! I love the overly-long name, all the cliches, the cheesy insta-love, and the metaphor of “Blood glistened red, a dark shade of red like…blood.” 😂

    Really nice post! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Oh my word! This is amazing! I love this tag/challenge! This story is Incredible!!! It is so wonderful and funny and I could see a whole book come from this story! I had such a fun time reading!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Aww, thank you so much, girl!!! Hahaha! 😆 So happy you enjoyed it, Moriyah!! Thank you for reading and commenting!! ❤ (And feel free to steal the tag! 😉 )

      Like

      Reply
  16. Pingback: Write Your Worst Challenge! – Anna's Idea Blog
  18. Pingback: Write Your Worst Tag – Madi's Musings
  19. Pingback: Write Your Worst Challenge – A Handful of Quietness

  20. THAT was the worst story you could write???? SARAINA. GIRL. THAT WAS SO GOOD. I WANNA READ MORE. (That, or steal the concept and write it myself. XD I’m a sucker for arranged marriages.)

    Also, thank you so much for the tag!!! Super excited for this!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. HAHAHA THANK YOUUU!!!! 🥰 I started with grand intentions of making it as bad as possible, but I guess I started having too much fun with it… 😜😆 I definitely plan to write more!! (LOL! Girl, you NEED to share an arranged marriage story with us soon!)

      You’re so welcome, Grace! I can’t wait to see your story!! 😉 ❤

      Like

      Reply
  21. Pingback: The Write Your Worst Challenge! – Sisters Three
  22. Pingback: Write Your Worst Challenge Pt. 2 | A Stormy Night – Saraina Whitney
  23. Pingback: I wrote Part 3 of A Stormy Night | Write Your Worst Challenge – Saraina Whitney
  24. Pingback: 2023 Recap and 2024 Dreams | behind the scenes of my blog – Saraina Whitney

Leave a comment