text: # Happy Saturday, serialists! Welcome to Serial Saturday! \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ***New here?*** If you’re brand new to and thinking about participating in Serial Saturday, welcome! Feel free to dip your toes in by writing for this challenge or any others we have listed on the handy dandy! We appreciate all contributions made to this thread, and all submissions are of course welcomed, whether it addresses a previous challenge or the current one. We hope you enjoy your time in the community! Take a look at our inaugural Serial Saturday post for some helpful tips. You don’t need to catch up by writing for each of the previous assignments, feel free to jump right in wherever fits for you, with whatever assignment or theme fits for you, and post it on the current thread with a link to whichever previously posted challenge you chose to start with. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ # This week it’s all about: Reinvigoration We’ve all been there. We’ve been down in the dumps and have pulled ourselves out, dusted ourselves off, and tightened our belts. How did it happen? What re-inspired us to keep going? Sometimes it’s witnessing others succeed where we failed that helps reinvigorate us. Sometimes all we needed was a nice long nap. Other times what we needed was . No matter what got our characters into the mess they’re in now, they’re going to need to get that flame under their butt reignited. So how do you do that? This is the part of the show where friends, allies, and lovers show how . They can embrace the darkness and . OR Outside help in the form of friends/allies/lovers . OR Some other solution leads them into a re-invigoration. For some writers this beat won’t feel much different than the next, Second Wind, and that’s ok. I would mention in this case that a re-invigoration has to come before a Second Wind, and to treat one as the ‘theory’ section, and the other as the ‘acting on that theory’ portion. Sometimes we see this in books and films as one fluid scene, and other times it’s the time we see our heroes go back to the drawing board before they are back in . **Things to consider for this challenge:** How does your protagonist react to help? Is it hard to hear , or is that ? Does your protagonist believe in themselves and think they can succeed anymore? Is it difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel for your characters, or have they been in worse scrapes? How does that affect what invigoration looks like for them? Does reflecting on past experiences help them re-find their purpose or a new way to get out of their predicament? **\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*** **You have until \*next\* Saturday, 10/24, to submit and comment on everyone else's stories here. Make sure to check back on this thread periodically to lay some sweet, sweet crit down on those who don't have any yet!** \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* # Top picks from last week’s assignment, The Darkest Moment: **I’m just going to preface this with: this past week of stories were killer.** There wasn’t a single one that didn’t nail the challenge in some facet, and choosing top stories this week was ridiculously hard. Our Serial Saturday writers are killin’ it and I’m so thrilled I get to hear all these stories unfold week by week. I would happily just list everyone from the last thread and say ‘congrats, you all got both the Challenge Sash and Fan Favorite! As it is I had to break a three way tie with the votes! I'm hella proud of everyone. **Fan favorite with the most votes:** /u/JohnGarrigan, with an ending that delivered on the pucker factor of a no-holds barred fantasy battle. This week the **Smoking Hot Challenge Sash** goes to an author that nailed the spirit of the assignment: /u/Kammerice, with a shocking ending that hit us out of nowhere and oh gods this changes *everything.* **And two honorable mentions:** /u/Xacktar, with an installment that upped the stakes again, and seriously put a smile on my face when I read it. Anyone in the discord chat knows exactly what reaction . /u/Lynx_elia, with a big-picture look of a species that . \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **The Rules:** * In the comments below submit a story that is between **500 - 750** words in your own original universe. * Submissions are limited to ***one*** serial submission from each author per week. * **Each author should comment on at least 2 other stories** during the course of the week. * That comment must include ***at least one*** **detail** about what the author has done well. * Authors who successfully finish a serial lasting longer than 8 installments will be featured with a modpost recognizing their completion and a flair banner on the sub. * Authors are eligible for this highlight post only if they have followed the 2 feedback comments per thread rule. *Yes, we will check*. * While content rules are more lax here at /r/ShortStories, we’re going to roll with the loose guidelines of "vaguely ***family friendly***" being the rule of thumb for now. If you’re ever unsure if your story would cross the line, feel free to modmail! \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Reminders: * Make sure your post on this thread also includes links to your previous installments if you have a currently in-progress serial. Those links must be direct links to the previous installment on the preceding Serial Saturday post or to your own subreddit/profile. * Authors that complete a serial with 8 or more installments get a fancy banner and modpost to highlight their stories. * Saturdays we will be hosting a Serials Campfire on the main voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and share your own thoughts on serial writing! We start on Saturdays at 9AM CST. **Don’t worry about being late, just join!** There’s a *Super Serial* role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Serial Saturday related news! **Join the** **to chat with prompters, authors, and readers!** Previous constraint: **The Darkest Moment** Have you seen the? No? Oh boy! Here's the current cycle's challenge schedule.