Love in 50 Words
Craft a 50-word poem capturing Valentine’s Day—romantic, platonic, or self-love.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
10 Honorable Mentions will receive badges
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 22, 2025
Submissions closed
Feb 16, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 07, 2025
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
10 Honorable Mentions will receive badges
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 22, 2025
Submissions closed
Feb 16, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 07, 2025
About this challenge
The Prompt
Craft a 50-word poem capturing Valentine’s Day—romantic, platonic, or self-love.
Valentine’s Day is the perfect moment to celebrate love in all its forms. It could be a heartfelt confession, a sweet friendship, or the journey to embracing self-love. This challenge asks you to craft a micro-poem that encapsulates the magic and emotion of Valentine’s Day in exactly 50 words.
Your poem could explore the joy of romance, the warmth of cherished bonds, or the beauty of appreciating yourself. It’s a chance to practice precision in your writing, making every word resonate. Capture the spirit of this special day with brevity and lyrical charm.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $200
- 15 Runners-Up: $15 each
- 10 Honorable Mentions: Badge
How to enter
For your poem to be eligible, it must be exactly 50 words in length and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
Poems published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until February 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Love in 50 Words Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://todaysurvey.today/vocal-plus%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E.%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="css-1923z11-Text">To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and reside in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need a Stripe account created and connected to receive prizes. Entrants located outside of these countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
Craft Over Catharsis
Write a story that prioritizes structure, technique, or form over emotional release.
$200 Grand Prize5 days leftInstructions for a Feeling
Write a poem that gives instructions for how to experience, create, or avoid a feeling.
$200 Grand Prize10 days leftRituals of Affection
Write a story about a recurring ritual tied to love, romance, or connection. Something about it is unusual, unsettling, or unexplained.
$200 Grand Prize12 days leftThe Unnecessary Line
Write a poem that includes one line that does not strictly belong and let the tension it creates remain unresolved.
$200 Grand Prize19 days leftA System That Isn’t Working
Write about a system, whether social, economic, cultural, technological, or otherwise, that feels broken or misaligned.
$200 Grand Prize26 days leftEveryone Is Acting Normally
Write a story in which something is clearly wrong but all characters behave as if everything is normal.
$200 Grand Prize33 days leftThe Haiku of Now
Write a haiku that captures a small, precise moment from the present without reflection or commentary.
$200 Grand Prize38 days leftWhat the Myth Gets Wrong
Write a story set in a world where a well-known myth exists that focuses on a detail the myth simplifies, ignores, or distorts.
$200 Grand Prize40 days leftSomething Is Beginning, I Think
Write a story that opens at the edge of a beginning that feels uncertain, partial, or reluctant and avoid resolution.
$200 Grand Prize47 days leftSay It Plainly
Write a poem that states its central concern directly without metaphor, indirection, or symbolic substitution.
$200 Grand Prize54 days leftThe Rule Everyone Knows
Write a story centered on an unspoken rule that everyone in the story understands and follows, allowing the rule to emerge through behavior.
$200 Grand Prize59 days left
Challenge resources
Instructions Included Challenge Winners
For the Instructions Included challenge, we asked writers to tell a story through instructions and to trust the form to carry what could not be said outright. Across the top entries, that trust paid off in many different ways.
By Vocal Curation Team4 days ago in Resources
The Ritual of Winter Challenge Winners
Welcome to the Winners Announcement for The Ritual of Winter challenge. This prompt focused on winter rituals and the meaning that settles into them over time. The top pieces stay grounded in ordinary acts and repeated routines, letting winter shape the work through pace, attention, and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Team24 days ago in Resources
