FITB News, “Prompts,” and Word Submissions for March
Plus our favorite February Fill in the Blanks stories
Welcome to our third month here at Fill in the Blanks, the [adjective] humor publication inspired by the classic game, Mad Libs!
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then I think it’s about time you check out the publication. 😉
Now, for a big announcement…
We have a new editor!
Damon Ferrara, who has consistently put out kick-ass Fill in the Blanks stories (and writes fantastic stories outside of the publication as well), is joining our team of editors!
Congratulations, Damon! (Now, you all have to be nice to him.)
March “Prompts”
For January and February, we put out prompts for our Fill in the Blanks. For March, we’re doing something a bit different…
*drum roll*
This month, you can submit articles about anything you want!
To quote our new editor Damon Ferrara here, “We’ll take humor, fiction, poetry, news, advice… whatever’s your niche, let’s go crazy creating a Mad Libs version of it.”
So if in the past months, you haven’t seen your perfect prompt, consider this your month!
You could try things like relationship advice, motivational stories, fan fiction, crime stories, inspirational misquotes, writing advice, history, childhood stories, celebrity “biographies,” etc.
Now, obviously, you’ve still gotta place those blank words: [noun 3], [adjective 2], etc.
Word Blank Requirements
Remember, your stories should have at minimum the following blanks.
- 5 Nouns (differentiate between nouns and proper nouns)
- 5 Plural Nouns
- 5 Adjectives
- 5 Verbs (differentiate between transitive and intransitive verbs — a transitive verb needs to transfer its action to something or someone)
- 3 Adverbs
- 1 Piece of clothing
- 1 Celebrity
- 1 Number
- Name of pet dog or cat
If you need a reminder on your word types, you can find that here!
Keep these tips in mind
- Label your blanks by number, i.e. [noun 1], [noun 2]
- Repeated words are a great way to pull a story together. You can indicate this by writing [repeat noun 1]. This story is a great example of how repetition can impact the end result.
- The story should be interesting and specific even before those blanks are filled in. The blanks make the story nutty and surprising, but really, only if there’s a good story there, to begin with.
- When in doubt, reread the stories below.
A few of our favorite February stories
Yes, our writers loved the “parenting advice” prompt.
Remember, anyone can submit words
And can do so multiple times!
Interesting, unique, crazy words are what make this game work. Just don’t be a jerk — no derogatory, racist, or offensive language.
If you need a quick refresher on word types, check out the article here.
To submit new words (which are always needed), just fill out the form here.
To our writers
Shain Slepian, George Randall, BraveLittleTaylor, Tom Fenske, Dariuš Butkevičius, Megan Benson, Marni D'laterra, JM Miana, Mari Moore, Michael Burg, MD, Christopher Kokoski, Alexys Carlton, Bill DuBay Jr., Kristina Jancar, H. L. Warren, Cara J. Stevens, Shanna Loga, Kavish Kamat (KK), Shuana Yap, Victoria A. Fraser, Ed Ergenzinger, Yve Laran, Susan Sassi, Tracy Stengel, Kayla Vokolek, Kiran Yasmin, Deborah Weir, Don Be, Shenbaga Lakshmi, Cody James Howell PhD (Raiden), Phoenix Huber, Hogan Torah, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Polite Sambo, Sandi Parsons, Julia Appa, Scott Hughey (TheWriteScott), Maryam Ismail, Giulia, and Anna…
Y’all are awesome! Thanks for contributing your words.
We look forward to reading your next stories!
Wait, you’re not a writer for us yet?
Then check out the submission guidelines below and get on board.
The Fill in the Blanks editors
Feel free to say hi sometime!
