RFW UPCOMING CHALLENGES - GREENER PASTURES and THREE THINGS YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER

Hey everybody; are you ready for a special challenge?  Your hosts are ready too.  We want to reward RFWers for all their excellent writing by giving away the Featured Writer and Runner Up badges for you to display on your blog.

Much as we'd like to, we can't reward EVERYONE, so for Challenge #40, we want you put forth your best writings for GREENER PASTURES.

This prompt is about long-term love; perhaps suffering a mid-life or 7 year itch crisis. The couple recognizes it is time for a change; but how drastic does the change need to be to rekindle the relationship?  Who wants the change; husband, wife, mutual?  Who would suffer the most from either a break up, or from the status quo?

For older lovers:  perhaps this is the retirement of one or both, or one is suffering a physical or mental health change.

For mid-life lovers:  perhaps this could be an empty nest syndrome, or a male mid-life crisis, or female menopause.

For younger lovers:  perhaps there is an unexpected pregnancy to upset the balance; or a career change –promotion or firing or company move; or the sheer boredom of routine.

What we want to see is when the romance loses it shine, and the eye wanders, but what our disgruntled lover finds so appealing in another is the qualities that the old flame has lost.  Does he/she realize this on their own?  Or does the jilted lover or new love point it out?  How is the situation resolved?  Or is it too late?

This is a special challenge, something to get your writerly teeth into, so it has special guidelines:

To be in the judging for Featured Writer, you must be a member (sign up on the thumbnail linky) and follow these guidelines:

• Word limit is upped to 600 words (although you're welcome to stick to 400 or less if you wish!)
• Any POV - first, second, third person
• Prose/prosetry
• Judging will be based on the FIRST WRITING ONLY; meaning, if  you edit or revise based on initial feedback, the re-write will be disqualified. Only the original will be entered into the competition.  Once the link is posted, it is the final submission version. It is fine to improve your piece for publication elsewhere, but for judging for FW just leave your original post up.

The usual guidelines also apply:

• Does it have a Romantic Element?
• Does it follow the theme?
• Is it within word count?
• Is it polished?

Once you've written and published your challenge post to your blog, add your direct link below, then come back and check often to read and comment on the other challenge submissions.

Good luck everyone; and remember to have fun with the Greener Pastures Challenge.

Linky will go up on Thursday morning EST for the super keen, super organised ones! You will have till Sunday to craft your entry.

Challenge #41, THREE THINGS YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER is scheduled for July 27, and will return to our usual Romantic Friday Writers challenges, with the 400 word maximum word count.

It's not always easy to say how you feel, so sometimes it's a good- or really very bad idea- to write it down. What has happened in the past to lead you to this point - pen poised, hovering over notepaper? Maybe you communicate better on paper than face to face...maybe you should have acted differently...but should you be sitting here writing it all down...should you be jumping in the car, heading off to see him/her face to face, sort things out? Your call, your story - just make sure there are Three Things You Could Have Done Better.