
The Life-Extending Conundrum
Imagine an invention that extends life and redefines humanity, unveiling unforeseen consequences.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
10 Honorable Mentions will receive badges
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 27, 2025
Submissions closed
Apr 04, 2025 2:00 PM CUT
Results
Apr 10, 2025
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
10 Honorable Mentions will receive badges
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 27, 2025
Submissions closed
Apr 04, 2025 2:00 PM CUT
Results
Apr 10, 2025
About this challenge
The Prompt
Imagine an invention that extends life and redefines humanity, unveiling unforeseen consequences.
In this challenge, you are invited to merge hard science with speculative fiction. Consider a breakthrough invention or treatment that not only prolongs life but also fundamentally transforms what it means to be human. As you craft your narrative, explore both the astonishing benefits and the unforeseen, often unsettling consequences of tampering with nature’s limits. Ground your vision in plausible science while daring to venture into the realm of the extraordinary.
Delve deep into the ethical and societal ramifications of your invention. Will this breakthrough usher in a utopian era, or will it reveal a darker side of human ambition and unintended chaos? Challenge yourself to interrogate the delicate balance between progress and peril, and provoke thoughtful questions about the true cost of defying mortality. Let your imagination illuminate the intricate dance between hope and hubris, and create a narrative that compels readers to reconsider what it truly means to live.
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 story to be eligible, it must be between 1,000 and 2,500 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until April 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Life-Extending Conundrum Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://todaysurvey.life/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 Prize4 days leftInstructions for a Feeling
Write a poem that gives instructions for how to experience, create, or avoid a feeling.
$200 Grand Prize9 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 Prize11 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 Prize18 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 Prize25 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 Prize32 days leftThe Haiku of Now
Write a haiku that captures a small, precise moment from the present without reflection or commentary.
$200 Grand Prize37 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 Prize39 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 Prize46 days leftSay It Plainly
Write a poem that states its central concern directly without metaphor, indirection, or symbolic substitution.
$200 Grand Prize53 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 Prize58 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 Team5 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










