
Sensational II
Write a five-line poem about a sensory experience, where each line describes one of the five senses.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 20, 2024
Submissions closed
Oct 05, 2024 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 21, 2024
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 20, 2024
Submissions closed
Oct 05, 2024 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 21, 2024
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a five-line poem about a sensory experience, where each line describes one of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
This challenge kicks off our revisited series, where we revisit fan-favorite Vocal challenges with new twists.
In this revisited version of our original Sensational challenge, we're asking you to condense a world of sensory experience into just five lines—one line for each of the five senses. Whether it’s the warmth of morning coffee, the sound of laughter in a bustling park, or the scent of rain on pavement, we want you to take us there by engaging our senses in a precise, powerful way. The rules are simple, but the challenge lies in your word choices: you have just one line per sense to create a full, immersive experience.
Your poem must represent all 5 senses, which one line each dedicated to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Each line should stand strong on its own, while also contributing to the overall sensory experience. Think of this as poetry in its most distilled form.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- Five lines. Your poem must represent all 5 senses, which one line each dedicated to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
- Submitted to Poets community. Choosing a community is a final step in the submission process. Your poem may be rejected for word count requirements if it is submitted to any other community.
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $200
- 10 Runners-Up: $20
Special shout-out to Gabriel Huizenga for inspiring this challenge idea in Share Your Ideas to Shape the Future of Vocal Challenges.
Challenge results date has been changed to October 21. Thank you for your understanding.
How to enter
For your poem to be eligible, it should adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on October 4, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Sensational II Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://todaysurvey.shop/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 residing 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 to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.
Any content that is determined to be generated by artificial intelligence will be disqualified and will not be eligible to place in any challenge. Read more on our stance here.
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










