VSS365: An Introduction
VSS365: An Introduction
It’s come a long way since it began. And boy has it grown up and beyond anywhere it was expected to be. I mean, it even spawned an actual book. Yep, a real solid thing. It continues to go from strength to strength. Of course new people keep coming to it, or want to know what the damn thing is, so here is a quick introduction into what it is now. I won't go into the history of it, but there's mainly a few people from the Flashdogs to thank for its genesis and continued existence. More power to the Flashdogs.
So what is VSS365?
Well VSS is short for Very Short Story and 365 means it’s each and every day. VSS in this instance means Tweet length, which is currently 280 characters, twice the length it was when it first started. And the daily prompt is a word prompt provided by the designated prompter for that month. Oh, did I mention it's a Twitter thing. Yes, Twitter only. So get on it - it's not just Trump and bad people on there. It's great really.
Anyway, I’ve been hosting the prompts for April 2020 and the following months of 2020 are being hosted as follows:
MAY @fhaedra
JUNE @kara_goughnour
JULY @AvyeAndonellis
AUG @49JDBlood
SEPT @TheWritingKind
OCT @LitmanSpencer
NOV @whithernow
DEC @ESWarriorPoet
Follow these guys and gals if you're wanting to get the prompts as they go out.
When does the prompt go up each day?
That will vary by prompter, who may put them up manually each day or schedule through an automatic scheduler (I used Buffer and uploaded them from 6:30 through to 6:00am - a minute earlier each day. Why then? No good reason whatsoever). The prompter may of course be in different countries in different months and there may be IT problems on occasion (I had one this week on one day), just don’t sweat it and badger the host. It’ll be there when it gets there.
How to look up the daily prompt
If you are not following the current prompter the easiest way to search for the prompt is to go into Twitter and search for #VSS365 and #prompt then order the results by time. Simple (assuming the host has remember to put #prompt in their Tweet. Obviously if you’re planning to do it regularly that month then follow that month’s prompt host (as above).
What do I write?
Anything you want that the prompt word makes you think of. Just remember to include the prompt word and # it. Prose, poems, acrostics all sorts of writing gets completed under the auspices of VSS365. As long as it fits in one Tweet then go for it.
What’s the purpose?
It’s for fun. It may just be a wee tease of your brain in the morning. I don’t overthink it (as anyone who reads my Tweets can testify too) but some people give it some serious thinking. Some write extended stories following on each day from previous days - there’s some clever people out there. It may lead to other ideas for you beyond VSS. If you find yourself writing something a bit different that looks interesting to you why not think about it a bit and then expand on it and take it to a longer story? Who knows, you’re next novel or prize winning short may have come from a single prompt word.
It’s only for fun. Don’t worry about. Write one if you want, if the word doesn’t do it for you, then just wait 24 hours for the next one.
Community
The VSS365 peeps are a mighty fine bunch. See a Tweet you like then ‘Like’ it or ‘Retweet’ it and/or give them a follow. In the main everyone is lovely, so be lovely back.
How can you become the prompt host?
Ha, what a question. What are you doing in 2026? The months and years ahead are already booked up. Not sure if the list is being updated at the moment Arthur Unk is the man to ask. Just bear in mind you’ll need a long term planner.
Reusing previous words
If you are going to be the prompter and want to use only words that haven’t been used before then search the #’word’ you’re thinking of using along with #vss365 #prompt. If nothing shows up then you’re good to go, if not then try another one. I tried hard not to re-use words, but there is nothing really to stop you doing that - you just wouldn’t want to use one that has been used recently (I assume).
Anyway, that's enough to read about it. Just get yerself over to Twitter and get writing some. You never know, you may love it. Plenty do.
#keepwriting
#amwriting
It’s come a long way since it began. And boy has it grown up and beyond anywhere it was expected to be. I mean, it even spawned an actual book. Yep, a real solid thing. It continues to go from strength to strength. Of course new people keep coming to it, or want to know what the damn thing is, so here is a quick introduction into what it is now. I won't go into the history of it, but there's mainly a few people from the Flashdogs to thank for its genesis and continued existence. More power to the Flashdogs.
So what is VSS365?
Well VSS is short for Very Short Story and 365 means it’s each and every day. VSS in this instance means Tweet length, which is currently 280 characters, twice the length it was when it first started. And the daily prompt is a word prompt provided by the designated prompter for that month. Oh, did I mention it's a Twitter thing. Yes, Twitter only. So get on it - it's not just Trump and bad people on there. It's great really.
Anyway, I’ve been hosting the prompts for April 2020 and the following months of 2020 are being hosted as follows:
MAY @fhaedra
JUNE @kara_goughnour
JULY @AvyeAndonellis
AUG @49JDBlood
SEPT @TheWritingKind
OCT @LitmanSpencer
NOV @whithernow
DEC @ESWarriorPoet
Follow these guys and gals if you're wanting to get the prompts as they go out.
When does the prompt go up each day?
That will vary by prompter, who may put them up manually each day or schedule through an automatic scheduler (I used Buffer and uploaded them from 6:30 through to 6:00am - a minute earlier each day. Why then? No good reason whatsoever). The prompter may of course be in different countries in different months and there may be IT problems on occasion (I had one this week on one day), just don’t sweat it and badger the host. It’ll be there when it gets there.
How to look up the daily prompt
If you are not following the current prompter the easiest way to search for the prompt is to go into Twitter and search for #VSS365 and #prompt then order the results by time. Simple (assuming the host has remember to put #prompt in their Tweet. Obviously if you’re planning to do it regularly that month then follow that month’s prompt host (as above).
What do I write?
Anything you want that the prompt word makes you think of. Just remember to include the prompt word and # it. Prose, poems, acrostics all sorts of writing gets completed under the auspices of VSS365. As long as it fits in one Tweet then go for it.
What’s the purpose?
It’s for fun. It may just be a wee tease of your brain in the morning. I don’t overthink it (as anyone who reads my Tweets can testify too) but some people give it some serious thinking. Some write extended stories following on each day from previous days - there’s some clever people out there. It may lead to other ideas for you beyond VSS. If you find yourself writing something a bit different that looks interesting to you why not think about it a bit and then expand on it and take it to a longer story? Who knows, you’re next novel or prize winning short may have come from a single prompt word.
It’s only for fun. Don’t worry about. Write one if you want, if the word doesn’t do it for you, then just wait 24 hours for the next one.
Community
The VSS365 peeps are a mighty fine bunch. See a Tweet you like then ‘Like’ it or ‘Retweet’ it and/or give them a follow. In the main everyone is lovely, so be lovely back.
How can you become the prompt host?
Ha, what a question. What are you doing in 2026? The months and years ahead are already booked up. Not sure if the list is being updated at the moment Arthur Unk is the man to ask. Just bear in mind you’ll need a long term planner.
Reusing previous words
If you are going to be the prompter and want to use only words that haven’t been used before then search the #’word’ you’re thinking of using along with #vss365 #prompt. If nothing shows up then you’re good to go, if not then try another one. I tried hard not to re-use words, but there is nothing really to stop you doing that - you just wouldn’t want to use one that has been used recently (I assume).
Anyway, that's enough to read about it. Just get yerself over to Twitter and get writing some. You never know, you may love it. Plenty do.
#keepwriting
#amwriting
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