Humor Writing Prompt #13: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 8 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

Last month, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week is to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Winter 2010/2011 through Summer 2012. Oprah and Harry Potter went away and Charlie Sheen drank tiger blood. And NatPasq continued to churn out theme issues. Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Closed For Renovations
  • Wafer Thin
  • Drunk and Stupid
  • Rejected Monsters
  • Flawed
  • 99%
  • The Fast and the Spurious

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #12: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 7 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

Last month, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week is to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Spring 2009 through Fall 2010. Somebody’s got a new iPhone. Not you, of course, but somebody’s got one. Think of all the time you have to create some funny material for a humor magazine that nobody has heard of. Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Home and Garden
  • Hi-Def Digital
  • Zombies, Zombies, Zombies
  • Collector’s
  • Wing and a Prayer
  • All Fun and Games
  • Thirteen

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #11: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 6 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

Last month, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week is to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Spring 2007 through Winter 2008/2009. America started eight years of pissing off racists by electing its first black president. If you can see Russia from your house, you can certainly bring the funny without even trying. Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Sanitized For Our Convenience
  • Kid Friendly
  • Scratch ‘N’ Sniff
  • Increasingly Forgetful
  • Extra Juicy
  • Shark Jump
  • Unusually Hairy

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #10: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 5 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

Several weeks ago, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week will be to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Summer 2005 through Winter 2006/2007. Load some Coldplay onto your iPod and sharpen your comedy skillz. Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Selling Out
  • One Size To Fit Them All
  • Curiously Optimistic
  • Quantum Entanglement
  • Fun With The Elderly
  • Tentative Travel
  • Tucker Carlson in Extreme Settings

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #9: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 4 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

A few weeks ago, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week will be to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Summer 2003 through Winter 2004/2005. Remember how Britney was so, like, pretty, and everyone was into tater tots? Yeah, me neither. Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Global Warming
  • 133+
  • Goodbye, ePasquinade
  • The Special Supersized Spring Break Spectacular
  • Reader’s Digest Parody
  • Patience
  • Federally-Enforced Christmas

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #8: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 3 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

A couple weeks ago, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week will be to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Fall 2001 through Spring 2003. The new millennium has really started to take off and you can pay for it all with the new Euro! Every country in Europe will want the Euro. It’s the Currency For The New Millennium! Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Classified
  • Cleverly Deceptive
  • Ticking Package Wrapped in Greasy Brown Paper
  • Chaos
  • Gambling
  • Underground Comic
  • Surreality Television

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #7: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 2 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

Starting last week, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week will be to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Winter 1999/2000 through Summer 2001. The Y2K bug never really materialized, but nobody will ever forget needing to scratch out the little “19” on every check you wrote. You still write checks, right? Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • The Second-to-Last Award Show Ever
  • Proofreaders’ Strike
  • Happy 224th
  • Lucky Halloween
  • Flushed
  • Coulda Been a Contender
  • Dog Days

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

Humor Writing Prompt #6: NatPasq 20th Anniversary, Part 1 of 10

Humor Writing Prompts

“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

For the next ten weeks, National Pasquinade will be prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge is to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Spring 1998 through Fall 1999. Put those pagers on vibrate and open up Windows 98™, we’re visiting the very late ’90s. Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

  • Fly the Friendly Skies
  • Hi-Jinks and Misadventures
  • Health and Fitness
  • Special Olympics Preview
  • Bad Poetry
  • Looking on the Bright Side
  • Abundant Cornucopia

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.

They Say It’s Your Birthday…

Like that cute person you met at the club and brought home with you, the deadline for NatPasq #78 came and went. There are several reasons for this that I won’t bore you with. Therefore, like we have done so many times in the past, we’ll move forward to #79. We’ll use material submitted for the last issue where we can. My sincerest apologies.

So.

A little bird was just mentioning that some little humor magazine is going to be twenty years old next month. No, not that one. No, that one isn’t even funny. No, I’m talking about the National Pasquinade.

This fall, we celebrate twenty years of missed deadlines and issues that never actually materialized. We’re proud of our two decades of a few pretty funny issues. We hope that you will be as well.

This fall.

Really.

We mean it this time.


Note: For those of you interested in submitting for the Anniversary Issue, please see the guidelines and upcoming themes for the list of themes/time frames to write against.

Listeria #19: Things James Comey Has Written in His Notebook

Listeria No. 19: Comey's NotebookIt was recently revealed that former FBI director James Comey took extensive notes on everything, including his meetings with Donald Trump. This installment of Listeria wonders what Comey’s other musings might be.

Things James Comey Has Written in His Notebook

  • That Gilmore Girls reunion on NetFlix? Really sweet. Even after binging it for the fifth time.
  • Trump knows about the aliens. No, scratch that, he just talking about the Mexicans again.
  • WTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTF… (repeats for three and a half pages).

To play, post your own answers on Twitter to @pasquinade with the hashtag #StuffComeyWrote, comment on the post on our Facebook page, or comment here. I encourage you, as well, to share this post freely. The more folks playing, the more there is to enjoy.

If you have an idea for a future list, send it to us at submissions@nationalpasquinade.com, along with at least three list items for each list submitted. Maybe you’ll see your list in a future installment or even in the digital pages of National Pasquinade.


Update: Here are some additional examples, posted earlier today.

  • Having read his Twitter feed, I have to ponder the depths of Trump’s handwritten journal. Are they just doodles of penises?
  • Ow!!! Writer’s Cramp!!! Damn it, why did I just write that?! I really need to stop writing this down! Oh my god, the pain!
  • Then Donald grabbed my crotch as he looked me in the eye and, in his bedroom voice, said “Comey, Comey, Comey.”
  • I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And, goshdarnit, people like me.
  • Dear Diary: Another day, another wedgie. If it’s the last thing I do, those rich orange-faced bastards will pay.
  • The president said he wanted to start paying my salary in bitcoin, so I walked out of his office. Next thing I know…
  • Never will I gorge myself on Taco Bell the night before testifying before Congress. Not good!
  • I know the Colonel’s secret recipe, but I can’t even tell the president. #BurdensOfAnFBIDirector
  • I want to help Mulder and Scully get to the truth, but Gorak the Orange-Haired has threatened to disintegrate my family.