We've been planning this one for weeks now, and it's finally ready to unveil!  We've had great fun working on this, so we hope you have as much fun taking part!  Without further ado, here's our shiny new Creative Writing Campaign!

Calling All Writers! We’re going to show Tom Lynch just how much we appreciate South of Nowhere and how we want Spashley’s story to continue. Whether you're a veteran of the world of creative writing or have never picked up a pen before.

Your Mission: Create a short work of SoN fanfiction (oneshot, drabble, or poem) that you want Tom Lynch to read. Add a brief personal note about why you love South, how it touches and inspires you, and how you want to see it continued. Make sure you say you’re a part of the SaveSpashley Creative Writing Campaign: use the banner above if you’d like.

Remember: Thanks to our recent contact with Tommy, we know how dedicated he is to keeping the show and Spashley alive. Stay positive and be respectful. Thank him for giving us South of Nowhere and let him know we’ll follow Spashley wherever they go.

Writing Content: Below, we’ve provided a list of guidelines that we insist be followed, as well as six themes and a plethora of prompts to help inspire you. Write one story/poem or write a hundred. If you have something that you’ve previously written, and it adheres to the guidelines and designated themes, you’re welcome to use it. Make sure to sign your personal note with your first name, age, and location.

Campaign Calendar: We’re going to shower Tommy with love April 25 through August 29. Each of the six themes will be in effect for three weeks at a time:

April 11 – April 24: Campaign Launch. This is the time to brainstorm ideas and ask questions if you have them.
April 25 – May 16: PostSecret Challenge. Start mailing!
May 17 – June 6: Speculations.
June 7 – June 27: Into the Spotlight.
June 28 – July 18: Deep Thoughts.
July 19 – August 8: Director’s Cut.
August 9 – August 29: Shoulda Woulda Couldas. Deadline for final submission is August 29.

Click the article title for more on campaign guidelines and details for each theme.

There is no specific day for sending, so simply mail your stories and poems as you write them. International participants need not worry about transit times, however. if you have questions about what you want to write email us at

Reminders of theme changes will be posted here along with a story example to point you in the right direction.

Print your stories out (or neatly handwrite them) and send them to:

Tom Lynch Company
Attn: Tom Lynch
9100 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 345, East Tower
Beverley Hills, CA 90212

Content Guidelines

1. Keep it short. Preferably 500 words or less for the story itself. If it must go on longer, try not to exceed 1000 words. Remember that we want Tom to actually read these, so we don’t want to bombard him with thousands of epics. For the personal note, try to stay within 200 words.
2. Keep it clean. We’re going for tasteful here. This means no smut and no excessive profanity. Maintain respect for the characters. A good rule of thumb is to follow the show’s example of what can and can’t be shown - without the double standard.
3. Proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Proofread your writing at least once and/or have someone else read it over for you. Please do no write in tweenspeak. Nothing is more irritating than reading page after page of “omg,” “wtf,” “b4,” “im,” “ur,” excessive use of the letter “z,” substituting numbers for letters and words, etc. Likewise, please make sure homonyms are given the correct usage (e.g. there vs. their vs. they’re).
4. Proper textual formatting. Please form paragraphs, separated either by an indent or a line break. Use a standard 12 point font. If you have more than one page, we suggest numbering the pages.
5. No songfics. You can make reference to a song if you’d like, but please refrain from copying full song lyrics into your story.
6. Do not plagiarize. Do not use someone else’s work unless you have explicit permission from the author to do so. Also, do not take a story from a different fandom and change the names of people and places to fit SoN.
7. Copyright. We recommended that you add a copyright stamp (e.g. © 2008) at the end of your creative writing piece. It is, after all, your personal work, and you deserve to maintain rights over it.

Writing Themes

The prompts listed within each theme are just examples of what you can write. Come up with a fun title for your work, and make sure it’s clear which character’s point of view you’re using (if there is one).

Theme 1 (April 25 - May 16)

PostSecret Challenge: Just like the first postcard campaign, make up a character ‘secret’ tagline. Write a short fic about it, incorporating the secret phrase somewhere into the story.

 Examples:

• Spencer: “I lied on Ashley’s ‘First Time’ video.” About what and why? What’s the true story? Does Ashley find out she lied?
• Ashley: “Sometimes I feel like Spencer deserves better than me.” Did Ashley purposely sabotage their relationship but wasn’t able to let go? Does she overcome it?
• Glen: “When I kissed Sergeant McAndrews to get out of the army, I kind of liked it.” Did it give him a new perspective on his sister and her girlfriend?
• Aiden: “I’m terrified of the gym every time I go.” Did Aiden have a traumatic childhood experience, show sigsns of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or maybe his mother makes him go? You decide.
• Madison: “When Ashley started dating Aiden, she wasn’t the one I was jealous of.” Did Madison not want to lose her best friend but handled it the wrong way? Did she discover deeper feelings for another girl? Does she regret what happened between her and Ashley?
• Patrick: “I didn’t acknowledge Spencer’s sexuality because I haven’t accepted my own yet.” Did he actually have a girlfriend, or did he have a close male ‘friend’ that his parents didn’t approve of, much like Paula didn’t approve of Ashley?

Theme 2 (May 17 – June 6)

Speculations: Write up a scene you think will occur in 3B.

Examples

• The morning after the trench coat fell.
• When Ashley gives Spencer the rose.
• Spashley’s candlelight kiss.
• Aiden’s thoughts/attempts of suicide.
• Kyla slapping Aiden.
• Jake.
• Spencer’s 18th birthday.
• Graduation.
• A happy Spashley ending.
• A future-based final webisode.
• Glen and Chelsea.
• Aiden and Sasha.
• Ashley and Ethan.
• Ashley and Carmen.
• Ashley and Aiden.

Theme 3 (June 7 – June 27)

Into the Spotlight: Have a favorite secondary character that you want to know more about? Delve into their minds, flesh out their roles, or write about their past.

Examples:

• Cat (Bartender at Gray).
• Christine (Ashley’s mother).
• Sherry (Madison’s friend).
• Kelly (in Put Out Or Get Out).
• Josie (in Under My Skin).
• Paige (in Say it Ain’t So, Spencer).
• Cecily (Clay’s mother).
• Patrick (in Guess Who’s Coming Out to Dinner; Saturday Night is for Fighting).
• Debbie (in That is so Not Mom).
• Jake.
• Carmen.
• Sasha (Aiden’s UCLA friend).
• Ethan (Ashley’s music agent).

Theme 4 (June 28 – July 18)

Deep Thoughts: “It’s not where you’ve been; it’s where you’re going.” Write a character monologue (first person point of view) reflecting on their regrets, fears, or hopes for the future. You can explore events in their lives that have been shown on screen or referenced in the past. Any character that has appeared on the show can be included.

Examples:

• Ashley’s fear of losing Spencer again.
• Paula/Arthur’s worries for Spencer/Glen’s future.
• Aiden’s regrets connected to the women in his life.
• Chelsea’s guilt surrounding life without Clay.
• Spencer’s hopes for her life with Ashley.
• Ashley’s music career.
• Glen’s feelings of failure.
• Madison’s sadness over her lost friendship with Ashley.
• Kelly’s disappointment over having to drive Spencer home.
• Spencer’s musings about Ashley’s miscarriage.
• Kyla spending her inheritance money.
• Carmen’s remorse for how she treated Spencer.
• Paige’s hurt at being used by Ashley for sex and drugs.
• Ashley’s dreams about the family she could have with Spencer.

Theme 5 (July 19 – August 8)

Director’s Cut: Ever wondered about those Spashley moments we never got to see, or what about the events that happen between episodes/scenes?

 Examples:

• Spashley kisses.
• Did Spencer sneak downstairs to sleep on the couch with Ashley? (Put Out or Get Out; Under My Skin)
• Straddling scene (Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are) - what were they talking about before Kyla walked in?
• Spencer finding the Photoshopped picture of Ashley in her email.
• Ashley’s screening of her ‘First Time’ video at the film festival.
• The birthdays we don’t see.
• Motel room mischief.
• The conclusion of the paintball war.
• Glen’s first day at working at the sporting goods store.
• Ashley’s shrink sessions.
• Glen’s time in jail.
• Aiden buying his motorcycle.
• Clay’s funeral.
• Ashley’s miscarriage.
• Kyla’s confrontation with the paparazzi photographer (Gay Pride).

Theme 6 (August 9 –August 29)

Shoulda Coulda Wouldas: Rewrite a scene to fit what you wish would have happened.

Examples:

• The almost kiss (Friends with Benefits)
• Drunk Spencer (Friends, Lovers, Brothers, and Others)
• The morning after
• Paula’s walk-in on Spencer and Ashley.
• Prom.
• Aiden and Ashley’s relationship.
• Spashley breakup or post-breakup.
• The Carmen/Spencer shove.
• Any webisode.

If you’re not too shy, send us your finished works to be added to the fan fiction section (coming soon!) for everyone to read!

Remember, everyone: it’s not just Spencer and Ashley’s story. It’s our story, too.