About The Quarry
We believe writers get better by writing.
Not by reading craft books (though those help). Not by waiting for inspiration (it never comes). By sitting down, facing the blank page, and finishing something—over and over again, month after month.
The Quarry is a forcing function.
Every month, we give you a theme, a deadline, and a reason to ship. You write a short story. We give you real, rigorous feedback rooted in our published rubric. You revise, or you move on to next month's prompt. Either way, you've practiced the most important skill: finishing.
This isn't a vanity contest. We're not here to tell you you're brilliant. We're here to help you get better—one rough cut at a time.
Who This Is For:
Writers who want accountability. Writers who need deadlines. Writers tired of starting projects they never finish. Writers who'd rather get honest feedback than polite encouragement.
If you're serious about improving your craft, we'll meet you here every month.
How It Works:
- Read the month's theme
- Write a story (1,500 words max)
- Submit by the deadline ($5 entry)
- Receive AI-powered critique within a week
- Revise, learn, repeat
The best stories each month gets published on the site. At the end of the year, we'll compile an anthology of winners.
Welcome to The Quarry.
—
Why I Built This:
I'm a writer who kept starting stories I never finished. I'd get an idea, write a few pages, then lose momentum when the initial excitement faded.
I knew I needed external structure—a prompt, a deadline, accountability. The options were out there: writing coaches (200+/month), MFA programs (years and $ $), or writing groups.
I tried the writing group route. It worked for a while. Having a monthly deadline and real feedback helped me finish more than I had in years. But the time commitment was brutal—not just writing my own story, but reading and critiquing 4-5 other submissions every month. Eventually, the load became unsustainable.
What I wanted was simple: a monthly forcing function that gave me a reason to write, a deadline I couldn't ignore, and real feedback on my work—without the overhead of managing a group or paying hundreds of dollars a month.
When I couldn't find that system, I built it.
The Quarry is the writing practice I wish I'd had years ago. It's designed for writers who need structure but don't have endless time or money. I enter every month alongside you, facing the same prompt, the same deadline, the same blank page.
If you're tired of unfinished drafts and want to actually ship, I'll see you here on the 1st.
—Jonathan