In this post I cover the prompt for The Essay Architecture Prize, why I picked it, some approaches, our judging criteria, the rules, 50+ examples ... and the book is live!
…aww mannn…do i really need to think of this year again?…here i was pretending to be a time traveling hummingbird with 90 minutes to stop a caveman from procreating (his DNA leads to some tech bro who creates the AGI that ends mankind)…now i’m going to have to dig deep and cosplay being a 14 year old memelord (read as 36 year old tech bro with a startup called MRVl-US) and work out how to automate saying neener neener…
Hey Hartmut, the app currently doesn't factor in imagery, but when you submit to the prize you'll be able to include a URL (where you can include pictures, footnotes, etc.)
Thank you Dean for organizing this! I’m excited to read the essays and what you learned about the process of launching this competition once it is over!
this is so cool. when I stumbled upon this and showed my partner, I remembered I wanted to become an architect for quite a while in my preteens. so excited to pore over what you've done on mapping the laws of essay writing! maybe I'll find something akin to an answer to why I abhor meta-writing when I do it myself, while usually absolutely loving it when others write about writing. we will see. thank you for all this material. printed it out and put it in a special essay architecture folder!
Hey Michael! I love this prompt. Especially the challenge of being in a moment. Could I dramatize the moment to make it more engaging? I'm considering blending a couple of ideas that happened over the course of a couple of days into one sequence of a story to articulate my point.
…aww mannn…do i really need to think of this year again?…here i was pretending to be a time traveling hummingbird with 90 minutes to stop a caveman from procreating (his DNA leads to some tech bro who creates the AGI that ends mankind)…now i’m going to have to dig deep and cosplay being a 14 year old memelord (read as 36 year old tech bro with a startup called MRVl-US) and work out how to automate saying neener neener…
But you had this fantasy in 2025...
…big dream energy…perhaps 2025 isn’t even a year mannnnnnnn….
Alternate prompt: if you had access to humming-bird-powered time travel technology, how would you intervene in the events of 2025?
Hi Michael. Thanks for the opportunity to enter this competition. Question: can we include some pictures within the essay.
Thanks
Hartmut
Hey Hartmut, the app currently doesn't factor in imagery, but when you submit to the prize you'll be able to include a URL (where you can include pictures, footnotes, etc.)
Thank you Dean for organizing this! I’m excited to read the essays and what you learned about the process of launching this competition once it is over!
Thanks Michael. All good. It forced me to develop my descriptive skills further in the essay I submitted for your competition on Saturday.
Thanks
Hartmut
this is so cool. when I stumbled upon this and showed my partner, I remembered I wanted to become an architect for quite a while in my preteens. so excited to pore over what you've done on mapping the laws of essay writing! maybe I'll find something akin to an answer to why I abhor meta-writing when I do it myself, while usually absolutely loving it when others write about writing. we will see. thank you for all this material. printed it out and put it in a special essay architecture folder!
Hey Michael! I love this prompt. Especially the challenge of being in a moment. Could I dramatize the moment to make it more engaging? I'm considering blending a couple of ideas that happened over the course of a couple of days into one sequence of a story to articulate my point.
That graphic is 🔥