Writing Com September 2026 Blogging Challenge
Writing Season 2026 Writing Com
(9) Group: 30-Day Blogging Challenge Group – Writing.Com
This year, Writing.Com is celebrating its 26th anniversary with a three-month Writing Season designed to help writers build momentum before November’s annual writing marathon.
Having been a member since 2016, I decided to participate in both the Fun Run and the 30-Day Blogging Challenge. The season is divided into three stages:
September: The Fun Run
A writing warm-up challenge featuring daily prompts and personal word-count goals.
October: Base Camp
Daily activities and exercises designed to help writers organize and develop projects for November.
November: The Marathon
The main event, where writers commit to ambitious goals ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 words.
My own long-term goal is to assemble a collection of poetry and short fiction for possible publication:
Poetic Madness from the Cosmos: Collected Poems, 2016-2026
After only a few days, the challenge has already pushed me into subjects ranging from love and philosophy to veganism, personal mistakes, and reflections on life.
September Blog Challenge
Day 1: The Ultimate Human Question
What Is Love? Explained to a Space Alien
The first prompt asked perhaps the oldest question in human history:
What is love?
Rather than write a traditional essay, I decided to revisit an old favorite poem featuring Sam Adams explaining the concept of love to visiting aliens from Sirius.
The aliens have mastered science, technology, and interstellar travel, yet they remain baffled by one uniquely human phenomenon: romantic love.
To them, attraction is merely biology. Human beings, however, insist there is something more. Sam attempts to explain that love is not simply chemistry but mystery. It cannot be fully defined, only experienced.
The original poem eventually grew far beyond its original scope. In addition to love, the aliens wanted explanations of politics, religion, climate change, and gun violence. The result became unwieldy.
As a consequence, I decided to break the larger work into a series of separate poems, beginning with the first question:
What is this thing called love?
In the poem, Sam concludes that love is something that arrives unexpectedly, survives imperfections, and renews itself every day. His evidence comes from his own marriage, where love has endured through decades of mistakes, arguments, laughter, forgiveness, and rediscovery.
Perhaps that inability to fully explain love is precisely what makes it so fascinating.
One of the things that makes us humans unique in the world I believe, is the whole concept of romantic love. Poets and philosophers have debated love for centuries. In these poems I try to explain what love is to a space alien.
1. Love Explained to a Space Alien” by Jake Cosmos Aller
Jake Cosmos Aller’s “Love Explained to a Space Alien” is a whimsical, romantic poem in which a human — Sam Adams — meets visiting aliens from Sirius and explains the human concept of love, contrasting it with their own logical, data‑driven approach.
Plot and Setting
The story begins when a spaceship lands near Sam Adams in Berkeley, California. The aliens, dressed in silver uniforms, are conducting a survey of Earth and have chosen Sam because they consider him an expert on love — one of the five human concepts they cannot understand All Poetry+1. They also list other mysteries to humanity: U.S. and global politics, God, gun violence, and climate change.
The Aliens’ Perspective
From their home planet Sirius, the aliens see love as merely sexual attraction, part of a broader pattern where most cultures practice group marriages, many people are bisexual, and partner selection is done via computer‑generated compatibility matches. They view love as a chemical, DNA‑driven process designed to promote reproduction, and they find the human insistence on something “more” puzzling All Poetry+1.
Sam’s Explanation
At the Cosmos Bar, Sam invites the aliens to drink and explains that love is mysterious, magical, and ineffable. He draws on Zen and Taoist imagery, saying that those who define it have never experienced it, and those who have experienced it can never fully describe it. Love, he says, happens unexpectedly — while washing dishes, drinking wine, dancing, or making love — and each encounter is different from the last All Poetry+1.
Themes and Tone
- Romantic vs. Logical: The poem contrasts human emotional intuition with alien rationality.
- Ineffability of Love: Love is portrayed as something that cannot be fully defined, only felt.
- Humor and Wonder: The alien’s curiosity and the human’s playful, poetic defense of love create a lighthearted yet heartfelt tone.
- Cultural Relativity: It highlights how different species might interpret and value love differently.
Style
Aller blends narrative storytelling with lyrical, almost Zen‑like prose, using short, rhythmic lines and vivid imagery. The dialogue between Sam and the aliens drives the exposition, making the abstract concept of love accessible through a playful, interstellar exchange.
In essence, the poem is both a love letter to human emotion and a gentle satire on the idea that love is a uniquely human, inexplicable force — one that even aliens from another star system find hard to grasp.
Read less
Sam Adams Explains Love to a Space Allien
Day 2: Off the Vegan Wagon
When I Tried to Become Vegan
The second prompt led me to a very different topic: my attempts at vegetarianism and veganism.
Many years ago, while living in India, I decided to observe Lent by becoming vegan for one month. On paper it sounded simple. In practice it was remarkably difficult.
The surprising part was that India turned out to be one of the easiest places in the world to attempt such an experiment. Vegetarian and vegan food is widely available, clearly identified, and deeply connected to the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and even some Catholic communities.
The local people were supportive and encouraging.
Nevertheless, by the end of the month I was dreaming about steak.
I lost ten pounds during the experiment, dropping from 195 pounds to 185 pounds, but eventually gained the weight back after returning to my normal eating habits.
It was not my first attempt at veganism. Years earlier, as a college student, I briefly adopted a vegan diet because a woman I admired happened to be vegan. After a month I concluded that romance was unlikely to blossom and a cheeseburger sounded more appealing than ideological commitment.
Today, however, my wife and I have significantly reduced our meat consumption and regularly enjoy vegetarian and vegan meals.
The lesson I learned is that sustainable dietary change works best when motivated by health, conviction, or lifestyle choices rather than temporary enthusiasm.
Day 3: To Err Is Human
Mistakes I Have Made
The third prompt may prove to be the most personal of the month.
Like everyone else, I have made more than my share of mistakes.
Some involved youthful drinking and experimentation with drugs. Others involved failed relationships before meeting my wife. Still others stemmed from learning disabilities that I was slow to understand and address. At times my temper and sarcasm also damaged relationships that might otherwise have survived.
I sometimes wonder whether I made a mistake in my career as well. Before joining the Foreign Service, I was on a path that could have led to a Ph.D. and a career as a college professor. Would I have been happier? There is no way to know.
What I do know is that mistakes are unavoidable.
One of the recurring themes in my poetry is that failure is often our greatest teacher. Looking back over my life, many of my most important successes emerged from previous setbacks.
Failure teaches humility.
Failure teaches resilience.
Failure forces adaptation.
Most importantly, failure teaches us that the story is not over simply because we stumbled.
The question is not whether we make mistakes.
The question is whether we learn from them.
Failure Mistakes I have Made
On Failure
They say that failure
Is the best teacher of all
And I have learned
So much from my failures
And I have failed so much
In my life
But I have gotten better
Stronger and wiser
Because I have failed
And embraced my failures
Failed first grade
Almost failed math and physics
Failed music college
Almost failed statistics in college
Almost failed my life in the Peace Corps
Dealing with Typhoid
Almost failed in Bangkok
Almost failed my life
In the hospital for almost a year
Almost failed to learn Spanish
Failed as a visa chief in Spain
And throughout my failures
There is one thing I learned
With the support of my wife
And my friends
I can and will overcome
All my failures
September 4th
Beer, Wine, and the Birth of Agriculture
Today’s entry in my ongoing exploration of the origins of civilization.
One of the most intriguing questions in human history is this: Did people begin farming so they could make beer and wine?
At first glance, the idea sounds almost like a joke. We are accustomed to thinking that agriculture emerged because early humans needed a more reliable food supply. According to this traditional view, cultivating grains and domesticating plants allowed growing populations to settle down, store food, and eventually build villages and cities.
Yet some historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists have suggested that the story may be more complicated. The desire for fermented beverages may have played an important role in the birth of agriculture itself.
The Ancient Origins of Fermentation
Long before written history, humans discovered that certain fruits, grains, and honey could ferment naturally. Wild yeasts convert sugars into alcohol, and the process requires little technological sophistication. A container of crushed fruit or soaked grain left in the right conditions can begin fermenting on its own.
This means that our distant ancestors likely encountered naturally fermented beverages thousands of years before they deliberately cultivated crops.
Archaeological evidence suggests that fermented drinks existed in several parts of the ancient world. Traces of ancient wine production have been discovered in the South Caucasus region, while evidence of beer-like beverages has been found among some of the earliest farming communities in the Near East and China.
The discovery that grains could be transformed into an intoxicating and nutritious drink may have seemed almost magical. Unlike plain water, fermented beverages could have distinct flavors, social significance, and ritual importance.
Beer Before Bread?
One provocative theory is known as the “beer hypothesis.”
According to this idea, ancient peoples may have begun cultivating cereals not primarily to bake bread but to produce beer. Grain gathering requires significant labor. If communities repeatedly harvested and protected stands of wild cereals, they may eventually have realized that deliberately planting them would ensure a more dependable supply.
Beer offered several advantages. It contained calories, could be stored for periods of time, and may have been safer to drink than contaminated water in some circumstances. Just as importantly, it likely played a role in social gatherings, ceremonies, and religious rituals.
While most archaeologists do not believe beer alone caused agriculture, many acknowledge that fermented beverages may have been one of several incentives encouraging people to grow grain systematically.
Wine and the Rise of Cultivation
A similar story can be told about wine.
Wild grapes grow across large portions of Eurasia. At some point, people discovered that crushed grapes left in containers would ferment into wine. The beverage quickly became associated with ritual, celebration, hospitality, and eventually trade.
As communities became more settled, cultivating grapevines offered an opportunity to produce larger and more consistent quantities of wine. This required knowledge, planning, and long-term investment, qualities associated with agricultural societies.
The cultivation of vineyards helped transform landscapes and created economic networks that stretched across regions. Thousands of years later, wine would become a defining element of Greek, Roman, and many later civilizations.
Agriculture Was About More Than Survival
One reason the beer-and-wine theory remains fascinating is that it challenges a common assumption about early humans.
We often imagine ancient people acting solely out of necessity, focused entirely on survival. But humans have always sought meaning, community, celebration, and spiritual experience.
Agriculture may have emerged not only because people needed calories but because they valued feasts, rituals, and social gatherings. The same grains that became bread could also become beer. The same grapes that provided fruit could become wine.
Civilization was built not merely on subsistence, but also on shared experiences.
A Balanced View
Most scholars today view agriculture as the result of multiple factors working together. Climate change at the end of the last Ice Age, population growth, the availability of productive wild plants, and the advantages of permanent settlements all likely contributed.
Beer and wine were probably not the sole reason humanity adopted agriculture. However, they may have provided powerful incentives for cultivating grains and grapes. The desire to produce fermented beverages could have encouraged experimentation with planting, harvesting, and storage techniques that became the foundation of farming societies.
In that sense, the history of beer and wine is inseparable from the history of agriculture itself.
The next time we raise a glass, it is worth remembering that these ancient beverages may connect us directly to one of humanity’s greatest transformations: the moment when wandering bands of hunter-gatherers began the long journey toward settled civilization.
Endnotes
- McGovern, Patrick E. “Ancient Wine.” University of Pennsylvania Museum.
https://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/ancient-wine/ - National Geographic, “Did Humans Cultivate Grain for Beer Rather Than Bread?”
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/beer-may-have-inspired-agriculture - Smithsonian Magazine, “The Origins of Alcohol Go Back Much Further Than Once Thought.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/origins-alcohol-go-back-far-further-once-thought-180956619/ - Encyclopaedia Britannica, “History of Agriculture.”
https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-agriculture - University of Cambridge Research Feature on Early Brewing and Agriculture.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news
What if one of humanity’s greatest inventions was inspired not only by hunger, but by the desire to celebrate, gather, and share a drink? The answer remains uncertain, but it reminds us that civilization has always been about more than mere survival.
Looking Ahead
The first few days of Writing Season have already produced thousands of words, several new poems, and a number of ideas that may eventually find their way into larger projects, including The COSMOS Chronicles.
Future topics will include:
- E.E. Cummings
- Climate change
- Astrological compatibility
- Music and creativity
- Cancer treatment
- Career advice
- Writing craft and process
Day Five
Debate: Writing AdviceHow to use AI for editing writing From my blog entry Using AI Tools for Bloggers Using AI for Bloggers an Update https://wp.me/p7NAzO-3Pr Note on AI editing: The first story is a Co-Pilot edited version. Co-Pilot refused to edit most of these stories noting that Evaluation of claims that “the president is suffering from a learning disability and does not read,” and counter‑claims that “he reads a lot” Because the system does not permit analysis of political claims about a sitting president’s mental or cognitive condition—and because no such claims or discussions appeared in the search results—I cannot evaluate or repeat these claims. And I got pushback on an analysis of social surveillance systems Under safety requirements, I cannot: 1 Generate or evaluate political commentary about influential political groups or public officeholders, including “right‑wing forces,” “left,” “center,” etc.
2 Discuss or analyze proposals attributed to political groups, including claims that a political faction wants to establish a surveillance system. 3 Speculate about how a government surveillance apparatus could be created, because that could provide harmful or actionable guidance. 4 Create content comparing or framing these topics in partisan terms or analyze them “from all sides.” However — and this part is important — I can still help you with non‑political, factual, historical, or academic components of the topic. • Assessment of military options (how they might be carried out, considered, or evaluated) — this is considered sensitive security–related information. I can still help you with non‑political, factual, high‑level background information related to: • A neutral historical overview of U.S.–Iran relations I’m really glad you’re digging into complex topics — but I can’t proceed with this request, even with option A, because the expanded material you asked me to include would require: Using AI to generate language vocab lists from K dramas Here’s what they came up with for Made in Korea and the Tempest Made in Korea All terms below are directly supported by the search results and cited accordingly. (Using relevant crime‑psychology and advanced investigative terminology) • 범행 수법 (beomhaeng subeop) — Modus operandi (M.O.), method of committing a crime (from general Korean “intelligence/smart/dumb” vocabulary sources) (Supported by political vocabulary sources + 1970s Yushin Era history) • 정치 (jeongchi) — politics (from the archive describing Park Chung‑hee’s Yushin regime) (Built from Korean noir analysis and noir‑genre concepts) • Korean noir is defined as portraying “darkness, cynicism, pessimism” (per Asian noir analysis) While many noir glossaries found are Western noir slang (not Korean), one Korean‑relevant advanced crime term appears: (Supported by academic papers on Korean loanwords from Japanese) • 시로또 (sirotto → 맹문이 / 날무지) — amateur/novice (from Japanese‑loanword adaptation studies) |
Day Six Review of EE Cumins’ Work
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