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The Short Fic Weekly Challenge Thread!


elliotcat

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Now that I'm back in the land of good internet, I can get the prompts posted. Happy writing!

 

Week of July 16, 2021

 

None Shall Pass: Gates and those who protect them keep your character out of places they want to go. Physical ones and the associated guards might bar the way to the castle, the detention block, or the treasure they want to steal liberate. Physical gatekeepers overlap some more figurative: the ones who decide, based on their own criteria, who gets into a space. Those criteria don’t have to be (and often aren’t) logical, and may be changed on a whim to keep the “wrong people” out. They might be the security around the concert or ball your character wants to attend. They might be the superfans quizzing someone new on fandom minutia. Perhaps your character is one of the guards at the gate, keeping out the “undesirables.” Write a story involving your character’s interactions with gatekeepers, physical or otherwise.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Forced Arrangements: A marriage, an assigned partnership, dormmates, weekend conference roomies, seatmates for a long trip or event, even a blind date. Sometimes your character has to deal with another, with little say in the matter. How serious is the situation? How long does it last? How does your character handle it? What happens afterward? Do they part as friends and keep in touch or never speak again? If permanent, how do they make it work?

 

Incongruity--A wookie with curlers, troopers in armor dancing to a popular tune, a toddler with a lightsaber. Some things just don’t seem to go together. The result may be funny or tragic. When has your character encountered incongruous things or odd juxtapositions?

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And here's this week's prompt...

 

Week of July 23, 2021

 

Don't Fall Asleep: We’ve had several prompts regarding rest and sleep. How about the opposite? When has your character needed to stay awake when they otherwise would sleep? These usually aren’t entirely voluntary situations: guard duty, cramming for tests, finishing a report or project in the wee hours before it’s due, or working a double shift (for any number of reasons). Why does your character have to stay awake? What methods do they use? What’s available to them? Suppose they can’t rely on their usual stimulant beverage of choice? How much of a challenge is it to stay awake, anyway? It would be harder to stay awake for a boring stint of guard duty than an eventful one--but making decisions while sleep-deprived has its own consequences.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

What About That Guy?: Stories usually concern major characters. Sometimes the main plot is from the game, sometimes not. Regardless, stories also contain a number of incidental characters and minor plots as well. The guard at the door, the customs official who broke up the fight, a convenient corpse, the character (probably in a red shirt) who dies in the first scene to prove the situation is serious. Not to mention why was there a guard, how did the fight start, where did the corpse come from, what made the situation serious. Every story has places to explore behind the scenes. This week, pick one of your favorite works and fill in one or more of those spaces. (apologies to Galaxy Quest’s Crewman #6)

 

Happy Place: When your character's feeling down, frightened, or overwhelmed, where do they go? What's their "happy place"? Is it a literal, physical location? An actual place they visit that never fails to ground them? Is it an object that brings soothing memories with it? A story, a book, or a piece of music? An activity that helps them refocus? Is their happy place a lie? A bar where they can drink away their feelings, a painful memory that crowds out the new one, a story, song, or activity that distracts but offers no real solace? This week, write about your character's happy place.

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It's prompt time.......Happy Friday!

 

Week of July 30, 2021

 

Work for It: A broad theme in fiction is that our characters want something and then do what they have to in order to get it. They earned their reward, worked for it, therefore they deserve what they have. Villains and antagonists also “earn” their defeats: they opposed our heroes and get what they deserve. But...did they? Friendship, love, forgiveness--these are freely given or not at all. Social positions have elements of both. Consider this week what your character gained by actually working for it and what they feel they deserve--whether they do or not.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Fasting or Going Hungry - A character may go without food for a number of reasons: poverty, crash dieting, disciplines of faith or duty, declining weird alien food, forgetting to restock, or even forgetting to eat. What about your character? When have they experienced hunger? Was it intentional or accidental? Why? We had prompts for taste as well as favorite foods. This week, consider the opposite.

 

Dearest Love: In worlds where instant communication is the norm, there's still something special about a love letter. Where letter-writing is the only kind of long-distance messaging they're even more treasured. Simultaneously raw and full of heartfelt emotion and meticulously edited. Every word considered and weighed. They embody the uniqueness of love. Who might your character write a love letter to? Have they ever received one? What did it say? Were the feelings reciprocated?

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Not going into the background of how she got ahold of the letters, but having some recent experience with letters from my dad to my mom, about 70 years ago, I thought I'd take the Dearest Love prompt, just a generation back from the character I most frequently play.

 

 

I miss you.

 

I know you won't see this for a long time, but I am writing it to you, because somehow, I feel like maybe you'll sense the feeling, even from so far away. That's why they took you, after all, isn't it? I don't understand the force thing at all, but it isn't right that they won't let people who seem to be able to use it just learn or not, and the way they want to if they do, without being forced to leave everyone they know.

 

I know they don't care about people like me, and I'm nobody important or impressive, just a “mild mannered archaeologist” (albeit hyper-ancient extra-galactic archaeologist, with barely her foot in the door in her career) with a bent for learning about how everyone even got to this galaxy. Yes, I know, highly classified information that hardly anyone believes – but I am glad that you do. I don't know if I could love you – or you me – if we didn't agree on that!

 

Right now I'm feeling bitter about not having you with me, and not being able to help you get out of there. I'll keep trying to find out more, and work with our friends and contacts to see if something can be done. I trust that you'll be working on your side, as much as you can, to come back to me, somehow, some way. I can't believe that this is a forever parting, like they made you say. I could see in your eyes that you didn't accept that, and I won't either!

 

With all my love, and may we be together again, soon,

Gean

 

----------------

We're coming,

I can't wait to see you again. I don't want to put any details in this, even though probably nobody will ever read it but me – and maybe you, if this works. Let's just say I found some people who could help. I'm sure you don't know them.

 

Anyhow, at least I know where you are supposed to be, a little more exactly. And we have a plan for later, too. I'm really sorry about the things we'll both lose, but at least we'll be able to be together again, and I arranged for appropriate messages to be sent to both our families. I'll tell you more about that when I see you in person. This is crazy, what I'm doing, but I know you'll agree it's for the best.

 

Hope. It's the second most important thing in my life now, other than you.

 

Your very own, Gean.

---------------

What am I going to do if I can't find you, Vornhardt? All our plans blew away like dust in a windstorm. We went to the capital, only to find out that you'd been sent from there to the Academy over a month ago. Who knew anything about how this all works out. Certainly not archaeologists, that's who. I feel so stupid and like I wasted money we don't even have. But I'm going to keep searching, and I guess I must have melted a few stony hearts with my sob story, because they said they'd help me even though it's more dangerous, without charging me more. Something about them “owing a favor” to someone there. It didn't sound like a friendly favor. I hope you're OK, and not . . . well, not in as much danger as I think you are. I wish I knew what was going on. Then I wonder if I really do want to know. I just want us together Vor. I don't understand how they can rip people out of their own homes to force them to do something they don't want to do! I'm so mad that it is a good thing I'm not a force user, or I'd do some forcing of them, and damn the consequences!

 

And with that, I'll say goodbye, and go have a good cry. You know that when I'm mad I cry! I miss you so much, Vor, and I'm going to get you out of there if it's the last thing I do.

 

I hope you dream of me the way I dream of you – In a better future than it looks like from where I'm sitting tonight.

 

Love you, kit.

Gean

---------------

 

Wow, Vor – you'll never believe the type of people I've been meeting on this journey to finding you and getting together again. Would you believe we've enlisted an actual Jedi in this thing now? Don't even ask how that happened. But he was able to inform us all a little more about how things work out there, and was more than willing to assist – in fact, he insisted on it. He says he has a contact there who also wants to get away, and that she's of sufficient rank that he thinks she can smooth the process at least some. So far, he's talked to her only once, but it sounds like she was both encouraged that she's not the only one there who is fed up with their policies, and wants to leave, permanently, but also very sad that we're all stuck in this mess.

 

More soon, I hope,

Your Gean.

 

---------------

Dearest Geanna, my pet –

 

I can't believe that I may be able to get out of here – and that I have you to thank! It's been a nightmare, and you know how I feel about random killing, “good cause” or not – and trust me, it's rarely anything like a good cause.

 

Enough moping. Maia thinks she can get this smuggled out to you without getting us both executed (or worse – and yes, worse is possible, if it doesn't work – keep me – both of us-- in your thoughts). So I'm just going to tell you that I think about you every time I'm not being forced to do stupid errands for my captors. I haven't lost sight of that, though I can tell they wish I would, and think I should. You are always with me, and I can feel your presence and your worry for me. Don't lose heart! If anyone can make this work, or make other people make it work, you can. You get to people, and make them want to help you – and you're so wonderful as you do it – you're a much better person than I am. Unfortunately, I think that's what they want me to be here. I miss you, kit. So, so much. If I hadn't heard from Maia, I'd have done something stupid, because it's driving me crazy here! Trust me, this is no place for a Cathar.

 

Here's hoping things work out, because I can't wait to see you, sweetie. At least I see you in my dreams – and by next week, that this will all be a bad memory.

 

Until we meet again, I'll just be here, but with you in my heart

Vornhardt

 

---------------

 

Dearest Vor,

 

Our Jedi friend told me all about Maia, and she got me your note, too! It was so good to hear from you – I heard it as I read it, almost like you were right there with me. That was hard, but also wonderful. I can't believe that we'd have been married by now if they hadn't taken you off the way they did. But honestly, this may be a blessing in disguise. I really think Master Vreoni is the right man for the job, and with the help of our other friend, that this is going to work. I can't actually send this letter – or any of the others I've written you, Vor, because they're too dangerous, of course. I'll copy down here, “for posterity” as they say, what I am going to send, and I hope you and Maia will understand and be able to make your part of this crazy plan work. But we're going to get you off of Korriban tomorrow night, or (may it never be so) die trying. Because I don't think that the Sith Lords and whatnot are going to cheerfully let either of you go, willingly. But we have plans for later, and I think we'll be able to keep out of harms way once we're out of Imperial Space. We may have to lie low for a long time, but at least we will be together. Words can't express my emotions, so I'll just say, I do love you Vor. Now and always! No matter what!

Your Gean

---------------

 

Vornhardt and Geanna Savage were married aboard the ship that took them to Coruscant. After some heated negotiation, Vornhardt convinced the Jedi that he was not cut out to be one of them, and really didn't have any interest in learning more about using his “talents” (as he'd always thought of them) for anything beyond his studies and work in his field. With Master Vreoni's continuing support, they were connected with a team studying hyper-ancient/extra-galactic history, with whom they worked for the following ten years, rarely leaving their small ship other than at dig sites and libraries.

Edited by Lady_Thorne
Color adjustment, spelling, etc.
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@Lady_Thorne: What a beautiful exchange of letters and such a sweet inspiration you had to write them! Perfect for the prompt, I loved it!

 

Now for this week's prompt.....only a day late this time!

 

Week of August 6, 2021

 

Thanks, I Hate It: Humans seem to have a need to share not just pleasant experiences with their friends, but truly awful ones too. Has your character ever done the same? Did they find a terrible recipe or restaurant? Discover a show they can only hate-watch or heckle, and need a friend to hate-watch and heckle it with them? Have they bought a gift they know the recipient will hate--but also know it was intended as silly? There’s plenty of overlap here with trolling and practical joking, but without any malice. Write about a time when your character had a bad experience, and then shared it with dear friends.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Wrong side of the Bed: Every character can have an incident that ruins an otherwise decent day. As an author, that's fun to write. What about those times when they just wake up in a bad mood? No reason, no inciting incident, They're annoyed from the get-go. Those are usually the days that go from bad to worse. Does someone try to get them out of their funk? Are they usually bright and sunny and this is a noticeable change in disposition? Maybe it's only a matter of degree and their companions are walking on thinner eggshells. This week, write about a time when your character got up on the wrong side of the bed and what the rest of their day was like.

 

Evil Twin: A subset of mistaken identity. Suppose there was another character, related or no, who looked so much like your character that everyone assumes they are the same person? Further suppose that this doppelganger has the opposite personality of your character. What happens? Do people trust them when they shouldn't, or get surprised when they're generous? How much trouble do they make for your character? Does your character even know they exist? Do they figure it out? What happens?

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Oops, totally forgot about putting up the prompt last week......

 

Week of August 13, 2021

 

Midnight Sun/Polar Night: At this time of year, on some parts of our planet, the sun never sets or never rises, depending on your location. Days past must be counted by hours elapsed or perhaps the motion of the stars. Has your character ever lived in a place where the day-night cycle most of us take for granted doesn't exist? This needn’t be in a polar exploration station or primitive camp--a starship can fix its own cycles or have none at all. There is no solar guide to days underground or deep underwater. They might live in a City That Never Sleeps, on a world with multiple (or no) suns, or work a job where their hours are opposite everyone else’s. Does your character need dark to sleep? Will coffee wake them up when there’s no dawn? Can they deal with the monotony of unchanging, artificial light?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Good/Bad Habits- We're all creatures of habit, whether it be actions (speaking before thinking, gambling, looking for all exits whenever entering a room), rituals (sleeping in the buff, wearing a particular color/article of clothing for luck), or substance use (caf, stims, alcohol, spice). Write about a habit your character has. Thanks to @alaurin101 for this prompt!

 

Change of Venue-Few characters--or stories--stay in one place. Your character moves from familiar places and things to new and strange ones. Does your character relish the excitement of change, or do they prefer the predictable? What do they do when they have to move, regardless of preference? This week, pick a new place for your character to be, or write about how they got there.

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Just a teeny bit late this time......

 

Week of August 20, 2021

 

Reputation: In games, gaining reputation with a person or faction is transactional. They have something your character wants or needs, and the only way to get it is to make them like you better. How does this play out in your character’s story? Do they take actions they find distasteful because it will make someone else happy? Have they found a group they want to be a part of, but they’re mistrustful of outsiders? What do they do to prove themselves? Who do they alienate while getting in another’s good graces?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Forbidden Fruit: Something forbidden is often that much more desirable, a focus of obsession. What is something your character can’t have? Not something they’re not likely to get. Something they could have, or an activity they could engage in, but chose not to. What is it and why must they avoid it? What are the consequences if they indulge? Are they physical, social, or something else? Do they think about the forbidden thing constantly, desiring it even though they know they shouldn't? Do they really not care about the thing? Have they tried it and discovered it wasn’t as good, as interesting, or as exciting as they thought it would be? Was it better than they ever imagined?

 

Loyalty: True loyalty is a complex subject. Essentially, someone puts your character’s well-being equal to or exceeding their own. It doesn’t mean agreeing with everything your character says or does, but offering a different perspective when warranted. It contains elements of being a friend and a lover, without necessarily sharing the more intimate or personal components of those relationships. one hopes that friends and are also loyal. Perhaps this is why betrayal hurts so much. The one who had your character’s back had a knife all along. Other times we mistake a loyal character leaving for betrayal, when in fact they can no longer bear to watch someone they care about self destruct. Consider who’s loyal to your character this week, to whom your character owes loyalty, why, and what might happen to change those dynamics.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Apologies once again for getting behind.....:o

 

Week of August 27, 2021

 

Rude Awakening: All was going well--except that it really wasn’t and your character only just now found out. What situation has drastically changed and why? Did it actually change, or did only your character’s knowledge or perception change? Was someone keeping the truth from your character? Were they willfully blind? What are they going to do now? Was your character the one hiding the facts from someone else? Were they protecting someone or covering themselves? This week, give your character a rude awakening.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Keep Grandma Happy: Okay, okay, not necessarily Grandma. Every family (or other social unit) has that one person whom you simply appease. The one you just don't want flying off the handle because it's such a bother and not worth the resulting tirade and calming down process. Surely your character's circle has one. Who is it? Is it your character? What's their hot button and why? What do the other characters do to avoid it? How do they settle them down when, inevitably, it gets pushed? Does someone push it on purpose for the fireworks? (note: while the intent of this prompt is humorous, feel free to make a more serious case, i.e. trigger or content warnings. Polite characters avoid the topic out of empathy or compassion and only dickish ones bring it up.)

 

You're Not the One I Was Looking For: It's fun to set your character up with the perfect match. The One They've Been Dreaming of. Hold that thought--what about someone else? Someone close, maybe overlooked. Someone who's right for your character in all the ways that matter, but not necessarily the ones your character thinks are important. Maybe they catch your character on the rebound; maybe they've been there all along but never thought about your character in a romantic way. Maybe a casual hookup turns into something more. This week, consider your character finding, not the one they were looking for, but The One just the same.

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Now for this week's prompt......happy writing!

 

Week of September 3, 2021

 

An Embarrassment of Riches: When has your character had too many good things? So many they had a hard time choosing among them? So many they were ashamed in front of their friends who were not so blessed? What did they have and why? Is it something they can share--and do they? Must they choose only one, exclusive of the others? It need not be things. It could be several events on the same night, rival suitors for your character's hand, or all of their college applications were accepted. How does your character choose when all the options are wonderful?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Scent: Humans as a species aren’t known for having a particularly good sense of smell. Despite this, perfumes and scents are incredibly popular, either to hide, replace, or enhance natural odors on both their person and possessions. Does your character care? Do they have a favorite scent? A soap, a perfume, an incense? Do their species’ preferred fragrances turn off others--or smell really good? How do their companions (some of whom may have better olfactory abilities) deal with the profusion of clashing or complimenting scents? Or do they prefer your character au naturel? Credit to @alaurin101’s story for inspiring this prompt.

 

You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Every character wants something. It might be tangible: food, money, an ancient artifact. It could be intangible: respect, success, fame or infamy. Often, their entire story is the pursuit of their desire. But something always gets in the way. What happens when something or someone thwarts your character? Gets in between your character and what they want? How do they deal with it?

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  • 5 months later...

Once again, I'm terribly behind with the prompts. Many apologies and I will be working to get the prompts caught up over the next few days......starting now.

 

Week of September 10, 2021

 

Am I a Joke To You?: When has your character been earnest, but wasn’t taken seriously? Are they usually the clown? Are they known for lying or exaggerating? Maybe the problem is on the other side of the equation. Did the subject make the other person uncomfortable and they dismissed it with humor? Is your character the one making light of the situation? Humor often eases conflict but it can be tone-deaf too. Write about a time when it was.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Followers, Companions and Hangers-on: Whether your character is The Chosen One or just charismatic, they’re bound to attract attention. How does this affect your character? Do they try to maintain their privacy, do they reach out to those interested in them like a group of not-very-close friends, or do they treat everyone like family? Maybe a particular follower (or group!) seeks to change the nature of their relationship with your character--wanting to become closer or move farther apart. This week, consider your character and the beings watching their adventures.

 

Festive Food: Few human holidays are celebrated without food. Special cakes or cookies, the bread that only comes out for the holiday, roasts, stews, vegetarian, carnivore, and everything in between. Some of the special foods are cultural: everyone all around you is making the same things because of course everyone makes them. Sometimes it’s a special thing in your family alone: Grandma’s holiday bread, Dad’s special cookies, Auntie’s secret-recipe casserole. Sometimes the special thing is special because it is part of a culture otherwise left behind: the thing no one makes here, but does where you’re from. What special food does your character associate with holidays and why? Do they make and enjoy it and share with their friends? Who likes it and who hates it? Does your character hate it, but make it anyway because reasons?

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Week of September 17, 2021

 

YOLO: as in “You Only Live Once.” A close cousin to “I dare you,” YOLO is more your character working themselves up to do something than showing off. Apply it to anything your character might hesitate about: strange new food, a remote camping trip, karaoke, bungee jumping. Write about your character or one of their companions trying something risky or otherwise outside their comfort zone.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Beauty: In the eye of the beholder and only skin deep? Or is there in truth no beauty? It's more common to make our characters physically attractive than not, but modern human (and especially Western) standards are not universal. How does this play in their unique cultures? What does your character consider beautiful? Does it align with their society? What does beauty mean to them in the context of their story? Do they see themselves as beautiful? What would they do to become so, or more so, or do they care?

 

It Doesn’t Feel Like Rock: Sense of Touch: Touch is a bit easier to evoke than smell or taste, but it’s often overlooked when setting a scene. Touch is a basic sense and every part of the body can experience it. How things feel help immerse a reader in your world and make it more real. Does your character’s armor fit well or does it chafe? Is the furniture smooth and well-polished, soft and padded, or rough and splintery? What was the food like--crunchy, spongy, chewy, tough, or silken? Does your character have a means of sensing or interpreting touch that is different from human? Explore it!

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Week of September 24, 2021

 

FOMO: as in “Fear of Missing Out.” If your character is the main character, then they’re likely doing all the things. Do they realize it? Or do they think everyone else is the real center of attention? What do they think they’re missing? What about other characters, who really might be missing out in the narrative? What are they missing out on, anyway? A hero’s life can be dangerous and far from glamorous, but those parts don’t often make the legends--or the stories.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Mistaken Identity: A classic literary device employed in drama and comedy alike. Has your character ever been mistaken for someone else? Have they made an error about another’s identity? What happened? Did hilarity ensue, or was it a more serious situation?

 

Dear John: before breaking up via text was a thing there was the "Dear John” letter. Has your character written one? Received one? Breakups are never easy. The letter (or text) means one person doesn't have to face the raw emotions (and possibly violence) of the other. So what would your character write, or what did their letter say?

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Week of October 1, 2021

 

Fight! Fight! Let's start with an obvious one: a fight scene. A physical fight scene. Not a heated argument, not a verbal fight, the real deal. Combat tells a story just as much as description or dialogue. It's not a litany of who punches who. Fighting characters both want something and their method of settling is violence. They might not want the same thing and what they do in the fight will reflect their goals. Are they both (or all--enemies might bring backup or it might be a multi-way disagreement) committed to fighting or will one back down? How far are they willing to go? Does someone have to die? Is injury or humiliation enough? What happens to the winner? This week, tell a story where a fight scene expands on characterization, is central to the plot, or both.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Looking Forward/Anticipation - There’s always something new on the horizon, be it an opportunity, an event, or even just a well-earned rest. What is your character looking forward to? What do they anticipate happening? Are they excited? Anxious? A little of both? Something else entirely? What future thing or event is your character eagerly awaiting?

 

Masks and True Faces: Some of our characters wear physical masks. Why? Do they protect their body against harm, their identity against retaliation, or hide something they are ashamed of? Some eschew protection and flaunt their identity, their face, their safety. Other characters take on new personalities and identities depending on who they’re with or the job they need to do. Not a physical mask, but protection just the same. Write about the masks your character wears and to whom, if anyone, they show their true face and self.

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Week of October 8, 2021

 

Pratfall: Think of the characters played by actors like Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball, or Rowan Atkinson. All of them rely on funny physical stunts. Add humor to a story with an event going wrong, give your readers a break from a serious situation with a physical joke, or run with the prompt and craft an entire story where what happens in the character’s physical world is hilarious. This week, it’s time for clowning, mime, and slapstick. Or splatstick--it is October after all.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Cheering Up- Into every life a little rain must fall, and our characters are no different. Who or what cheers them up when they're down? How would they help a friend with the blues? Whether as the cheer-er or the cheer-ee, write about some happy characters this week.

 

Japes, Satire, and Parody: Beings of every kind tell jokes, often about each other. What about your character? Do they delight in mocking those who desperately deserve it? Maybe they’ve been the butt of someone else’s spoof. Or perhaps they just enjoy seeing authority taken down a few pegs. This week, have a little fun at the expense of your character, their friends, or enemies.

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Week of October 15, 2021

 

Nervous Habit: Does your character have a tic? A motion or action that gives their mood away? Something they do almost unconsciously when they’re worried--or happy, or angry, or serious. Any emotion can have its accompanying gestures. It might be something your character picked up from observing others, or something unique to themselves. Nail-biting, foot-tapping, cracking joints, too-wide smiles, shifting weight--what’s your character’s nervous tic?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Blech!-How you Get So Big Eating Food of This Kind? Sense of Taste: Taste is almost as difficult to evoke as smell, and just as subjective. A pleasant flavor for one character might be revolting to another. While this prompt ties to food, taste can also include medicine or even objects. Look beyond the obvious and try to use the sense of taste in a story this week.

 

That's Cheating! - Some characters are honest and trustworthy to a fault. Others less so. The vast majority are somewhere in between. Where does your character fall? Do they play by the rules or make up their own? Have they been the victim of a cheater? At cards, a merchant, or even a relationship? Do stakes or situation matter, or will your character cheat (or not) any time?

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Week of October 22, 2021

 

Athletics: Sports and athletics contests are story staples, and the drama doesn’t have to be all backstage. There's real drama in the competition itself, with how well one character scores compared to another and why. Who makes mistakes? Who’s flawless? Who throws the game on purpose, and who cheats to win? It can be a significant, official competition, as in the Olympics, all the way down to a pick-up game with friends (or enemies!). It might not even be athletics in the sense of sports. There are plenty of athletics pursued solo, where the challenge is overcoming the environment or personal limitations. This week, make your character’s performance tell the story.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

When I'm Sixty-Four: What happens when the infatuation wears off? When the rush of novelty and discovery fades? What do your characters still love about each other? Why do they choose to stay together? It is a choice, after all, and they could decide otherwise. Perhaps they do. That's a story, too.

 

Sole Survivor: Sometimes it’s a mission gone bad. Only one of the team made it back. Maybe no one was expected to return, but one did. Maybe it was a game, and they were the last one standing when everyone else got eliminated. If it wasn’t your character, perhaps it is a close associate or even a new contact. This week, consider a character who survived a situation no one else did. How did they get there? Where do they go afterward? How do they deal with it? Has it happened before? Is the character considered Bad Luck personified? Are they Good Luck--guaranteed to win? Write about your character being the sole survivor, or encountering one.

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Week of October 29, 2021

 

Flirting/Kissing/Smut: Surely you knew we were going to get here eventually. Flirting has verbal components but much is conveyed through gestures. And, as usual, societies all have their own vocabulary for showing interest. Experiment with non-human ones! Then there’s kissing (where do the hands go?) or further. This week, have your characters demonstrate sexual attraction to each other, and take it as far as you wish.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Storybook Love: After it all, the meeting, the spark, and the kiss, how does the story go? What happens after? Or during? How does your character's love become part of the rest of their story? Maybe their love is the whole story, the prime mover of the plot, but what else happens around them? How does their relationship affect the other characters and the larger story of their lives? Write some of the book around their storybook love

 

Message in a Bottle: Has your character ever received a message from a stranger? Was it spam, and they decided to mess with the sender? Was it a misdirected communication, meant for someone else? Was it a blind message, sent without knowing who might receive it? What did it say? Maybe your character sent such a message. Did they hope for help? Were they seeking a random connection with someone else curious enough to answer? Open the bottle and write about the message inside.

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And here's some more....

 

Week of November 5, 2021

 

Details: Where the devil is, according to the old saying. Mysteries are famous for having the main character piece together clues into a coherent whole, but the concept fits in any genre. When has an adventure hinged on your character noticing something small--and understanding its significance either immediately or later? Is it a thing out of place? Another character whose reactions don’t fit the situation? Is the clue a red herring, pointing away from a solution rather than toward it?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Milestones: Milestones are more personal than Rites of Passage or Turning Points, both previous prompts. It's something significant for your character, something they might mark, independent of holidays, formal anniversaries, or rituals. The day your character finally paid off a loan--or the day they took one out to finance their dream. The first time your character felt like they belonged among their peers--or when they realized they never would. Their last drink, their first dance, moving out, moving on. Tell a story about your character reaching or remembering a personal milestone.

 

Ships that Pass in the Night: Sometimes, two important characters miss each other completely. Perhaps they’re actively avoiding each other: hiding, in disguise, or incognito. They might notice one another, but without recognition. Perhaps their circles are so different they don’t realize who they've seen. Maybe they don't even do that much, passing like ships in the night. This week, write about the encounter that might have happened, but didn't.

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Week of November 12, 2021

 

Desperation: Most times, your characters choose options based on the result they want. If the consequences are dire, especially if they take no action at all, other possibilities become viable. When there's nothing to lose, a risky course can appeal to the most conservative character. This isn't quite the same as having no good choices available. A desperate choice can still be a good one. What does your character do when they're desperate?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

What an Incredible Smell You’ve Discovered!-Sense of smell. In the real world, scent can conjure up some of the most vivid memories and strong associations. It adds a dimension of realism to descriptions. At the same time it’s a very difficult sense to evoke in text. This week’s challenge is to make a scent important in your story, as well as doing your best to help the reader imagine it. It might be a perfume; an aroma specific to a place, thing, or event (pleasant or otherwise); or something with significance to your character. Some species or characters might be more aware of or sensitive to smells than others. Experiment!

 

Lifespan: A human in the Star Wars universe might easily live to 100 standard years. Wookiees live four times as long. Chiss, on the other hand, typically reach only 80, and Talz are lucky to get to fifty. In a galaxy where beings of such differing lifespan can meet, interact, become friends, enemies, partners, or more, how do they deal with the knowledge that one of the pair will outlive the other? Perhaps by a significant amount? Does your character accept their (or a loved one’s) natural span or desire more? Were they reckless in their youth and less so in age, or the reverse? The Force is known to prolong lives--perhaps even to immortality or near-immortality. How does a character plan for that? This week, write about how your character approaches differences in expected lifespan.

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Week of November 19, 2021

 

Beneath Notice: What things in your character's life or world are invisible because they’re common or believed to be unimportant? Cooks and cleaners are often beneath notice, giving a clever character a way into a secure place. Or, an enemy a way into your character’s stronghold! Most such duties are also necessary--so what happens when your cyborg character’s mechanic is kidnapped, or their janitorial staff quits en masse? Could your character cripple their enemy by stirring up unrest among their underlings? Notice who’s usually overlooked this week.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Bodies: Everybody has a body, your character included. How do they take care of themselves? Are there features they like and ones they don’t? Things they change regularly? Others they accept as permanent? Do they make allowances for their own unique issues and inform others of their requirements? Do they try to hide what they see as imperfections? Compensate for a lack, reasonable or otherwise? What about upgrades or other alterations? A cyborg might replace parts for any number of reasons. In a magical or biologically advanced setting they might regenerate, regrow, or augment what occurs naturally. Alternately, they might be stuck with what they were born with, good and bad alike. This week, give some thought to how your character relates to their physical form.

 

A Matter of Life and Death: This week the stakes are high. Your character has to intercede or maybe they're the one in the situation. It's a matter of life and death. Whose? Why? How did the situation get this serious? Is there any way out? Is it really a Matter of Life and Death or did someone use the distress beacon to order pizza?

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Week of November 26, 2021

 

Threats: Usually violent or of harm, threats are the stick to a promise’s carrot. Does your character threaten others? Been threatened? Legal action or social embarrassment is potentially as threatening as the more-obvious beat down. Are the threats empty, hoping to force compliance without intending on follow through? Or were they promises of the hostile kind, where your character or their enemy merely states what will happen?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

The Times, They are a-Changin' - Even in a galaxy far far away, things change. The world, the galaxy, doesn't look the same as it did when your character was younger. How does your character feel about it? Do they take it in stride, or are they more a 'back in my day' lecturer? Was the past as good-or bad-as they remember? Or are those rose-colored glasses blinders?

 

Strange Relations- Every character has an assortment of friends and companions. As writers, we usually pick types or occupations that fit logically with them. But what about an oddball? Obi-Wan Kenobi was friends with a smuggler-***-restaurant owner, hardly a likely pair. Who among your character's compatriots has unusual skills, occupations, or backgrounds? How did they meet and become friends? Why do they remain friendly despite obvious differences?

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Week of December 3, 2021

 

Difficult Conversations: Granted, any conversation can be difficult, but what’s a topic your character really doesn’t want to discuss? A change in relationship with a significant other? A temporary separation for a dangerous mission? A part of their past they want to keep hidden, or would rather not bring up? Maybe it's a long-running sore subject that never gets resolved. An argument that reaches cease-fire status whenever it comes up, but never peace? It could be a health issue, the death of a friend or family member, an unexpected child, an unpleasant marriage. Or maybe a disagreement over redecorating. Again. Your character’s in for a difficult conversation this week.

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Insulting: Our characters often get into physical altercations, but what about verbal ones? When was a well-delivered quip or challenge just right to take down an opponent? Who did they insult and why? What was the response? Your character might have disrespected an authority figure who’s so far removed as to neither know nor care--though in some societies they might care very much and deal with it harshly. Maybe your character was the one insulted. Was it deserved? How do they react? Most of all: What did they say?

 

Preparation: How does your character approach a competition, a blind date, or a delicate mission? Are they a meticulous planner? The one who has contingencies for the contingencies? Rehearsing their lines or moves until they can do them asleep? Or are they more of a “never tell me the odds” sort, walking in with an outline--if that--and winging it? Whether gathering intel and supplies or getting into the proper mental state, show your character getting ready.

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Week of December 10, 2021

 

Bribery: Can maybe get you anywhere, but also might get you nowhere. Interpersonal relations at their most transactional: exchange money for information or influence. Does your character move in circles where this is the norm? Has anyone tried to bribe them? Is this an exchange that doesn’t occur to them to try, or is it their go-to solution? The currency involved can be something other than money, as well. Maybe your character can make a connection for someone, or keep them out of jail. How faithful are they to the bargain, or will they turn when someone else offers a better deal? What does this do for their reputation? Does it work or make the situation worse?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

I’ve got a bad feeling about this - When has your character known something wasn’t going to work out? How did they know? Past experience, premonition, general pessimism? Did events turn out as bad as they expected, or were they better? Worse? How bad were those bad feelings, and was it justified?

 

You’re My Only Hope: It is your character’s most desperate hour. They (and possibly their friends or organization) need help. The kind of help they can only get from one person, and they’re not at all certain they’ll get it. How do they convince the person to aid them? What kind of help is it? Why do they need it and why is this other person so special? What happens if your character fails to recruit them? Is their help really that crucial? Do they end up a liability afterward?

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Week of December 17, 2021

 

Responsibility: Most characters have responsibilities of some kind, even if only to themselves. What about yours? Do others count on them--and for what? Are they a leader, a royal, a military officer, holding the lives, prosperity, and happiness of thousands In their hand? The family matriarch/patriarch, seeing to the well-being of their kin? The one person among a group of misfits who remembers to pay the bills (most of the time)? Maybe they're accidentally responsible--a decision they make has wider effects than they expected. How much influence do they really have? Are they held responsible for things out of their control? What happens?

 

*Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt. A masterpiece missed the deadline? Don’t let it gather electronic dust, share it anyway!

 

*This week’s prompt not for you? Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive. Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.

 

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

 

Who?: Remember that character? That original character? You know the one. The one you wrote a story for or maybe several and then petered out? That one. This week, resurrect them. We had “Night of the Living Dead” for prompts, this time, it’s Night of the Living Dead character. Pick any prompt and give a patiently waiting character a story.

 

Inappropriate Attire: When has your character arrived for an event in the wrong clothing? Why? Was it a social gaffe? Did they interpret "fancy dress” as a formal affair when what was intended was a costume party? Were they told it was casual but not, apparently, that casual? Maybe they prepared for the wrong conditions--it’s never this hot (or cold!) this time of year! Those shoes seemed like a good idea at the outset but now, not so much. Who would have thought they’d need a high-visibility vest? Or that going armed and armored was such a faux pas? This week write about your character being completely inappropriately attired for the occasion and what happened after.

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