Week of December 24, 2021

Midwinter Monsters: Northern hemisphere at least is in winter, and along with our Jolly Old St. Nick come a whole host of less friendly faces. Krampus, Scrooge’s ghosts, Mari Lywd, and the Grinch to name a few. What about your character’s culture? Do they have a similar one-two punch of generosity and punishment? Or celebration and mischief? How did it play out for them as children versus being an adult, perhaps an adult with children to care for? What was the purpose of these folkloric characters? Did your character learn the lessons they’re supposed to teach, or a different one entirely?

*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 No-Win Scenario - Sometimes, every choice is bad. Every option has unacceptable consequences. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Has your character faced such a situation? How did they deal with it? Did they pick the lesser of two evils or try to find a better solution? Or did they, like Kirk, cheat their way out? Do they regret their choice?

Largess - A gift, usually of money, though in English the word retains its older connotations of generosity and charity. Characters often become wealthy over the course of their stories. Does yours spread the wealth or keep it for themselves? Do they make sure everyone knows all about their generosity, or are they quiet and anonymous? Maybe they were the recipient early in their careers. Did it help? Or do they see other's largess passing them by?

Week of December 31, 2021

Price of Admission: Many spaces or events charge to get in, and sometimes those prices aren’t in money. Perhaps your character needs to profess certain beliefs. Maybe they need to give up something of value. Perhaps they have to leave something behind, or promise to adhere to certain standards of behavior. What is the price, and what does your character hope to gain by paying it? Are they willing, or are they forced? Do they feel it’s worth the price they pay, whether it’s in coins or credits, vows or blood? Why do they want to get in, anyway? Can they get out if it’s not what they hoped for?

*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:

Return from Holiday - However nice the vacation, eventually your character comes back to their regular job. Is it a difficult change in mindset? Did your character leave the phone off the hook or did they check in all the time? What happened in their absence? Did everything fall apart? Did things hum along smoothly, no one noticing your character was gone? What do they find when they return? An emergency, a slow simmering crisis, or nothing at all out of the ordinary? This week, write about your character dealing with the transition from holiday to everyday.

Small Victories-Not every success has to be a big one. The world (or galaxy, or civilization) doesn’t need to be saved from certain destruction every day. Somedays, it’s the little things that matter. Your character’s child, who’s been struggling with something, finally gets it. The friend who’s always late, isn’t. The minor repair really was minor. Maybe the toast landed butter-side up. This week, celebrate a small victory with your character. The big ones might be more dramatic, but it’s the little ones that keep them going.

Some more prompts.....almost there!

Week of January 7, 2022

Unfinished Business: There can be any number of things your character left for later, and for any number of reasons. Maybe it’s something they’d rather not deal with and hope will stay in the past. Maybe they want to, but have been prevented from doing so. Maybe they ran away from it, but it caught up with them at last. Maybe it just slipped their mind. This week, it’s time. Make your character deal with some unfinished business. Bonus points if it causes your character trouble!

*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:

Limits- No character is all-powerful, or at least, interesting ones aren’t. There are limits to what they can do, be it legal, physical, mental, or self-imposed. What happens when they come up against them? Do they push past it, accept it, or back away? Limits are often there for a reason and breaking them can have consequences. Explore some this week.

Star-Crossed Lovers - Back when most marriages were arranged, falling in love with someone wasn't always wonderful. It caused all sorts of complications. Love can be an all-consuming fire, beautiful and terrible at the same time. People in love were prone to ridiculous acts--and that hasn't changed. Cupid's golden arrow doesn't always choose a wise or appropriate match. This week, write about a time when your character or someone they care about loved not wisely, but too well.

Week of January 14, 2022

New Normal: We had a prompt for Turning Points, for events that shaped your character, whether those events were external things that happened to them or intentional choices they made. What does their normal look like afterwards? Right after, not later when they’ve made all their adjustments. When they’re still figuring things out and nothing is as settled as they might like. Did things change in ways they didn’t anticipate? Did it go better or easier than they hoped? Did they swap one set of troubles for another? What’s your character’s new normal and how do they adapt?

*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:

Can’t Live Without: Everyone has something, whether literal or figurative. Is it a person? A loved one? A pet? A country, a job, or a purpose? A moral conviction. Is it a medicine that holds a disease or condition at bay? Something less serious, like a favorite book, delicacy, or entertainment. A special item. What one person perceives as necessary someone else might regard as silly--but try taking away a toddler’s Special Blanket. Everyone has something. What is it that your character can’t live without?

Leave No One Behind: It’s a classic trope: one character is injured and tells the rest of the group to go on without them, but they refuse. Who’s injured--is it your character or a companion? Do they insist on being left, not taking no for an answer? Are they overridden by the group or the leader--or your character? Is the sacrifice really necessary or is it for dramatic effect? If it is necessary and the group refuses, how does that cause complications later? And how does the “saved” character deal with believing they’re the cause of the hardship, especially when they tried to prevent it?

Week of January 21, 2022

The Last of Us: Your character is part of many groups throughout their lives, some of which stay together and others that break up, for any number of reasons. When have they been the last one and why? The last member of the original band, the last one of their college friends to marry or get a job in their field, the last survivor of their military unit (through attrition, retirement, or age), the last knight? Maybe the last one isn’t your character, but someone they know. The last of their parent’s royal councilors, the last witch of the coven, the last dragon or unicorn. Why are they the last and what happened to all the others?

*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:

In A Rut-Doing the same thing over and over. No one wants to be stuck there. It could be your character, dissatisfied with where their career is going. It could just as well be the writer, bored with what feels like the same plots and situations. Shake it up. Throw in something unexpected. Put your character in a place you never thought they’d be. Try something different and see where it goes. Or, alternately, let your character complain about the sameness.

Ride or Die: Who sticks with your character for all their adventures, good or bad, boring or exciting? The one they call for a spontaneous vacation, to get them out of jail, or to help them move to a second-story walkup apartment. Hopefully their love interest (if they have one) qualifies, but Ride or Die is neither exclusive nor necessarily romantic. It doesn’t even have to be reciprocated. Write something where this relationship is front and center. The story doesn’t work unless the characters absolutely, unequivocally, have each other’s back, no matter what happens.

Week of January 28, 2022

Speak Your Mind: Our characters have opinions. Boy, do they. How often do they share them? Do they keep unpopular ones to themselves, or do they speak up? Do they prefer to share in private with only the people concerned, or are they loud and unashamed with anyone who’ll listen? Maybe even people who’d rather not listen, but they’re in the vicinity. Will your character only offer their opinions only when asked or when they’re uninhibited for some reason? Or do they have no filter whatsoever? Write a story where your character speaks their mind and what happened when they did.

*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:

Pretty Things - They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and certainly people find beauty in different things. What about your character? Where do they find beauty? In artwork or song? Unusual landscapes? Stunning outfits? Well-crafted arguments, equations, or formulae? Animals, insects, or minerals? For this week's challenge, surround your character with pretty things, however conventional or strange they may be.

Bad Advice: What’s the worst advice your character received? Something so patently wrong they disregarded it immediately and questioned the giver’s sanity or intelligence? Something they thought was valid but proved less so in practice? Something they fervently believed in until their own repeated experiences made them change their mind? Write about your character and some colossally bad advice.

Week of February 4, 2022

Cleaning House: The phrase conjures up Marie Kondo and the literal chore of straightening up a living space. Characters can clean house in the metaphorical sense as well: getting rid of things or people in their lives that they no longer need or want. Alternately, they could clear out the unscrupulous people from a corrupt regime--or be on the receiving end of a hostile takeover and house-cleaning. Perhaps they’re the one conducting the purge. Write about your character cleaning house.

*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:

Earworm: Ever get a song stuck in your head? What about your character? Is there one song you can count on to do it or any random one? Do they hum holiday jingles until the next holiday rolls around? Are they annoyed or delighted by their own personal soundtrack? Typically people find earworms unpleasant and want to get rid of them, so how does your character go about it? Try to find a new one? Give it to someone else? Grumble until it finally goes away?

Last Day: Is it your character’s last day of vacation? Their last day in their job or position before moving on to a new one? The last day of school? Last day at home before leaving on a long journey, taking up a difficult task, or beginning a new life? Does your character even know it’s their last day, or is it only in hindsight that they realize it? Known last days might be bittersweet in the moment--your character intentionally taking in all the things they know they’ll miss while also anticipating (or fearing) the future. Ones that sneak up are often the opposite--filled with banality that becomes precious (or full of regret) in memory. How does your character celebrate their last day?

Week of February 11, 2022

One Week: How’s the week going for your character? This week, last week, any week. The week they came home to visit; the week they were forced out. The week they confessed their love; the week they left a bad relationship. The week they graduated or got a promotion; the week they got fired or dropped out. The week they or their best friend married; the week they attended a funeral for a friend or family member. The week nothing happened at all, and they were so glad to have nothing on fire or needing to be fixed. Write a story taking place over a 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:

Borders: In essence, borders are nothing more than imaginary lines between properties or political entities. Crossing the border might be little more than opening a gate or stamping a passport. It could be an all-day affair with questioning and bribery if the parties involved are hostile to each other. In space or a remote area, there are lots of opportunities for skirmishes. Someone thought the border was a light week over. The navicomp or maps are out of date and need calibrating. The patrol was supposed be gone by now. Those military exercises were planned for our side but someone got trigger happy. Transgressions could be real and deliberate, real and manufactured, or honest mistakes. This week, write about your character crossing a border, and what happened when they did.

Last Resort: Things have Gotten Real, all the other plans have failed, now it’s the last resort. The final thing to try before failure. So what is it? Is it a serious, life-or-death situation or is your character trying to rescue a nearly-ruined cooking attempt (which might, after all, be life-threatening). Is your character the one their friends or superiors call on as their last resort? How do they rescue the situation? Do they?

And now for our current prompt.....

Week of February 18, 2022

I Didn’t Say That!: Not ‘I didn’t mean that’--meaning is easy to misinterpret--but ‘I didn’t say that.’ When has your character been misheard, misremembered, or quoted out of context? Do they speak differently from those around them, leading to errors that they have to correct? Did a companion hear different words from what was said? How does your character reconcile the discrepancy? Were their words taken so far out of context as to render the statement completely different? Is the revised statement used against them? To mislead others? For propaganda purposes?

*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:

Making a Mountain out of a Molehill - Some characters are more prone to blowing things out of proportion than others. Maybe it’s just certain situations. Consider a time when something that seemed insurmountable turned out to be minor. Was your character’s preparation or anxiety unreasonable? Or did their actions make the difference between a mountain and a molehill?

Cross Purposes - some characters are allies, others indifferent. Then there are the adversaries. Sometimes two characters are at cross purposes and don't even know it. Protagonist- antagonist is one of the most basic story structures. Give it a twist with two main characters working against each other, knowingly or otherwise.

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.

Why thank you!

I'd been wondering if this thread had just died completely.

For anyone else checking, is there a way we can encourage players who might want to join in on the action and reinvigorate the writing group?

To that end, I am off the rest of this week (Yeah, I know it's Friday already) I will write something up in response to one of the (many) prompts that you've loaded.

Welcome back!

Laura/Maioni/Hiero/Viktarie/Viktarian/etc.

@Lady_Thorne: Glad you're still around and I wish I had some ideas of how to get this thread more active again. I know my time has been limited these past few months but I'm hoping to keep up more and maybe even start sharing some stories again. I know I have a few that were in the works last fall but I just wasn't able to find the time to finish them.

Okay, here's the new prompt......actually on time this week!!

Week of February 25, 2022

Left Alone: Your character won’t always have company. Sometimes they need solitude. Maybe they don’t need it, but they get it anyway. When has your character been left alone? Did they drive off all their friends on purpose, or were they abandoned because of hostile actions? Maybe another character is isolating them on purpose--for what end? Did your character need some alone time to process thoughts or feelings, without having to deal with other people? Are they so tuned in to others that they can’t relax and be themselves unless they’re alone? Are they in solitary confinement? Has some horrible event left them the last one alive? Is everyone else on vacation and they have the place to themselves? Write about a time when your character was left alone, whether voluntary 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:

Scary Stories-As long as there have been campfires, there have been spooky stories. The kind that send a chill up your spine, make you look over your shoulder, or sleep with the light on for a bit. This week’s challenge is to tell a scary story, either one featuring your character or an in-universe story they know and relate to others. Get creative and have fun!

Trigger Warning-Everyone--every character--has strong feelings about something. The old standby is “don’t discuss politics or religion” but there are many other options. What sets off your character? What’s that one topic they have to argue about? What’s their position and why? Is it rational? Was it learned and never questioned? This week, push one or more of your character’s buttons.

Since you mentioned "Scary Stories," here's one I wrote some years ago.

“Multz works in the Archives – I bet he’s got a good story!” cried one youngling. The eyes of a dozen bone-tired younglings suddenly lit with glee. “Yeah, give us a good one, Multz!” Those still fiddling with tents and sleeping bags dropped what they were doing and gathered around him.

Padawan Multius stared off into space for a moment, thoughtfully rubbing what he hoped would soon be a proper Knight’s beard. He watched the trail of a descending transport in the night sky, until it disappeared behind the mountaintop to the north. “I don’t know – I see some pretty strange stuff in there, you know, in the Sealed Section,” he said with a conspiratorial wink to the young Jedi standing nearby.

Photin responded to his wink with a shallow grin and a sigh of forced patience. “Multz,” as he was known among the younger set on Tython, always had a story or a joke ready, and readily laughed at the most stale, silly bits of humor offered by the younglings. It endeared him to them greatly, and did much to make the lessons and disciplines of the Temple Masters easier to bear. His penchant for embellishment and invention – not always outright lying – sometimes bothered the masters, but always delighted his audience. As the younglings cheered and settled around him, Photin shook her head in resignation and positioned herself at the edge of the clearing, the better to watch for potential danger. These woods were pretty safe, so the younglings had been sent out to learn a little about how to survive in wilderness – but there was always the chance that some stray predator still lurked. She leaned back against a tree, close enough to see the younglings and to hear the story. Gazing out over the lake and into the clear night sky, she kept her senses alert to any approach.

Surrounded by younglings, Multius settled his considerable bulk upon a raised tuft of grass, fussing and posing in satire of a pompous Master, eliciting giggles. He’d never quite failed to pass tests of agility and speed, but he still carried several more pounds than one would expect of a proper Jedi. If his weight slowed him down, he made up for it with a combination of raw muscle power and an easygoing grasp of the Force. With a dramatic flourish, he pulled his hood over his face, then suddenly thrust out his hands. An expectant hush fell upon his audience. He held the silence for a long moment, glanced over the younglings and around at the woods, and leaned forward. Starting in a low voice, his audience leaned in as well, hanging on his words.

“The tale I am about to tell is true; I have read it with my own eyes, hidden away in the darkest corners of the Sealed Section of the Temple Archives, where none but the wisest masters may go.” Eyes widened at impending revelation. “This story is forbidden to younglings, even to padawans – if they knew I was telling you this, I would be sent to the Outer Rim to finish my training under the most severe Master they could find. And they will do the same to you if you tell. Do you understand?” The younglings nodded, only a few actually daring to speak as much as “yes.” “What I am about to tell you, you must not repeat – not to your teachers, not to other students, no one. Do I have your solemn word on this?” His hushed tones conveyed an air of dangerous secrecy. Multius took a deep breath, closing his eyes as if in focused preparation. With his hood pulled forward, the campfire threw deep shadow across his face, so that his voice issued forth as if from the very depths of mystery.

“A thousand years ago it was, before anyone now on the Council had even been born,” the portly padawan began in a grave tone, “a mighty Sith Lord, strong in the Dark Side and a master of vile sorcery – whose name I dare not even speak – searched for a way to defeat the Jedi, not just in one battle, not even in one war, but forever and always. Like many Sith before and after him, he took predators of all kinds, from akk dogs to rancors and twisted them with sorcery and cybernetics, transforming them into mad killers. He unleashed these creations against his foes, to rampage against troopers, Jedi, and innocent civilians alike. Each monster would kill many before they were brought down – but brought down they were. Upon world after world, he made a new horde of experimental horrors – only to disappear among the stars before the Jedi could finish off the beasts and track down their evil master. The Council hunted him for years.

“Finally, one heroic Jedi Master cornered the sorcerer: on Dagobah it was, a world covered with swamps and marsh, teeming with creatures of all kinds, ready subjects for evil experiments. The Master, his allies, and their padawans battled for days against the sorcerer’s monsters – creatures large and small, twisted by Sith magic into horrible abominations. Many Jedi died, torn to bloody pieces and devoured before the very eyes of their comrades.” A murmur ripple through the crowd, repulsed but fascinated. “But they did not retreat; the master and two padawans survived to confront the sorcerer in his very laboratory, deep in the dark jungle. Covered with scratches and bruises from the battle, they gave their foe no respite. They broke down the massive gate to his stronghold, and fought an epic battle as the swamp water flooded in.

“Even three against one, it was not an easy victory. One padawan fell to the lightning thrown by the sorcerer; then the master fell to the dastardly stroke of a scarlet lightsaber. The last Jedi, a mere padawan, stood alone against the sorcerer’s final assault. With a mighty effort, he slew the madman, but not before he suffered grievous wounds himself. He collapsed right there, unable to even drag himself away from the rapidly flooding sanctuary.

“From one of the tanks in the laboratory – shattered by some stray blast during the fight – issued a swarm of creatures, the last horror created by the dead Sith. Tiny wormlike creatures, each about the size of your finger, spilled from the broken vat into the dirty, bloody swamp water filling the room. Smelling fresh blood, they wriggled toward the bodies on the floor – and toward the exhausted padawan. So injured was he by the sorcerer’s dying blow, he could do little but watch in horror as the creatures fastened themselves on the dead and feasted on their warm blood – and then turned toward him! The ones that were not bloated on gore surrounded him and burrowed into his skin before his very eyes. His last sight was the horde of worms draining him of life with their insane hunger.”

Multz paused, allowing a shudder of revulsion to make its silent way through his audience. Photin could not help but smile at the thrilled mix of delight and horror that resonated among the younglings, even as she prepared herself for a turbulent night of nightmare-triggered awakenings. After a proper dramatic silence, Multz continued.

“Oh, but the story does not end there, not at all! Those worms, those leeches, not only thrived on all that blood, they had been transformed by sorcery – and now they had fed on blood rich with midichlorians, from some of those most powerful beings in the Force. They became potent in the Force themselves, with powers far beyond normal parasites. They bred and thrived in the fetid swamps; normal creatures were devoured easily by the swarm of Force-empowered leeches. When other ships arrived to discover what had happened to the sorcerer and the Jedi who hunted him, they did not know what they would find, did not know how dangerous the little worms were. A few of them fastened onto a young padawan as he helped investigate the flooded laboratory a year later; he did not even know they were there until he was back aboard their cruiser, and he washed them off without a second thought. They made their way into the water system of the ship, and from there they have spread across the galaxy, ever breeding, ever seeking the blood of those strong in the Force. They lurk in quiet pools of water – ponds, puddles, even lakes,” he turned his head to gaze toward Photin, where she stood near the shore of the nearby lake, “on almost every world now, drawn to the smell of Jedi blood.” A dozen pairs of wide eyes turned toward Photin, who struggled to keep a straight face. “In fact,” Multius mused, “it was just a few years ago – before any of you got here… Photin, you remember! The sad case of Padawan Noman?”

Photin blinked in surprise. “Noman?” She’d never heard the name before; then she realized: Noman -no man. Cute, she thought. “Um. Of course – but… I forget the details…”

Multius chuckled deeply. “Oh, that’s Photin for you, always playing it straight.” He gave her a satisfied nod before the younglings turned their gaze back to him. “She knows we’re not supposed to talk about it.” He shook his head sadly. “Poor young Padawan Noman! She loved to go swimming, and was very good at it, as good as any human I’ve ever seen. Until the day she was found dead, floating on this very lake, just a few meters from this very spot! Her body was shriveled up, drained of every drop of blood, and her skin was covered with hundred small round bites, about as big around as your finger.”

Gasps and moans of dismay erupted from the younglings; two of them leaped to their feet. “We ain’t sleeping here!” Others looked to Photin for confirmation, but she remained silent, a looming shadow against the stars. There were one or two who seemed convinced the whole thing was just a story, but their voices were quickly drowned out as the younglings huddled together for comfort and set about breaking camp to move farther away from the suddenly-frightening lake. None noticed the delighted grin that spread across Multius’ face as he congratulated himself on another good story well told.

Prompt: Left Alone: Your character won’t always have company. Sometimes they need solitude. Maybe they don’t need it, but they get it anyway. When has your character been left alone? Did they drive off all their friends on purpose, or were they abandoned because of hostile actions? Maybe another character is isolating them on purpose--for what end? Did your character need some alone time to process thoughts or feelings, without having to deal with other people? Are they so tuned in to others that they can’t relax and be themselves unless they’re alone? Are they in solitary confinement? Has some horrible event left them the last one alive? Is everyone else on vacation and they have the place to themselves? Write about a time when your character was left alone, whether voluntary or otherwise.

Setting: Republic Military Academy, ~3 ATC, 0300 hours, End of Term

Maioni Savage's closest companion since she'd been 11 years old had blazed her way out of their shared room, out of the Republic Military Academy, and if Mai had any guesses, right off of the planet. She'd made certain that they didn't want to keep her there any more than she wanted to be there. Hiero and Maioni had fought for first place across all their shared courses and skills tests, and Mai had gleaned that Heiro had a point to prove, after having spent most of their school years avoiding producing academic work (but learning the material, nonethess). Then today, the last day of their first term, everything had exploded into a reality Mai hadn't at all predicted. She had no idea of what her friend – almost a sister – had done to arouse the ire of Academy leadership, but it was clearly both serious and of a nature that none of the officers or instructors wanted to speak about, so Mai figured that it might be something that would embarrass at least one, and possibly a good number, of those people. She admitted to herself that she wouldn't put it past Hie to do something like that if she thought it would put someone in their place. Or possibly, just for the sheer hilarity of it. Hiero was capable of either or a mix of those two motivations. In any case, Hiero had declined to tell her, just succeeding in looking simultaneously gleeful and absolutely unwilling to yield to the authority of the Academy or the military powers behind it.

It was well past lights out now, and Mai had been just as happy to have an excuse to not see Hie's side of the room looking so void of everything that spoke of their camaraderie.

Maioni gazed into the dim room, then rolled to her back. Hie would have described it as pitch black, but then, Hie was human, not Cathar, and didn't have terribly good night vision. As she thought about what had happened earlier that day, she didn't like to acknowledge that she hadn't given much -- any, she chided herself -- thought to how her friend was doing here at the academy in any way that wasn't directly related to the competition to prove themselves as the best of the best. She and Hie had been friends for almost seven years, ever since her benefactor Vessen had placed her to foster with the Thorne family on their ship a year before sending both of them off to what had turned out to be the surprisingly exclusive Cressa Military Pre-Prep, and later, Prep Academy. The actual Academy had been their 'next step' for so long; she'd known since Vessen had so persuasively explained that she was on the fast track to permanently destroying her life of freedom unless she learned some self-discipline when she was ten. She had figured out that she would eventually come here within days of accepting his offer to “do what she did best” – fighting – in a soldierly rather than a “socially unacceptable” manner. She recalled the time she'd threatened her first foster-father, which had started the chain of events that had led her here. She still harbored an irrational dislike of Twi'leks because of him not treating Jaffy the way his big sister knew worked best. She realized now what an odd child he'd been! Thinking once more about Vessen, she knew she would continue to do her damnedest to excel and show that his belief in her abilities had not been misplaced.

Her thoughts bent between frustration that she hadn't realized or taken seriously that it wasn't really Hiero's choice of career, and what felt like a perverse pride in her friend's initiative in getting out. Hie hadn't left her any details on how to stay in touch, but had said she would - and that she figured she could always work out some way to contact her, "when she'd figured out what was next."

Mai realized that she didn't know how to contact her brothers right now, either. Jaffy was probably on Tython, but they were irritatingly controlling about family contacts. Not that she and Hiero - and Vikkie, who'd been the third member of their little band in school - hadn't managed to actually travel there the first year the Jedi Academy was setting up there and "unofficially" get a grand tour as "exchange students" back when they were on break, back in Prep. Who knew where Jaffy's twin Danik was, and she'd even lost touch with Shevri, the next closest in age to her. He was likely to be here too, in a couple of years. He didn't have the advantages she'd been given; he'd been too well behaved, she pondered.

She wondered where Vikkie was, and if she'd ever have to face her in battle – she'd probably been pressed to join their military one way or another, since she hadn't managed to contact Mai in almost four years. She missed the old “Triumph” crew -- Mai, Hie, and the Vikster had never lacked audacity back then, and had thought it was a grand name for their group of three buddies. They'd had wild plans to do great things --and always together. Then Vikkie's father had been killed, and get mother had, in Vikkie's words, gone crazy with grief, and insisted that they move back to her family home -- which was on an Imperial planet. She'd known that, and they'd talked about it, but none of them had ever felt they could do anything about it. It was one thing infiltrating Tython, so to speak, and another thing entirely thinking about trying to go break Vikkie out from her grandparents' estate on Veron. (Mai wondered briefly, for the millionth time, how Vikkie's parents had met and ended up sending their daughter to Cressa.) But the Vikster had staunchly said she'd figure out a way to come back to the Republic side. She hadn't seen Vikkie since they were 15. She sighed, and realized just how much she had assumed that Hie would simply always be there. And before that, that Vikkie, and before that, her brothers, and back and back – and everyone always, always ended up gone. She wondered if she'd ever get married, and if that would end in loss, too. Not that she had ever had time for boys. Again, she scolded herself -- she was an adult now, and certainly if she did ever find anyone interesting, it wouldn't be a boy, but a man. She needed to stop thinking of herself as a girl... She was a woman, granted one that wasn't feeling particularly successful in staying connected with anyone in this life, but a woman, nonetheless.

She reached for her personal holo and hoped she wouldn't be calling Vessen in the middle of the night wherever he was. She paused, thinking how ridiculous that was, since it was about 0300 right now. She tried anyhow. What she got was a message that forwarded to a command post somewhere. "Co, er, General Var Suthra is unavailable. I can connect you to Colonel Durffelt, instead. She's handling the lower level items for him right now." Maioni didn't even bother leaving a message; the old guy had gotten promoted and not even let her know.

She realized she'd been so absorbed in her own life, progress, and expectations that she hadn't made time for the people in her life that made it interesting -- worth living, in a lot of ways. Right now, she didn't have anyone who really knew her. Sure, there were a few others scattered in here at the Academy who had been at Cressa, but she didn't know them particularly well, and she knew that at least some of them didn't like her much, and viewed her (and Hie, and even Vikkie back in the beginning) as thinking they were better and smarter than everyone else. She always felt torn about that, because she knew the value of humility, but she also was well aware of their abilities, even if Hie had had a casual attitude about academics. They were good and they worked hard to build skills and to learn and know as much as they could. On the other hand, that didn't make the night any less lonely and frustrating.

Tomorrow, or rather today, was the beginning of a brief break between sessions, and in a couple of hours she'd be finding out where they'd – she'd – be posted for an advanced course in survival skills and geographically specific training related to combat and logistics of one kind of another for the next term. Realizing that it was unlikely that she'd be getting any significant sleep, she reset her alarm for an hour, and decided she'd go knock out PT after that to try to convince herself that it was just another restart, and that she hadn't actually lost the people she cared about. She forced herself to relax, and resolved to try to treat her interactions with others in ways that would, she hoped, help her stay connected better with her family. Hie of course, was effectively family, as was Vessen. Right now she needed at least a modicum of sleep... Tomorrow she'd begin working on something just as important as her next posting; learning how to better hold on to the people she was really doing all this for. Doing it for only herself was useless. Closing her eyes and settling herself, she willed herself to put her losses behind her for now, and sleep.

It's been a crazy week so comments on stories to come when I have the time to sit and enjoy them!! For now, it's prompt time and it's not yet Saturday in Chicago so technically I'm still on time with this week's prompt! Have a great weekend everyone and happy writing!

Week of March 4, 2022

Pity: Sadness for another’s suffering can motivate your character to help them, or, if your character is the one in pain, encourage cooperation from others. Maybe it means your character donates time or money or a cause, or becomes even more involved. Maybe your character’s distress garners a group to solve their problem. Not everyone responds to appeals to pity with kindness, however. Perhaps your character sees the suffering as deserved and refuses to help. Maybe they subscribe to the ‘suffering builds character’ trope and view the ordeal as necessary, or they don’t believe your character needs help despite their distress. Maybe others cheerlead your character while they struggle, but offer no concrete assistance. This week, feel sorry for your character, then do something.

*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:

Strength in Numbers: Some problems are too big for one person to deal with. Maybe your character needs specialized help; someone (or several someones) with particular skills to fill gaps in their own. They might want backup, or moral support, or someone to share the blame if everything goes south. Or perhaps they simply want confirmation that others believe they’re doing the right thing. This week, write about a time when your character found strength in numbers.

Forgetting-No one’s memory is perfect. Everyone forgets, even your character. A date or name slips their mind, the password or combination to a lock, maybe they left something at home. It’s not always a bad thing. Painful memories are sometimes best forgotten, or at least put aside for a time. This week, write about a time your character forgot something, and what happened when they did.

Two weeks in a row I'm on time!!! Happy Friday and Happy Writing!!

Week of March 11, 2022

Six Impossible Things: We often imagine our characters as logical. Reliable. Truth-y. But like real people, they may entertain ideas that are, shall we say, less than realistic or likely, even in worlds governed by magic and myth. So what sorts of erroneous beliefs does your character or one of their companions hold, and how often do they cause complications? These beliefs could range from the silly or superstitious to the dangerous or harmful. Problems could be minor or major. Your character might know that their belief is impossible, but be unable to stop the behavior related to it. The impossible things might even turn out to be true, if only with certain points of view or specific circumstances. What six impossible things does your character believe before breakfast?

*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:

Return from Holiday - However nice the vacation, eventually your character comes back to their regular job. Is it a difficult change in mindset? Did your character leave the phone off the hook or did they check in all the time? What happened in their absence? Did everything fall apart? Did things hum along smoothly, no one noticing your character was gone? What do they find when they return? An emergency, a slow simmering crisis, or nothing at all out of the ordinary? This week, write about your character dealing with the transition from holiday to everyday.

It Takes Two: Write a story in two parts. Use any previous prompt (or pair of prompts) or choose your own topic. The reason for the division is up to you. Switch perspectives, follow a different character, or leave the reader with a cliffhanger. Publish on successive days or in separate posts. Each section can be any length but they can’t stand alone! They must need each other to be complete.

Another Friday, another prompt.....Happy Writing!!

Week of March 18, 2022

Conflict Resolution: Stories often involve conflict, and our characters often have go-to solutions for resolving them. Suppose your character’s go-to solution isn’t available? Why it’s not is an entirely different prompt; regardless, for this exercise they have to choose a different approach. What happens when the character who fixes everything with their fists has to rely on diplomacy? When the character who always buys their way out of trouble has no funds, no access to their funds, or is dealing with people who aren’t interested in money? A character used to being in authority doesn’t have it anymore? Someone who relies on fast-talk, charm, and seduction needs to persuade a group that knows they’re lying, finds them annoying, and isn’t at all interested in sleeping with them (and may even find the idea repulsive). Put a conflict within the conflict 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:

Wrong Size--”one size fits all” rarely does. Anything can be the wrong size: clothes, armor, weapons, starship or computer components, backpacks or duffels, the bowl of soup your character ordered. The incident could be a minor inconvenience or a major problem. The reason behind it might be a simple mistake or deliberate sabotage. Write a story where something was the wrong size, and how your character coped.

Disillusion: Disillusion requires an illusion to begin with. What was something your character believed or believed in, then learned it was not true, or at least not what they thought it was? They might find out their childhood hero is hardly heroic. Perhaps the position of power they aspired to--and later gained--wasn’t nearly as powerful as they thought. Or maybe it is, but the power isn’t worth the price to get it. Their noble bloodline wasn’t, or they’re not really part of it. Maybe it's something smaller--the magician's magic was all a trick or their favorite band lip-syncs. Perhaps your character would prefer the lie and try to maintain it. Maybe they lose faith in the ones who deceived them. Perhaps your character is the one deceiving others. Write about your character learning (or admitting) an uncomfortable truth this week.

It's that time again!!!

Week of March 25, 2022

And You May Ask Yourself, How Did I Get Here?: Well, how did they? Is your character the type to question the choices that led them to this moment? Did they plan every step and know exactly what they’re going to do at each juncture? Do they wonder what possessed them to start an adventure in the first place? They could be home, comfortable, in their favorite chair, with a favorite snack and entertainment! Are they at home right now, thinking about the adventure they just had, or contemplating going on one? Whether your character is naturally introspective or simply pondering the situation, have them ask themselves, “How did I get here?”

*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:

Wakeup Juice: Every world, every culture, has their version of “that stuff everyone drinks in the morning, usually with breakfast.” What is your character’s favorite? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Fruit Juice? Energy drink? Hair of the Dog (aka a dubious hangover cure)? This week, write a story centered on your character and their morning beverage of choice (or necessity).

Camouflage: There’s more to camouflage than the standard brown and green irregular blobs. Some visual camouflage is meant to deceive cameras or other electronic sensors, not organic eyes. Other types disguise not the presence of an object or person, but its apparent movement. Even ordinary clothing can be camouflage if it lets a person blend in when they would otherwise stand out. At its heart, camouflage is concealment. Consider a time when your character needed some, or was fooled.

Happy Friday SFC!!!

We have 5 Fridays in April and many who have participated and/or lurked in the SFC know what that means.......it’s time for another Month of Meta! This month, prompts are aimed at the writer and the craft and less on situations your character gets into. This month’s theme is: A Whole New World! Worldbuilding.

Wait a minute, isn't this blog for fanfiction prompts? Why do fanfic writers need worldbuilding? It's already done.

Even if you write in an established world, canon doesn't cover every single aspect. How your character relates to established canon, and filling in the places that aren’t clear, is important for both fanfic writers as well as those exploring their own original world. Worldbuilding doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it’s where your character meets the world that the story happens.

(and no, this isn't an April Fool’s joke)

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of April 1, 2022

Class, Social Structure, and Social Standing: All societies, even egalitarian ones, have a social structure of some sort. Are there leaders? What makes them leaders? Is the society highly stratified or is there little difference in lifestyle among people? Your character has a background, so they start from some class or standing. This can affect how they’re educated, what connections they make, how the law treats them, even who they’re likely to fall in love with. It also affects the kind of story you’re telling: is it a political intrigue among nobles? A tale of outlaws and smugglers? The travails of a student in an exclusive academy--and is that academy an expensive school accepting only the specially talented, or a reform school for juvenile criminals?

*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:

Birthdays–Does your character celebrate their birthday? What do they do? Have a big party or an intimate gathering with a few close friends? Or do they hope no one notices? Perhaps they eternally claim some age they like the best, whether it’s a birthday past or one yet to come. Maybe they neither know nor care. Living another year might not mean much to them. Maybe they mark a day of different personal significance. Or maybe a significant other throws a surprise party whether your character wants it or not. Consider birthdays this week, and what they mean for your character.

Because I Can: When has your character done something just because? Was it a harmless act done on a whim? A luxury or trip they can finally afford? A crime they knew would go unpunished? A cruel act enabled by power? A heroic one, likewise enabled by power, lack of oversight, or cleverness? Something small that makes them happy? This week, write your character doing something just because they can.

Well, better late than never.....here's the new prompt!

As you might recall from my last prompt post, we're in another Month of Meta! The theme is: A Whole New World! Worldbuilding for fanfic writers as well as original settings. Stories happen when your character meets the world, regardless of who imagined that world first.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of April 8, 2022

Environment, Terrain, and Weather: Stories take place somewhere and it’s rare that canon details every locale in their world. There is plenty of space for a fanfic writer to put their character or their adventures by expanding on what exists or making up something that fits. How does the local terrain and weather affect the characters? What problems does it cause, and what things are made easier? Not every character likes the same weather and environment---does this cause friction in the party? What was the environment like where your character grew up? Did it change, and how? Is your adventure set on an ice planet or a desert planet or a jungle planet--and shouldn’t planets have more than one biome?

*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:

Found Family: Many of our characters collect a wide circle of friends and hangers-on. Do they have a closer inner circle that’s more than friends? A found family, a collection of characters that interact the way a tightly bonded family might but aren’t related? No one has to fall into stereotypical roles. There doesn’t have to be a “Mom” or “Dad,” “Kid Brother” or “Big Sister.” They don’t always get along, but they always support and care for each other. Write a story involving your character’s found family if they have one, or their adventure with someone who does.

Starting Over - Rarely, your character may get the chance to start over. To try again. Do it right this time, or at least differently. What would your character do with such an opportunity? Would they take it or are they content with their current situation? What might they pay, give up, to start over? Or have they already done so? Did it work as well as they hoped? In most cultures the new year is a time to get a fresh start. What about your character?

Was s bit busy with family visiting from out of town for the holiday but here's the new prompt....only slightly late this week. Continuing on with our Month of Meta:

Week of April 15, 2022

Culture and Cuisine: Expansive worlds have many different cultures--think Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones--while others are more limited or less described for a variety of reasons. Even in the most detailed worlds, there are places to put your own stamp on things. How about a town or planet with its own unique celebration or hero (Jaynestown, anyone)? A character who rejects a belief or observance otherwise widely accepted? Food, cuisine, and manners are intricately tied up with culture--see the aforementioned works--how does your story explore them? What kind of culture and cuisine did your character experience growing up and where are they now? What do they miss, what are they glad they left behind, and what new things have they adopted? Did they do so to get along or because they genuinely enjoy or believe them?

*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:

Snappy Comebacks - in real life, people rarely have the perfect response to a rude question or comment. It usually occurs hours or even days after the conversation that prompted it. But fiction is different. Your character has the advantage of time-your time-to devise a fantastic zinger. This week, write about your character winning (or losing!) a verbal joust.

Sentimental Value: We’ve covered heirlooms, inheritance, and souvenirs, but what about things with value only your character can assign? What’s something your character keeps for its sentimental value alone? Something that sparks good memories. Something that makes them think of a particular event, place, or person. It could be a loved childhood toy, a photograph, a book, anything at all. They might even keep something that reminds them of a bad event or time--one they overcame or survived. Write about something that holds sentimental value for your character.

I'm not that late this time, just a few hours past Friday......well for me at least . Happy writing as we continue on with our Month of Meta: A Whole New World! Worldbuilding for fanfic writers as well as original settings. Stories happen when your character meets the world, regardless of who imagined that world first.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of April 22, 2022

Language(s) and Voice: Unless the tale takes place in a single village--and maybe not even then--a world and galaxy will have more than one language. Just because the canon material doesn’t specify languages and dialects doesn't mean they don't exist. They might be mutually intelligible via some sort of universal translator, but there’s still room for mistranslation, misinterpretation, and not knowing when to quit translating. Character voice is the more personal version of language, and canon sources rarely give guides to use of slang, dialects, and accents. Then there’s code-switching, where a character makes deliberate language or voice choices depending on their audience, and how they want to be perceived as well as understood. The language your characters use and how they use it is at least as important as your own as a writer. Give it some thought and bring depth to your world and your fic.

*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:

Travel Without A Map: This one is easy for those habitual pantsers out there. Write a scene or a whole piece without having any (or as little as possible) preconceived idea of where it’s going. Let your characters tell the story they want to tell. They might surprise you! Write the whole thing, beginning to end. Don’t go back and change things! Not even typos! Or try not to fix typos--that’s hard. The goal this week is a word-vomit, totally unplanned draft that nevertheless is complete of itself. Travel without a map or GPS, but do make it home at the end.

The Hard Way--No one is good at everything, even The Chosen One. What skills or subjects did your character have trouble with? Did they work hard and eventually master them, or did they bail as soon as possible? What happens when they need to rely on that skill? Is it still a struggle for them, or have they incorporated it into their repertoire even though it’s difficult? This week, consider something your character had trouble learning or still finds difficult, and how they deal with it.

Ooooo, look who's on top of it this week with the prompt showing up on time!!! Happy Friday and Happy writing!

Month of Meta: A Whole New World! concludes this week. Worldbuilding for fanfic writers as well as original settings. Stories happen when your character meets the world, regardless of who imagined that world first.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of April 29, 2022

Religion, Magic, and Advanced Technology: It may seem strange to lump all these together, but they meet at the intersection of belief systems and impossible feats. Established source material usually defines these things in broad strokes: Star Wars prominently features all three, whereas Star Trek and Hunger Games have technology but no magic and minimal religion. Fan writers find the most interesting places to explore where canon is vague, and there’s plenty to explore. How does religion influence technological development? What role is there for advanced technology when magic can do most anything? Can anyone become a magic-user given enough study, or do they receive their gifts from god(s)? Do amazing devices only work because of the user’s belief in them--their faith? Examining each of these themes and how they interact in your story can literally work magic.

*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:

Why Didn’t I Think of This Sooner? Character Version- Who hasn’t come up with a great idea well after it’s useful? Probably not your character, since they aren’t actually under real-world time constraints. What if they did? Characters can have regrets or second-guess themselves, too. Perhaps they come up with the perfect escape plan while fighting through guards they didn’t avoid. Maybe they wish they had bought the magical sword from the swordsmith. Maybe they remember the vital clue after setting off the trap. Consider this a chance to try some internal conflict for your character. What do they do when they realize they could have done something differently?

Giving Up: No way! Your character would never give up! That’s what makes their struggle, their story, so good, right? But they do have to give up some things, don't they? If nothing else, a life that might not make a very interesting story, but a good life nonetheless. Maybe the essence of their story is giving up. Maybe they give up toxic beliefs and become a better person. Maybe they realize that the course they set out on isn’t going to work out the way they thought. Maybe they see that the person they’ve been pursuing romantically is never going to love them back. Write about a time when your character gave up--and it was good for both them and your story that they did.

Just a little late this week but here it is......enjoy the new prompt and happy writing!

Week of May 6, 2022

Time for Some Thrilling Heroics: Our characters are heroes in their stories, aren't they? What heroic thing (or things) did they do? What moments in their adventures stand out? The ones where they shine? Did they lead a battle or talk their opponents into backing down? Did they hack the network or keep the hackers out? Did they lead people to safety while the world crumbled? Did they save the day when all hope was lost? How? Whether they’re the Chosen One or The One Who Happened to be in The Neighborhood When Everything Hit The Fan or The One Who Has Had All They Can Stand and Can’t Stand Any More, it’s time for some thrilling heroics!

*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:

Second Thoughts: a close cousin to both regret and cold feet, second thoughts usually occur when the situation isn’t played out yet. Before your character decides to back out, and maybe isn’t all that sure they want to. Sometimes it’s just the voice of anxiety. Other times they’ve received new information and need to re-evaluate their course of action. Maybe there is no new information, but your character took a step back and considered the full ramifications of their choices. Write about a time your character had second thoughts, what they were about, and what they eventually decided to do.

Formal Occasion--No matter how informal a character and their story, at some point they’ll probably have to dress up. Maybe it’s a formal dinner, a wedding, a graduation or promotion, or a date at the opera. Different cultures have different etiquette for these kinds of events as well. How does your character fare? Are they as home in formalwear and surrounded by numerous forks as they are around a campfire? Are they uncomfortable? Or are they most at home in high society? This week, put your character in formalwear and at a special function and see what they do.

Happy Friday SFC! Here's this week's prompt on time!!! Happy writing!

Week of May 13, 2022

Parents: Who raised your character? Biological parents or other relatives? Two mothers, two fathers, one of each, an entire household of possibly-related adults as well as their friends and other children of various ages? A series of nurses or nurse-robots? The caretakers at the orphanage? A pond of other spawn? What relationship (if any) does your character have with the ones who reared them? Are their parents still alive? Dead? Don't know, don’t care? If your character is a clone or a droid they still have parents of a sort--even if those parents are impersonal machines tasked with importing knowledge and behavior matrices into the new units.

*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:

Auto/Biography: We often write backstories for our characters with no intention of using the information directly in their adventures. But suppose someone in their world did? Who would write your character’s biography? What would your character want in it? What would they write if they did it themselves? Is your character protective of their legacy or are they willing to authorize a warts-and-all tale? Would your character exaggerate their adventures for the sake of a good tale, or downplay them as irrelevant to their later work? Do they want to be venerated as saintly and good, or feared as a tyrant no one would dare cross? Something in between? And who would read or listen to the tale?

Good Fortune- This week, things are looking up. Maybe your character finally won the lottery, a game of poker or pazzak, or just won the flip and don’t have to do dishes. Maybe they found a parking meter with time left, or maybe they managed to catch the last transport off-world before the quarantine. Maybe something that looked bad on the surface turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Luck can be about big things or small.

Oooo, on time 2 weeks in a row!! Happy Friday, here's the new prompt!

Week of May 20, 2022

Rashomon Effect: No doubt your character has memories of events that they believe are true and accurate. So do their companions and other characters present at the events. Do those accounts all agree? How do they differ? Are the differences important? Are any of them true and in what ways are they true? Your character might not be a truly unreliable narrator, but they’re also not unbiased either. This week, consider characters comparing notes and discovering inconsistencies.

*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:

Right Person, Wrong Time: When has your character met another who could be a perfect fit...but not now? It might be a soulmate, a mentor, a social connection, or a patron. But your character isn’t ready for their help, guidance, friendship, or love yet. Maybe your character is, but the person they meet is the one at the wrong time. Why are “the stars wrong”? Does the relationship require a personal change on someone’s part, or are there social or cultural forces in play? Do they ever figure it out? Or do they remain out of sync for the whole story?

Just a Flesh Wound: In the well-known Monty Python skit (cw: blood, gore, comedy dismemberment) the Black Knight somehow keeps fighting despite losing all his limbs, insisting he’s not hurt. When has your character downplayed the severity of their injuries and why? Was it necessary to complete their mission, or useless bravado? What were the repercussions? In a broader sense, have they ever insisted on an argument, opinion, or course of action when it’s obvious to everyone else that they haven’t a (rhetorical) leg to stand on?