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The Short Fic Weekly Challenge Thread!


elliotcat

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Happy 10th Birthday to the SFC thread!!

 

Exactly 10 years ago today this thread was born! I know I've gotten behind with prompts and personally haven't contributed a story in a while, but I'm still lurking around enjoying the wonderful content provided by so many talented authors!! What a tribute to the original founders that we are still going! Hopefully we will have many more years to come!

Edited by alaurin
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Now for this week's prompt a few days late...

 

Week of May 27, 2022

 

Red Flags: Is your character the kind to see potential problems a mile away, or do they overlook obvious warning signs for as long as possible? How far into the situation did they get before they realize it’s bad? What did they overlook--or what was hidden from them? Are the red flags enormous, flapping on mile-high flagpoles, or are they small and subtle, more like cocktail umbrellas or cupcake decorations? Are the problems clear to everyone but your character? Is your character the one sending up the red flags and hoping to get away with it--again? Are your character’s red flags another’s reassurance--or vice versa?

 

*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:

 

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.

 

Why Didn’t I Think of This Sooner? Author Version- Who hasn’t come up with a great idea well after it’s useful? Every writer ever. Maybe it’s a better way to relate your character to your world, maybe it’s a background event, maybe it’s a change to the world itself. But you already established all of these events. It’s ok: there’s Retcon. Writers retcon all the time. Sometimes it’s major--a reboot of the universe--sometimes it’s not--rewriting or throwing out an episode or scene or adding foreshadowing where you didn’t before. This week, make a change to something in your story you wish you’d done from the beginning. The new timeline can become your new canon or you can keep it as an AU. Stories aren’t finished until the writer says they are.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So sorry for getting behind again......

 

Week of June 3, 2022

 

5/5 Stars!: Ratings--stars, tomatoes, numerical scales--all seek to quantify the unquantifiable: satisfaction and reputation. Does your world have a system like the ratings we’re so familiar with? Is your character subject to it? Are they a five-star rated bounty hunter with the Bounty Hunter Association? Did they get a 1/10 for “sociability” on their last performance review (because zero and negative numbers aren’t permitted)? Do they check user reviews before making a purchase? Do they take pride in patronizing the armorer with less than one star? In worlds without explicit systems, reputations still matter. How does your character maintain theirs, and how do they navigate 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:

 

Scars--Reminders of old wounds. They might be visible--remnants of a childhood fall, a parent’s rage, an accident, a fire, a careless slip with a weapon or tool. The near miss that wasn’t quite a miss. But scars can be internal or emotional as well. A song that was a former lover’s favorite, a scent that summons a painful memory, a street or neighborhood your character refuses to travel. This week write a story about a scar your character bears. Consider how they acquired it, and how it affects them.

 

Forbidden Knowledge: The secret technique, a hidden history, a coded text. What does the secret technique do and why is it secret? What was your character taught, what really happened, who hid the truth and why? Is the code unbreakable or was the key lost on purpose? Is it really a code or is it actually a lost language? What does the text say? Worlds abound in knowledge that’s forbidden to to learn or at least difficult to find. Have your character search for, find out about, or discover some this week.

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Week of June 10, 2022

 

Trusty Steed: The Lone Ranger had Silver, Han Solo had the Millennium Falcon, does your character have a Trusty Steed? A means of transport that's a character in itself? One with which your character shares a special bond? Loyal to a fault, remarkably clever, capable of incredible feats of bravery? Requires unending maintenance, refuses to perform on command, would sell your character to satan for a corn chip given half a chance? A trusting relationship based on mutual respect, or something more passive-aggressive and hostile? Write about your character's trusty steed--or someone else's.

 

*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:

 

Haunted: Has your character ever encountered something otherworldly? Something they know they saw but can’t explain in a logical way? Or maybe they can--but the explanation rings hollow? What did they experience and what was it like? Does anyone believe them? Do they believe it? In our world things such as ghosts or hauntings are generally dismissed, but for your character, they might be accepted as valid explanations even if not technically “real.” Or they might be frighteningly, terrifyingly real.

 

Breaking Point: At some point, your character will have hit their breaking point. The last straw, crossed the line, they’ve had it with something, someone, or some situation, and aren’t going to put up with it anymore. Something has to change--so what is it? Mundane: the last straw with a job they hate. Relatable: their SO doing that thing (you know, that one thing). A larger issue that requires recruiting others who’ve also hit their breaking point, or a tiny one like the takeout place getting their food wrong for the last time. Write about your character reaching their breaking point and what they change in response.

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Week of June 17, 2022

 

Sneakin’: Even if your character is the most bombastic, damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead kind of person, there must be a time when subtlety was required. When the direct approach was doomed to fail (or perhaps already had) and they had to employ more sneaky means of getting what they wanted. Were they literally sneaking and skulking? Finding their way in through the sewers or air ducts? Sticking to the shadows and sabotaging security cameras? Or was the subterfuge more social in nature? A disguise or forged tickets to get into the exclusive affair? Creating a false persona or fake credentials to trick their way into someone’s confidence or computer system? When has your character done some sneakin’?

 

*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:

 

Just Desserts--Everyone loves to see the villain get what’s coming to them. Maybe it’s your character who delivers justice. Maybe they’re on the receiving end. This week, hand out some just desserts in your story.

 

No!: Not just no, but hell no. Absolute refusal, you can’t make me, never gonna do it. When has your character outright refused another’s request? What about orders? Demands? Did they agree and then think better of it? Did they go along and quit when they reached their limit? Did the request seem reasonable on the surface but turn out less so? Was it just awful from the get-go? Did they say no just for spite? What were the consequences for refusal?

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And now for our current prompt.....Happy Writing!

 

Week of June 24, 2022

 

“You Came Back For Me”: Romantic when your character’s partner rescues them when they thought all hope was lost. Noble when your character won’t leave the villain’s lair without their SO. Heroic when your character brings the whole troop after the one who got captured, because they never leave anyone behind. Shady when your character tracks down an enemy they defeated, but perhaps not enough. Villainous when your character’s nemesis returns. In what context does your character hear or use this phrase?

 

*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:

 

Ever Your Servant: Who serves your character? Not their friend, lover, or companion, characters or NPCs intended as equals, but someone of lower social station. Someone who’s hired for their skills and paid for their work. A butler (hello, Alfred), a maid, the barista at their favorite coffeeshop. Perhaps a slave in societies that allow it or a droid or a golem in those that don’t. This week write a story concerning your character and another who serves them.

 

Bigger is Better: write something long. 2000+ words. Use any previous prompt or invent your own. Long works have a different set of challenges compared to short ones. In the former, every word counts. In the latter, it’s hooking the reader and keeping them entertained for the duration. Go for it!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Getting caught up again....

 

Week of July 1, 2022

 

Replaced: If something’s broken or malfunctioning, fix or replace it, right? Suppose it’s something with sentimental value? Suppose it was a gift? Suppose replacing it requires major adjustments in other areas? Suppose it can’t be replaced--it’s not made anymore and there are no equivalents? What if it’s a person whose skill set no longer fits, whose position was eliminated, or who refuses to change with the times despite your character’s best efforts to help? What if it’s a relationship that no longer works: with a doctor, a counselor, or even an SO? Write about something your character replaced and why, or a time they were the one replaced.

 

*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:

 

Under the Weather-everyone gets sick, even the most hale and hearty character. How does yours deal with illness? Tough it out and hope no one notices? Or do they turn into a baby at the first sign of a sniffle? Whether the treatments in your world are high-tech or top out at chicken soup and herbal tea, write about your character feeling poorly.

 

“Cuffing Season”: Supposedly, in the early fall (Octoberish to February, or March to August depending on your Earthly location), people begin pairing off for the winter months. Sometimes the relationships last, but mostly they break up with the ice in spring, past the cold weather and gatherings where companions might be expected. Is there a similar time in your character’s world? Do they want a cuddle buddy for the winter-slash-social-gathering-season? Do they happen to find a relationship at that time, regardless of whether they were looking? Maybe they’re out of sync with everyone else and break up instead. Are they then desperate enough to lower their standards? A lot? Maybe they’re not at all interested and watch the spectacle with amusement.

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Now for the new prompt while I'm at it! Also, just a heads up, I'm heading out on vacation in a land where internet and cell service are a bit spotty so there might not be another prompt posted until I get back in a couple of weeks. I will make an attempt but most likely won't be able to get it through.

 

Happy Writing!!

 

Week of July 8, 2022

 

That’s No Moon: What was it? When has your character seen or discovered something and immediately grasped its true significance? When others around them did not? What was it? What made it important? Did others believe them? Ignore their warnings? Until it was too late? What happened and how did they adapt to the new situation?

 

*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:

 

Welcome Back/Welcome Home: Some people have fond memories of your character. Parents, old friends, or mentors. Others, perhaps, not so much: exes, enemies, people they've wronged. What kind of welcome does your character get when visiting them again? Is it what they expect or very different?

 

Promotions-- As characters advance through their stories, they often advance in their (fictional) organizations as well. Has your character gotten a promotion? Was it deserved? Did higher-ups pass over someone more qualified, or did your character work hard for their advancement? Additional responsibilities usually accompany a new position, how does your character handle them? Did they receive any extra training or were they thrown in the deep end? Did things work out for them? Are they pleased with their promotion or do they wish they could go back? Is it, as many things, a mixed bag? This week, give your character a promotion and see what they do.

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  • 10 months later...

Hello all!  Hopefully there are still a few lurkers around here.  I'm going to work on getting this thread up to date with all the weekly topics that are still being posted on the tumblr version of this thread, but this will likely take me a bit so hang in there.  I will also get to work on updating the Prompt and Story Archive as soon as I can find it now that it's no longer stickied. 🙂 

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Here we go!  I'll probably just do a couple of months worth a day until I'm up to date, then start working on the Prompt Archive.

 

Week of July 15, 2022

I Know Things: Of course your character and their companions are competent in their careers and related fields. But they must have other interests than just their job or function. Are they a weapons expert and also a gourmet cook? The best at starship repair as well as the go-to person for holonet celebrity trivia? What’s an unusual piece of information or an odd skill your character knows, and how does it come into play in their 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:

Changes in Appearance--People don’t keep the same appearance their whole lives. We cut or grow hair, change styles, choose different clothes, sometimes even consider surgery, tattoos, piercings, or other permanent alterations to our appearances. Yet written characters often stay the same. This week, make a change to your character’s appearance and write about why it happened. There’s always a reason, and it’s bound to be interesting.

Now We Feast: While many celebrations involve food, there are some for which food is the center. The feast. The meal is the reason for the celebration and anything that comes with it--dancing, singing, telling stories--are just extra. When has your character attended a feast? What was it for? What foods were there? Which ones were special for the occasion and which were ordinary? Were they a guest, an attendant, one of the people preparing it, or the host? Maybe a combination? A feast doesn’t have to happen only on holidays. What is a barbecue or a lūʻau or a banquet if not primarily a feast?

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Week of July 22, 2022

An Arm and a Leg: Your character may well have scars from healed injuries. But have they lost more than a little skin and blood? A limb or part of one? An eye, their hearing, a sensory organ critical to their species? What about one or more of their companions? What replaced it and why? Do they have a fully-functional prosthetic, better in some ways than their original part? A serviceable replacement that works, mostly, and while it’s not great it allows them to function? A cosmetic appendage only, because there is no replacement possible or perhaps that’s what they prefer? Nothing? What adjustments have they made, and what things still catch them off-guard? Are they treated differently in society?

*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:

New Year, New You: Make a new character, or write for a character you haven’t before. It can be a completely new OC, a new character in your game or story, or an established character in a property you like but never wrote them before. Write anything from a short scene to a complete fic or story. 

Piercing the Veil--When has your character seen things for what they truly are? Seen past the plots and the machinations of other characters to what was really going on? That sudden flash of insight when the pieces come together and everything makes sense. Was it real? How do they deal with their new-found insight? Do others believe them, or are they alone with the truth? Explore a time when your character’s intuition guided their actions.

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Week of July 29, 2022


Corruption: Whether as obvious as offering/accepting a bribe, or as subtle as sending business toward a friend, corruption pervades most every organization. The line between networking and nepotism is often blurry. When has your character encountered corruption? Did they benefit from it, or were they the loser? Did they encourage it, or rely on it, or did they blow the whistle? Were they shocked to find it, or to see it operate, or were they fully expecting it? Were they surprised the organization was more honest than they’d been led to believe?

*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:

Burning the Candle at Both Ends--Too busy. There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. Maybe it was bad scheduling or an accident or problems encountered along the way, but whatever the reason, your character has to work hard to do it. What was it? Why are they working so hard? What do they hope to gain? Is it temporary or a chronic issue for them? Can they prevent the situation, or will it happen again? This week, write about a time when your character burned a little too bright.

Bored: Everyone gets bored. Some more easily than others. When has your character been bored? They could be snowbound at home, waiting for an appointment, or a passenger in a vehicle with nothing to do. Perhaps it’s boredom spiked with danger. They’ve sent their distress signal and there’s nothing to do but wait. How do they keep themselves occupied? Do they bother? Can they easily escape their situation but choose not to? Write about your character dealing with boredom.

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Week of August 5, 2022


Prompt and Circumstance: Beyond personal social rituals such as weddings or funerals, societies also have larger, community-wide affairs where people collectively acknowledge a major event. Coronations, award ceremonies, parades, commemorations, graduations, and the like. Weddings and funerals--normally somewhat private--become community-wide for a celebrity, ruling family, and other well-known or important figures. What ones has your character observed or participated in? What do they think of them? What’s appropriate attire and behavior? What’s gauche? 

*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:

Self Care: Write the kind of scene you need to write or read. Not necessarily the next one to finish your fic. The kind you need to write: fluffy happiness, cathartic violence, something silly, something deep and philosophical, something satirical and full of sharp cutting edges. This is for no one but you. There’s no obligation to share it with anyone, even SFWC. And if you prefer, take the week off and write nothing. Recharge. You have permission. Take care of yourself this week, however that looks to you.

Lawbreaker!--Some characters break laws on a regular basis, others are more law-abiding. But most every character has crossed the line on occasion, if only in a very minor way or on accident. What about yours? Did they know they were violating a law? Why did they do it? Because the law is ridiculous, because it is inconvenient, because the law is wrong, because they knew they wouldn’t get caught, or do they simply not care? What law did they break? Did they pay a penalty? Personal or legal? Write about it!

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Week of August 12, 2022

How Did I Get Here?: What chain of events led to your character’s current situation? Do we get to see it, or only the result? Did they make reasonable decisions but the outcome was unrecoverable from the beginning? Did they choose exactly the wrong approach, guaranteed to make things worse? Did they misread the situation and stumble? Did they know exactly what they were doing from the get-go and end up precisely where they wanted to be? This week, have your character 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:

Relying on Technology: regardless of setting, our characters rely on technological innovations. In a fantasy setting, those might be cunning spellwork or finely-crafted weapons. The far future could have memory-dubbing and cybernetics. In any setting, food production, travel, and medicine often employ technology we barely acknowledge. What technology in your character’s world do they absolutely rely on? What can they not get along without? Do they even realize how much they need it? What happens when something goes wrong in the way it functions? What if it breaks and can’t be repaired, or at least not easily or quickly? How much trouble do they have when the things they expect to work just...don't?

Bingeing: A character can binge on nearly anything: shows; music; information; books, stories, or poetry; or yes, even food. A first cousin to obsession, to binge implies something more primal. Whatever your character is binging on, it's likely something they enjoy and are almost powerless to stop without outside interference--say, running out of episodes. Write about a time when your character or someone they know binged on something.

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Week of August 19, 2022

Hide: Perhaps they’re playing a childhood game. Perhaps they’re being pursued. They’ve just escaped custody (deserved or no) or crashed behind enemy lines. They’re a hacker evading security systems. They can’t bear a loved one finding out what they used to be like, and try so hard not to be anymore. They can’t break character and let their mark know he’s been had. When (and what) has your character had to hide?

*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 Spirit of the Law: Last week your character used the law as written to get what they want, for good or ill. This week, have them interpret the law as they believe it is supposed to be followed or enforced. Maybe all those procedures have a purpose, but mostly keep people from using the services or getting the protection they need. Maybe it should protect the vulnerable--but it’s not written that way. Maybe it’s outdated and no longer relevant to current times without some creative interpretation. This week, have your character uphold the intent--as they understand it--behind the law.

Out of Touch: A phrase with a number of meanings. When has your character been out of touch, and how? Did they drop out of contact with their friends and family?  Why? What interfered? Maybe they are always out of step with cultural norms: missing jokes and references and classically “out of touch.” Is this a choice? A facet of their personality? Were they removed from the larger culture for some reason and now miss everyone’s references and make ones no one remembers? Are they from the future, having learned of the present only from books? From the past, unmoored in their new world? A character can be out of touch in a number of ways. Explore some this week.

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Week of August 26, 2022

Memes: While internet memes are relatively new, memes in the sense of cultural references have been around as long as there have been people. Is there a “Robin Hood” or “Zorro” archetype? A folk hero who comes to the aid of the downtrodden against powerful enemies? What phrase might your character use instead of “the last straw” and where does it come from? Are there certain terms of address or turns of phrase that sound polite but are always used ironically and actually mean the exact opposite? Graffiti that holds meaning to your character or someone from their culture, but without that context is just a drawing? What are some of your character and your world’s cultural touchstones, and how do they come through in your 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:

Won’t Get Fooled Again: Everyone’s been fooled sometime. When does your character notice a pattern? Is it a similar scam, or the same person running a different one? What was it about the interaction that tipped off your character? Are they fooled, have they learned, or are they giving someone another chance? Is it worth it? Is the issue so minor that they don’t mind? Are they playing a game with a loved one or friend and fooling is the point? Is your character wrong and the exchange was on the level the whole time?

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.

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Week of September 2, 2022

Sleep With, Marry, or Kill: A game people play either for themselves or for their characters. Name three people, one for each category. Who would your character choose? Why? Do concepts or non-people count for them? Like “chocolate” or “stability” or “love”? Use the prompt as a thought experiment, or have your character play through a game with others in their 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:

Taboos - some things are off limits, be it for cultural, personal, or legal reasons. How do they relate to your character? Do they not even realize the restriction? Notice, but abide by the rules? Or do they flout society's conventions and laugh? Why? Does their attitude cause trouble for them, or does it grease the wheels?

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?

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Week of September 9, 2022

Caretaker/Dependant: Your character might be responsible for the well-being of another. Not an equal, but someone dependent on them. A child, an elderly relative, someone with a disability requiring round-the-clock care. It could be a temporary situation--someone recovering from an illness or injury. It might be an animal: a domestic pet or a wild one being tamed or rehabilitated for release. Your character could be the one requiring care. Consider a significant power differential in your character’s relationship. 

*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:

Like a Child--No inhibitions: We had a prompt Like No One’s Watching for your character indulging in some activity they liked but were embarrassed to engage in. This time, let them shed those inhibitions. Children do the things they love and don’t care who knows about it. Be it singing on the bus, wearing colors or patterns that “adults know” don’t match, eating the whole slice of cake because it tastes great, or making stories in their favorite make-believe world. This week, write a story where your character is going to have fun regardless of other’s opinions, or a time when they remembered being so free.

Do I Have To?: There are bound to be tasks your character needs to complete that they’d really rather not do. It could be anything from routine chores to some major (or expensive) repairs to their ship, home, or estate. It might be putting up with ridiculous demands from a boss or overlord. It could be something that goes against their moral code--wherever their personal moral compass points--that they nevertheless feel they have to do. It might be something they personally find unpleasant and no one else understands why. Maybe it’s something they’ve been putting off, or something they’ve only just been assigned. This week, write a story where your character asks, literally or figuratively, do I have to?

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Week of September 16, 2022

Professional/Impersonal: There are some people from whom your character must maintain an emotional distance. People they rely on for their skills or services. People they might like in a general sort of way, but aren't interested in romantically. Your character might not find them attractive in any way other than professional, or they might struggle to maintain that distance. Your character might have to rebuff advances they don’t want. Or perhaps the relationship is impersonal all the way around--to the point where a betrayal isn't just accepted as part of the business, but expected.

*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 You Take With You: Some characters travel light, with few things to call their own. Others are surrounded with trappings of class and station, or just plain old stuff. Of all this, what is most important? What would they take with them if they had only a few hours or minutes to decide? What things did they think were indispensable only to discover that, in an emergency, they’re really not? What would they give anything to save but can’t, due to size or other factors? What precious things do they leave and realize only later are gone forever? Your character can’t bring everything this time, so what do they bring and what do they leave behind?

Chocolate!: It's Valentine's Day here in the US and everything is red, white, and shades of pink. And chocolate! Does your character's world have a day for romantic love? Is there a food or treat associated with it? Is it like chocolate: sweet, creamy, indulgent and yet ordinary any other time? Is it actual chocolate? Who would your character give it to, or who do they hope to receive it from? What does that person mean to them? They don’t have to be lovers, after all. Or does your character ignore the whole meaning thing and use it as an excuse to stock up? All of the above?

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Week of September 23, 2022

Platonic/Friends/Equals: There's no power difference. No status, no class, no age, no bars to their relationship. Who are your character’s friends? The people they hang out with? Who shares their adventures and their defeats? Who do they treat as equals, if not friends, and why? Who do they have close relationships with, but aren’t their love interest(s)?

*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:

Time Change: When has your character been out of sync with their surroundings? In space all planets have their own day-night cycles as well as years. Travel to a new place at light speed or more means having to adjust to a wildly different schedule upon landing. And what time does the crew keep in transit? Is there an agreed-upon standard or does every captain choose their own? Fantasy settings can still have abrupt time changes: long-distance teleports, extended sleep spells, world-altering magic. Does a place like Discworld have time zones? Maybe your character is the habitual early riser in a world or night owls, or the reverse.

Relaxing--When your character takes time off to kick back and relax, what do they do? Do they have to travel? Go somewhere where they can avoid pressure and constant requests for aid or advice? Do they escape into a good book or other entertainment? Perhaps they indulge in a hobby or visit a spa. What does your character do to relax? Or do they find it impossible?

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Okay, last one for today.....I'll put some more up tomorrow!

 

Week of September 29, 2022

Bitter Rivals: Who’s your character’s rival? Rival for what? Anything! A prize, a title, someone’s affections, recognition and renown. They don’t have to hate each other, but they often do. They don’t have to be enemies, but often are. They are in competition, and only one can claim the reward. Your character might view another as a rival why the other barely notices them. Or vice-versa! 

*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:

Halfway There: There’s the beginning and the end, and somewhere in between is half. Halfway through their journey, halfway through their education, their training, their date, their game, or their patience. Or even halfway through their story. The newness wore off but the end isn’t quite in view. The middle doesn't have to be boring. Something has to connect the ends. Write a story where your character is halfway there. 

Home for the Holidays: Holidays often mean reuniting with family your character may only see on those special occasions. Do they make it this time? Why or why not? Do they want to go or do they dread the visit? Do they go alone, bring companions (or moral support), or journey to a partner’s home instead? Are they back in their hometown, the place they grew up, or has the bulk of the family relocated too? What is home, for your character, where these celebrations are concerned? Maybe their home is where they are right now, their family the people they’re with, and they’d take that over a long journey and near-strangers any day. Especially this one.

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Time for a few more....

 

Week of October 7, 2022

Curses!: Foiled again? Curses run the gamut from nothing more than “foul language” to magical spells with concrete negative effects, depending on the world your character inhabits. What curses has your character encountered? Used? How did they deal with the effects? What were the effects? Was it a real curse, or did someone (maybe even your character!) use the threat of a curse (real or otherwise) to manipulate someone else?

*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:

Sleeping Rough: Has your character ever been without a safe place to sleep? No money for a room, no one to share with, lost (urban or wilderness), or run away? Was it part of a training exercise, experiment, or mission and therefore only temporary? Was it indefinite, desperate, with no alternative and no end in sight? Was it voluntary and, despite the difficulties, still preferable to the situation they left behind? Have they been fortunate enough to never worry about housing, and how do they react toward another in poorer circumstances? This week, consider your character sleeping rough.

Coincidence--Coincidences that start or complicate a plot are often overlooked, but those that end it are not. Why? It feels fake. It breaks the suspension of disbelief. In an age of word processors, where adding foreshadowing is as easy as typing a new paragraph, it smacks of poor plotting. This week? Who cares. In a make-believe world where everything happens for a reason, this time the reason is because you need it to. Consider it an exercise in how not to tie up a story, or how to recognize what not to do. Sometimes it’s fun to write bad.

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Week of October 14, 2022

Ghosts: Does your setting have ghosts? Are they spectral entities, leftover remnants of consciousness, the literal spirits of the dead? Are they folklore? Something to scare children and the gullible, but no one really believes they exist? Or the belief exists and people act accordingly, but actual ghosts do not? A ghost as a haunting entity can be more than the classic depiction, though. A sad or frightening memory might haunt your character. So might the death of a companion, close friend, or family member. A missed opportunity, a tragedy, or even a disaster narrowly averted can stick with a character long after the event is over. What ghosts has your character encountered and how do they deal with 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:

Current Events–Events in the larger fictional world shape your character’s little slice of it, whether they want it to or not. What things are in the news for your character? What do they hear about on the Holonet or from the town crier, read about in the paper or posted on boards? How do these events affect them? Are they concerned about current events or blissfully unaware of anything outside their immediate experience? Maybe your character is the ones making headlines. Write about it!

Theater - A movie, a play, a puppet show. A 3D holographic immersive experience. Their child's first school pageant. Your character's first school pageant. This week write about your character's experiences with the theater.

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Week of October 21, 2022

Zombies: Do zombies exist in your setting? Are they the George Romero Night of the Living Dead variety, or the Vodou kind created as mindless (but still sort of living) slaves? How do they come about? Are they real, or is the belief real but the actual creature nonexistent? What about zombie ideas? Dangerous beliefs that infect and corrupt, or ones divorced from their original context and used to gain power? Whatever your character does, they won’t stay dead!

*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 Letter of the Law: The law can work for or against your character. A literal reading might get your character off the hook--or sink it in more firmly. On the other hand, your character might use a close interpretation to their advantage: forcing authorities to actually follow their procedures, or abiding by regulations to the letter and causing perfectly legal delays. Characters of all stripes can twist the law to their ends.  We’ve had a prompt for law, but this is more specific: following it. In particular, following the law exactly as written.

Lost in Translation--Some of our characters know many languages, some only one. Regardless, there will be times when a foreign concept is difficult or impossible to explain. Perhaps a term is untranslatable, words are insufficient, or maybe they’re using a bad dictionary. The results can be funny or tragic, or both in equal measures. This week’s challenge is to lose something in translation.

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Week of October 28, 2022

Trick or Treat!: A US Halloween custom blended from many others. Specifics changed over the ages, but costumes, begging for sweets, and a connection with the spirits of the dead all remain. Does your setting have a similar celebration on the eve of winter? Halloween is a liminal time when the barriers between worlds are especially thin. What crosses over, and are they appeased with candies? Can passage go either way? What happens to someone on the wrong side? Do they need a disguise and a foolproof incantation to get something nice to eat?  

*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:

Last Chance: It’s your character’s last chance...for what? To prove their loyalty or worth? To pass a class? Get something they really want, or avoid something they really don’t? Maybe it’s nothing so serious. It’s the last chance to get a good deal or a discount at their favorite store. To get their favorite seasonal treat. It’s the Last Chance Summer Dance, and then everyone (including someone they’ve been pining for) goes back home. Perhaps your character is the one offering someone else a last chance. However you interpret it, this week won’t be your last chance to write it.

Consent: One little word covering things from the mundane to the sublime through tragic. We give it without thinking for phone apps and data collection and health care. Oftimes it is assumed; you have to opt out rather than in. When has your character given their consent? For what? What happened after? Endless spam, an interpersonal experience they’d rather not talk about, or the best time they’d ever had?

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