The prompts theme for January is (drumroll please):
Steampunk!!
(Based on the results of this poll and this call for ideas).
Re-imagine steampunk. Not just gears and brass, corsets and goggles, what can I do with steampunk? Where can the steam and the sci-fi go that it hasn’t gone before?
I’m looking for writing prompts for short stories, and, if you want to challenge me more, a specific word count greater than 99 but less than 3500. Can’t promise all will be written but what I can say is that, if I write a short story off your prompt, you will get a copy of it even if it is not posted for general consumption.
I’ll post one or two free stories off each call for prompts and offer the rest for sponsorship until or unless they’re submitted for publication
For stories written from previous prompts, see the summary post
Aztecs with airships!
orichalcum (a mystical metal, somewhat like copper) ornithopter (a type of flying machine) a female mechanic who, after being refused admittance to higher education by reason of her sex, decides to quietly dismantle the city’s infrastructure for revenge
User ysabetwordsmith referenced to your post from Call for Story Prompts saying: […] is calling for story prompts […]
Ok, the humerous part os me is yelling : “We’ve lost our goggles! Oh no, whatever shall we do without them?” Ahem. Had to get that off my chest. Steampunk tends to be about adventure and exploration, or occasionally crime solving. How about a story about ordinary people and how all this technological change affects their lives? Also, I like blimps.
Annabella Crux watched helplessly as an experiment gone horribly wrong destroyed her brother and father. As she watched their estate burn, the secret of what destroyed her home and family became clear to her. In 3000 words, explore what the secret that killed her family is and her quest to right what is wrong. Is hers a quest for vengeance? Is she trying to track down a saboteur? Or has she come across a terrible danger in the technology of the steampunk-powered world around her that will lead to the end of the world?
Strange glasses — not just steampunk-looking, but magical or cool in some mechanical way.
Hrmm. I have IDEAS already. Thanks! (Have been working on your Green prompt today. Green was slow for me, not sure why.)
I’m not sure why some prompts burst into story ideas instantaneously, while others take time to ferment in the back of your head. I find that with Torn World, where there isn’t a monthly theme, per se, that it’s often a combination of prompts that sparks a story, rather than just one. I’m glad that this prompt, which leapt into my head upon reading your call for prompts, is apparently a good one for you too!
I’m glad it’s not just me… thanks again!
You’re very welcome!
From this I got “Part One: Planning” here – http://aldersprig.livejournal.com/130013.html – which is part one of something I think will have at least three parts. Cheers!
The Chinese beat the Europeans to all kinds of technology, including steampunk stuff.