#sfwc “Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain”

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Short Fiction Weekly Challenge

Time for a new prompt from the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge, tumblr edition.  Let it spark your imagination.  Any character, any fandom, any original world.   Reblogs welcome!

Post your story to your blog and send the link to Short Fiction Weekly Challenge!  We’ll send the link out to all our followers to enjoy.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of August 4, 2023

Sales Pitch: We’ve had prompts for buying and shopping but how about marketing? Your character has to buy things--see previous sentence--so how do they decide where to spend their money? What convinces them to choose one item or service over another? Are they looking for value, a good deal, a known brand, or status? Straight-up adventuring doesn’t always pay well--how do they get someone to buy the loot they collected but can’t use? How does your bounty hunter or smuggler advertise their services? 

Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt.  A masterpiece missed the deadline?  Don’t let it gather electronic dust.  Submit it anyway and Short Fiction Weekly Challenge will publish it.  

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

Pay Attention to the Man Behind The Curtain: What’s going on behind the scenes in your character’s story? Who’s plotting and planning, and what do they have in mind? Is it your character’s nemesis building their next death trap or world-dominating scheme? Is it a rival, itching for the opportunity to embarrass your character at their next meeting or conference? Maybe it's a good thing. Suppose a potential love interest is working up the courage or arranging an opportunity to confess their feelings. Perhaps there’s a companion planning a surprise party, or just a pleasant surprise. Maybe their doctor is trying to figure out how your character’s mild-mannered alter ego has so many grievous injuries. This week, write a story that advances your main story and character, but doesn’t directly involve them.

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

Got an idea for a prompt?  Submit it here.

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Short Fiction Weekly Challenge

Time for a new prompt from the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge, tumblr edition.  Let it spark your imagination.  Any character, any fandom, any original world.   Reblogs welcome!

Post your story to your blog and send the link to Short Fiction Weekly Challenge!  The link will appear in our feed and the site index, and your blog will be listed on the Participating Blogs page.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of June 18, 2021

Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain: What’s going on behind the scenes in your character’s story? Who’s plotting and planning, and what do they have in mind? Is it your character’s nemesis building their next death trap or world-dominating scheme? Is it a rival, itching for the opportunity to embarrass your character at their next meeting or conference? Maybe it's a good thing. Suppose a potential love interest is working up the courage or arranging an opportunity to confess their feelings. Perhaps there’s a companion planning a surprise party, or just a pleasant surprise. Maybe their doctor is trying to figure out how your character’s mild-mannered alter ego has so many grievous injuries. This week, write a story that advances your main story and character, but doesn’t directly involve them. 

Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt.  A masterpiece missed the deadline?  Don’t let it gather electronic dust.  Submit it anyway and Short Fiction Weekly Challenge will publish it.  

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:

If Wishes Were Horses: then beggars would ride. We often think of wishes as something for children, but everyone does it. Wishes can be for anything from a lucky chance through feasible-but-difficult to outright impossible. What things does your character wish for? Little wishes? Not much more than good luck? Middling-possible wishes? Things that could happen given some work and luck? Something that could never happen? Prohibited by the laws of physics or just wildly improbable? There’s nothing really wrong with wishes, however impractical or unlikely. Every so often, wishes come true.

Sweater Weather: It’s winter in the southern hemisphere. Definitely time to break out the jackets, scarves, and long sleeves if you haven’t already. What does your character think of cold weather? Are they the ones wearing shorts in the snow, or are they always cold even wrapped in blankets? Do they come from a place with an actual winter, but now live elsewhere with different traditions or no seasons at all? Are they accustomed to an unchanging climate and the seasons always throw them off? What is this “winter” you speak of?  Wait, there’s something besides cold? Of course, sweater weather also suggests cuddling, cups of hot chocolate, tea, cider, or even soup. Be romantic, dystopian, or anywhere in between this week.

Got an idea for a prompt?  Submit it here.