#sfwc “sales pitch”

[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.