Prompt Quest #3
A fun fantasy and science fiction writing adventure.
Welcome travelers! You’re about to embark on a quest, an adventure to mystical lands and undiscovered planets, or underwater enclaves and cities full of futuristic technologies. These places are inhabited by monstrous beasts or characters with mysterious motives who may also control weapons of wonder. All of this fantasy and science fiction originates from your imagination. The quest is yours to choose. This is Prompt Quest!
The Rules
The rules are simple. Two prompts are provided, one fantasy and the other science fiction. Choose your genre and write a short story over the next two weeks using that genre’s prompt. We’ll host a gathering to celebrate what’s been accomplished and to highlight your stories at the end of the two weeks. You can share them on The Pitch discussion thread at the end of the month as well.
(The Gathering discussion thread will take place on Wednesday, September 25, starting at 12am EST., and will run all day.)
The Prize
If you keep your short story under 2500 words and embed a link to this Prompt Quest post at the end, then you can submit it to the current season (season eight) of the Lunar Awards as a second entry! This is your reward for completing the quest, a valuable secret pass to enter through our hallowed gates with honor. I can’t wait to greet you!
The Prompts
Science Fiction
Write a science fiction short story that takes place on a floating academy orbiting a dying star. A professor is tasked with preparing the students for evacuation, but strange anomalies are causing disturbances in time and reality. Will everyone escape in time, become trapped in an alternate reality or something worse?
Level Up!
(Optional) The professor is not human.
Fantasy
Write a fantasy short story that takes place in a mysterious village where the cultivation of a magical crop is the community's primary means of survival. A malevolent force threatens to destroy the crop and anyone who gets in the way. Can an unlikely hero rise up to save the day?
Level Up!
(Optional) Make the hero very likely and very arrogant, in need of humility and loads of redemption.
Safe travels on your quest!
If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or send me a DM.
Hi Brian, I had a hopefully not too cheeky question. I have just finished my prompt quest story and it's, like, 2506 words! And this is after the fourth close-read edit. At a stretch I might be able to remove another 6 words but I really don't want to have to. So my sort-of-cheeky question is whether your 2500 limit is really, really strict, or would you allow me these extra six impudent words and still submit it for my extra entry to the lunar awards?
Phew! Managed to write this in a day (a personal record) but not as quick as Michael S. Atkinson, of course!
https://kanwarpsplaha.substack.com/p/goodbye-world-hello-world