AUTHOR TOOLS | MASH-UP
Monday Mash-Up #18
Story writing prompts to spark your creativity with a challenge
When you woke up this morning did you wonder what were the odds for the Monday Mashup to return again? Was there a chance to miss everyone’s favorite writing challenge? Well, rest assured we flipped a coin and it landed on heads. You’re getting another Mashup.
Jonathon Sawyer and I sat down at a table between two chubby cats to have a serious discussion. I had my Big Gulp mug of Mountain Dew and he had his pitcher of maple syrup. We were ready to roll the dice on some changes.
- Instead of a running total of points, they will reset with each new Mashup.
- Bonus points will be awarded to anyone that brings me a Mtn Dew.
- The constraints will feature a new dice rolling mechanic.
- The second bullet point may not be 100% true.
Tally of the points earned from Mashup #17:
Sweet Chaos with 14 points for Pure Thievery
Jonathon Sawyer with 14 points for Furnace Guy Thwarts Bank Job!
Jay C Wells with 14 points for Breaking News: Medium Writers’ Feud Almost Caused US-Canada War
Rayne Sanning with 13 points for Mashup of Dreams
Bradan Writes Stories with 13 points for David Hawke and the Reverse Heist
Main theme: (Worth 2 points, pick one or flip a coin!)
Prompt #1 (Heads):
The MC is in a crowded elevator when someone says “I’m sure you all are wondering why I’ve gathered you here today” before hitting the emergency stop.
Prompt #2 (Tails):
The MC has been told their entire life they were deathly allergic to bees. Everyone has tried their best to protect the MC from coming into contact with a bee. One day, a bee lands on your shoulder and says “Your majesty. I’m sorry for the delay. What are your orders?”
In addition to the main writing prompt, I encourage you to include as many constraints as possible. Each one is worth an additional point! How many points can you make your story worth?
Who is the main character? (Roll a 4 sided dice) Worth 1 point
- An anthropomorphic llama
- A faithful dog (Their human is the “MC” but the real MC is the dog)
- A “normal” human
- Wildcard (Make it anything that’s not a human)
What is the main character’s nervous tick? (Roll a 4 sided dice) Worth 1 point
- Fidgeting
- Pacing
- Biting things (Ex: fingernails, pencil, etc)
- Humming
How long will the story be? (Roll a 4 sided dice) Worth 1 point
- 100 words
- 200 words
- 500 words
- 300 words
What type of constrained writing will you use? (Roll a 4 sided dice) Worth 2 points
- Include a phrase that uses pilish writing
- Include a palindrome
- Include a malphor
- Include a “dad joke”
Rules:
- Write a story based on one of the main prompts.
- Include as many of the constraints in your story as possible. (One from each section)
- Keep your story between 100–1000 words. (Failure is a lost point!)
- Use the tag “Mashups” so we can easily find your story.
- Tag Bradan Writes Stories or Jonathon Sawyer so that we can read it and credit you for points in the next Mash-Up!
- Challenge your fellow writers.
- Publish where ever you want but consider The Kraken Lore.
- Add a section that tallies up your points at the end of your story. You can look here for an example. (Worth 1 BONUS point)
I would like to invite some of the previous Monday Mashup participants to come back and try their hand at the challenge. Ginger Bangs, CK Green, Ben Ulansey, and Sonja Glucksberg, come on and give it a go!