AUTHOR TOOLS | MASH-UP
Monday Mash-Up #22
Story writing prompts to spark your creativity with a challenge

Ever get turned around in a new place? Or take a wrong turn and end up somewhere strange and bizarre?
My brain has been failing its duty to think critically lately. I’m a forgetful person, but now it’s affected my work here on Medium!
Some of you may have noticed that I forgot to use the appropriate Mashups tag for the last Mashup Monday #21, so if you missed it — I beg your forgiveness!
As punishment, Frank the Pigeon has promised to poop on my head sometime this week. When will he strike? I just know not to look up!
Tally of Points Earned From Mash-Up #21:
J.C. Lovero has debuted his Mash-Up with a brilliant tale of love and woe, and some backstory for the CYOA — Collaboration series “Seek and Avenge”. 14 points!
JF Danskin goes off to war with 14 points! Those kobolds won’t know what hit them!
May More 💜 Tales keeps it clean but twisted for another 14 points (But she’s worth so much more!)
Sweet Chaos delivers another (mis)adventure with our favorite “hero” Faigol and he makes off with 14 points!
Posy Churchgate - Writes & Edits Fiction brings some well-deserved pain for 10 points!
Jay C Wells writes another hit bedtime story for 14 points!
And The Night Bunny has slipped in with 14 points!
Phew! That’s a lot of Mash-Ups! Unrelated, I forgot I left my mashed potatoes on the stove! Be right back!
Main Theme (Worth 2 points; pick one or flip a coin!)
Prompt #1 (Heads):
Your main character wakes up in a world like the works of MC Escher!
Everything is all topsy-turvy! What to do?!
Prompt #2 (Tails):
Foul magic has made your heroes unable to communicate verbally!
There are many people that cannot communicate verbally, and there are some whose words make little sense. How will your hero complete their quest? ASL? Interpretive dance?
Constraints: Worth 1 point each (Choose 4 or roll 4 6-sided dice):
- Bubbles!
- An empty bucket (that is full by the story’s end)
- A lily pad
- A giant robot (or a mech)
- A vial of pills
- A groovy tune! (or toon!)
Hardcore Constraint: Worth 2 points (Flip a coin or choose one):
- War and peas
- A Worn out piece [of ___]
Literary Device: Worth 5 points (Flip a coin or choose one):
Rules:
- Write a story based on one of the two main prompts.
- Include as many of the constraints in your story as possible.
- Keep your story between 100–1000 words. Feels too short? Consider a serial, like the David Hawke stories or my Furnace Guy series.
- Use the tag “Mashups” so we can easily find your story.
- Tag me Jonathon Sawyer so that I may read it and credit you for points in the next Mash-Up!
- Challenge your fellow writers! I challenge Diana Thorland and David Perlmutter just in case he’s got a cool “toon” story to share!
- Publish wherever 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)
See you in 2 weeks, Kraken Crew!
