AUTHOR TOOLS | MASH-UP
Monday Mash-Up #27
Story writing prompts to spark your creativity with a challenge
Welcome back, Kraken Crew! What goes around comes around, so this prompt will be themed around renewal and rebirth in an ever-changing cycle, like missing socks in your dryer (so you go buy more, they too disappear, and your clothes are caught in some evil self-fulfilling prophecy…)
Highlights of Past Contributions:
Our perfect pal Poofie makes a return with 14 points and a time-out in his crate!
The band of superheroes we both need and deserve defuse a dangerous 14 points!
The Night Bunny snuck in a little NSFW barbecue for 14 points. Better late than never!
JF Danskin offered up a whole Chaos Army for another 14 points!
Main Theme (Worth 2 points, flip a coin or choose one)
Prompt #1:
There is an ancient magical cipher in your story!
What does it say? What does it do?
Prompt #2:
Your character remembers a forgotten spell!
Do they remember it in time to save the day? Or are they old and frail when they make the wondrous recall?
Constraints: Worth 1 point each (Choose 4 or roll 4 6-sided dice):
- An unusually large (or small) hourglass
- A lemon
- A mirror
- A single shoe
- Magic ink (what does it do?)
- Cobwebs
Hardcore Constraint: Worth 2 points (Flip a coin or choose one):
- Your hero has second thoughts about a course of action
- Someone stubbornly doubles-down on a rash decision
Literary Device: Worth 10 points:
Select ANY previously published piece of your fiction writing on Medium. Write a prequel, sequel, introduction, or epilogue of some sort to that story. Maybe it’s a dream sequence or a flashback, or a hallucination!
Give it a rebirth! Link the original in the intro text or at the end of your story. Let us try to imagine your story’s rebirth! (+1 BONUS point for inserting a link to your existing story)
Rules:
- Write a story based on one of the main prompts.
- Include as many of the constraints in your story as possible.
- Keep your story between 100–1000 words.
- Use the tag “Mashups” so we can easily find your story.
- Tag Jonathon Sawyer because I love a full inbox! I will also highlight your stories in the next Mash-Up!
- Challenge your fellow writers! I challenge Zane Dickens the Instigator and Sweet Chaos to complete this challenge of rebirth!
- Publish wherever you want but consider The Kraken Lore.
- Add a section that tallies up your points at the end of your story. (Worth 1 BONUS point)
I’ve broken the rules format this time, and this challenge could net you a whopping 20 points! Get “Kraken” and I’ll see you in two weeks!
