Arlene Writing Contest

September's (Previously August's) Prompt List

Here they are! The list of prompt you will be able to choose from for this month's contest. Let me tell you, I wish I were writing based on these! I'll just scribble my own down in a journal or something, perhaps. I do encourage you to take your idea and run with it! Don't stop at this contest! Complete the story on your own if it's incomplete for the contest, develop it into something unique. I'd love to read what you do with it! Without further ado, please read on to see the prompts!

Fantasy

Prompt 1: You (or your main character) find a spiraling staircase in the middle of a desolate field. The staircase goes up into the clouds, and there is no indication what it leads to. At the top is a floating formation; a platform, Nothing is on the platform, except for a large, pillared archway on the other side. There is nothing else. Or is there? What is this place? Where did it come from? Does the archway go anywhere? You decide!

Prompt 2: You/your character stumbles upon a powerful being who bestows upon you a bottle that contains odd, flashing lights. This being informs you/your character that what is in the bottle is the power of lightning, and if this were to be released it would bestow upon the beholder the power to wield it. However, you/your character are supposed to deliver it to the storm fairy that this being instructs you to find. Along the way you discover others who have been given bottles that contain specific powers, all of which must be delivered to a specific fairy. Will you/your character follow through with this, or perhaps take the power for your/your character's own gain? Will it be stolen? Unleashed accidentally? Make this your own journey to tell.

Scifi

Prompt 1: In a world of cyborgs controlled by the scientists--who are the last beings of human flesh--a crash in the network that keeps individuals thriving occurs. After the scientists develop a system to keep cyborgs charged and working, your main character (or you) forget to charge one night. in a struggle to get to a charging system, your main character/your battery system begins to shut down... or so it seems. It turns out, you/your character did not need charging. Why?

Prompt 2: You/your character wakes up in a dark room, wires running to your/their skin. After blinking a few times to try and adjust to the darkness, you/they find a sudden change in vision. Symbols and lights flash about, lines point to certain things and title what they are, and unfamiliar codes fill your/their sight. Trying to rid your/their sight of this, you/they come to find it is your/their sight. Something has been altered. You/they have been experimented on. Why? By who? What does all of this mean?

Adventure

Prompt 1: Your character/you are running from something or someone, and the only place to go is to wedge into a crevice in the stone ground below you/your character. Hoping to simply balance between the stony walls on either side of you/your character, you/your character slips through the crack and end up stumbling into a dusty, cobwebbed place. Is it an abandoned building? A secret cave? What lies within this hidden crevice? A secret? Treasure? An abandoned society? Only you can reveal its secrets...

Prompt 2: Once a place of adventures and discovery, your/your character's hometown was historically known to produce the world's greatest explorers. These people were known to do great things, to redefine reality itself. That was long ago. Now, the society has been overrun, and the new world is one of no adventure. There are strict rules, and no independence. You/your character is drawn to adventure. How will you/they overcome this society of depredation and restraint?

Thriller/Mystery

Prompt 1: You/your character discovers a mirror in the attic that belonged to your/their great, great grandmother. It is quite intricate and beautiful, and something that should not be hidden from view. However, when you/your character hangs it in the hall of your/their lovely mansion (that also once belonged to your/their great, great grandmother) you/they discover it is no ordinary mirror. When viewing it, instead of portraying an average reflection, it shows the reflection of the house in the past. After awhile, you/your character begin to notice that things have subtly changed around the mansion. Things have moved, aged, disappeared. Voices are heard throughout the halls, odd sounds, and once you/your character even thinks they saw someone unfamiliar. What is going on around here, exactly?

Prompt 2: A train is taking you/your character through a rather eerie and rural area. It passes by a decrepit, rundown country house that gives you/your character the chills. After dozing off into a sleep, you/your character wakes to find the train is stopped... and in fact abandoned. Cobwebs cover it inside and out, moss and mold are growing along the walls, and the track is rusted. Climbing from the train, you/your character discovers the world outside appears much the same, though eerily silent. Backtracking in hopes of finding help, you/your character stumble upon the pathetic house you/they saw earlier. Perhaps help can be found within?

Now, it's up to you to choose which one sparks your imagination the most, and begin writing! Or, let it simmer for awhile until the ideas is formed. Nevertheless, it's due by August 31st. Hope you enjoy! While I do know that I said the prizes would be posted in this chapter... I lied. They will be posted in the next one, however, and that is a promise! Also, I'll have another idea to reveal to you all.... one I would like your opinion on. Hope you love the prompts!

Don't forget to tag your story to AWCAugust2015 and keep it under 5,000 words (although there is a word lenience if you absolutely need just a few more to finish things up. Keep it close to 5,000 though!). I'm genuinely looking forward to reading what you create!!

As always, happy writing!

Don't forget to comment when your story is complete and tagged in order to help me keep track!