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'Prompt' Exchange
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'Prompt' Exchange
'Prompt' Exchange Thread!
A thread for random ideas you thought up but are probably never going to write/a place to brainstorm cool plots, whether or not you end up going any further.
Maybe you'll inspire someone else with cute, heartfelt, mysterious, angsty, or flat-out weird ideas? Maybe you have a really cool first line or interesting premise, but don't know where to use it? Maybe you're looking for something to motivate or inspire you, but don't know where to start? Or perhaps you just want to design an OC without writing a whole story, or concoct an outline for an overly-convoluted scheme? Perhaps you really want to see more post-apocalypse cyberpunk or a fresh take fantasy or pure fluff-mance stories, or something niche and oddly specific, and want to egg random people on until they finally write it for you?
Well why not try exchanging with others? Drop off ideas that you might not want to write an entire thing about, and pick up other people's ideas to test them out. Maybe you'll find a new favourite genre or writer; maybe you'll finally cure your writers' block. Challenge yourself! And of course, have fun!
submitted by Jaybells, age Obscure, Lost in the Universe
(December 17, 2021 - 12:28 am)
(December 17, 2021 - 12:28 am)
So not to turn things angsty too quickly, but what about a tragic story/animatic'y-thing where:
The focal character(Let's say, Charrie1) is collapsed in the middle of a battleground or still-smoking ruins (/etc.) and painfully looks up at Charrie2, defeat in their eyes. They trusted them. Then, they open their mouth and say something crushing about how all they wish is that they could forget Charrie2. That they could go back in time and tell their young self not to get involved, to follow a different path(maybe the one they had secretly always wanted | alternatively, maybe they followed their dreams this time, and attribute all their current pain to that. They instead wish they had followed the path others expected them to take, even if it had been boring/a little painful/not-true-to-themself or whatever -- which makes their words cut all the more deeply to Charrie2 who knows they chose to be themself this time(say at the cost if their relationship with their parents/etc.)). Then have their last breathes fade. [+bonus points if you explore/hint at a following 'reincarnation!' lol] Like, yea it's a little cliché, but still powerful if well-executed, especially if you have the right music playing. ;D
It'd be cool if someone could draw/write/animate this, and it would be even more awesome if you found a matching song!
(December 17, 2021 - 1:22 am)
(December 17, 2021 - 6:44 am)
(December 17, 2021 - 12:24 pm)
(December 17, 2021 - 4:34 pm)
Serene shivered, pulling her cloak closer around her. Her boots clicked quietly against the stone street, steadily, purposefully. She looked at the moon, expecting it to comfort her, but tonight she felt only cold scrutiny, chilling her from the inside.
The market was mostly quiet, darkness falling over the tents and houses. A few people were out and about, taking a late-night walk or meeting a friend under the stars. A single crow stood cawing on a single orange tree. Serene held her lantern higher and turned a corner, descending a gray shadowy staircase hidden among the buildings and alleyways. Cobwebs brushed her hands and she shuddered.
Serene was a stranger in this town, and she had dressed as such, simple black clothing under a soft amethyst cloak, with nothing else with her besides a bag containing only the simplest of essentials and her lantern. She could not rely on magic here. The seasons heavily influenced a witch’s magic and Serene had trouble managing the switch between summer and autumn. More importantly, the locals had likely never seen a witch in all their lives, and she knew the unfamiliar bred fear which bred violence.
She’d left all her magic items aside from her charmed boots with Dusk, her best friend and her partner-in-crime. He was a charm cat, a cat who possessed magic and were often kept by witches. Most, like Dusk, were black, but charm cats could come in all every color housecats could.
The stairs began to curve, spiraling down into the abyss below. Serene didn’t know how far down she must climb before she reached her goal
(December 20, 2021 - 9:19 am)
Ooh, this is already so intriguing! Those mysterious vibes + magic got me hooked. :P
Do you plan on continuing? I'd love to see more!
(December 20, 2021 - 8:21 pm)
Thank you so much!!! I might.... I'm not sure yet, I'd like to but I have precisely zero ideas on how to move forward.
(December 22, 2021 - 11:34 am)
Fair enough, that's not unusual.
To get you in a direction you want, try to think; is this snippet inspired by anything in particular? Do you have any particular magic thingies, characters or plot-points you want to include but don't know how to? That might not be much, but it could also give you an idea of where you want to go.
If not, maybe you could just jot down some ideas like conflicts, cool abilities, or scenarios that could plausibly happen and talk it over to brainstorm? I'd be glad to let you bounce some ideas off me, if you want. :)
Alternatively, you come up with a reason as to why people in this world are so afraid of witches/magic. Are there any exceptions, who might become allies with Serene and Dusk? What about Serene's past? Maybe describe her experience(s) with magic, or how she's survived in a world so long that is against magic. Does that mean that there is a place in-tune with magic? Are there any people of note there? Say, a rival? A best friend? A mentor? And how does Dusk factor in with Serene's past? Are they trouble-makers, or only cause issues for others out of desperation? Serene seems to have some pretty wise knowledge; is she mature but street-smart, or did someone teach her? Where are they now? Has there ever been a big accident with Serene's powers, demonstrating how hard it is to switch between seasons? Maybe do a flashback to that, show-don't-tell style.
You don't have to consider/answer all of these, but they might give you an idea where to start the next part.
You have a great 'hook,' so good luck as you come up with the rest!
(December 24, 2021 - 8:10 am)
This is such a cool thread! I've had this idea in my drafts for like two months and never had the motivation to pick it up, so here it is!:
-
With a quiet sigh, Ermir took Dorian's hand into his own. The blonde dragged the curly ravenette with him, leading him to an empty and vast field, only full of grass and darnel weeds.
Dorian plucked out a darnel from the ground, holding it in his hand. The curly haired ravenette curled up into a ball, bringing his legs up to his chest and crossing his arms over his knees. He placed his head into his arms, staring at the ground. His bleached jean messenger bag hung limply off of his arm, still slung over his back and across his chest.
Ermir, on the other hand, placed his hands on the ground and leaned back, admiring the vast, almost setting sky and the endless field. The city was almost a blur in the distance. The blonde had his legs criss-crossed.
His fair skin illuminated under the small ounce of sunlight left before the sun hid behind a cloud. It was slightly cold, a brisk breeze in the air, blowing around the blonde's soft locks of messy hair.
"I want to leave this town," Dorian murmured under his breath, still picking at the darnel interlocked between his fingers.
"I do, too," Ermir agreed, still looking out to the vastness of the skies and fields.
-
I also have more, but a lot more shorter, pieces written between the two characters. A lot of it is just dialogue, though.
The basic plot is just two angsty older teenagers (who are probably around 17-18) wanting to leave the small town they're in and finally being free and happy. There's a few bumps along the way, but eventually the two find each other again. (Dorian needs to move away, and Ermir finds him after a year or two in a different town.) I don't have an ending plan yet, so uh.. Yeah! :D
(December 20, 2021 - 6:59 pm)
Wow, it already sounds so cool!
The slow, dusky-feeling of the setting sorta makes it really easy to get invested in the pair despite them saying a total of under ten words. I look forward to what else you have so far/will come up with I the future!
~~~
Also, having a bunch of unfinished drafts (perhaps, locked up in a doc somewhere)? So relatable. TwT
(December 20, 2021 - 8:30 pm)
Thank you!! I worked on trying to build up more plot and stuff instead of making very apparent characters this time. I usually end up accidentally focusing a lot of text over characters (and their dialogue) instead of the actual story, so I decided to make it a challenge! I'll probably be posting some dialogue soon because I have nothing else to do with it. :D
And yeah, I was going through my old Docs and found it and was like, "I totally forgot I wrote this."
(December 21, 2021 - 7:00 am)
The prompt was "Killing her softly with a song" -- I didn't get that far yet.
~~~~~
Yira smirked at the ship on the horizon, growing ever-larger, its outline ever-clearer as it seemingly rose from the sea --a phantom-like entity, with newly defined sails billowing like fledgling wings fluttering against their first sweet taste of sky.
The ship seemed to pull dark rippling drapes behind it, turning the sky into a pool of thinly-spread pinks and puffy lavenders and linty blues and citrus-tinged oranges, all laced with seeping charcoal-ground ink.
Yira let the cool dark waves lap at her, swallow the scales of her shimmering serpentine lower half and bury them deep and cold -- below the reach of the brightest human eyes -- alone, and waiting to be re-summoned.
She wriggled her newly-fashioned, chilled and still-asleep legs and smoothly raised herself up with the next big wave, onto the slick black slabs overlooking the ocean. Her sea-green eyes turned up once more to capture the last waning tufts of indigo and gold that filtered from the sky.
This was the eternal fleeting beauty at the grasp of a Seyreen.* It was a jewel to be worn upon her crown, displayed for any who dared to look. Placid, tranquil, serene; all fitting descriptors of the nonchalant ambience Seyreens practically summoned -- and emitted -- every day.
~~~~~
In case you hadn't noticed, Seyreens are basically Sirens, just spelled truer the the original Greek pronunciation. They are shape-shifter, primarily water-dwelling creatures and have magic, obviously.
~~~~~~~~~~
I never got a chance, or enough motivation, to finish this one. I get distracted too easily. :P
(December 20, 2021 - 8:51 pm)
Woah! This is so cool!! The setting is amazingly written and I adore your writing style! I absolutely love your take on this prompt! It's so creative!
Also, it's very relatable to get distracted easily. That's what happens to a good majority of my unfinished work. ("_ _)
(December 21, 2021 - 7:04 am)
Thanks, mate!
~~~
And yeah, there are so many half-started ideas jotted down somewhere that'll probably never go anywhere with me. But that's why I started this thread!
(December 22, 2021 - 7:56 am)
Two characters on some quest or journey. One of them (Joe) dies, or so the other (Aera) thinks, and Aera returns home but is very depressed, she takes no pleasure in life anymore, etc. Joe, however, was actually rescued by elves or something who nurse him back to health and train him and everything, and then one day he hears about Aera being all sad and returns for her.
(Genders and names can be changed, of course, and this could totally be romantic or platonic.)
"Every once in a while I do think things through, just to throw people off."
(I don't even know)
(December 21, 2021 - 10:45 am)