r/WritingPrompts • u/ruiddz • 7h ago
r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 22h ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Space Is Air & Sci-Fi!
Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!
How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)
Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.
Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.
You can then either use or subvert the trope in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).
To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!
Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.
Next up… IP
Max Word Count: 750 words
This month, we’re exploring the four elements that the ancients believe made up the world: air, earth, fire, and water. A fifth element, aether, was later added to explain space or the void. These elements were common across a range of cultures and religions. Besides the common concept of the classical elements across geographies and time periods, the association with the human body was also shared. Hippocrates for example tied the elements to the four humours: yellow bile (fire), black bile (earth), blood (air), and phlegm (water). The Hindus believe that all of creation, including the human body, is made of these five essential elements and that upon death, the human body dissolves into these five elements of nature, thereby balancing the cycle of nature. They also associate the five elements with the five senses. In Buddhism, the four elements are understood as the base of all observation of real sensations and is later tied to traditional Tibetan Buddhist medicine. There are many other examples of these and other parallels.
So join us in exploring the classical elements. Please note this theme is only loosely applied and you don’t need to include an actual element in each story.
Trope: Space Is Air — We begin with the element of air. Even the Ancients knew space wasn’t air. When Aristotle added aether as the fifth element, his reasoning was that whereas fire, earth, air, and water were earthly and corruptible, since no changes had been perceived in the heavenly regions, the stars cannot be made out of any of the four elements but must be made of a different, unchangeable, heavenly substance. And yet, somehow many sci-fi stories have spacecraft acting like aircraft by banking into turns, having engines firing at all times, and having wings when they serve no purpose in space. How have we regressed so much in so short a time?
Genre: Sci-Fi — A genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life.’
Skill / Constraint - optional: Include Air Quotes
So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!
Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!
Last Week’s Winners
PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top three stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, April 10th from 6-8pm EDT. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Ground rules:
- Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
- No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
- Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!
Thanks for joining in the fun!
r/WritingPrompts • u/MajorParadox • 6h ago
Off Topic [OT] SatChat: What books from your childhood still have an effect on you today? (New here? Introduce yourself!)
SatChat! SatChat! Party Time! Excellent!
Welcome to the weekly post for introductions, self-promotions, and general discussion! This is a place to meet other users, share your achievements, and discuss whatever's on your mind.
Suggested Topic
What books from your childhood still have an effect on you today?
(Repeat topic; feel free to suggest more!)
More to Talk About
- New here? Introduce yourself! See the sticky comment for suggested intro questions
- Have something to promote? (Books, subreddits, podcasts, etc., just no spam)
Suggest topics for future SatChats!
Avoid outright spam (don't just share, chat) and not for sharing full stories
r/WritingPrompts • u/BasalTripod9684 • 3h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] A vampire, turned against their will, despises the idea of feeding in humans, and so makes a hard living out of hunting game for blood instead. After decade of this, while hunting for deer, they come across a pair human vampire hunters who've never met one like them before.
r/WritingPrompts • u/OfficerLollipop • 7h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] While the rest of the world is dealing with the zombie apocalypse, you live in a country that's been impossible to get in or out pretty much for its entire existence.
r/WritingPrompts • u/ruiddz • 6h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] “Wait—so elves live long because they’re basically zombies, their ‘connection to nature’ comes from some ancient virus, and their good looks are just advanced plastic surgery?”
r/WritingPrompts • u/Null_Project • 3h ago
Simple Prompt [SP] "Random question, what is your preferred way of burial? You know just in case."
r/WritingPrompts • u/Straight_Attention_5 • 7h ago
Simple Prompt [SP] “Just because the Fae cannot lie does not mean we cannot tell when someone else is lying.”
r/WritingPrompts • u/Sweetie61 • 48m ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Reality is thinner in some places than in others. You come to that realization when coming face to face with yourself on a train.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Kitty_Fuchs • 4h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The princess is also a knight and one of the best generals in the kingdom. This is a well-known fact and she is the pride of the kingdom, even if the neighbouring kingdoms mock them for it.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Not_Really_A_Tree • 5h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The prophecy foretells: "in the day in which one shall find a McDonald's with an ice-cream machine that worketh, the apocalypse shall commence". You belong to a Secret Society that ensures all soft serve ice-cream machines stay out of order at each and every McDonald's. Today you messed up bad.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Glass_Evidence_8597 • 2h ago
Writing Prompt [WP]You were part of a project that sent you to a distant planet. When people there look at Earth, they see it as it was 30 years in the past. You have the most powerful telescope, and you spend most of your time watching your son grow up 30 years in the past. You're proud of him
r/WritingPrompts • u/IgnoreTh1sName • 20h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The adventuring party is now fully convinced that a cast-iron frying pan with a fire enchantment is the most versatile piece of equipment they can use.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Disastrous-Study-577 • 2h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You were a famous singer, absolutely adored by millions. When leaving a rehearsal one day you get kidnapped and killed by an insane fan. But you don’t stay dead, instead you come back as a ghost.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Not_Really_A_Tree • 7h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Heaven called on Hell for support. The dragons were too powerful! But after the dragon race was wiped out, only two royal dragon babies remained. The angels and demons took pity, and decided to reset dragonkind. Rechristening them as "humans", the two were raised by demons and angels together.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Ill-Competition-202 • 2h ago
Simple Prompt [SP] "I just learned how to turn anything into a devoted minion in under a week."
r/WritingPrompts • u/Defiant-Treacle2425 • 14h ago
Simple Prompt [WP] “No god or goddess caused what happened to you,” a god says. “It just… did.”
r/WritingPrompts • u/ruiddz • 7h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] As a knight, you braved monsters, traps, and trials to rescue the princess. But when you reach her, she smiles and says, “Well done. You’ve passed the test. This was only training. Now, I send you to face real threats beyond the kingdom. Use everything you’ve learned.”
r/WritingPrompts • u/Known231 • 4h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Your a vigilantte without powers, instead of developing tech to fight, you abuse the practical weakness of the heroes and villians powers. You defeated many in your time, but now both side found your home and are trying to recuit you.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Glass_Evidence_8597 • 3h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] In 1888, two outlaws lie in an abandoned town, awaiting their death at the hands of the federals who will arrive in less than an hour. They decide to break the ice and talk one last time, hoping to be forgiven as they pass on to the afterlife—if such a thing exists
r/WritingPrompts • u/reallygoodbee • 16m ago
Writing Prompt [WP] This sword can only be drawn as a last resort, when nothing else matters. When one's own life is worth less than the cost of vengeance. When she heard word of his death, she drew it without a moment's hesitation.
r/WritingPrompts • u/creativesinkhole • 8h ago
Simple Prompt [SP] You are adopted. Your foster parents are yourself and your best friend from the future.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Null_Project • 3h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] "It seems you are mistaken, that past, those memories, your experiences, none of them ever happened, at least not anymore."
r/WritingPrompts • u/Crystal_1501 • 6h ago
Simple Prompt [WP] Being a dragon isn't as fun as most people think it is
r/WritingPrompts • u/SaberfaceFan • 5h ago
Established Universe [EU] “Ben Tennyson of Earth. You have the ability to preserve life in all its forms. Will you join the White Lantern Corps?”
r/WritingPrompts • u/EvilNoobHacker • 37m ago