r/WritingPrompts • u/Physical_Ride7652 • 11h ago
r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 1d 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 • 1d 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/Despyte • 12h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] As the Demon King closes in on the wounded warrior, the mage stops annihilating the small fries, the paladin stops smiting, the druid is once again human, and the artificer turns his backpack upside down. A shared grin spreads on their faces, eyes locked on the warrior. 'Let's make a god.'
r/WritingPrompts • u/HairyHorux • 8h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] "With your powers, you could be a superhero!" "I could I guess, but I'm much more interested in studying them to figure out how they violate the known laws of physics and if the effects can be replicated without me."
r/WritingPrompts • u/BasalTripod9684 • 21h 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/RevolutionaryDelay35 • 6h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Your a healer who picked up a necromancer as an apprentice. Turns out being able to cast death spells quickly and accurately is very helpful for dealing with diseases and cancer. Your still trying to teach them not to revive dead patients as zombies though.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Celestial_Spade • 3h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] It’s your best fiends birthday tomorrow, but you have no idea how old they’re turning. You’d thought it would be funny to put an absurd amount of candles on their cake. When the cake is brought out, they look at you with terror and ask “How did you know how old I really am?”
r/WritingPrompts • u/OdysseyPrime9789 • 18h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You and your spouse, who was of a species with longer lifespans than Humans, had expected your Soulbond to mean that the two of you would only live as long as the average Human. Even your children had come to accept that. Then you two woke up and realized it was your eldest's 200th birthday.
r/WritingPrompts • u/AquaPirate3010 • 13h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] "You killed so many of my men to get here...why not me?" "Because," the hero's bloodshot eye twitches, "I'd be just like you then."
r/WritingPrompts • u/Crystal_1501 • 50m ago
Off Topic [OT] What's with all the dolphins are sentient/smarter than humans prompts lately?
It doesn't bother me, I'm not here to rag on this type of prompt, it's just a weirdly specific thing to be seeing a lot of lately lol
r/WritingPrompts • u/Straight_Attention_5 • 1h ago
Established Universe [EU] Harry Dresden has decided to take on two new apprentices. The reason behind this is because these two are special; scions with both wizard and magical creature heritage.
r/WritingPrompts • u/MEAH1 • 13h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] A fae's shock slowly turns to horror when none of their abilities seem to affect their guest, a cyborg.
r/WritingPrompts • u/reallygoodbee • 19h 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/Zygloman • 4h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You're a magical skeleton. One day, you find a regukar skeleton, and put its arm on the side of your ribcage as a goof. Except you find you can move it like it's always been your arm.
r/WritingPrompts • u/dont-mention-it • 2h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] After two months, you’ve broken out of your holdings and come to warn your family about the thing impersonating you. It turns out that they were aware that it was an imposter, they just liked them more than you.
r/WritingPrompts • u/ruiddz • 1d ago
Writing Prompt [WP] As a battle-worn barbarian, you've shocked many with your announcement: you've finally earned enough gold to pursue your true dream—not more bloodshed, but enrolling in the kingdom’s university.
r/WritingPrompts • u/JollyTeaching1446 • 5h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] you were considered the world's best actor, artist, and master of all things related to the arts you had always thought you were just very naturally gifted well that was before you walked into your home and 9 women with vaguely ancient Greek sounding names started yelling at you.
r/WritingPrompts • u/The_Keirex_Sandbox • 20m ago
Writing Prompt [WP] It was foretold that in Britain's hour of greatest need, King Arthur would return from Avalon. 3 things we didn't expect: (1) it would be after an alien invasion, long enough after that hope itself had died. (2) his knights came with him. (3) one knight was strangely.. (to be continued in post)
...strangely quick to learn new technology, rapidly becoming one of the world's top hackers in addition to being a knight.
And to clarify (sorry the prompt is so long), I just mean King Arthur returns NOT as a defender during the invasion, but after humanity is definitively conquered and people have struggle under alien tyranny for at least a few years. Maybe 1-2 generations. The trauma of the conquest is still within living memory
r/WritingPrompts • u/BrokenAssWebsite • 1h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] As you pull the legendary sword from the stone an old man who happens to be walking down a nearby trail happens to spot you unsheathing the blade. When he does the color drains from his face and he flees to warn the nearby village
r/WritingPrompts • u/Old-Section-3851 • 1h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] you're angry at a rich guy so you find work as his butler to commit as many microaggressions as possible while doing a good enough job you don't get fired.
r/WritingPrompts • u/ruiddz • 2h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] As a person in the US, it’s been nearly impossible to buy a house with prices skyrocketing. So when a mysterious portal offered a cozy cottage in a fantasy realm—no mortgage, no HOA—you didn’t even pack. You just stepped through.
r/WritingPrompts • u/GrantGorewood • 2h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You are an urban Explorer who heard rumors of a secret tunnel underneath your city and decided to explore it. The entrance is hidden in the city park, and though difficult to get to you managed to enter the tunnel. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, you find something that defies reality.
r/WritingPrompts • u/aflyinghippo5 • 4h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Aliens suddenly visited Earth, dropped off a city-sized black sphere, and left without making any contact. Accompanying the sphere is a message, translated in all known languages: "Please feed him when he hatches, thanks :)"
r/WritingPrompts • u/ruiddz • 15h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] They call you the greatest alchemist of the age, crafting miracles no one can replicate. The truth? You just maxed out your luck stat and throw random stuff together to see what happens.
r/WritingPrompts • u/DAMEN_CARMEN • 2h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] A group of kids decide to summon a demon for fun, naturally. But when they do, they find out that the demon they summoned is not scary or threatening, they're just annoying.
r/WritingPrompts • u/Defiant-Treacle2425 • 14h ago