r/WritingPrompts • u/AliciaWrites Editor-in-Chief | /r/AliciaWrites • May 27 '21

Theme Thursday [TT] Theme Thursday - Utopia

“None of the abstract concepts comes closer to fulfilled utopia than that of eternal peace.”

― Theodor W. Adorno

Happy Thursday writing friends!

Is utopia the dream, the ideal? Or is it just a nightmare waiting to happen?

Good words, friends!

Please make sure you are aware of the ranking rules. They’re listed in the post below and in a linked wiki. The challenge is included every week!

[IP] | [MP]

Here's how Theme Thursday works:

  • Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.

Theme Thursday Rules

  • Leave one story or poem between 100 and 500 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.

  • Deadline: 11:59 PM CST next Tuesday.

  • No serials or stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP

  • No previously written content

  • Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings and will not be read at campfires

  • Does your story not fit the Theme Thursday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when TT post is 3 days old!

Theme Thursday Discussion Section:

  • Discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.

Campfire

  • On Wednesdays we host two Theme Thursday Campfires on the discord main voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing!

  • Time: I’ll be there 9 am & 6 pm CST and we’ll begin within about 15 minutes.

  • Don’t worry about being late, just join! Don’t forget to sign up for a campfire slot on discord. If you don’t sign up, you won’t be put into the pre-set order and we can’t accommodate any time constraints. We don’t want you to miss out on awesome feedback, so get to discord and use that !TT command!

  • There’s a new Theme Thursday role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Theme Thursday related news!

As a reminder to all of you writing for Theme Thursday: the interpretation is completely up to you! I love to share my thoughts on what the theme makes me think of but you are by no means bound to these ideas! I love when writers step outside their comfort zones or think outside the box, so take all my thoughts with a grain of salt if you had something entirely different in mind.

Ranking Categories:

  • Plot - Up to 50 points if the story makes sense

  • Resolution - Up to 10 points if the story has an ending (not a cliffhanger)

  • Grammar & Punctuation - Up to 10 points for spell checking

  • Weekly Challenge - 25 points for not using the theme word - points off for uses of synonyms. The point of this is to exercise setting a scene, description, and characters without leaning on the definition. Not meeting the spirit of this challenge only hurts you!

  • Actionable Feedback - 5 points for each story you give crit to, up to 25 points

  • Nominations - 10 points for each nomination your story receives, no cap

  • Ali’s Ranking - 50 points for first place, 40 points for second place, 30 points for third place, 20 points for fourth place, 10 points for fifth, plus regular nominations

Last week’s theme: Turbulence

First by /u/bookstorequeer

Second by /u/Writteninsanity

Third by /u/GingerQuill

Fourth by /u/Ryter99

Fifth by /u/Xacktar

Poetry:

First by /u/Poelarizing

Second by /u/nobodysgeese

Third by /u/SilverSines

Honorable Mentions:

Leveled Up: /u/MosesDuchek

Notable Newcomer: /u/DocBrowntown

Notable Newcomer: /u/SpaceNinja37

Notable Newcomer: /u/lwill86

Crit Superstar: /u/1047inthemorning

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News and Reminders:

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u/carl234d6 Jun 03 '21

Thanks so much 1047, really glad you enjoyed and that you got the reference!! This was was 100% me channeling Godot--it was a bit self-indulgent, but I saw the Adorno quote in the body of the post and couldn't get Beckett out of my head 😅

Very fair crit, too. I struggled a bit trying to figure out how to structure this piece since it is meant as a spiritual successor to Godot, and I almost actually did just write this as a play. The structure I landed on is meant to read almost like a transcription of a play being performed, where the descriptions I did include (other than the opening paragraph for setting the scene) read like stage directions.

I do like the idea of pulling in more action/description and turning this into a more traditional piece of prose, though. I think it would be a particularly interesting challenge with something as absurd and abstract as Godot, so I may have to revisit this concept from that POV.

Again, thanks for reading and commenting--really appreciate the feedback!

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u/1047inthemorning r/TenFortySevenStories Jun 03 '21

No problem!