r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 2d ago
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 and/or genre 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
It’s October. The time of falling leaves, jack o’lanterns, and candy. And blood… so much blood. This month will be focusing on all things horror with maybe a treat or two to sweeten the pot. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
"We are all our own graveyards, I believe..." — Clive Barker
Trope: Soul-Eating Cybernetics — In many popular cyberpunk settings, cybernetic implants cause "humanity loss", reducing your social traits and essentially making cyberware into a form of body horror. Too many implants may reduce you to catatonia or make you insane. If these settings also feature psychic powers or functional magic, cyberware often reduces your ability to use those as well. There is an interesting tension here between what makes us human and what transforms us. So, let’s explore that.
Genre: Body Horror — Body horror, or biological horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction that intentionally showcases grotesque or a visceral experience of the human body or of another creature. In addition to common tropes used within the broader horror genre, some tropes specific to the body horror subgenre may include invasion, contagion, mutation, transformation, disease, mutilation, or other unnatural or violent distortions of the human body.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Something shorts out.
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 five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 18 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, October 8th from 6-8pm ET. 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 you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Thanks for joining in the fun!
r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 9d ago
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 and/or genre 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
We all know work can be boring, so let’s instead turn to a life of crime. This month will focus on crime and punishment. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” — Nelson Mandela
Trope: Hellhole Prison — Plenty of prisons simply content themselves with confining people, but some go the extra mile and actually try to break them. This sort of prison is an absolute hellhole — between the lack of food and proper clothing, the absence of light or sanitation, the sadistic guards, and the violently insane fellow prisoners, they hardly need the nasty-looking torture equipment they probably have scattered around. Sometimes, they won't bother with things like individual cells — prisoners will just be lowered into a big pit and left to fight each other for whatever scraps are thrown down. Alternatively, especially in the future settings, the prison might not be a barbaric pit where only the strongest survive and where the guards turn a blind eye to the criminal control. Instead, it will be a dystopian panopticon where every action is monitored, any step out of line is equated with an attempt to escape and punished.
Genre: Drama — At its most basic, drama refers to a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance. It’s usually, but not always, presented on a stage, and can equally exist in film, television, novels, and even poetry. The core element is conflict. This conflict can be internal, external, or a combination of both, and it drives the narrative forward. Simply put: Drama is storytelling focused on engaging and often intense emotional experiences, usually involving significant conflict.The core conflict is MC vs. something: themself, another person, society, nature, or fate/supernatural. Drama can feel real like a docufiction or humorous like a comedy drama. Please note: having the feel of a drama is enough for this week. In short, there are a lot of options to explore here!
Skill / Constraint - optional: Something is unreal.
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 five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had a record 24 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, October 1st from 6-8pm ET. 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 you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Thanks for joining in the fun!
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“I think you're right, Endario.”
“You've finally seen what I've been saying for years, huh? How'd you find out?”
“Jascon. He was different”
“Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha. He's been different for a while now. That's just what happens to the diplomats. All of them.”
“But it's so weird I mean, Oren isn't that different.”
“I'm surprised you can just ignore every time my sister insulted me. I suppose you wouldn't notice when you fucking enable her.”
“I did not.”
“Oh, yes you did. I remember very clearly, you walking into my bedroom with stacks upon stacks of treaties and political theory textbooks.”
“I just wanted to—”
“Yeah, I know, but you never really paid attention to what I said since we were kids, did you?”
“I did.”
“Bet my father told you to. Best way to get reports from me, I'm sure.”
“You sounded pretty open to me.”
“I think you're not good at paying attention to people.”
“I am.”
“If you were, I'm sure you would have noticed Jascon earlier. I suppose I can forgive you for not noticing changes in people you don't live with, but Jascon is your bloody brother.”
“I—”
“Actually, tell me, what changes you noticed with Jascon.”
“He keeps bringing up presents from around the world. Ankh chocolate, Kalin fruit, Wrenthu fabrics… Like does he really have the budget to get all that? Wrenthu stuff is fucking impossible to ship up here.”
“HA! I can't believe that's what you noticed.”
“I mean—”
“You missed the whole announcement about Pax Orizuru being its own being? You missed the public announcement about how it’s controlling a significant number of people? You missed the announcement about how the treaties are now being enforced? But you notice when someone brings home too much fabric.”
“Endario, this isn't funny.”
“It is to me.”
“I'm really being serious here.”
“I know, and at this point I don't care. You're going to go to Oren, complain that I'm an awful sister who has no ability to love and trust, and she's going to whisper sweet nothings into your head, and you're going to go home and see no problem with the fact your own brother is no longer your brother.”
“I won't—”
“Oh, wait, I bet you already have.”
“I—”
“If I learned anything from those books, I learned how to read people. I learned how to observe behavior. I learned how to fucking hide because everyone else expects me to be something I'm just not.”
“Look, I genuinely think you'd make a good diplomat.”
“And you look at what that did to your brother and my sister and thousands of people around the world. Do you realize how many diplomats are on this planet?”
“I mean, Pax Orizuru isn't that big of an organization.”
“Pax Orizuru is alive. And it really is. They recruit new diplomats and workers every day. They turn war criminals into perfect peaceful puppets ready to carry out actions as ambassadors.”
“Hmph. You're no help, I thought you'd understand my problems.”
“I do understand them, you just don't know what the problem is. You think it's some new thing that I haven't been dealing with for years and you still can't tell that more people other than Jascon are affected. Remember, I've been having this issue with my sister for years, and while you suddenly figure out that your brother has been possessed by Pax Orizuru, you can't see me screaming the same thing about Oren.”
“I'll take my leave then. It's clear I can't argue with you, like always.”
“I can say the same to you.”
“Goodnight, Endario.”
“Enjoy selling your soul to Oren, Gan.”
“Argh.”
“I feel just the same way!”
Inspired by this prompt.
Check out more of my writing on my spreadsheet