"Call and Response" Flash Fiction.
Every other Friday (when I'm not posting a "Dissecting the Short Story" post) I'll publish a new short story, definitely under 1000 words, probably under 500 words. Now here's the twist that gives the series its name... Each story will be based on a writing prompt supplied by one of my readers.
Here's how it will work. Every other Saturday I'll post a new request for prompts. The prompt can be anything at all. It can be a photo, a concept, a few words. Whatever. People will have until Noon Eastern Time on Thursday to submit their prompts. Thursday night/Friday morning I'll announce the winning prompt from among those posted. The following Friday I'll post the story inspired by the prompt.
I know that's a lot of days to keep track of. Here's a concrete example. This is the first request for prompts. I'll pick the winning prompt on Thursday October
Oh, yes... I've used the word "winning" a couple of times. That's not just a "hey, feel good about yourself, I picked your prompt" type of winning, either. The person who submitted the prompt which I select will receive a $5 Amazon gift card as a prize for having a great prompt. (See, I'm sneaking in the "contests" that 25% of the people voted for in the poll...)
So, readers, think up some killer prompts and you could win a few dollars and see your prompt turned into a honest-to-gosh flash fiction. The first round is open NOW! I'm looking forward to seeing the creative prompts my readers come up with.
A bit of fine print: All rights to the story created based on the prompt will be held by the author of the story. The $5 prize is only available to people with an Amazon account to which I can send the prize electronically. I reserve the right to add more fine print to future versions of this activity if I feel the need to do so. (Though I sorely hope I don't need to.) There are no guarantees that I will continue to run this activity beyond the currently-posted Request for Prompts. (Though I sorely hope that it will be fun for us all and that I will want to do so.)
Attacking 2 for one with a prompt contest...how cool. Thanks so much for doing this. Now to make my brain work. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteHi, Angela! Thanks for dropping by.
ReplyDeleteRemember, the prompt can be anything at all -- it doesn't have to be complex unless you want it to be. It could be a picture, or a song, or... Well, whatever. :)
Sounds like fun - contest and productivity rolled into one. :)
ReplyDelete-Nellie
After talking to some people, I think maybe I was too vague somewhere.
ReplyDeletePlace your entries right here, as a comment, by Noon Eastern Time on Thursday 10/27. That's all you have to do to enter! :)
Sounds awesome. I'm game! How about this?
ReplyDeleteA child finds a candlestick in the gutter on her way home from school.
David, thanks for your entry! I like it. (And a good thing, too, since if no one else enters, it's the one I'll be doing!) ;-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/images/screen/heic0506a.jpg
ReplyDelete:) Enjoy
Time's up! Thanks for the two entries. I'll announce the winner later today.
ReplyDeleteI announced the winner in a separate post, but for the record, I'm going to use David's prompt. I also liked the image prompt provided by scribblingpencil.
ReplyDelete