r/WritingPrompts • u/Zak_The_Slack • 8h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] No one had been able to rescue the princess in the tower for years. Because of her sniper rifle.
53
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r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 3d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Evil Landscape & Gothic Horror!
9
Upvotes
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 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.
"The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls." — Edgar Allan Poe
Trope: Evil Landscape — The trope is where a cemetery, temple, forest, etc. is considered holy... to the forces of evil. Whether it was the site of great and terrible crimes, incredible bloodshed, unholy rituals to malevolent beings or other atrocious acts, the very ground itself and any surrounding lands are now cursed. Exact results vary, but the most common are that evil is stronger, good is weaker and things buried here don't stay down for long.
Genre: Gothic Horror — Gothic horror is one of the oldest of the horror genres. Darker, edgier and on the Romanticism end of Romanticism vs. Enlightenment (in fact, it quite literally emerged alongside the Romantic movement in the late 18th century as a reaction against the values of the Enlightenment), it tends to play on both the thrill and the fear of the unknown and places a great importance on atmosphere. It's usually heavily symbolic, sometimes even dreamlike.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Smelling salts are required.
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 11 stories, so we’re back to three winners. Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, October 22nd 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! 😊
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!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- Vote by next Friday at 11:59 AM EDT 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/katpoker666 • 10d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Undead Laborers and Folk Horror!
13
Upvotes
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 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.
"Humanity is mind-controlled and only slightly more conscious than your average zombie." — David Icke
Trope: Undead Laborers — When someone uses The Undead, such as zombies and reanimated corpses, as a cheap labor force for simple but time-consuming tasks, such as mining. From a business perspective, using undead workers is a very cost-efficient strategy: zombies and skeletons don't need to sleep or eat, never get sick, and are unlikely to spontaneously form undead trade unions due to lacking free will. As such, it is one of the least morally objectionable ways to use Human Resources, although it always depends on where exactly the dead are coming from and what the local culture considers desecration.
Genre: Folk Horror — Folk horror is a subgenre of horror that draws on folklore, rural settings, and ancient rituals to evoke fear and unease. It often explores themes of isolation, the supernatural, and the tension between modernity and ancient beliefs.Includes folklore elements, rural settings, and rituals.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone trips in some form.
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:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, October 15th 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! 😊
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!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- Vote by next Friday at 11:59 AM EDT 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/80s4evah • 16h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The genetically-engineered super soldiers were completely sterile - or at least, they were supposed to be. You are an officer in charge of a squad of such soldiers, and one of them has just requested maternity leave.
173
Upvotes
Repost of my older prompts.
r/WritingPrompts • u/lesbianwriterlover69 • 18h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You are in a duel to the death representing your gloriously refined kingdom of the posh elite Elves, you are about to fight a Human with no armor on, adorned in scars, who just ate a lemon before rubbing the juice in his eyes.
183
Upvotes
r/WritingPrompts • u/IAmOEreset • 7h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Many would assume that science and magic do not go well in hand. Wrong. Science can explain principles that can make magic better, and magic can bring forth new scientific ideas.
22
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r/WritingPrompts • u/Megamen1927 • 10h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] When a young person awakens their powers, the most common reaction is confusion and a fear of hurting others. When you awakened yours, the very next day, you punched a hole through a school bully’s chest—and it was awesome.
38
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r/WritingPrompts • u/lesbianwriterlover69 • 15m ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You are a writer, but not for storybooks, you write publicly accessible books on how to deal with eldritch entities, Fae, divine, and hellborn. How do you know so much? Turns out your family tree is very...diverse.
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r/WritingPrompts • u/RepeatOrdinary182 • 15h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The 8th princess and several other spare noble heirs have been kidnapped by the dark lord! But long before a hero arrives the young royal pushes the big bad off a balcony killing him. Now the orc armies bow to her, and the unwanted noble brats can't help but wonder "why shouldn't we rule?"
61
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r/WritingPrompts • u/90919293_ • 14h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] “Just give me shelter, clothing, food, and water, and I’ll be happy…” “…I find it somewhat rude of you that this is all you expect me to provide.”
55
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r/WritingPrompts • u/60s_timer • 7h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] At a point in your life, you may wonder about the life support for those who support yours. Who is the plumber to your plumber? The lawyer to your lawyer? The superhero to your superhero? No one person is truly independent in the world. You got the chance to personally ask that about your hero.
13
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r/WritingPrompts • u/Marquis_Phenex • 17h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You're a sorcerer who spent ten years going through a hit list of people responsible for torturing you and your family in an unethical experiment. You find the cruelest is now living quietly as a professor and responds by telling you to do anything to him but begs you to spare his students.
77
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r/WritingPrompts • u/QuakeRanger • 17h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You have remained the defender of your village for seemingly your entire life, though your work is thankless. In the midst of another attack by the empire, one of their troops falls to the ground, faceplate half-peeled back. You see yourself staring back, horrified.
77
Upvotes
r/WritingPrompts • u/Time-Weekend-8611 • 22h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Your magical specialization is unusual. You make a living traveling to places and setting up various magical constructs and equipment safely and properly for other magic users. You are the Installation Wizard.
205
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r/WritingPrompts • u/loopymon • 4h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] “So you had the option to add any animal part you wanted to your own body?” “Yup.” “And you chose one of those dangling rod things an anglerfish has on their head?” “Yup.” “….have you caught anything yet?”
4
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r/WritingPrompts • u/Papa_Juans_Pizza • 4h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You wake up one morning in your bed. You get up and start the day with every intention of going to sleep in that same bed at the end of your day. After a course of 72 hours, you finally fall asleep again, knowing you will never see that bed again.
5
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To the writers: Oh the places you'll go ❤️
r/WritingPrompts • u/MaxStickies • 15h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The gardener of a distant castle grows vegetables faster than anyone else, by quite some margin. A neighbouring lord promises a hefty sack of gold for anyone who can find out how.
36
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r/WritingPrompts • u/HEROwriter1 • 5h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You were a prisoner of war transformed by invaders into their own species. One year later, you’re somehow in charge of
6
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r/WritingPrompts • u/Kitty_Fuchs • 15h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Your superpowers are pretty strong, but there is a catch. They only activate when you are in mortal danger. You've been able to use your powers for a month straight now and you still have no idea what is actually threatening you.
32
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r/WritingPrompts • u/DuckLordOfTheSith • 11h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] Her name is Skye, and she has been granted ultimate power over all winged creatures. From the tiniest housefly to the mightiest hawk, all that fly are under her command, and will do ask instructed without hesitation. The problem is that she has a deep phobia of flying creatures.
14
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r/WritingPrompts • u/Sea-Phrase-1812 • 6h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] In post apocalyptic Britain, you found a dying forest to rest your head with your family, but while stepping on the wrong circle, everyone ended in a beautiful forest. You have entered the fae world.
5
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r/WritingPrompts • u/of_kilter • 6h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] The priest spins the barrel, places it against his head and fires. 1 bullet in a chamber of 6, and not a single time has it fired. With every shot, the priest is more convinced god is keeping him alive for a purpose.
5
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r/WritingPrompts • u/Megamen1927 • 18h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You’re a metal fan, and your dream is to form a rock band. While you’re searching for members, your three younger sisters decide to give it a try—and they turn out to be surprisingly good.
43
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r/WritingPrompts • u/LetsTryAnal_ogy • 10h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] You were cursed with immortality and lived to see humanity destroy itself. You've even lived long enough to watch a new species gain intelligence and wipe itself out. That was a hundred thousand years ago. Now, you're awakened by a voice asking: “Hello? Is anybody here?”
9
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r/WritingPrompts • u/younGrandon • 10h ago
Writing Prompt [WP] I run, duck, and scramble for cover as streams of crackling energy streak past my head, scorching everything in their path. “What happened to the estimable, the oh-so-great and powerful sorcerer?” my pursuer mocks as they give chase.
7
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