wordwhacker

February Writing Challenge: Day 16

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 04:05:27 GMT

I had a nice little writing session today - it was good to get gently swept up in it and just type away for 40 minutes or so. I also did a little preliminary D&D work with one of my players.

Bit of a wild day emotions wise - starting to do the real work of applying for housing, which is DRAINING. Going to take a few minutes now to get caught up on dishes and then... maybe a hot cup of miso soup for this post-storm night, and an early-ish bedtime. I can try, anyway.

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February Writing Challenge: Days 11-15

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 03:59:18 GMT

I missed a day! February 13, a Saturday. I just plum forgot.

I almost missed the following day as well, because I got it in my head that I needed to make up for it, and I was mighty tired. But I reminded myself that the challenge was for 10 minutes a day, which is doable no matter what; 20 minutes was more than I could handle. So I did 10. I'm not going to worry about it. I've done up to 45 minutes on live-stream writing group days, and I got back in the saddle after missing a day.

This week I have some other things to work on, such as D&D for Friday. But I think setting aside a good chunk of time for this would be nice, so I will try to do that on Wednesday.

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February Writing Challenge: Days 8-10

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 04:50:56 GMT

I! Started! Writing! The Thing!

Got about 800 words written, and oh man - listen, I love NaNo, but it is NICE to feel like I can take my time a little, y'know? Go back over a paragraph and feel out different things, read back and make little edits here and there. I poked at it for an hour and started to get a feel for it. I am not obsessing about whether or not it's perfect. It's not. But that doesn't mean it isn't good, or at least a good first go.

Now that I've got a bit of a start, I may try to give myself a little more time for the next few days until I get it done. But if not, I'll at least take a little time to either add on, or flesh out things that I encounter or make up as I go. (A couple of details and characters already popped into my brain... and also there may be another element to the ending now that I hadn't considered before. Interesting!)

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February Writing Challenge: Days 4-7

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 04:57:07 GMT

Since my work is being done elsewhere, I haven't been updating my progress every day. But I'm still plugging away at that first prompt of the year - it's been fun to take a little time every day to think through different aspects of it; flesh out the characters and their motivations, the shape of the story, themes. I think I want to build in a longer session at some point, because I'm getting dangerously close to wanting to take a stab at writing a draft. And that'll take MUCH longer than 10 minutes (and once I get going, I'll want to have time to sink into it.) Tomorrow's a bit stacked, but we'll see.

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February Writing Challenge: Day 3

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 02:33:52 GMT

More work on the same prompt, from January 1st of this year!

Felt a little disconnected today; I'd hoped to give myself a little more time and freedom tonight, but that's okay. I got some other things done, that I'd been putting off. I ate good food. I stayed on top of my dishes and such. I remembered that I need to give myself time to take a shower and read before bed.

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February Writing Challenge: Day 2

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 03:43:24 GMT

Bit of a tough day today - finding myself losing my temper a lot. It's not characteristic for me. Going to try to give myself enough time to actually sleep a bit early tonight, and do some reading.

Today's challenge was about 15 more minutes of fleshing out the same prompt as yesterday. I've decided to move the actual writing to a google doc rather than having it all cut up here. Today's theme was "the shape of the story" - where to start telling it, and what notes it hits. How long it will be. Still some more work to do in that regard, so I may come back to it tomorrow.

I'm liking the short approach - we'll see what I get up to tomorrow when I'll have about 45 minutes during Sarah's Create-Along Stream. (I may do some other podcast admin stuff during that, because I'm putting it off.)

All right. Hot chocolate and book time? I think so.

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February Writing Challenge: Day 1

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 03:22:24 GMT

New month, new challenge! I'm spending at least 10 minutes every day revisiting a prompt from last month. No other restrictions, as long as I'm working on it in some capacity.

Today, I did some additional brainstorming and character fleshing-out for my January 1st Prompt. Original post and prompt is here. Today's brainstorming is behind the cut!

( Read more... )

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 31 (THE LAST PROMPT)

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 04:06:39 GMT

My month of prompts is complete! That... both felt like a long time, and like it only just started. Time is weird.

I think I've decided to go ahead with a February "spend 10 minutes working on an existing prompt" challenge, which I might expand into longer sessions on Wednesdays and/or Fridays when possible at the create-along. I want to keep it really, really accessible, but with room to flex into a longer writing or planning session if I'm feeling like it. No restrictions on using a different prompt every day, or what kind of work I need to do on it. Anything goes.

And now... THE FINAL PROMPT!

JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST PROMPT:

An addict wants to escape a pool, but they must become what they fear.

This one feels fairly modern - I imagine an addict who is famous, maybe a recovering child star. Used to be cool. Still desperately wants to believe that they're cool, even though the coolness has been burned out of them over the past 20 years of drugs and infamy. And here they are again, stuck in some spa, "recovering". They are starting to realize that their time to go really hard and party is at an end; it isn't even enjoyable anymore. They just want... some stability. Some normalcy. They realize that they want to have a boring life. And they have to accept that they've become what they always turned their nose up at. Someone who isn't trying to have fun 24/7. Someone who is square as hell. What will people think? Of course, it's not as though they don't think they're washed up. Why would we try to please them?

And that's a wrap on the prompts! It's nice to have some things that I know I want to come back to - and, of course, the means to generate as many more as I feel like in the future.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 30

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 04:58:05 GMT

Wow. Second to last prompt.

Had a nice day today - some outside time and a little physical activity, good food, nice social times on a couple of fronts. Now I have a bread rising, and I'm feeling a little sleepy. Going to pull a quick prompt and then maybe think through some possible food for next week before making it an early night.

For the first time, I opened one of my expansion packs for the Story Engine: the Sci-Fi expansion called "Written in the Light of Strange Worlds." They say you can use this deck alone, or mix it with the original deck; I think I'm going to keep it separate for now. Let's do a little Sci-Fi prompt!

DAY THIRTY PROMPT:

An experimental pilot wants to unseat a politician with a hidden compartment, but the blowback will fall on their closest friend.

Okay, I want this to be a sort of mad-cap space adventure action comedy. What I need to figure out is what the friend does; maybe an aide to the politician, who enlists their childhood friend to be a pilot for hire. But they have ulterior motives, and essentially wind up kidnapping the politician, hoping to get a good price for their release. But there were more groups at play than they realized, and now both legitimate and shady back-door organizations are losing their shit. They're on the run. And their friend is dealing with the fallout. Ultimately the friend needs to decide if they're going to sell out their childhood friend, or - given everything they're learning now that this person's shady dealings are out in the open - maybe they help them get away with it, or at least make sure some change comes of this mess.

Needs some work in the details, but it could be fun. Very tired now - sleep soon.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 29

Sat, 30 Jan 2021 01:22:59 GMT

Three days remain! I have some stuff to do later this evening so it's prompt time now.

DAY TWENTY-NINE PROMPT:

A pensive researcher wants to upstage a rival in a forest, but it will cost them their physical health.

Okay this one wants to be a romance story at its core. Good old rivals to lovers. I like the idea of a slightly magical realism type thing: they're researching these enchanted woods, trying to find out what the source of their enchanted-ness is. Every time our character thinks they have a breakthrough, they find out that their rival is actually one step ahead. Finally our researcher decides that they're going to do some hands on research, perhaps at night; things that aren't recommended, particuarly for someone who isn't fit like an adventurer. They get lost, and their rival comes to their rescue - though maybe they get lost together and need to work together to solve the mysteries and get out. The white knight-ness fades when the rival admits that they have been spying on their work; they feel bad about it, though they're glad it at least let them know that the reasearcher was heading out so they could try to help. Maybe the researcher has to learn to be a little more open, and trust people; the rival needs to atone for being a dick, and start properly sharing the fame - and in a diffrent way, learn to work with others.

I dunno, it feels cozy and fun.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 28

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 01:35:02 GMT

Bit of a grumpy day today - not too bad, but just... a few moments of frustration, you know? But I went for nice walks and ate good food and I have laundry on. I'm taking care of myself. And after this, maybe a little reading and a video game.

But first!

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT PROMPT:

An unlucky god wants to establish loyalty through a letter, but it will turn them into someone they never wanted to be.

This just screams Terry Pratchett, right? The tone of it - this God trying to lay down the rules of worship in a letter, but they always just leave enough ambiguity to cause problems. So they keep sitting down every milennium or two to try to fix things and every time it just introduces a new problem. So finally they sit down to pen a letter that they hope will eliminate all possibility of people misinterpreting, or finding loopholes... and to do this, they basically became a lawyer. Bereft of the warmth and love they once wanted to shine down.

The structure of this one could be fun - almost epistolary, each letter just getting more and more grumpy as they have to correct peoples' misinterpretations and twisting. And there has to be a running gag, that can get called back at the end, after the full lawyer-ese takes effect.

Yeah, okay, this is fun.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 27

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 01:59:29 GMT

Getting close to the end! Let's just jump in, with a circle of fate!

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN PROMPT:

An overlooked politician wants to follow a path leading to a protestor, but it will mean betraying family.
A seductive protestor wants to control a politician, but they will have to betray a friend.

These always take a little longer to come together, but I like the dynamics. The politician who is maybe feeling like what they do doesn't matter. And then this voice comes up; this protestor, someone that seems to be speaking the language of the people. But when you're the star child, who made the family proud by taking on a more conservative political mantle... is it worth throwing away all of the good will you've built up not only with your constituents, but with your family? Would they disown you? Would their disappointment be enough to stop you from listening to what this protestor has to say and giving them a platform?

And the protestor... genuinely starts to like this politician, with whom they used to spar verbally. Who actually listened to them instead of parroting back talking points. Who seems to actually be taking in some of what they're saying. It's the power of being a seductive presence. And you realize that this politician is ripe for manipulation; you could gain a lot of ground by stepping on them to climb upward. But that would actually hurt them. They may be representing politics that you don't agree with, but they're not a right-wing monster. They're a person, and you know that now. They're maybe even a friend. So do you betray them?

No idea why that became a second person thing part way through, but here we are.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 26

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 02:48:42 GMT

Getting close to the end! I guess I'm going to have to decide what I'm doing in February soon. I like the short time commitment, at least for something I can reasonably expect to keep doing every day. Maybe I will take 10 minutes every day to work on one of the prompts - it can be a fresh one, or one I've poked at before. And it could be outlining, brainstorming, fleshing out the concept, changing things up and reworking things, or even writing a couple of paragraphs to get a sense of the style.

Hmm.

Anyway, prompt time!

DAY TWENTY-SIX PROMPT:

A tender punk wants to restore former glory with the help of a basement, but they will have to confront prejudice.

I'm getting another period piece here. Punk vs Disco, moving into the 80's, both are starting to be left in the lurch. But who will destroy capitalism, fight white supremacy, and be gay without punk and disco? I like the idea of keeping it a little larger than life, not gritty and realistic. A great basement venue just went up for grabs - and the two factions are vying for who gets to open a literally underground punk or disco themed club. The punks have the most prejudice to work through, but maybe if they can get past their outdated ideas about dancin' and fuckin' they can come together to STICK IT TO THE MAN? (Maybe there's a ticking clock element - the club is going to get bought and bulldozed to make way for... *shudder* CONDOS! Oh noes!)

This is very silly but I don't care.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 25

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 03:35:20 GMT

Decent day today, good mix of "got things done" and "specifically did not do things". And now, a prompt.

DAY TWENTY-FIVE PROMPT:

A tormented comedian wants to rise to the challenge of a benevolent letter, but they must accept a loss they have been in denial about.

I'm getting a bit of an 80's period piece feeling from this one. A comedian who is struggling with finding their voice. Maybe struggling with addiction as well, starting to feel jaded before they even really give themself a chance to get started. They're starting to shut people out. Part of this is just the struggle of that kind of life, just as the comedy boom started to bust. But they're also reeling from a loss, someone who was their biggest champion, someone they wanted to witness their success. Without them, is it worth it? They wrote a letter to us not long before they left; we haven't read it. We know what's probably in it. Words of encouragement. But if we open it, that'll be the last thing they give us. It might just break us instead of lifting us up.

For this one I'm mostly getting a sense of the feeling I'd want. The colour palette I'd want to evoke, the atmosphere of empty clubs and cigarette smoke and neon lights.

Anyway, that's enough for now. A few dishes and then some reading, by golly.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 24

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 05:36:19 GMT

Whoo, lot of stuff done today - and I found out that I'm going to be moving sometime before the summer (I'd been thinking about it anyway, but the universe gave me a wee kick in the butt about it). Everything's fine, I'm in good shape, getting a good reference, and I have LOTS of time. But it's still a bit of a curveball and I'm going to let myself be a bit thrown off for a bit. I'm allowed! (Also I may have edited my grocery order and added in ice cream and chocolate and treats. I'M ALLOWED! :D)

Anyway quick prompt because I'm feeling a little tired and I want to get to bed at a halfway reasonable hour.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR PROMPT:

A forgotten beast wants to create a masterpiece, but it will gain the attention of their enemy.

Oh man. Phantom of the Opera vibes on this one, eh? Maybe a Nosferatu-like vampire that earns their living by ghost writing. But they've been working on a novel that they want to publish THEMSELVES. Maybe their enemy is a Omegaverse Lady Whose Name I Just Remembered But I Don't Want To Type It kind of person - someone who has had their books taken down for "copyright infringement" and caused problems for the publisher. Since they're ghostwriting it hasn't affected them directly - but what if the two identities become linked? Will she try to have the "masterpiece" taken down by her army of fans once she has a target?

Anyway, I feel like there's something fun there. No more brain now. Sleep now.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 23

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 05:53:17 GMT

Oof, almost forgot today - but I got myself back up out of bed to get it done, because it would bug me to have finally missed a day! Quick though - need to spend some time winding down.

DAY TWENTY-THREE PROMPT:

A holy person wants to gain the power of a rejuvenating sacrifice, but it will turn them into someone they never wanted to be.

I like the idea that the sacrifice is meant to bring back youth in some way. Maybe they have been led to believe that the sacrifice will literally make them younger. Do they feel that they've missed the best years of their life in service of this higher power, which they always pretended to be able to hear in hopes that belief would make it true. But it never did. They tried so hard to believe, but it was always silence. And so this ritual might give them a second chance, to go live the life they feel they are due. But it involves taking a life; they have to slowly justify becoming a monster in order to carry out the ritual. But when they do it, they learn that the rejuvination isn't meant for them; it's meant for the power of this god. How it can be heard loud and clear, and the sacrifice becomes a martyr; meanwhile, he attempts to repent, but is put down by the order he once served.

That got all religious-y but it's all good. Bed!

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 22

Sat, 23 Jan 2021 05:15:11 GMT

Bluhhh SO TIRED. Just finished running a great game of D&D. Brain dead. Quick prompt.

DAY TWENTY-TWO PROMPT:

A rival wants to destroy someone's dream with/for a device, but they must reconcile with an old enemy.

Can't decide if the device is going to be the weapon/means for destroying the dream. Maybe a literal dream. Maybe it's a litte "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and wow I must be tired because I just "got" that title for the first time. Anyway. Maybe it's a recurring dream they've been having, something that haunts them, a memory of someone who hurt them. So they decide to purge the memory, but the only person who can do it is their old rival; the person we were in contention against to perfect the technology. We held the patent but couldn't make it work; they were able to swoop in finish what we started. Maybe that's what we want to erase. The knowledge of how close we were. Maybe we reconcile... or maybe it's one last jab, something we know they'll remember but we won't. The hurt they caused. It will be their cross to bear now.

That went places. It wound up being more interesting than I expected. Neat. Sleep now.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 21

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 03:44:56 GMT

Trying to be quick today - I have some more game thinking to do (running D&D tomorrow night) AND I'm getting up early so I can log off and have a little decompression time after work. So let's get to it! Going to do an "as they lie" prompt and just run with it.

DAY TWENTY-ONE PROMPT:

An imposter wants to bring despair with a scarred flag, but it will cost their self-respect.

The set-up feels straightforward enough to me, it's the conflict I'm having trouble working in. Maybe I'll make all of this a metaphor for something much more mundane and see what comes of it. An imposter... maybe someone with imposter syndrome? Or a con woman who is in over her head at a job she lied about having credentials for. A scarred flag could be... a brand? Maybe she got a job at a Google like place, a vaguely evil corporation, and has the opportunity to orchestrate a social media faux-pas that would do HUGE damage to the brand... but she'd never work in the industry again. Maybe not a huge threat since she's a fraud to start with - but of course being a woman there's the possibility that she'd be harassed about it, because people are garbage. How bad to things have to get before she decides it's worth it to go out in a blaze of glory?

That worked out all right! Now game time, maybe laundry or dishes time, and bed time.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 20

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 03:15:50 GMT

Twenty days! I feel like I'm heading into the home stretch now. Glad I kept this very constrained, it's been nice to have a little goal every day but not be crushed with a sense of dread and wasted time. Anyway, let's get to it - maybe another circle of fate tonight? (I have expansions that I will try to use before the month is up, too.)

DAY TWENTY PROMPT:

A holy assassin wants to gain freedom with a daredevil, but they must leave the familiar behind and face the unknown.
A peaceful daredevil wants to get revenge with an assassin, but they will have to endure something that repulses them.

This one took a little while to come together, as the "circle of fate" often does. It took some rotations and card swaps - and then the aspect cards helped me to put everything in place. It's pretty high concept at the moment, but I know one thing for sure: this is a lesbian love story.

Our assassin has only ever known the Holy order. They're the hand of the church, silencing people. The daredevil is... an adventurer, really, someone making their way in the world by taking risks others don't want to take. Their only rule is that they don't want to endanger anyone else. They were orphaned, largely due to a dark moment in the relatively near history in which the Church silenced a great many people. It's possible the assassin's family was killed then, too - their memories are fuzzy.

They meet, and fall in love (in secret, OF COURSE) and realize that the only way they can be together is to run away together, a terrifying prospect for the assassin who has never known any other life. But unless they destroy a philactery of the assassin's blood, they could be tracked. The keeper will need to be... dealt with. The assassin is ultimately prepared to do what is necessary, but she can't destroy it herself. It's warded. So the daredevil will need to infiltrate with her, and will need to be witness to the things the assassin will do. Maybe even participate. The church deserves it - hell, maybe they can leave some lasting damage. But since that night, the thought of witnessing it is... distressing. Can she see it through?

That one went a little harder fantasy than I originally thought, but I'm cool with it. Eleven days to go!

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 19

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 02:27:06 GMT

Tuesday! Strange day. Okay day. Nice call with my folks. No more mincing words - prompt time!

DAY NINETEEN PROMPT:

A ghost wants to stop being haunted by a date, but it will mean confessing to an old sin.

Okay, ghost coming up first and haunted after just makes me laugh. I love the idea of a ghost being haunted by someone - in this case, a date. At first I considered making it another ghost, but it might be funnier if it was a human that's now "haunting" the ghost that totally isn't into them. Maybe they're a bit of a ghost chaser, and at first the ghost was kind of flattered that the human was interested in them, and they hadn't been on a date in a WHILE, so... what the heck? But it isn't going to work out - they're not interested in the ghost as a person, but almost as a sort of fetish. So the ghost decides to take the human on a bit of a ride - really expose the horrors of ghosthood, lay bare the reason they're bound to this mortal plane, absolutely ham it up, try to scare the pants off of them. Only it doesn't work. This is exactly what they were looking for. Actually it turns out that just being honest and saying "I'm not that into you" is what works. Maybe the ghost knew that but also knew it would be harder to be honest. It's something they're working on. And the human backs off, and with a little tweaking... what do you know? They actually make pretty decent friends.

Fun! Now, audio editing, and reading, and relaxing.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 18

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 04:40:16 GMT

Mondays. This was a halfway decent one at least. Got more things done than I expected. And now to get a prompt done!

I'm going to try to make the story as small as possible. Miniscule in scope. It's easy to go big and epic with these cards - how does it do for tiny dramas of regular life?

DAY EIGHTEEN PROMPT:

A humble writer wants to save the world with/from a book - but it will make a hypocrite of them.

I'll probably go "save the world WITH a book" here - I can see this being a bit of a meditation about what it means to write. Maybe they used to write with wild abandon, but over the years they've learned more and honed their craft and... gotten stuck in a rut. Maybe it felt like success at first. Maybe they've been known to say things like "fanfiction isn't real writing" and other malarkey. But this idea for a story has been eating at them. It won't leave them alone. It's everything they had decided they didn't want. Overblown fantasy about saving the world. But it's the first thing that's made them get up out of bed and work on an outline in YEARS. So it's a story about... deciding that it's okay to be a hypocrite. Or that you can avoid being a hypocrite if you admit you were wrong and change your mind.

Simple and fun. And now, relaxation before bed.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 17

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 04:45:35 GMT

Bit of an odd day today - slow start, some emotions happening without obvious cause, a bit of struggle. But I was patient with myself and in the end I was able to get a lot done and still feel like I got some R&R in over the weekend. I'll call that a win.

Prompt time!

DAY SEVENTEEN PROMPT:

A leader wants to end an obligation to a secret artifact, but they will have to keep a terrible secret.

The "secret" aspect card here is pretty funny. I pulled this prompt by just taking each card at its original orientation. Overall I'm thinking of a military leader that is starting to have a change of heart about his country's use of an artifact of power. Maybe a ring of power. Oh jeeze, could this be LotR AU in which Boromir gets the ring from Frodo and brings it back to Gondor - and Faramir, realizing that his brother has fallen under the sway of the ring, decides that he needs to stop him. But can he kill his brother? Not directly; but he could find the people he travelled with, and help them to infiltrate and stop him. He would likely go down in history as being a traitor to his people; but better that than have them realize how close they had come to turning into a second Mordor.

Funny that a fanfic would come to me given the current Twitter Discourse (trademark, patent pending.) Anyway, it's close to bed time, so that'll do for tonight.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 16

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 15:37:03 GMT

Over the hump now! Doing an earlier prompt today so I'm not stuck doing one when I'm dead tired again. Bit of sun out today, so I will probably spend some time outdoors if I can.

All righty, prompty time.

DAY SIXTEEN PROMPT:

A misunderstood collector wants to save the world from an ethereal contagion, but it will mean risking the thing the most precious to them.

I'm glad the "etherial" card came up because it helped make the "contagion" card a little less... directly related to current events. *sweatdrop emoji*

What comes to mind for this one is a bit of a reclusive collector, not a young person, seen as an odd but mostly harmless outcast in society. In their youth they used to travel around, going on adventures and finding oddities; now they mostly stay closer to home, though travellers seeking to peddle interesting wares are directed to them to see if they can make a deal. One of their prized posessions - really more of a friend - is a gryphon they found turned to stone by a basilisk; they reanimated it and it's been their loyal friend ever since. Together they do a little subsistance farming (and a little hunting when necessary) and with that and a judicious use of coin they acquired back in the day, they live a quiet life.

The contagion's effects aren't noticed right away - it appears to make people fall asleep. The collector is safe for the moment, since he lives further away, but who knows how long it will take for it to spread across the land? He recently made a deal for an object that may have been cursed, so he feels responsible for what happened. But to fix it... that would require for him to go on an adventure. And he knows he won't be able to convince his gryphon friend not to come. He thinks that's why he's hesitant, but really, he's scared for his own safety. That's the thing that is the most precious to him.

... It's interesting how people start having pronouns in the middle of these. Anyway, that's the prompt!

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 15

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 04:18:48 GMT

Oooof, very tired, just finished five hours of D&D after work and almost lie down go boom time.

But first, proooompt!

DAY FIFTEEN PROMPT:

An invisible parent wants to ease a heartbreak with a performance, but they will have to keep a promise they have been avoiding.

I'm thinking of a bit of a "heart and souls" situation here, maybe not quite so campy. Maybe not exactly a parent; a guardian was another option on the card. They've always been there, nudging the world into being a better place, helping to foster imagination. Maybe they're there because the child needed the extra support. They lost a parent young, so much that they remember them with about as much clarity as their memories of this guardian who they can't see but can feel the presence of. They've been buoying the child, but because of this the child hasn't truly experienced the grief. So they help them one last time, as they get ready to take a chance and perform on stage for a school play - they want to do it so badly, but they're having difficulty connecting with the material. So as a farewell, the guardian helps them to start experiencing the emotions they've been sheilded from for so long through performance. And as the guardian slips away to leave the child, who will grow into an adult, they have a breakthrough - personally and on the stage.

That felt rambly but whatever - sleeeeeepy time now.

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January Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 14

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 04:47:30 GMT

Bit of a restrained-feeling day, but much better than the start of the week. Yesterday's day off work did wonders. Today was laundry day, and I'm patting myself on the back for actually folding and putting things away instead of letting stuff sit on the couch in a heap for half the week. Ate good food, did my dishes, went on three small walks; took care of myself. Sometimes maintenance feels like a lot, but it's nice to feel like I can keep up with it.

Anyway, PROMPT TIME. Let's do another cirle of fate to change things up, eh?

DAY FOURTEEN PROMPT:

A painter waints to gain freedom with/from a demon, but the innocent will suffer.
A demon wants to restore a memory of/with a painter, but it will cost them the world they know.

This one took a little while to fall into place; the details are still a little murky, but I think it might be fun to explore in a kind of high-concept way, maybe almost modernist. A painter entered into a deal with a demon, for talent, fame, success. Maybe they believed it was to keep the demon occupied, and if he breaks the deal, not only will he lose his soul but the people closest to him will suffer. But the demon knows the truth; the painter summoned him, and he has the power to banish him. The Demon, happy to be out of hell for as long as he can, slowly clouded the painter's mind, taking away the full knowledge of how the demon came to be with him, essentially gaslighting him into believing that he's trapped. But the unthinkable happened: the demon, having spent more time on Earth than many of his kind, started to develop... feelings. Empathy. Pity. Guilt. Maybe even... l... love?! And so he wants to let the painter remember the truth, so he can be free of the demon, but then he will get cast back into hell.

Melodramatic as shit, but it's fun!

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