I love good guys

I've signed up for this year's hlh_shortcuts exchange (see my sign-up) and filled-in my "Dear Author" letter placeholder post (see my letter). Sign-ups close on October 19. Stories come due December 15. Minimum 500 words. I count 14 sign-ups right now.

(BTW, the AO3 system hiccupped -- as it sometimes does -- and dropped Randi from the tag set after she was properly loaded there. If you'd like to read or write Randi this year, please just include her in your request and tags.)

In my letter, I ran fill-tilt jousting at -- totally optional! -- crossover/fusion concepts and regular story scenarios/prompts for possible inspiration. I thought that a few of you might find some of them amusing enough to be worth sharing separately from the context of the letter? Here are excerpts:

( Possible crossover ideas )

( Possible story prompts )

Open for chatting about any of these open-ended possible ideas as ideas (separate from whatever my match may choose to do or not do). :-)

Something I always remind myself of when I'm not immediately clicking with a writing prompt -- that is, when I'm writing for myself or a challenge like FKFicFest, not when I'm gifting to an individual, of course! -- is that it's totally okay to turn the prompt around and around until it blossoms for me. I could straightforwardly fulfill the prompt on its face, or I could make it a red herring, a subversion, a reversal... as long as the end result recognizably shows the prompt's influence.

Just for example, the prompt "an unexpected event leads to chaos" can produce exactly what it says on the tin! Yet it could also produce a story centered on a character who fears (or hopes for) that outcome, regardless of whether the outcome happens. Or one where a character's meticulous preparations for every eventuality manage to avert chaos, or a character's overconfidence or carelessness results in a completely expected event causing chaos. The unexpected event and the chaos could be from a story within the story: a book or movie or play or game the characters enjoy. The event and the chaos could be tiny, local, personal, domestic, or enormous, global, social, public. Maybe everyone except the character totally expected the event, or maybe the character is the only one who expected it, and everyone else is taken by surprise. Or maybe only the character views the result as chaos, and everyone else finds it quite orderly, or vice versa.

:-) How do you brainstorm with writing prompts?

fkficfest prompt nominations are open through Saturday, April 15. We're up to 15 nominations by 6 community members (up to 3 each).

For mine, I think I've narrowed it down to these from which to choose, with thanks to Celli for all the lovely Poetry Month posts:

• "...in secret, between the shadow and the soul."--Pablo Neruda, "Sonnet CVII"
• a minor or original character must fill in for a major character
• "You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day / you are going to find yourself again."--Finn Butler, "Saltwater"
• unexpectedly wakes up in the trunk of a car
• "Do something with your brokenness."--David Hernandez, "Sincerely, the Sky"

We have through Saturday to nominate prompts for fkficfest '22. Anyone may nominate! (It's not a commitment to play.) Yet we may each nominate only up to 3 prompts.

So here (below) are the prompts I'm toying with. What do you think? (If any spark ideas for you, by all means, adjust them as you like and run with them!) (And please do nominate, if you haven't yet!)

( 15 possible prompts! )

As you know, we're nominating fkficfest prompts this week. Take a look. Every community member is invited to nominate! You don't need to be planning to play! (Though of course it would be lovely if you played.) Your idea may be exactly the one we need. ♥

We get to nominate 3 prompts each. I haven't yet settled on mine. These (under the cut) are what I'm picking from: ( some possible prompts )

What do you think?

Addendum, Friday, 7pm: I've now made my 3 nominations (sudden death, a moment of truth, interrupted by a disaster). If you happen to want to riff on any of the others, you're welcome to them!