[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Folks, I know we’re not supposed to call this the Day the Internet Died but let’s be serious, here, there’s been a lot of ups and downs. Round Two writers, your group assignments hopefully came by email earlier today, so go ahead and scroll down to get your prompt!
In the meantime, let’s talk about Round One for a second. We had some great stories! Other stories had great ideas but fell victim to those classic ills of storytelling: the comma splice, the misplaced modifier, or just “writing to the prompt I wish this had been instead of the one it really was.”
If you’re frustrated with your placement or feedback, trust us, we know there’s no real way to let you know in three to five sentences where you’re struggling but we tried. This is a great time to make some new friends over in our coffeehouse. Sometimes when we – ok maybe it’s just me – get feedback, it’s hard to hear because we’re too close to our stories. We know what we meant to say, and we can’t isolate ourselves from the storytelling process enough to really drill down and figure out if we conveyed that to a reader who doesn’t know what’s in our heads. If you’re struggling to link up your feedback to the context of your story, grab some friends and see if they can make the connections you can’t! There’s no substitute for a writing group that’s familiar with your work and has the time to really explain what they see – and don’t see – in your story.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Who’s ready for the prompts?
This round, our writers will be working with a character and an event. The character is shown in an image, and the event is described. A few tips and pointers about this round:
The image prompt is NOT the plot of your story. The person depicted in the image must, however, be a character. It is not necessary to make them the main character, but they should be important to the plot. They do not need to be wearing the clothing or taking the action shown in the image; use these things for clues to what you think their personality should be. Remember, just because you have a picture to work from, you’re not off the hook for describing your characters – any of them. A reader who sees the picture after completing your story should be able to immediately identify which character the picture represents.
The event also does not need to be the plot of the story, but it must be important enough to your story that the plot could not happen without it. That is, if your event is “finding a ring” you could write a story about burglars breaking into a house to steal jewelry, a couple shopping for the perfect engagement ring, or – if and only if your name is JRR Tolkien – a really short guy in a cave stumbling over a magic ring of invisibility with an inscription inside. If, however, your main character shoves the ring into their pocket five words into the story and then we never hear about it again, that’s probably not enough.
There are no genre or setting restrictions.
So let’s check out those prompts:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
GROUP ONE
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”30944″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
File a complaint
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GROUP TWO
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”30943″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
Stumble over a body
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Wait, wait, there’s more!
Your stories are due Sunday at 10pm US Eastern Time. Remember to check the rules for formatting, including all those fiddly details like title page, font, and filename. I know it seems really useless at times, but all those rules have a purpose, from helping get your story where it needs to be to making sure you’re read anonymously.
We hope you have as much fun with the prompts as we had picking them out. Good luck, and good writing![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
