Are you ready for this?
We’ve moved our traditional final round challenge to Round 2 of the Super Challenge this time, and we’re excited to see what you come up with. This round our writers will be combining two genres to tell their story.
That’s it, no character, setting, or plot restrictions except as demanded by the assigned genres.
Let’s take a minute to discuss what “combining genres” means. Each writing genre contains a few readily identifiable tropes. For example, fairy tales usually feature some combination of magical events, magical beings, a third child of a third child, a magical solution to an everyday problem, or talking animals. Detective fiction features a character whose purpose is to investigate a crime, often but not always murder. So if you were assigned to combine fairy tales and detective fiction, you might write a story about how your main character, Jack, the third son of a third son, is hired to solve the mystery of the loss of Queen Titania’s pet donkey and ultimately discovers that it has actually been transformed into the handsome prince who’s been helping Jack with his investigation.
Some tropes are not content or plot based, but instead are a writing style such as high fantasy (while all fantasy contains fantastic elements, high fantasy tends to be written in an over-elegant fashion, “wherein it is meet that the elven lords partake of their supper”) or satire, in which problems are explored in an over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek manner.
Take a minute to consider what characteristics your assigned genres have before you begin writing; you may want to make a checklist.
Pointed reminder time: Look. Up. Your. Genres. Hit that Wikipedia entry or other descriptive resource. Even if you know one of the genres well, even if your name is actually Ngaio Marsh and we assigned you “mystery,” it’s good to think about not only what you believe is in the genre but what your judges might be expecting to see. Both genres need to be easily identifiable, so think about which elements of the two will work together and which will not. Don’t go offroading with your genres. Sure, there are mysteries that don’t incorporate detectives, crime, or police… but this isn’t the time to be trying to write one. Stick to the main tropes for your assigned genres and let the interplay between the two provide the sense of freshness and innovation you’re looking for to show off your creativity.
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get to the prompt assignments:
Group 1: Steampunk/Picaresque
A few notes on your genres:
Steampunk is not cyberpunk or dieselpunk. Our judges know the difference and you should, too. You are free to include all the retrofuturistic elements you like and are not restricted to a particular time period so long as you remain true to the world style, aesthetic, and technological limitations of the genre. (With one caveat: we encourage, but do not require, you to challenge what can be the kneejerk colonialism of the genre.)
Picaresque comes from the Spanish “pícaro”, for “rogue” or “rascal.” This is a genre of prose fiction that usually depicts the adventures of a roguish hero/heroine (not antihero) of low social class who lives by his or her wits in a corrupt society. If you’re using the Wikipedia definition (and you should feel free to), we’re not looking for all seven elements here; like any genre, you should deploy enough of the tropes to make it recognizable.
Group 2: Science Fiction/Noir
A few notes on your genres:
Please restrict your definition of science fiction to future (near or far) scenarios and technology rather than magic or time travel. If we wanted alternate histories or fantasies, we would have assigned that genre! Of course you may need to slightly alter the course of world events to create the future you need, but do not set your actual story before the present day.
For our purposes this round, true noir and hardboiled fiction may be considered the same genre. You are not limited to a particular time period in deploying the style, nor are you restricted to a detective, suspect, or victim as main character.
Wait, wait, there’s more!
Don’t post your story anywhere on the Internet until after our judges are done and you get your feedback! But if you want to talk up the competition or live-tweet your writing process, use the hashtag #YWsuper. Just remember not to include identifying details about which story is yours!
Your essays 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. Don’t get disqualified on a technicality! We know it seems really useless at times, but all those rules have a purpose, from helping get your file where it needs to be to making sure you’re read anonymously and fairly.
We’ll be reading your stories over the following week, and then collating your scores and feedback. This means that you’ll get your feedback and the announcement for who’s advancing to the final round on Wednesday, November 8 (which will give our US writers something to think about besides voting results for a minute).
Email your questions to superchallenge@yeahwrite.me—we will not be reviewing other email addresses or social media for your questions over the weekend and we want to make sure you get the answers you need!
We hope you have as much fun with the prompts as we had picking them out. Good luck, and good writing!
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
