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Also, I’m a Robot Bunny
Or at least that’s what a kid just said to me. Kids are great, which I say from the very safe distance of only having to deal with them when I feel like it. I’m an excellent auntie. But that got us thinking: what two genres would you have to mash up to make a robot bunny character? Fable and sci fi? Urban fantasy and… um… ANYWAY. the point is that this round, you’ll be combining tropes from two genres to make a blended-genre story. A few tips and pointers about this round:
- Look. Up. Your. Genres.
- 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 noir stories that don’t incorporate crime, femme fatales, or hardboiled main characters… 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.
- You don’t need to include a group number on your title page; just the title, summary, and any applicable content warnings.
- If you’re frustrated, remember to check out our free workshops on analyzing genre prompts from May and October this year.
Ready? Here’s the prompt you’ll be swearing at us about all weekend:
Final round prompt
GENRES: Science Fiction; Buddy “Film”
Genre 1: Science Fiction is a technology (Not! Magic!) based genre that is set after the present day. For this round we are asking that you restrict your definition of science fiction to far (not near) future scenarios and technology. 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 going on right now to create the future you need, but do not set your actual story before the present day. How far is far future? Ugh, we know. It’s wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey. We’re sorry. Definitely not tomorrow or next week or next month or next year. Your world should not be solving the most pressing current problems using current technology. We understand that we’re all “living in the future” as far as classic sci-fi is concerned: we have robots and AIs and self-driving cars and space tourism. The world your story is set in should have significantly more sophisticated versions of those things (unless you’re positing a total societal collapse: dystopias are fair game!). Space tourism shouldn’t mean “Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies” (wow that sounds like a bad cover band) but should mean casual tourism like “oh did you go to Disney Universe or Mars on summer break?” Space craft should be able to do significantly more than what they can now: go to Mars casually, or be making regular Moon trips, or have faster than light travel. Get it? Got it? We hope so.
Genre 2: Buddy films (or in this case stories) are focused on close platonic relationships between two people working toward a goal. While the characters can be of genders that the other character would ordinarily be attracted to, romance is not the endgame. We’re not looking for UST or unrequited love here, we want buddies. Their interactions often feature banter, even if the movie isn’t a comedy. Buddy as a genre isn’t restricted by theme. That is, there have been buddy horror movies, action movies, kids’ movies, and so forth. On the other hand, we’re not looking for stories with a balanced supporting cast: the focus should be on two characters who know each other well enough to get on each other’s nerves, and who love each other well enough to be described, sometimes literally, as ride-or-die. We will note that we’re not directing you to Wikipedia because their list isn’t really trustworthy, but we know that buddy stories are more easily characterized as a list than by a description, so here are some classics:
- Animated: Road to El Dorado; Finding Nemo; Up!; Shrek; Toy Story
- Action/Adventure: Lethal Weapon; Turner & Hooch; Men in Black; Venom; The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Crime: Sherlock Holmes; Bones (early seasons); Rush Hour; Castle (early seasons); Wire in the Blood; Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam)
- Comedy: Blues Brothers; Thelma & Louise; Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure; Wayne’s World; Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
- NOT BUDDY FILMS: Ghostbusters; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; The Mummy (any version); Batman (not even Batman & Robin; they’re not equals); Black Panther
- BUDDY PAIRINGS IN THINGS THAT ARE NOT BUDDY FILMS: Threepio and Artoo; Han and Chewie; Mal and Zoe; Jay and Silent Bob; Fezzik and Inigo Montoya; Merry and Pippin; Bashir and Garak; Iron Man and War Machine; Max and Furiosa (ok, this one can loosely be called a buddy film, we wouldn’t be too mad, but the main focus isn’t the interplay between the two characters.)
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! You can also discuss your story in the judge- (and judgment-) free Super Challenge channel on Discord.
Your stories are due Sunday, December 5 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.
For the final round, the title page should include only your title, summary, and any content warning you think is appropriate. (No group number is necessary.)
Email your questions to superchallenge@yeahwrite.me or post them in the Super Challenge channel on Discord—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! (Also, we don’t want you to accidentally email your questions to a judge; it’s happened! Don’t be that guy!)
You’ll receive your feedback on Wednesday, December 22, and we’ll announce the winners on Friday, December 24, at 3pm US Eastern Time.
We hope you have as much fun with the prompt as we had picking it 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.
