Quick Six: Species
Six quick writing prompts (who, what, when, where, why, and how) to inspire your own narratives. This week's theme: species.
Welcome to another wonderful Saturday and an all-new Quick Six! In this weekend exercise, I lay out six prompts — a who, a what, a when, a where, a why, and a how — to help you with your world-building! These prompts are based on the weekly theme, species, and I’ve used The Story Engine Deck to help construct them. I’ve also included a few trigger questions about as springboards for your imagination.
Quick Six Weekly Challenge 9/14/24
This is a self-improvement challenge. The goal is to think in new ways and incorporate new ideas that you might not normally consider. Write a piece of short fiction or a world-building article on one or more of the following prompts. Don’t forget to share with me; I’d love to see how other people have fun with these!
Who
Write about a criminal who is known for working with/as an animal. Might this person be a horse thief or cattle rustler? Someone known for escaping the pursuit of dogs? Or, maybe someone has trained an animal to help with their crimes?
What
Write about a flower that was affected by a disaster. Maybe the fruit trees lost all of their blooms in a late frost? Could a prize rose bush have been destroyed by a bug or fungus? Perhaps someone with a flower name was washed away in a flood?
When
Write about the time when a young explorer re-discovered a species considered extinct. How does the explorer react? How does the world react? Does the explorer even tell anyone? Why was the species thought lost? How did it survive?
Where
Write about where to find a living species mistaken for a ghost. Maybe in a graveyard, or haunted house? Perhaps at the bottom of the ocean? In a cave, deep underground?
Why
Write about a species considered to be unlucky and why it has that reputation. Was it the sigil of an evil house? Is it somehow toxic, venomous, or poisonous? Is it the known — or suspected — form of some evil, supernatural being?
How
Write about a species with an important use. How is it used, and what makes it so important? Is it a staple food source? A medicinal herb? A source of building material or economic development?
Coming This Week:
Sunday: New week, new theme: Organizations in world-building.
Monday: Institutions of Learning
Tuesday: Guilds
Wednesday: World-building Wednesday and a new edition of Ask the Bard! Don’t forget to join me LIVE on Twitch at 4:30 pm Eastern (1:30 Pacific, 9:30 UK) for live discussion about YOUR world-building topics!
Thursday: Progress on my competition article, School of Cat; on World Anvil. That’s where the magic happens!
Friday: Fiction Friday will see a new installment of The Graveside Letters of Jolene Williams. (Link will take you to the index for this serial prequel to my WIP, Cornfields of Avalon.)
Saturday: Another fun Quick Six, theme Species!!
Excellent prompts to get the grey cells working…thank you for sharing.