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184rgreaterodds t1_j9hmm57 wrote

A story about a writer who has finished his book, the only thing keeping it from being published is an editor saying "I need a better title" everytime the writer submits one.

Constraint: Reveal the subject of the book through the series of title submissions only, and without directly saying the subject.

Direct Title Example: History of Mathmatics

Indirect: From Cave Walls to Calculus

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ineedabettertitle OP t1_j9hsxy6 wrote

"I need a better title." He simply said.

"You..what?" I replied, bewildered.

With a sigh he continued, "Look man, the publishing game is getting hard. New books on every subject are coming out at an ever-increasing rate. How many books do you think there are that are exactly like yours? Hundreds, if not thousands of carbon copies of your book. What you need is to be set apart from the rest. What you need is a better title."

"My title is fine." I responded defensively. "It works well, fits the theme. Like when have you seen a p-"

"It needs a BETTER title. Just listen to me. Your book is fine, it's obvious you're a good writer. Surely you can think of something else. Something...unique."

I paused in thought for a while, beforeI spoke again, "I had thought about using Growing Pains as a title. Maybe I can use that."

"It needs a better title! What are you writing about, pregnancy? Think of something good!"

"I don't know. Why does it need a good title anyways? The book is jus-"

"EVERY book needs a good title! I'm trying to help you here! A good title is the make or break moment in a book. The first thing a consumer sees! And you want to squander that opportunity with a mediocre title. I will not accept that!" My publisher yelled at me.

"Alright, alright. Well how about The Day the Starch Stopped Flowing?" I asked.

"What the hell are you thinking? Better than that!"

"Uhh...do you like, How to cripple a country in three easy step?"

"BETTER THEN THAT."

I started just saying what ever came to my mind first."Dinner will never be the same."

"IT NEEDS TO BE BETTER"

"1845: Tater-less and afraid."

"What the hell does that even mean? Honestly, I had high hopes for you. It seems to me that I cannot continue to be your publisher." He slowly said, while standing up from his chair.

Angry and upset I gave him one final title. "How about The silence of the yams?"

A look of shock, then awe appeared on his face. "Its...it's perfect. The pacing...the theming...the pun! Oh...this is amazing. I can envision it now. Millions of these books flying off the shelves. You...you, my good friend have found a better title."

He got up and shook my hand vigorously. And the deal was struck. I would have a published book, and my publisher would have a good title.

37

Koanos t1_j9hmefn wrote

Describe the concept of hope using eldritch horror.

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ineedabettertitle OP t1_j9hvh1h wrote

Drifting through the cosmos was to me, my sole purpose.

I could not do anything else after all, because there was nothing to do. I had long ago reasoned that there must be an end. For I had a beginning, and logic assumes that I must end.

But what pained me was the fact that I was here.

Why exist, if my life is devoid? Why did I occur? Why am I? These thoughts plagued my mind for eons, until I settled on an answer. Albeit, roundabout in nature. I was here to be. That is all. If the only reason that I am here, is to be here, then I am happy.

And so to fulfil my purpose, I wait.

My ending will come soon, and my purpose will be fulfilled. To have lived, and to eventually not. That is who I am.

But.

What if there is more? What if there are others? What if I'm not alone? What if my purpose is to discover another's purpose? If I exist like this, I can assume I am not unique in my situation. Others may be cursed to endure like me.

And so I drift. Past dying stars and lifeless asteroids. With a purpose. With a hope.

To be more than I am.

14

Fepl31 t1_j9hw4ql wrote

Write a story of someone growing up. Or getting older.

But you have to keep time expressions to a minimum. ("3 years later", "now, as a teenager", or similar stuff, should be avoided.)

The idea is to make it "feel" like time is passing, but without explicitly saying that it is passing, or by how much.

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passable_nerd t1_j9j0z9f wrote

(I'm not OP, but this sounds interesting. Gonna hijack)

​

I screamed and cried.

I calmed down in my mother's embrace.

I wriggled, happy to see new things.

I crawled. I reached for my toys and my parents.

I spoke. My parents were delighted.

I toddled, with help from father.

I walked. I moved myself without help.

I ran. I ran and played with friends.

I learned. Letters and numbers, skills and talents.

I loved.

I was hurt.

I loved again, despite the hurt. Despite the fear of more hurt.

I started a family.

I worked. I supported my family.

I saw my child, screaming and crying.

I saw them wiggling, crawling, walking, and running.

I helped them learn letters and numbers, skills and talents.

I grew tired, and stopped working.

I couldn't run anymore.

I couldn't walk without help.

I couldn't move anymore.

I couldn't speak for very long.

I watched as long as I could.

I felt my mother's embrace.

I left in silence.

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BurnedBadger t1_j9hvx7l wrote

A series of short paragraphs, describing the same day from different people's perspectives. Each new perspective should greatly change our understanding of what happened.

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ineedabettertitle OP t1_j9i5h4u wrote

-Matt Smith. Interview 006-

"And so you followed him?"

Yeah. He was acting kind of suspicious. I was just trying to do my civic duty. I didn't want to get into all this mess, that's for sure.

"Where was Miss Finch during this time?"

Cindy was with me. Scared out of her mind, the poor gal. Had to hold her hand even. Anyways, as I mentioned, I thought I saw him conceal a gun in his cloak. And so I gave chase. We followed him for a couple of minutes to some sort of a warehouse down by the docks. The guy slipped in somehow, and I could hear more voices. Seemed to me like there was a whole [Expletive] gang in there.

"What did you do after that?"

Well Cindy had the willy-nillies, wanted to go home and all that. James was telling me that we should call the cops. I agreed with him there, even if it amounted to nothing, see something say something, y'know? Cindy was as pale as a ghost, this place must have spooked her bad. I don't know what they were doing, but I didn't like it one bit, no sir.

"And so we received a call from Mr Gardiner at 10:19 that night"

Was that the time? Well, yeah, yeah that's what happened.

" Is there anything else that you would like to mention?"

I don't know, I don't even remember seeing much of anything at all. Stuff like that happens like a blur, y'know?

"Thank you, Mr Smith, for your time."

You're welcome, officer.

-James Gardiner. Interview 003-

"You want to remind me what you were doing?"

Well, we were drinking. Too much probably. It was me, Matt and his girlfriend. Anyways Matt mentions that he think he saw someone with a gun go down a side alley. He's all riled up, saying we should go after him. Cindy is yelling at him not to go, but he's not listening and rushes off to find the guy. So, of course, me and Cindy start to follow Matt, who's following the guy.

"Why did you follow?"

Well...uhh...I suppose I thought one-on-three would be fine, even if he did have a gun.

"And what happened next?"

Well we followed him, until they went down to the docks. Cindy was getting scared, y'know saying we shouldn't be here and all that. By this time we had caught up to Matt, who said the guy went into a building, and he points to one over by the end of the dock. We heard people inside, and ended up calling the police.

"And so we received a call from you at 10:19 that night."

Yep.

"Is there anything else that you would like to mention?"

Yeah. Why did you arrest Cindy?

"...Mr Gardiner, thank you for your time."

Hmph.

-Cindy Finch. Interview 009-

"What were you doing at the time of the incident, Miss Finch?"

I was drinking with Matt and his friend.

"And why did you start following Ernest?"

Who are you talking about?

"Playing dumb isn't going to help Miss Finch."

I saw Ernest, and I screamed. Matt probably followed my gaze and saw the gun in his pocket. He was drunk and tried to get it away from him. Ernest ran away, and Matt started to follow him. I grabbed Matt's hand to try to get him to stop, but he wouldn't. Matt starts making a mad dash to Ernest, and James says we should all go follow. I don't want to, but I reluctantly go with him.

"And you end up at the docks?"

Yeah.

"What did you do there?"

We called the police.

"But what did you do there?

We...smuggled coke. I suppose you know all about now anyways.

"Please tell me, Miss Finch."

We imported it from various sources, Ernest, Peter and I. Made a lot of money too. Ernest came to tell me about something, saw I was with Matt, and ran off to tell Peter. I never liked Ernest, he always wanted to drive a wedge between Peter and I, and now he had the perfect ammunition. Matt saw Ernest's gun, and the rest is history, I guess.

"Is there anything else that you would like to mention?"

No.

"Well, thank you for your time."

A pleasure.

9

Pokerfakes t1_j9id7n2 wrote

A human sets out a month after Odysseus left, trying to join his crew. A series of misadventures follows, in which the guy just can't seem to get closer or further from the famed hero's location.

Constraint: Must be told as a series of limericks.

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ineedabettertitle OP t1_j9ieu6v wrote

You expect me to write prose on a whim?

To expertly use all manner of verbatim?

Alas, your challenge,

Has made me cringe,

In matters of limericks I am quite dim.

9

Somethingbutonreddit t1_j9hqh25 wrote

You are a sales man trying to sell a common household product. But you cannot say what the product is, just giving weird descriptions of the product.

4

ineedabettertitle OP t1_j9hxhpk wrote

"With our all-new product you can harness the power of electromagentic energy right in your own homes! Our leading technicians have even informed us, that it is relatively safe to stand next to it!

Do you hate food that is either too hot or too cold? Well why not have both? Our product uses ingenious methods to make the outside of the food boiling hot, while keeping the inside a nice freezing temperature.

Experience a flavour party in your mouth like never before!

Our newest model even includes a clock! It won't work, but now you always have something to blame if your ever late!

Our product comes in an exciting shape! Why own a boring circle when you can have a rectangle in your own home! You can look at it in wonder for hours on end! ^(on a side note- I am legally required to tell you not to look at it when active.)

Try the newest craze to hit the market since we brought you a hole that can store all your mess!

9

vp917 t1_j9ig8ov wrote

A police report of a crime scene. The incident described is fairly straightforward, but the particular language and tone of the detective writing it becomes increasingly unsettling as the account goes on.

4

Gregamonster t1_j9hv83c wrote

Write a story about a beautiful woman preforming a mundane activity, except the narrator is picking really weird details to describe her beauty with instead of the typical "Men writing women" descriptions.

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ineedabettertitle OP t1_j9hzdad wrote

Isabel was folding her laundry again.

She carefully flattened each piece of clothing, before delicately and gingerly moving her hands to create the desired shape. First a shirt, then a towel. She had a job to do, and would finish it whether she liked it or not.

If you observed her closely you would notice the soft and subtle jiggles of the tiniest amount of baby fat on her chin, which some would describe as being flawless. Her chin was the perfect shape, not to bony, yet not too round either.

Others would notice the voluminous lengths of wavy hair that went across her face. Her absolutely stunning eyebrows. Like a caterpillar on a delicate leaf, her eyebrows managed to frame her face in a most picturesque manner.

When Isabel had to bend down to pick up a stray sock that had fallen on the ground, her perfectly symmetrical and prominent spine came into view. Arched like a cat, it had the most appealing number of bumps and ridges. Enough, I daresay, that her spine was enough to make most men faint.

Isobel was stunning, in her own way.

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Volgrand t1_j9k4sy9 wrote

"...her perfectly simmetrical and prominent spine..."

All right. I'm too much of a man writing women not to fall into this.

I liked it!

2

Underated270 t1_j9i1d8h wrote

The life of a man who lives the most boring life you can imagine, however, the person is always way too optimistic and over-the-top with their description of their life. You decide if the narrator sticks to exaggerated truth or if he is willing to outright lie. All of this followed by a review by someone (family member, friend, coworker, someone close) who knows how dull his life is.

3

yesilikejazz173 t1_j9lt60z wrote

The harmonious beeps of my alarm clock rang out over the thoughtful silence of the beautiful, early morning. I eagerly rolled around and slammed the snooze button. Another new, wonderful day! The calendar on my bedside table had today’s date circled, which meant an extra exciting day! I laughed. (Well, actually, all of the days were circled, but, well, that means MORE EXCITEMENT EVERY DAY, am I right?) I skipped down the stairs two by two, slid into the kitchen, and began belting a happy song at the top of my voice while hearing the oil dance and flicker across the pan (mm, that bacon smell!). The TV blared with news on joyful, endorphin-inducing topics. The perfect day. (Well, this was every day, but that means every day is the perfect day.) I hopped in my black Toyota Sienna 2011 and danced to happy songs on the radio (almost running a red light while doing it, but at least it was still orange when I reached the intersection). Arriving at my workplace, I got out of my car, still belting happy songs at max volume. The perfect day.

(Note: From an objective perspective, no. He got out of bed, cooked bacon for breakfast, and drove to work. No music was playing. His TV was off. He didn’t have a bedside table, let alone a calendar or an alarm clock. He lived in a gray apartment with trash lining the floor.)

3

HayakuEon t1_j9i1olp wrote

A pamphlet or a guidebook, for surviving a zombie apocalypse. But have it be age appropriate for different age groups, like Children, Teenagers, Adults, Elderly. Go ham.

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sparkdaniel t1_j9jth35 wrote

Use only one vowel, you choose.

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charixander t1_j9ih6wh wrote

You are a failed writer who is ready to end it all, only use happy words to describe everything (words like rainbow, happy, etc)

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RainStClaire t1_j9iktk3 wrote

Write a story about two lovers, but one has to be an elemental creature, for example, a water spirit (their body comprised entirely of water)

2

CharmTLM t1_j9iy7mk wrote

A human interacts with aliens. You cannot say they are aliens, nor explicitly describe alien features. You need to be subtle and lead readers into assuming that there are aliens.

2

MaxStickies t1_j9k715m wrote

The penguins are mobilising.

Constraint: But you cannot use the word penguin.

2

LucasDanforth t1_j9kf3gf wrote

A group of old friends getting together again after many years apart, recapping what they have been up to.

Everyone pronouns are their names, and speaks in the third person.

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1

keltaithegiven t1_j9ipy9d wrote

After discovering time travel you go back in time to study Neanderthals only to discover that speak your language perfectly.

The rule is you can't use the word "will"

1

F-R-A-N-K-T-O-T t1_j9j1zbp wrote

A story about a brutal war where everyday in the battlefield millions die, childrens are sent to war, bodies and blood stockpile into a mountain of corpses. But you have to make family friendly.

1

guitarist2505 t1_j9j2c5b wrote

Write a story that comes to this ending: “The horse-size spider trembles with his remaining 3 legs, looks up to the sky with horror in his last eye, and whispers: What have you done, human?

1

Avaday_Daydream t1_j9jb7ne wrote

During market day, a wagon's axle breaks and it loses its wheel, setting off a chain of events that culminates in a large scale riot (or at least a pie fight).
 
The challenge: Except for the first sentence and the last sentence, use only spoken dialogue and onomatopoeia (written sound effects).
e.g.:
Rrrrumble...
"Oh heck, get out of the way!"
rumble rumble RUMBLE CRAAASH!! "Mooo-OOO!"

1

TheThirteenShadows t1_j9jcqcr wrote

PROMPT: Ever since you've been born, you've been followed by thirteen shadows

Rules:

  1. You cannot use any synonym for dark or 'dark' itself.
  2. 'And' is forbidden.
  3. Keep things interesting.
1

OccuranceNotincluded t1_j9jcrzm wrote

Journal entries of a guy stuck in a spaceship

Rules: The writing, should always portray him at the brink of insanity. And Make it that whenever he gets hope, it gets diminished by anxiety and depression.

1

ExceedHappy t1_j9jjfzu wrote

You suddenly encounter an Omnipotent being, name is GOGOOG GOGG

Rule: GOGOOG can only speak if the words have G,O, or C in it.

1

adamzam t1_j9jk5jc wrote

The world's worst heist, using only words that do not describe themselves

1

LordNightFang t1_j9jr3p7 wrote

Write a story, about a teenager in school who has one of those "Oh my God" funny moments that everyone laughs at in public.

Rules:

  1. Main character has to laugh to. It can't be something humiliating like a public wedgie where main character would just feel mortified. Main character has to find some sort of comedy in the embarrassing situation.
  2. It has to involve a crowd or at least a few people who see it in the story.
  3. Has to happen on campus. Can't deviate to a different setting. (No school field trip stuff, ditching class, after school etc type scenes)
  4. Keep it human please (Nothing mystical, mythical, magic etc.)
  5. Write from a first person perspective.
1

thosethatbleedred t1_j9kk6hp wrote

Someone who's face-to-face with a mind-reading entity that will kill anyone who can perceive its true form

So they have to do their best to not think of any of its horrible and inhuman features and instead focus on thinking of it as human and keep details they think about consistent

And really hope that it doesn't pick up on their stress being more than just anxiety

This has to be from a first-person perspective with everything written being their internal thoughts

I'm not fully sure how you would write this so best of luck to you, I find it cool in concept but don't know how to write that kind of horror story that screams something is wrong, without having it be blatantly written out

1

Bronzeshadow t1_j9kqwpx wrote

Write a story about a party, without using any names.

1

Janus-Moth t1_j9kxza2 wrote

A superpowered man joins the police force and tries to convince people he’s NOT a superhero

You cannot mentioned the words cop or police

1

Lqc_sa t1_j9lsal0 wrote

A haiku about The Youths.

1

jpeck89 t1_j9luvhx wrote

A classic knight slays the dragon and rewarded by the king story. All from the horses point of view of course.

1

Remarkable_Car1373 t1_j9m53i4 wrote

Write a story only using metaphors and vague references to describe things, never the actual name. Example - toaster and bread: metallic box of heat used to lightly burn my cooked wheat squares.

1

TypicalPunUser t1_j9m7hj7 wrote

Write about a fight between supernatural beings, however you are not allowed to describe in any detail what supernatural being the combatants are.

1

Errant_Jackdaw t1_j9m31im wrote

How about this?: You're the Bard in a DnD style adventuring party, but instead of playing music to use your Bardic Talents, you have to perform stand up comedy.

0