Hello, amnesiacs and adoptees.

What’s in a name? Were you offered a chance to start over as someone else, would you take that opportunity? To no longer be yourself. To know not who you will become. Would a fresh start be worth losing your identity? The time has come to tell us who you are, because…

This week’s Writing Group prompt is:

Given a New Name

RULES AND GUIDELINES BELOW!
Make sure you scroll down and read them if you haven’t! You may not be eligible if you don’t!

Quite the interesting one this week, hm? So much meaning can be simply in a name alone. To be given a new name… that holds a whole other kind of significance to it. It’s not just choosing a name. It’s also changing a name from what it used to be.

A prime, and rather wholesome example of this is when one decides to adopt a pet from a shelter, going through all the paperwork and assigning the pet a new name if they so choose. Another example is scientists finding a new planet or star far off outside of their home solar system. Alternatively, it could be a race of aliens deciding to make our planet their home, but changing its name from Earth to something else, perhaps something meaningful in their native language. It could be an adventurer lost in the woods as they search for this coveted great beast, only to come across a small, secluded village that calls the beast something else. It can even be as simple as a bride finally taking her new husband’s family name as the wedding bells toll.

Perhaps the given name isn’t even wanted. It could be a mother who has been given a son, but wanted a daughter, and forces the child to go by a name she would have given her daughter. Maybe it’s a race of vampires that are called a rather demeaning name by the human populace of the city they inhabit. It could even be a demon who has made accidental friends with a human who keeps messing up the demon’s name. It can even be some evil overlord that’s been mistaken as a pet, and while the owner can’t understand its new companion, the overlord very much understands how not-so-intimidating the name “Mister Pookyflooflekins” is.

So venture forth and introduce — or reintroduce — us to the colourful cast of characters you bring to life. Show us what a name can mean, what it can be worth.

To quote the fair Juliet, “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

—Shawna

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Remember, this is part of our weekly Writing Group stream! Submit a little piece following the rules and guidelines below, and there’s a chance your entry will be read live on stream! In addition, we’ll discuss it for a minute and give you some feedback.

Tune into the stream this Friday at 7:00pm CST to see if you made the cut!

The whole purpose of this is to show off the creativity of the community, while also helping each other to become better writers. Lean into that spirit, and get ready to help each other improve their confidence in their writing, as well as their skill with their craft!

Rules and Guidelines

We read at least four stories during each stream, two of which come from the public post, and two of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected by a bot, but likes on your post will improve your chances of selection, so be sure to share your submission on social media!

1. Text and Formatting

   1. English only.
   2. Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
   3. Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
   4. Your piece must be between 250-350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
   5. Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name). Do not include any additional symbols or flourishes in this part of your submission. Format them exactly as you see in this example, or your submission may not be eligible: Example Submission.
   6. No additional text styling (such as italics or bold text). Do not use asterisks, hyphens, or any other symbol to indicate whether text should be bold, italic, or styled in any other way. CAPS are okay, though.

2. What to Submit

   1. Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
   2. Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
   3. Write something brand new (no re-submitting past entries or pieces written for other purposes
   4. No fan fiction whatsoever. Take inspiration from whatever you’d like, but be transformative and creative with it. By submitting, you also agree that your piece does not infringe on any existing copyrights or trademarks, and you have full license to use it.
   5. Submissions must be self-contained (everything essential to understanding the piece is contained within the context of the piece itself—no mandatory reading outside the piece required. e.g., if you want to write two different pieces in the same setting or larger narrative, you cannot rely on information from one piece to fill in for the other—they must both give that context independently).

3. Submission Rules

   1. One submission per participant.
   2. Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
   3. Submissions close at 12:00pm CST each Friday.
   4. You must like and leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible. Your reviews must be at least 50 words long, and must be left directly on the submission you are reviewing, not on another comment. If you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post. The two submissions you like need not be the same as the submissions you review.
   5. Use the same e-mail for your posts, reviews, and likes, or you may be rendered ineligible (you may change your username or author name between posts without problem, however).
   6. You may submit to either or both the public/private groups if you have access, but if you decide to submit to both, only the private group submission will be eligible.
   7. Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or attributions are guaranteed.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.