Hello, mad inventors, genocidal maniacs, and reckless miscreants!

Excuse me?! No, you can’t have! That—That would change everything! That’s not even possible because…

This week’s Writing Group prompt is:

You Did What?!

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!

The versatility of this prompt is nigh endless. There are no shortage of fun and wacky situations you could use this prompt for. 

In our ordinary lives we have moments like “You ate my sandwich?! I was saving that!” Or a parent saying to their child “You drew on the walls?!” It could even be something like a complex situation that is hard to explain.

Where magic is involved, situations like “You gave me a love potion?!” or “You turned me into a vampire?!” or “You ripped a hole in the space time continuum?!” are all fair game. Maybe it’s a bit of both “You ate the cookie?! Those were for my nemesis! They’re made out of poison and dog piss! Well…get used to your new life as a frog, for as long as it lasts…” 

On the darker side of things, you could use this prompt for any number of crimes. Anything from theft, to mass murder. Maybe your character tortured a prisoner they weren’t supposed to. Maybe your character learns someone they love caused a disaster years ago that left them scarred mentally and physically. 

Especially where the darker takes on this prompt are involved, the thing the character did doesn’t have to have happened in the immediate past. Maybe it’s a dark secret only just now being revealed.

Maybe one of the characters did something terrible and catastrophic, but it was an accident, or simply outside their control. Maybe the self-destruct button is too close to the party canon button. Sometimes relatives say “You grew up!” like it’s a shock. In recent weeks we’ve seen plenty of stories about the afterlife, it could be quite fun and funny to see one character questioning “You died?!” 

Part of the versatility and intrigue of this prompt comes from the reactions inherent in it. The prompt isn’t just one character doing something crazy, it’s another character reacting to it. Maybe what happened isn’t all that interesting, but another character reacts like it is. Or maybe the character who “did it” expects the other to be proud…only to be met with anger. Maybe the character themselves is more horrified at their actions than anyone else. 

What? All I did was write the prompt intro. Yeah, I’m gonna post it too. I don’t know why you’re freaking out about it!

—Kaylie

—

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 Saturday at 3:00pm 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! Get ready not just to share what you’ve got, but to give back to the other writers here as well.

Rules and Guidelines

We read at least five stories during each stream, two of which come from the public post, and three 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. Use two paragraph breaks between each paragraph so that they have a proper space between them (press “enter” or “return” twice).
   6. 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.
   7. 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. Be constructive and uplifting. These submissions are not for a professional market, and shouldn’t be treated as such. We do this, first and foremost, for the joy of the craft. Help other writers to feel like their work is valuable, and be considerate and gentle with critique when you offer it. Authors who leave particularly abrasive or disheartening remarks on this post will be disqualified from selection for readings.
   6. 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).
   7. 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.
   8. 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.