Hello, Falling Stars and Glittering Goddesses!

May I have this dance, my dear? I do hope you have a good sense of rhythm and balance, because…

This week’s Writing Group prompt is:

Celestial Waltz

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!

This prompt may evoke the imagery of the planets spinning in the sky above, surrounded by the myriad of stars glinting from within the depths of space. One could compare this cosmic cycle to a group of people pirouetting.

Or maybe you are more likely to think of a court of gods: a whole pantheon of celestial beings who dance and celebrate with unearthly splendor and plenty, wearing dresses spun of moonlight, and suits woven from dragon’s breath. I am sure any celebration of the gods is worth talking about.

Gods aren’t the only celestial beings. You could have angels attending a ball, spinning around and around to form stars. Perhaps the demons below hear the music, and long to join…but can only burn in the dark. You could even have the righteous spirits of the dead welcoming someone who recently died to paradise with a big dance. Maybe, in the world below, holy believers worship with a large festival by dancing while holding torches to simulate the stars in the heavens.

Perhaps you could tell a story about celebrities; how their reputations reach celestial heights, (whether through good or bad coverage), and many speculate how long their “waltz” in the spotlight will last.

But it doesn’t need to be a metaphor for gods or celebrities. It could just be the story of two lovers dancing under the light of the stars; hand in hand, maybe this simple dance could be all they ever wanted or imagined, and that would be enough.

Whether you go with gods, planets, or ordinary humans, try and think of what makes your waltz ‘celestial’. Also, any sort of dance will do to fulfill the prompt, but bonus points if you can somehow make it clear in your story your dance is a waltz!

As a challenge, pick a waltz from Youtube and try to write your story along with it! If you find one that fits, share the link in general-media, and/or writing-group (the private chat)!

 A second potential challenge I have for you is to make your story this week a sequel to your story last week. The moon in a jar certainly fits with the celestial theme, and I could see how some of last week’s stories could be continued with this week’s prompt. 

Now, Maestro, tell the orchestra it’s time to raise their instruments! As for you, my dear, put on your dancing shoes. We have a masterpiece to perform, don’t we? Why should the stars and planets have all the fun?

—Paul, Pearce, Felicia, and Kaylie

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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 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.