Nerdy Prompts for Week 4

by syaffolee

Here are the writing prompts that I posted on NaNoWordSprints for the past week. I’ll probably have a summary post up at the end of the week including links to previous prompt posts and the prompts for the final sprint sessions.

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November 21, 10:00pm-1:00am (UTC -7)
Fairy Tale Motifs and the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification System
(The ATU number is the word count challenge, the fairy tale motifs are word prompts.)

  • 425 – the search for the lost husband (13 min)
  • 461 – three hairs from the devil’s beard (15 min)
  • 1116 – attempt at burning (30 min)
  • 545 – the cat castle (15 min)
  • 507 – the monster’s bride (15 min)
  • 222 – war of birds and quadrupeds (5 min)
  • 720 – my mother slew me; my father ate me (20 min)
  • 553 – the raven helper (15 min)

November 22, 9:00pm-12:00am (UTC -7)
The Fifth Element

  • The most hated man in the universe. (10 min)
  • Your character gets a message. (15 min)
  • One character finds out everything about another character. His dreams, his desires, his most intimates of intimates. (30 min)
  • Include a perfect replica of an old opera house! But for some reason, no one cares! (30 min)
  • A character has just obtained a coveted multi-pass. (15 min)
  • There’s a ball of fire, 1,200 miles in diameter heading straight for Earth. (20 min)
  • Empty. The opposite of full. (20 min)

November 23, 9:00pm-12:30am (UTC -7)
Sir David and the Plot Bunnies: A NaNoWordSprints interactive fiction (A David Attenborough/Jurassic Park/Interactive Fiction Mashup)

  • Write about the destruction of important documents. (15 min)
  • Write about a daredevil. (15 min)
  • Write about a chase. (15 min)
  • Write about beach bunnies. (20 min)
  • Write about protests. (25 min)
  • Write about an epic fight/battle. (15 min)
  • Write about how to kill time. (7 min)
  • Write about strange idols. (25 min)

November 24, 11:00am-12:00pm (UTC -7)
QI (A Series)

  • A chameleon changes colour depending on its mood, temperature and emotions like fear (forfeit: background). (10 min)
  • Add in a completely ridiculous cure. (20 min)
  • Add an object which has many varieties. (15 min)

November 24, 1:00pm-2:00pm (UTC -7)
QI (B Series)

  • Add a location that is famous for something that we would probably think of as completely mundane. (10 min)
  • One of your characters wears something green. But unlike Warhol, he doesn’t attend his own funeral! (20 min)
  • For some reason, one of your characters suddenly develops a need to repeat everything that everyone else says! (13 min)

November 24, 5:00pm-9:00pm (UTC -7)
QI (C Series)

  • Have a character seemingly miraculously walk on “liquid”. (10 min)
  • Add opera. Bonus: Have a character break a wine glass using only the power of their voice. (20 min)
  • Add a rare breed of chicken. Bonus: Someone accidentally kills it. (30 min)
  • Your characters encounter wailing spirits. Bonus: They’re wailing about the dead chicken. (10 min)
  • Add an “only survivor”. (15 min)
  • Your characters start arguing over naming something. (30 min)
  • Include a businessman, a tie, something related to Croatia, or all three! (15 min)
  • Include an animal or person with an unusual ability. (20 min)
  • Coconuts are involved. Forfeit (Bonus): So are cuttlefish (which are completely different from octopuses). (30 min)

November 25, 10:30am-12:00pm (UTC -7)
The Dark is Rising

  • iron for the birthday (10 min)
  • bronze carried long (20 min)
  • wood from the burning (15 min)
  • stone out of song; bonus: include a lyric from a song you’re currently listening to (23 min)

November 25, 7:30pm-10:30pm (UTC -7)
What Really Caused the Fall of Rome: An Epic Chess Game Between Ceiling Cat and Basement Cat (A Roman festival/LOLcat/The Immortal Game Mashup)

  • Include a moving stream which disappears underground, cat toys, or pawns. (10 min)
  • Include something about harvests, grains, cereal, bishops, and/or the word “diabolical”. (15 min)
  • Include something related to trees, lightning, and/or knights. (20 min)
  • Include sheep, herding, and/or things going wrong. (30 min)
  • Include a large family gathering, banquets, gifts, and/or sacrifices. (10 min)
  • Include drinking, merriment, pies, and/or rooks. (30 min)
  • Include hills, a queen, and/or cheeseburgers. (5 min)
  • Include something relating to horses, chariots, and/or poor losers. (8 min)

November 26, 10:00pm-12:00am (UTC -7)
The Prompt Catalog

  • Prompt Item No. 741009 Teleportation Biscuits – Oh so trans-dimensionally delicious made by physicist-cook A. McSnootypants. (15 min)
  • Prompt Item No. 42429100 Electric Cheese Hamper with Bonus Fondue Fork – For all your stinky cheese needs! (20 min)
  • Prompt Item No. 3240142 Desperation Abbey Fruitcake – baked by hipster monks at a monastery in the Cleveland warehouse district. (30 min)
  • Prompt Item No. 11552969 Golden Goose Grain Sack Stocking – Crafted from grain sacks stolen from a witch named Baba Yaga. (15 min)
  • Prompt Item No. 721963 Panini Spatula of Doom – Has a wide platform to help serve those special sandwiches to your arch nemesis. (20 min)

November 27, 9:00pm-12:00am (UTC -7)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

  • Include a desolate/abandoned location. (12 min)
  • Introduce a new character with a name opposite of what he is. (20 min)
  • Your characters devise a scheme for something. (30 min)
  • Your character makes an escape out of a difficult situation when something unexpected happens! (5 min)
  • Two characters know two separate pieces of information and they must work together if they are to realize their goal. (15 min)
  • Your characters get a letter. Bonus: It is from the villain. Double bonus: Include the letter’s contents in your novel. (30 min)
  • Blow something up. (5 min)
  • Include a Mexican standoff, i.e. a confrontation among three opponents. (15 min)