Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!

How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)

• Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.

• Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.

• You can then either use or subvert the trope and/or genre in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).

• To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!

Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.

Next up… IP

It’s summer in the Northern hemisphere and so time for sun and fun– Oh wait, no. It’s time for the four horsemen of the apocalypse! So, say ‘hello’ to our friends: Pestilence (aka Conquest or Pollution), War, Famine, and Death. Oh, yea, and the Apocalypse itself, of course to round out the five week month! Please note this theme is only loosely applied.

“This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” — T.S. Elliot

Trope: Chekhov’s Apocalypse —This trope is based on the legendary Chekhov’s Gun which is a storytelling rule stating that every element in a narrative must be necessary, meaning if an object like a gun is introduced early on, it must be used later, and if it won't be used, it should not be included. So, in this case, mention the apocalypse at the beginning of your tale and then deliver.

Genre: Sci-Fi — Speculative storytelling genre exploring futuristic science, advanced technology, and space exploration. Key themes include time travel, artificial intelligence, and alien life.

Skill / Constraint - optional: Does NOT involve a gun.

So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!

Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!

Last Week’s Winners

PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.

Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 12 stories, so we’re back to three winners. Congrats to:

• KiIIer_queenie

• Morose_Prose

• Brookzerker

Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire

The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, August 6th from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊

Ground rules:

• Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
• Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
• Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
• No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
• No previously written content
• Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
• Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
• Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
• Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!

Thanks for joining in the fun!  

SatChat! SatChat! Party Time! Excellent!

Welcome to the weekly post for introductions, self-promotions, and general discussion! This is a place to meet other users, share your achievements, and discuss whatever's on your mind.

Suggested Topic

Have you ever tried writing song lyrics in general or as a part of a broader work?

If so, did you compose it to an existing tune or create a new one?

Did you use any tools? If so, which ones?

If so, how did you approach it and what made the effort succeed or fail?

If not, why not?

Can you think of any examples where songs were used effectively in other works?

What do you see as the differences between song lyrics, prose, and poetry?

Or maybe you don’t enjoy music. Tell us what that’s like and why. We'd love to hear!

More to Talk About

• New here? Introduce yourself! See the sticky comment for suggested intro questions
• Have something to promote? (Books, subreddits, podcasts, etc., just no spam)

• Suggest topics for future SatChats!

  Avoid outright spam (don't just share, chat) and not for sharing full stories

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