Vignette Discussion & Suggestions

[Mordelain]

If you have any suggestions for future categories, or premises, please feel free to post them here.

If you have any questions about other entries, the rules, the rewards, and so forth, please use this thread as an OOC discussion.

[Tad_MacLaren]

Do we have one, or are you just teasing us by marking the sticky rules as "new" posts? ;P

[Mordelain]

Hi Tad.

I have just archived, cleaned, edited and so forth.

A new topic and a new vignette will be coming shortly.

If you have a topic in mind, please feel free (and anyone for that matter!) to post them here :D

[Dead & Walking]

Date - Your character is on a date with someone they love. What exactly happens?

Family - Your character is remembering a time they spent with their family.

Finding Friends - An account on how your character met their best friend.

Making Enemies - An account on how your character met his worst enemy.

Secrets - Unveil one of your character's deepest secrets.

Hobbies - Show your character doing a hobby.

Alignment Reversal - Hero becomes Villain and Villain becomes Hero.

Apocalypse - The Apocalypse comes, what will your character do?

Child - Your character has settled down and had a child. What do they do with them?

Mer-people - a mer-person (Merman/Mermaid) has taken a liking to your character. How will your character react when they start making advances?

Prehistoric - Your character is sent to the time of the dinosaurs. Will how will they survive and get back home?

[Tad_MacLaren]

Ok, suggested topics :

Turtles

Witches

[Atzar]

Here's an idea for an ongoing contest.

The first person chooses a character from media - games, books, movies, anything so long as the character is relatively well-known. Write a vignette, without revealing the character's name, that interprets the character as he/she might appear on Althanas. Then people guess who the character represents, winner gets to go next.

Hypothetically the goal would be to make it challenging, but not so much so that nobody can figure out the answer.

If you like the concept, feel free to use it. Have fun!

[Lye]

New Topic Ideas:

Haggling over a transaction of any kind.
A brief moment of intimacy.
Exposed to a new magic for the very first time.
Making your own meal.
Being trapped within something you cannot escape for 24 hours.
There is a large holiday celebration in your area, what do you do?

[Good for Nothing Captain]

your character encounters someone they lost in their past and get to ask one question.

[Musashi]

Yay, November's up.

When Is October gonna be judged? :)

[hoytti]

It might take a while due to me being new at this. I'll get it done ASAP.

[Aurelianus Drak'shal]

So you're the judge we drop bribes to now?

[hoytti]

I don't take bribe :P

[Luned]

Vignettes are judged within two weeks of the close date, though the Cell special is taking a bit longer due to a change in staff. Thank you for your patience!

[Robin]

What about writing a scene were your character is out of their mind bored and how they deal with it?

[Breaker]

Question about this month's vignette... does "just met" mean it must be an origins story regarding the enemy, or can it be an interpretation of any encounter with them? I ask because Cronen has two clear "worst enemies" and he met them both in quests, so I'd basically be re-writing a scene. Which I don't mind doing, but I'll do a different encounter if that's permitted :P

[hoytti]

Either one would do. In your case, you would probably want to do another encounter with them. But others may want to do an origins story.

[hoytti]

BlueGhost, the November vignette can be found Here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?26235-November-Vignette)

[Breaker]

Awesome! Now I just have to pick which nemesis to feature...

[Ashla]

(New ideas I'm throwing around. *Hurdles the following towards Hoytti* "CATCH!")

- Your character meets their alternative selves. They have all the same traits and powers as them, but they have the opposite personalities of the real one. (Meaning that if your character is good, the alternate one is evil.)
- Zoom forward in time to you character exactly thirty years later. How have they changed? Are they the same? How did they grow, mentally and physically. Or are they just dead by then?
- Your character meets their author (YOU!) what do they do? Thank you? Try to kill you?
- Practice battle!! Your character goes to the citadel to have a training experience: there are fifty foes in the arena, how does your character deal with them? The setting can be anything you like.
- Write a song/ poem about your main character. It can be about their personality, what they've been through, what they may become... As long as your character is the focus of the lyrical passage.

[Fox Owen Xavier]

(Haven't seen the previous ones so not sure if these are repeats)


Your character is being interviewed for a newspaper article. What would your character like to say for their best points? Does he/she/it have plans for the future?
What is your character's biggest dream? What is his/her/its deepest desire?
What is your character's greatest fear? Is it his/her/its worst enemy or something else? Becoming powerless? Dying?
Your character is teleported to Earth for a day. What happens? How does your character react?
Your character loses all abilities for a day.
Your character meets the inspiration(s) that created him/her/it. (I know that most of my characters are based on another character or a mix of a few different ones)
The town your character was going to visit was destroyed. Your character needs to find food, water, and any other necessary supplies.
Your character has been teleported into some mad wizard's maze. How does your character get out?
Magic Genie comes out of a lamp and grants a wish (or three). What would your character ask for?
Your character finds an abandoned child who seems to be almost dead. What happens? Does your character just leave it, adopt it, tries to find a home, has some fun torturing it, or something else?

[black shadow]

Your character becomes mute. Oh wait, I already am! XP or deaf. Or blind. What do they do?

[Luned]

Althanas fan fiction: "Choose a favorite Althanas character that doesn't belong to you and write something over the top with them."

[Callan]

You character is shown their future, and possibly how they die. How do they react? Do they change their way of life to try to change their future, or do they not fight against it? Do they change or fulfill their destiny? Was what they saw fiction, truth, or merely a possible outcome?

[Tobias Stalt]

Your character becomes trapped in a room where their heart's truest desire manifests. They can relive a fond memory, see a deceased friend, lover or family member, or even find true peace. Once they leave, however, the experience is gone forever. Do they attempt to escape? Do the decide to live the rest of their days in the lie? If they leave it, how do they react? If they stay, what happens to them?

[Roht Mirage]

Your character has taken up writing. (So meta!) What type of literature do they create? Do they keep it to themselves or get it published? What is the reception?

[Rayse Valentino]

Epic story intros. Write the most eye-catching story intro you can think of, something that will make people beg you to make an actual story out of it.

[grim137]

There's a natural disaster such as a major hurricane, flash flood, tornado, or something where ever your character happens to be residing at the moment. How do they react and survive?

[Devonus]

so, its almost february, valentines is right around the corner.

Im sure for us all, valentines holds either hated, cynical, or loved place in our heart, and i think the vignettes that could come from an exploration of romance and/or love could really lead to some interesting topics.

"The chains of love" was the subject that came to my mind. But really anything relationship/romance based would probably do well, long as it doesnt force the writers down a one sided view of love (Us cynics and haters need freedom to bash, While the lovers should have some freedom in attempting to sway our black hearts)

[Tobias Stalt]

There is always a dark side.

[Philomel]

Your character meets their hero. They could be dead, alive, legend or real. Anything. It just happens. Write what happens.

[Medeia]

Relive a day in the childhood of your character that fundamentally shaped or changed the way they thought and lived that you've yet to write about. It could be something as innocuous as the first time they ate a particular food and hated/loved it, to the day they fell down a shaft into an abandoned mine and found a pretty statue. Creativity and intrigue is the goal here.

[Ebivoulya]

(06:13:32) Ebivoulya: I'd like to see more vignette prompts that impose unusual constraints, like write without using names, or about your character only from the perspective of other characters.
(06:14:19) Ebivoulya: Or describe your character's emotions without using the words (anger, guilt, grief, etc.)
(06:14:45) Ebivoulya: Maybe all three, make it interesting.
(06:15:34) Ebivoulya: Something to shake people out of their usual styles.

This.

[Otto]

It's 1996, the glorious Age of Sitcoms, and your character has the lead role in their own 'family-friendly' show. Write a quintessential scene from one episode that best shows off how they've adapted the cast and what type of TV show it is (bonus points for including the show's name/episode title).

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Write your character having a job interview.

The job itself does not matter; can be as practical or fantastical as you wish.

[Irate Pirate]

Your character is on a game show. Which game show is up to you.

[Cards of Fate]

Your characters alignment has flipped completely. Hood characters are now evil, lawful characters are chaotic etc

[redford]

Hood characters



Your character has to adjust to life in the inner city. Write a short post about how they adapt to their changing surroundings

[Flamebird]

Write your character at your dream level 21. How powerful are they now? How do they use their power?

[K-Zu-Ziro]

Use three-ish songs as inspiration. Shouldn't be restrictive at all, doesn't have to follow the obvious narrative or super secret meaning of the songs. It can if you want though. Just be inspired by them. The only restriction should be that you use some lyrics from the songs as dialogue. Modifying them slightly should be okay, but they shouldn't be butchered beyond recognition.

[Ebivoulya]

Since the new year has begun, I would like to suggest an appropriate vignette prompt:


Your character encounters an old assumption in a new light, and must work through this contradiction to either redefine their assumption, or reaffirm it.


Examples would include a racist character who learns to work with people he used to hate, or a character who doesn't trust nobles, is swayed by a noble into helping, then gets betrayed and learns that lesson over again.

[Storm Veritas]

Your character has a dream/nightmare. How does it go?

[Otto]

Your PC may be a certified genius/font of raw magic/unstoppable killing machine, but they are up against a master. How is your character thoroughly trounced at their own game?

[Bard]

And since its March, perhaps we should have folks write about a betrayal, particularly by a close friend or lover.

[Gnarl & Root]

Your character witnesses multiple persons breaking his/hers strongest moral code. This is not acceptable. How do you deal with it?

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Just a quick heads up to apologise for the wait in getting the vignette's judged. We're working on getting the old ones cleared in the next few days between us. Thanks for your patience!

[Ebivoulya]

I've got a few ideas to toss onto the table:


Your character interacts with a group of NPCs; write this without ever using the names of them, or their races, only describing their differences.

Your character is captured. Create a group of new NPCs to rescue them, complete with reasons for doing so, and tie it into your character's history.

The stakes are high, and your character is called upon, but they fail. Describe the repercussions, and how they handle that failure. -- Used already.

[Gum]

suggestion: base your vignette entry on a well known idiom. for example, "to steal someone's thunder" -- you could make a whole story out of that pretty easily. for inspiration check out the wikipedia list of idioms here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_idioms). ty for your consideration!!!

[Breaker]

With Halloween upcoming, here's a suggestion that's probably been done before.

"Your character encounters a ghost from their past. Who is it, and how will they react?"

[Ebivoulya]

'Tis the newest of years, so I've tossed together a few prompts in the vein of newness.


Write in a scene in which your character learns something unexpected about themselves.
Examples would include discovering a vindictive streak, or a soft-spot, or that they're un/suited for something.

Create a situation in which your character tries doing something new, and describe the results.
Examples would include a new job, new skill, or even a new hobby.


My personal favorite, this one could be paired with something else, or stand on its own:

Write the/a scene in a completely different way from your normal style, either switching from 3rd/1st person, present/past tense, thin/dense prose, plain/flowery style, or any combination thereof.

There's also some unused ones posted by myself and others if you scroll up. The only used one was mine, so I marked it off.

Gum's sounds like the most fun, though.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

For the next vignette, we'll be using Gum's prompt. In February, we'll go with one of Ebi's. :)

[Gum]

I was looking through the list and noticed this:

http://68.media.tumblr.com/3faa4746990d5ac967542b2bdfa295fa/tumblr_ojxktrhEsp1rzx2ppo1_1280.png

This says everything about the differences between our two great cultures! ^_~

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Surprised that "taking the piss" isn't on there. That's a British favourite. In fact I've been using that a lot recently.

[The Ghost's Knight]

I've got one.

Childhood Bedroom - Describe your character's bedroom from when he was young(er). Be as descriptive as possible with as few words as possible.

[Flamebird]

^ Seems great! I'd totally write that!

Here's some more (sorry if they were already used before):
- It's your character's birthday! How do they celebrate? Do they celebrate at all?
- Who was your character's childhood best friend? Write a story about their childhood interactions.
- What's your character's hobby? "Being depressed all the time" and "killing things" do not count!
- Write a scene where your character eats their least favorite food?
- Your character enters a staring contest.