The Twenty-Fifth-Year Letter
Envision a society where every individual's path is predetermined by a celestial bureaucracy. At age 25, each person receives a letter that dictates their future. Write about a character who rebels against their dictated path, uncovering secrets about the nature of reality and free will.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Tell it from the point of view of someone who thinks this world is perfectly normal.
- Shrink the stakes to one family, one street, one night.
- Choose one ordinary object and show how this world changed it.
Writing science fiction
Change one thing about the world. Follow it all the way.
Science fiction asks what happens to people when science, technology or contact with something new changes the rules. The spaceships are optional; the question is the point. The best of it says as much about today as it does about the future.
What readers expect
- An idea that drives the plot
- Technology or science with consequences
- Futures, other worlds or alternate presents
- Big questions about being human
A tip before you start
Show how your big change reshapes ordinary life: what people eat, fear and joke about. Scenery alone isn't world-building.
More Alternate Reality prompts
- The Teacher of NowIn a world where every person can see both their past and future simultaneously, write about a day in the life of a middle school history teacher who…
- The Dream DetectiveIn a reality where dreams are tangible and can be recorded, bought, and sold, follow a "Dream Detective" tasked with solving a mystery involving a…
- The Stolen Inspiration MarketIn an alternate reality where artistic ability is the currency, explore the rise of a young painter who discovers a black market that deals in stolen…
- One Year on the ClockIn a society where every individual’s lifespan is predetermined and publicly known, explore the life of a person who discovers they have just one year…
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