Stranded Beyond the Wormhole
Humanity's first experimental jump through a newly discovered wormhole goes awry, stranding a group of scientists in a distant part of the universe with no immediate way back. Detail their survival and the alien societies they encounter as they seek a way to return home.
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.
- Make the magic or technology cost your hero something they can't get back.
- Give the villain a reason that would convince you, if you lived there.
- Let the hero's plan work, and make that the problem.
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 Space Exploration prompts
- The Engineered ExoplanetYou are the youngest crew member on a space station orbiting a newly discovered exoplanet. Anomalies in the planet's atmosphere suggest it may be…
- The Mars ArtifactDuring humanity's first trip to Mars, the astronauts discover an ancient artifact buried beneath the red dust. The object has inscriptions that…
- Diplomacy on the Strange PlanetDetail the first manned mission to a newly discovered planet that was believed to be rich in resources but is found to be teeming with strange…
- The Cartographer's Wormhole MemoriesIn a future where planets are connected via wormholes, a cartographer is tasked with mapping these new corridors of space. However, each journey links…
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