The Rust Belt Podcast
Imagine a scenario where an out-of-work journalist decides to start a podcast investigating everyday lives in their struggling Rust Belt city. One of their subjects, however, holds a mysterious past that could either reignite the journalist's career or put them in grave danger.
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.
- Set it all in one day.
- Make the conflict something the reader has faced themselves.
- Keep what the hero wants and what they need in tension.
Writing contemporary fiction
People like us, now, in trouble we recognize.
Contemporary fiction is set in the present day and deals with life as it's actually lived: families, marriages, friendships, work, loss. It sits between literary and commercial fiction, often shelved as book club or upmarket fiction.
What readers expect
- A present-day, realistic setting
- Relatable, flawed characters
- Emotional stakes over action
- Issues readers face themselves
A tip before you start
Today is your setting, so use it: the group chat, the parking ticket, the brand of cereal. Specifics make it feel true.
More Contemporary American Fiction prompts
- Letters from a Secret AdmirerYou discover a series of letters at the back of your grandmother's closet from an unknown admirer sent during the 1960s. As you read through them, you…
- Back for the Summer FestivalWrite a story about a small town in the Midwest preparing for its annual summer festival. Focus on a character who has returned from the city after…
- The California Beach HouseCreate a narrative about a diverse group of people who inherit a dilapidated beach house in California. Forced to work together to fix it up, they…
- The Town's Bicentennial FeudWrite a story about a small Midwestern town preparing for its bicentennial celebration. A long-standing feud between two families threatens to…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
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