The Dream Detective
In a reality where dreams are tangible and can be recorded, bought, and sold, follow a "Dream Detective" tasked with solving a mystery involving a series of shared dreams that predict real-world events. Explore the implications of shared subconscious experiences on privacy and personal autonomy.
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.
- Write it as a document from the world: a letter, a field report, a warning sign.
- 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.
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 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…
- The Parallel Worlds AgencyCreate a world where parallel realities intersect at random intervals and locations, allowing people, objects, and elements of nature to slip through.…
- A Week in Another LifeWrite about a society that has developed a technology allowing its citizens to exchange their troubles with someone else. Follow the story of two…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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