The Other Side of the Mirror
In a universe where parallel lives can be accessed through mirrors, your protagonist accidentally switches places with their mirror-self. Explore how they adapt to a life where everything looks familiar but is fundamentally different, and their journey to return to their original world.
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
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- Dreams of Other ChoicesImagine a reality where dreams are actually glimpses into what could have been in alternate universes. Describe a character who starts to live more in…
- An Eight-Year-Old's Eightieth BirthdayImagine a world where people age backwards. The story begins on the day the protagonist, who looks only eight years old, is celebrating their 80th…
- Two Lives in DreamsImagine a world where every person has two lives: one in reality and another in their dreams. The choices made in dreams affect their waking life, and…
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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