Space & New Horizons writing prompt
The Miner's Hidden Genes
Picture a society where people are born with a predetermined role and station based on their parents' status and planet of origin. The protagonist, born into the lowest caste of a mining colony, discovers a hidden genetic modification lab and learns that they have the dormant genes of a high-born leader. They must decide whether to embrace or reject this new identity as they lead a burgeoning uprising.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
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Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- 1Let the hero's plan work, and make that the problem.
- 2Tell it from the point of view of someone who thinks this world is perfectly normal.
- 3Shrink the stakes to one family, one street, one night.
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