The Techie in Alaska
Tell the story of a Silicon Valley techie who moves to a remote Alaskan village to escape the pressures of the tech world, only to find that the small community has its own challenges and complexities.
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 the scene everyone else would skip: the morning after.
- End on a small gesture rather than a speech.
- Give your main character a job you know well, and use its details.
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
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- The Green Business GambleExplore the life of an entrepreneur who starts an innovative, eco-friendly business in a big city, but struggles with balancing their personal ethics…
- The Podcast and the Buried SecretWrite a story about a small Midwestern town where everyone knows each other, and a secret buried for decades suddenly resurfaces when someone starts a…
- Saving the Route 66 DinerImagine a scenario where a family-owned diner on Route 66 is threatened by a big interstate development. Tell the story from the perspective of the…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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