The Forbidden Ocean Expedition
Write a story in which humanity has lived in a domed underwater city on a distant oceanic planet for centuries but has forgotten the true reason why they can't return to the surface. The protagonist, a young history scholar, uncovers the shocking truth about their past during a forbidden expedition.
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 Space Exploration prompts
- Life Inside a CometImagine a society living inside a comet moving through space. Describe their culture, beliefs, technology, and annual celebration when they pass by…
- The Miner's Hidden GenesPicture a society where people are born with a predetermined role and station based on their parents' status and planet of origin. The protagonist…
- Dreams of the Ancient PlanetThe new planet promised a fresh start for all; free from the Earth's turmoil and strife. However, upon arrival, settlers find the landscape strangely…
- Stranded Beyond the WormholeHumanity's first experimental jump through a newly discovered wormhole goes awry, stranding a group of scientists in a distant part of the universe…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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