The Forbidden Surface
Write a story set in a world where after a catastrophic environmental collapse, humanity has been forced underground. The society is governed harshly to maintain order, and any attempt to venture above ground is punishable by death. The protagonist, a curious young technician, discovers evidence that the surface may now be habitable. They must decide whether to risk everything to seek the truth or remain in the safety of the underground city.
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.
- Put a clock on it: the hero has until midnight.
- Trap your hero in one place they can't easily leave.
- Raise the stakes from personal to public halfway through.
Writing dystopian fiction
A society gone wrong, and the one person who sees it.
Dystopian fiction imagines a future (or alternate present) where society has failed: surveillance states, ruined planets, systems that crush the people inside them. It's usually a warning. The hero's choice is whether to survive the system or fight it.
What readers expect
- A society with a dark logic
- Control, scarcity or surveillance
- A hero who starts to question it
- A warning about today
A tip before you start
Build your world from one fear of today, pushed too far. The more recognizable the root, the colder the chill.
More Dystopian prompts
- Resistance in the Fuel CrisisAfter global fuel reserves run critically low, a new authoritarian regime rises with a promise to distribute resources fairly. When your protagonist’s…
- Dreams Beyond the BroadcastImagine a dystopian world where the government controls dreams through a mandatory nightly broadcast, designed to keep the populace compliant. One…
- The Underground LibraryIn a bleak future, literacy is illegal, and books are banned. Your protagonist inherits a secret library from their late parent, filled with forbidden…
- The Hidden OasisIn a future where all natural resources are depleted and the air is barely breathable, describe a day in the life of a protagonist who stumbles upon…
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