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[Write On Wednesday] Alchemists

We’re all alchemists, here, turning an abundant resource (ideas) into something much more valuable (stories) and today i want you to include some alchemy in your story

Alchemists board game box cover

The Prompt

Write a flash fiction story in which a character transforms something seemingly worthless into something valuable

Tips

  • Remember, flash fiction is anything up to 1000 words, which sounds like a lot, but really isn’t. Do some planning before you write, to help you keep the word count down. See this post for a simple short story formula to help you plan.
  • “Something worthless” and “something valuable” are intentionally vague terms here. You might choose to have your character transform old posessions into new cash via the magic of eBay (which won’t surprise anyone, so focus on letting us know why the change matters so much to your character) .
  • If you character is an jeweler, you could use the act of transforming a lump of gold into a beautiful brooch as the metaphor for something deeper going on in that character’s life.
  • If your character is not transmuting physical objects, they might transform something else: a hobby into a career; a friend into a lover; an idea into a business.
  • Try to capture some of the wonder inherent in the word ‘alchemy’ in your story. Allow us to feeeeeel the change that is happening and why it matters.
  • If you start to have a lot of fun with this and don’t want to write a flash story, run with it. February’s almost over anyway…

If you share you story somewhere (and here’s why you might not want to) post a link here so we can come and read it.

Did you write today? How did you get on? Who did you write about? Leave a comment!

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