SciFi/Fantasy – June 23

“I was really thinking of killing him, wiping him off the earth, and it was then I realized for the first time that if it was necessary to kill them, then I would kill them, and something at the same time said: you cannot be utterly right.”- Michael Shaara, born this date in 1929. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must choose whether to kill an impersonal enemy.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 22

“My problem with fantasy, and horror, and related genres, is that sometimes the problems are illogical.”- Octavia Butler, born this date in 1947. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is unable to solve a problem because of its illogic.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 21

“We were young and thought we were invincible and we threw ourselves into the gears of history and it ground us up.”- Ian McDonald, in whose 2008 Hyperion reappeared in orbit around Saturn. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a visual portent in the world you’ve created signals the start of something inexplicable.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 20

“No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end.” – Edward Cullen, born this date in 1901. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist encounters an obstacle in the form of someone who, or something that, is impossibly old.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 19

“Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.”- Blaise Pascal, born this date in 1623. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is forced to confront the fact that an opposing belief is as true as your protagonist’s most deeply held belief.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 18

“I got it all.”- Mouse, who will spy on Berk Neilsen on this date in N. Lee Wood’s 2242. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist finds him/herself stranded in a place where all vestiges of civilization have been burned off.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 17

“He decided to stay in his space suit; explosive decompression didn’t appeal to him. Come to think about it, death from old age was his choice.”- Robert Heinlein, in whose 1999 Lieutenant John Ezra Dahlquist returned to Earth for the last time on this date. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must sacrifice himself for the greater good to which s/he is committed.

SciFi/Fantasy – June 16

“Show me what a people admire, and I will tell you everything about them that matters.”- Jack McDevitt, in whose 2202, Earth receives a message from Inokademeri on this date. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist receives a shocking surprise when s/he first encounters a culture significantly behind her/his own in development.