Chuck Wendig: Terribleminds

Flash Fiction Challenge: Sub-Genre Mash-Up, With A Twist

Last week’s challenge — “The Body” — exists for your ocular and psychic pleasure.

I love the sub-genre mash-up challenges. Which, if you’re not familiar with them, is when I hand you a list of sub-genres and you take two of those sub-genres and smoosh them together like two different colored blobs of Play-Do, and from the monstrosity you create, a story of 1000 words or less is born.

Moo hoo ha ha.

Ah, but this time, there’s a little twist.

I’m going to give you a theme.

Just one theme. You cannot choose another.

This theme must apply to the story that you write.

(Not familiar with theme? Let me direct you to: 25 Things You Should Know About Theme.)

That theme is:

Love demands sacrifice.

Mmkay? Love demands sacrifice. There you go.

Story must be under 1000 words.

Due by noon EST on Friday, 11/16.

Write at your space. Post a link here.

Now, for your sub-genre mash-up, take two of the following and call me in the m… I mean, and mash them together. Or, if you want to randomly choose, roll a d10 twice or use a random number generator. Enjoy.

Political Satire

Dieselpunk

Alien Invasion

Urban Fantasy

Space Opera

Hardboiled

BDSM Erotica

Ghost Story / Haunted House

Wuxia

Spy Fiction

terribleminds

24 responses to “Flash Fiction Challenge: Sub-Genre Mash-Up, With A Twist”

  2. SPOILERS: I am about to post some definitions of the genres, because I guess I like looking things up.

    Wuxia: Onomotopia, the sound of kung-fu, jujitsu, and other martial arts. Lends its name to a writing genre which encompasses the adventures of those who use martial arts (or who make this noise at appropriate times).

    Dieselpunk: Steampunk’s little brother. This is anything pertaining to the time between the two world wars. 1920s and 1930s styles and whatnot.

    Space Opera: Not the fat lady in zero-g. Space Opera is a science fiction derivitive, in space, focusing on adventure and romance. (Ben Bova’s “Rock Rats” comes to mind…)

    Yes, I embellished slightly. Some of these genre combos have been done to death (Dieselpunk alien invasion, anyone?) so I’m nabbing something a bit less traveled: Haunted house/ghosties meets Space Opera. And because I actually have a d10 and rolled two nines in a row first, I am adding the demand that someone or something in the story make noises as though impersonating a ninja. Yes, ninjas are invisible–but they can be heard if they want to be. 😀

    Reply

  4. And yet all I can think of is the invention of new kinds of play and kink when you combine BDSM erotica with most of those other ones.
    Wuxia Impact Play
    Dieselpunk “machines”
    Urban Fantasy: I actually think Dresden covered that one.
    And so on.

    Reply

  16. Tried posting this just now…not sure if it went through so I’m having another go…

    If it didn’t, I did this: http://devereauxcourt.blogspot.ca/2012/11/flash-fiction-challenge-human-found-dead.html

    In theory, it’s a hard-boiled urban fantasy…but it’s been about a year since I finished anything (or really wrote anything) so I’m terribly out of practice. So I make no promises about whether or not its actually any good.

    Also…first time I’ve done one of your challenges (and finished) so…Hello!

    Hope you enjoy.

    Reply

  17. I drew wuxia and political satire – I did my best. I suppose, if you squint allegorically, it could be considered political. Tough combination; I hope someone else drew the same so I can see if it was possible to pull it off.

    Side note, the characters are drawn directly from the character generator I created (based on Stephen Emm’s awesome starting point) for my blog’s sidebar.

    Fighting Demons

    Reply

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