Flash Fiction Challenge: Voicemails from the Future
This week’s challenge is a guest challenge, by which I mean while I’m hosting it, it’s not actually my challenge. This one comes to you courtesy of Sara Thacher and Ken Eklund, two of the fine folks behind Futurecoast.org. In fact, this challenge is related to that —
Well, I’ll just let them tell you, those damn time traveling magpies.
* * *
You be the lookout. Mkay?
*pulls out slim jim*
*strips back ignition wires*
Ahem. Now that I’ve stolen the Wendig Flash Fiction DeLorean, let’s take this baby out for a spin.
Here’s the set-up:
There’s a glitch in the voicemail system in the near future – what sort? How should I know, it’s in the future. Jeez. The important part is that this glitch sends voicemails back to our time. Really, I should say the near futures. There’s a cone of possibilities, you see, and that becomes dead obvious when you listen to these voicemails. They’re all over the possibilities map.
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it:
Script a voicemail from one of these futures.
Your voicemail is created by someone in the future trying to reach somebody else in the future and leaving a message instead. The call was never intended for us to hear. We’re eavesdroppers.
Setting: Think near future – 2020 to 2065.
People: Let’s cast this voicemail, shall we. Who is your caller? Who are they playing phone tag with? What’s their relationship?
The authentic future: What are the clues that let me know this is taking place in the future? What’s different? Climate-changed, maybe? (more on this later)
Authentic voicemail. Remember, this is a voicemail – one person calling another – so getting all exposition-y doesn’t really make sense. (Unless your caller is a reporter for – uhoh, now I’m giving you ideas dammit!) But you get the gist. Conversational. True to the spoken word.
Got it all scripted? Good! Pens down. And now, here’s the Stolen Flash Fiction DeLorean Twist: record your voicemail! You heard me correctly. There’s a hotline just for you to record voicemails from the futures. How cool is that. Ready for it?
+1 (321) 732-6278 or, if it’s easier, 321-7-FCOAST
[note from Chuck: feel free to still give us links to your voicemail scripts if you so desire]
Wha? But what happens after you call up and record your voicemail? Oh, I am SO glad you asked. This whole thing is part of a collaborative storytelling project called FutureCoast. It’s funded by the National Science Foundation (thanks guys!) because maybe writing fiction about climate change is a good way to get people engaged with the issue. We think that concentrating on voicemails – one-sided mini conversations – helps to make a huge-big-abstract issue a little more human-sized.
After you call and record your voicemail, it gets published on FutureCoast.org (which is kid-friendly BTW so no bad words (oh sure like NOW we tell you)). Operators are standing by, as they say, so publishing should go pretty quick.
But wait, you say, how will I be able find my voicemail to share with all things TerribleMinded after I call it in? Well, those FutureCoasters, they think ahead (ha ha). After you record your message, opt in to get a text message with a link to your voicemail when it goes live on FutureCoast.org.
And for those of you who go all-in, there’s a storybuilder on the site called Timestream. You use it to make “mixtapes of the future,” using voicemails – your own or other people’s. Bonus T-Minded Points for the best remix story told in voicemails (remember, you can make as many voicemails as you like… collaborate with others…).
Due date. Sunday, February 23.
Prize. Top contributor gets a secret futurismic mission and the props to complete it – wherever you may be. dun dun dun
Tips and inspiration. To be found on the ‘behind the curtain’ site: FutureVoices.net
rrr-rrr-rrRR- vROOM. You ready to take the Flash Fiction DeLorean for a spin? Watch out, it gets a little unstable at 88 mph…
February 7, 2014 @ 7:08 AM
What a brilliant idea. I’m in. Unless… is this only for those in the US? (Or is it just a case of paying hideous phone charges from outside?)
February 7, 2014 @ 3:27 PM
Dave’s got it right: email an MP3 to interact@futurevoices.net. (We intend a better int’l solution, but that’s still on the to-do list)
February 7, 2014 @ 7:15 AM
I am ignorant, so could someone more familiar with this kind of tech let me know if there’s a way for international callers to participate without making a pricey call? Can you call that kind of number from Skype or some similar service?
February 7, 2014 @ 7:26 AM
Or, if you are not in the US and do not fancy international rates, you could email your MP3 to: interact@futurevoices.net
February 8, 2014 @ 9:34 PM
Awesome idea. The text back number read to me, my number, was incorrect. It’s been about 36 hours since I recorded my voicemail. What kind of turn around time should I expect? My grammar is foul, but my message wasn’t. If it doesn’t show up on your webpage does that mean it’s been declined?
February 9, 2014 @ 3:31 AM
Bill,
Sorry the text message went awry for you. Can you give us a general idea of what or when your voicemail was about? We’ll take a look and see where it’s gotten to.
February 9, 2014 @ 11:41 AM
I figured it was just to goofy and got deleted. President Bachman had donned and aluminum foil hat and scribbled ‘CO2 is not poisonous’ on the Oval Office’s wall.
February 9, 2014 @ 7:38 PM
Here it is!
http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/91310-28388949/
February 9, 2014 @ 11:20 PM
Oh that one! It’s up! Here it is: http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/91310-28388949/
February 10, 2014 @ 11:22 AM
Jinx!
February 10, 2014 @ 3:45 PM
Thanks
February 7, 2014 @ 7:51 AM
Listening to the examples on the site, this is seriously one of the most intriguing fiction projects I’ve come across. It’s amazing the world someone can create with an informal 30 second voicemail.
February 7, 2014 @ 9:32 AM
Hmm, ok…interesting concept. It’ll be tough to get all the information needed into a single voicemail message. Will take some thought
February 7, 2014 @ 10:18 AM
This is such a cool project.
February 7, 2014 @ 10:41 AM
This fiction prompt is the best I’ve come across in the history of the internet.
Done and done.
February 7, 2014 @ 11:03 AM
Not in a spot where I can record my voice the way this deserves (language, yelling, general pissyness) but here’s the transcript.
Not Forgotten
http://www.tamiveldura.com/2014/02/promt-not-forgotten.html
February 7, 2014 @ 12:02 PM
Well this hit some inspiration and I ended up doing a short sequence of messages.
http://fav.me/d75gmq0
WFPS Newsletter, Schedules, Coffee Shops, & My Love For The Oxford Comma (& Lists) | Writers for Pete's Sake
February 7, 2014 @ 5:13 PM
[…] Chuck Wendig’s latest Flash Fiction Contest because it sounds incredibly fun. You can find it here. Check it out. Read the rest of his very informative and slightly offensive blog. It’s loads […]
February 7, 2014 @ 7:53 PM
I’m afraid it’s not PG, so I probably won’t upload it (Plus I sound like Eeyore) but here it is:
http://johnfreeter.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/voicemails-from-the-future/
February 7, 2014 @ 8:24 PM
…and BAM!
http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/60483-80369852/
February 7, 2014 @ 9:14 PM
Which one is yours?
February 7, 2014 @ 9:32 PM
“Your New Hover Home”
February 7, 2014 @ 10:52 PM
Here’s my contribution… a futuristic product recall.
http://freejackklugman.com/phillips-meyers
February 9, 2014 @ 2:28 AM
Here’s a link to the audio:
http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/72243-42794506/
February 7, 2014 @ 11:00 PM
‘Three Hurricanes’
http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/66617-95934592/
February 8, 2014 @ 3:41 AM
Sheesh, international peeps, the 1990s called and reminded you that we no longer make super expensive international calls from phone booths that suck your credit card dry (hehe, I said suck). It’s a regular U.S. number, which you can call from Skype or any other IP telephony provider of your choice for a few cents. *rolls eyes*
February 8, 2014 @ 9:25 AM
As an international peep, while costs have come down and skype is great, calls are still ludicrously expensive. While it might not sap your mortgage, it will defo take the car… But it doesn’t matter anyway as you can email the MP3 direct lol! ^^
February 8, 2014 @ 3:51 AM
It’s really short, but here’s the transcript. Recording to follow:
It’s called “David, please”
http://antagonistsneeded.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/flash-fiction-david-please
February 9, 2014 @ 3:18 AM
And here’s the audio link: http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/15308-68161735/
February 8, 2014 @ 7:36 AM
I can’t afford what you’d like me to do… however, I’ve written a flash fiction which turns time around on itself Marty McFly style… thus the title! 😀
Enjoy 😛
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/anyone-got-delorian.html
February 8, 2014 @ 8:09 AM
Here’s my attempt, live on Futurecoast no! http://writesomethingsmidge.blogspot.ie/
February 8, 2014 @ 11:42 AM
“Jamie, it’s Lloyd, pick up the phone, damnit! I’ve got torches and pitchforks in the lobby. Where’s my protection? You promised us protection at Davos, damnit! Drone the place, buddy!
(loud click as message ends)
{mechanical voice} “To delete, press 7, to store, press 9. You have no more unheard messages…”
February 8, 2014 @ 4:56 PM
This is actually an incredibly brilliant idea. But I definitely need to think about it before committing to the call. Very, very cool.
Crossed Wires | Under a Starlit Sky
February 9, 2014 @ 3:28 PM
[…] week’s Flash Fiction Challenge on Chuck Wendig’s blog is a bit different. The topic is voice mails from the future. And since I’m not actually […]
February 9, 2014 @ 3:31 PM
Here’s my voicemail transcript http://wp.me/pBqgu-93. Haven’t actually called the voicemail hot line yet…but just wrote my message up here anyway.
February 10, 2014 @ 10:48 AM
What a fun project! http://www.casondrabrewster.com/?p=1625
February 10, 2014 @ 12:50 PM
Ya, so much fun, so much fun. Here’s me bit – ‘Tampered phone lines’:
http://futurecoast.org/voicemail/75736-60729262/
February 10, 2014 @ 5:54 PM
This is brilliant, I love this. I also love the opportunity to do a little acting any chance I can!
Flash Fiction: Voice Mail from the FUTURE! | Fatma Alici
February 11, 2014 @ 6:29 PM
[…] week’s flash fiction challenge is a little different. First of all, Chuck Wendig is farming it out. And second of all we have […]
February 11, 2014 @ 6:30 PM
I haven’t done the call yet, my voice is bothering me a tad. But, here’s the script I plan on using in the next couple of days.
http://naharavensari.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/flash-fiction-voice-mail-from-the-future/
February 13, 2014 @ 5:53 PM
I thought of a voicemail message, and decided Sir Woebegone had picked it up… this is what happened (goes live in about 75 minutes)
http://jemimapett.com/blog/2014/02/14/flash-fiction-friday-voices-from-the-future/
If anyone wants to phone the message into the number, please do 🙂
A Color That Didn’t Come From God | We Love The Stars Too Fondly
February 14, 2014 @ 1:51 AM
[…] Flash Fiction Challenge from Chuck Wendig. That’s normally the Thursday post here, but this week’s challenge calls for a very brief audio […]
February 16, 2014 @ 7:54 PM
Great idea! Chuck, thanks for letting us know about it.