Last week’s challenge: “Four Random Items.”
I wrote this book. It’s out now, and for a subgenre, I sometimes laughingly call it “cornpunk.”
This week, I’m over at Scalzi’s Whatever talking about the Big Idea behind the book, screaming a bit about corn and GMOs and Monsanto and marriage equality and raising a child and — well, hell, just go read it. Point is, I talk a little about the origins of “cornpunk.”
And now, this week’s challenge, I want you to come up with your own something-punk.
Preferably something that hasn’t been done before (cyber- steam- diesel- bug- etc.).
You’ve got 1000 words.
Due in one week’s time: August 9th, noon EST.
I’ll pick three random participants to get signed copies of Under the Empyrean Sky (if you’re in the US; I can send internationally if you want to pony up the shipping).
Go forth and write, ‘punkers.
Misa Buckley says:
A friend and I created “Mittenpunk”, which is basically any ‘punk genre set in winter.
August 2, 2013 — 11:58 AM
Jim Franklin says:
Nice challenge. I shall be back.
August 2, 2013 — 12:02 PM
June Weiss says:
I am currently working on an aquapunk story, set both on and under water.
August 2, 2013 — 12:14 PM
thesexiestwriter says:
I’m in to aquaboogie myself, but not aquapunk. Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloo. Sorry, just channeling my inward george clinton
August 2, 2013 — 2:49 PM
June Weiss says:
We should all have an inner george clinton! Atomic Dog is often my personal theme song.
August 3, 2013 — 2:29 PM
Jemima Pett says:
My Princelings of the East world runs on strawberry juice and has missed out the age of steam completely. If I knew what the punk bit meant, I suppose I could call it strawberry punk. In fact since in a short story for Chistmas the Scottish castle substituted raspberry juice, I suppose it’s really Fruitpunk 😉
August 2, 2013 — 12:21 PM
Jemima Pett says:
It is fruitpunk! and it’s online in about 2 hours. http://jemimapett.com/2013/08/09/friday-flash-fiction-fruitpunk
August 8, 2013 — 6:04 PM
Michael Grasso says:
Does it have to be fiction? Because on my blog I did a pretty cool look at what “Voynichpunk” might look like. Clocks in at 1,009 words, conveniently enough:
http://www.renfusa.com/2012/10/voynichpunk.html
August 2, 2013 — 12:25 PM
Mark Gardner says:
Initially, I wasn’t gonna participate this week. Then while I was repairing my son’s computer, I thought of three different something-punk ideas. I already forgot about one of them, and have chosen COFFEEPUNK! I’m hoping to get this one finished before I head to work. Ive gotten a few hundred words already.
August 2, 2013 — 2:09 PM
Mark Gardner says:
Check out CoffeePunk:
http://article94.blogspot.com/2013/08/coffeepunk.html
August 2, 2013 — 3:48 PM
tbianconi says:
That was an interesting read. I’m still thinking of what I, myself, was going to post… Perhaps Geneti-punk. What happens when genetically engineering yourself becomes a national pastime, and a bit too prevalent…
August 2, 2013 — 6:30 PM
jdsfiction says:
Slick alternate history, man. Definitely puts a spin on things. I really enjoy that coffee has become a basis for currency instead of precious metals. I’m a HUGE fan of coffee, sometimes I think it’s why I was named Joe. Good show. 🙂
August 3, 2013 — 6:33 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I’m glad you enjoyed it. If I were to turn this into a novelette, I would make it so everyone was addicted to coffee. I wanted more exhibition, but that’s just not possible. The FFC that I’m most interested in continuing was my ‘last words first’ story.
August 4, 2013 — 11:54 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Nice! I like the irony of this, the way you’ve turned things on their head.
August 4, 2013 — 11:40 PM
peterjam says:
Ha! That was pretty good. Maybe it’s because I’m mexican, but I really liked it. You expertly told us all the back story without making it seem forced or crammed. Good job.
August 6, 2013 — 2:03 PM
Mark Gardner says:
Several people have mentioned they liked the backstory. I was worried since I read somewhere that exhibition kills mystery and backstory is a muddy bog or something.
August 8, 2013 — 11:23 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
I have made… Abductionpunk!
Which led to to writing Half-way to Home O’Clock: http://mrurbanspaceman.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/half-way-to-home-oclock-a-flash-fiction-piece/
August 2, 2013 — 2:36 PM
Wanderer says:
Chuck Wendig, making us get weird every Friday. I have no idea where this one came from.
Land of the Free, Home of the BigMac http://secondstaronther.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/land-of-the-free-home-of-the-bigmac/
August 2, 2013 — 3:37 PM
Mozette says:
Something-punk… woah…. jeez… I hope I can get into this one. I have the time to do it fortunately too. 🙂
August 2, 2013 — 7:31 PM
D. W. Coventry (@DWCoventry) says:
I dub thee Needlepunk
http://dwcoventry.com/fiction/2013/8/2/needlepunk
Could have used about, oh, 79,000 more words to flesh out this one.
August 2, 2013 — 8:12 PM
Ilona the Rose says:
Go right ahead! I, for one, would be reading the rest of those 79,000 words.
August 2, 2013 — 11:04 PM
Chris Mackey says:
I would also read the other 79,000 words. Great job.
August 3, 2013 — 10:59 AM
jdsfiction says:
Dude! I fucking love this. I want more of this right here. I would buy and read a whole novel of this story. You did a fantastic job. I enjoy the gritty feel and the rumble suits are a brilliant idea.
Great job, bro! 🙂
August 4, 2013 — 2:04 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Amazing! Where do I sign up for the rest?
August 6, 2013 — 1:18 PM
Wanderer says:
Ditto to the rest—MORE! This was fabulous. Such great world-building and I actually liked that you didn’t go into too much detail about your vocabulary. It just sunk me deeper into the story.
Glad the Boston I’m moving to is NOT like that!
August 8, 2013 — 12:53 PM
D. W. Coventry (@DWCoventry) says:
That’s what you think!
I kid, I kid. Most of the mutants stay in Quincy (still kidding!)
August 8, 2013 — 1:52 PM
Wanderer says:
Adding THAT to list of areas to avoid…
August 8, 2013 — 2:04 PM
Uri Emram says:
Very good. I’m impressed at the little details that make the world feel alive. Especially given the space constraints.
August 8, 2013 — 5:03 PM
J.T. Carlton says:
I’m really disappointed that this has been taken down. Where has D.W. Coventry gone?
February 29, 2016 — 11:14 AM
delilah says:
I have invented… HAIKUPUNK.
Ahem.
HOW MANY SYLLABLES
DID YOU SAY? FIVE?
FUCK YOU, MAN. I WRITE WHAT I FEEL.
August 2, 2013 — 9:39 PM
curiouskermit says:
Perfect! Love the Haikupunk!
August 3, 2013 — 12:40 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Haha, brilliant!
August 7, 2013 — 11:28 AM
absolutely1kate says:
Punkable I see
When you go off on that spree
Hip hep jive hooray
August 9, 2013 — 2:06 AM
Matt Gomez says:
Bah and humbug. I wrote magicpunk. Which has been done before, and better, surely.
http://www.writerscarnival.ca/a-simple-plan/
August 2, 2013 — 10:15 PM
jdsfiction says:
Great set-up with a well delivered ending. Fun read, Matt! I enjoyed your telling very much. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
August 6, 2013 — 2:14 AM
Mozette says:
Okay…. I knew this was going to be a tough one… but I gave it a go. Let me know what you think…
May I present: Fantasy-Punk
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/the-life-drawing-class.html
I hope this is what you’re all looking for. 😀
August 3, 2013 — 12:14 AM
Mozette says:
Maybe I should change that to Angel-Punk. 😛
August 4, 2013 — 9:08 AM
jdsfiction says:
Such a great idea. The thought of an Angel showing up for a life drawing as a model is brilliant. Well played, Mozette! 🙂
August 6, 2013 — 2:25 AM
Mozette says:
Thank you… and I had a few ideas of how to take it. I was going to have it all in the Angel’s mind, or one of the artist’s minds… or even the witch’s mind. But I took it as a third person POV and it worked out even better when I put a Supernatural spin to it as well where demons, Angels and half-mortals walked amongst us as well. 😀
August 6, 2013 — 7:52 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Nice story and concept Mozette, Angelpunk sounds great.
August 6, 2013 — 1:38 PM
S.W. Sondheimer says:
I present, for what I hope is your reading pleasure: ARTPUNK!
The School of Sunflowers
http://swsondheimer.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/artpunk/
August 3, 2013 — 4:58 AM
Mozette says:
I love this one! I’m an arty, nerdy, reading, book person… and I love this! 😀
August 3, 2013 — 7:50 AM
S.W. Sondheimer says:
As am I and I’m so glad you liked it!
August 3, 2013 — 7:57 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I loved it. Great job!
August 6, 2013 — 1:44 PM
S.W. Sondheimer says:
thank you!
August 6, 2013 — 5:04 PM
Happiness is Not a Disease says:
Maybe you’d like to take a peek at my HAIRPUNK tragedy…
http://happinessisnotadisease.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/hairless-a-hairpunk-tragedy/
August 3, 2013 — 10:21 AM
Happiness is Not a Disease says:
This is going to be awkward. Oh well. See, the story can’t be found in that link anymore since I removed it. Sorry for shitting in your e-space.
August 4, 2013 — 4:47 AM
Mozette says:
Why did you removed it?
August 8, 2013 — 8:19 PM
Happiness is Not a Disease says:
I am submitting it elsewhere, thus I can’t have public access to it anymore in the blog.
August 8, 2013 — 9:07 PM
Mario says:
I just saw a car with a bumper sticker reading “dogpunk”. I’m guessing that’s set in a world gone mad where the pooches shelter us, feed us, and pick up our crap.
August 3, 2013 — 2:42 PM
jdsfiction says:
In a dog eat dog world, don’t be the guy in milkbone underwear…
August 6, 2013 — 2:38 AM
jreinmiller says:
Well for something different this week, I give you, weatherpunk.
http://www.jqpdx.com/2013/08/03/rain-rain/
August 3, 2013 — 4:15 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Hehe, with the weather this summer being uncharacteristically sunny and hellishly hot, I’ll trade Tom for a little rain and misery gratis. Nice story.
August 6, 2013 — 1:51 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Nice! And interesting topic, too. At first I thought it was a bit weird, but it really worked out well.
August 8, 2013 — 1:41 PM
jreinmiller says:
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the story. Up here in the Pacific NW we have more than our fair share of clouds and rain, so for us getting some sunshine when we needed it would be wonderful.
August 8, 2013 — 8:46 PM
jdsfiction says:
I call it Fablepunk…. Ended up revisiting the world from my first ever flash challenge, hehe.
I give you: Dome, Sweet Dome. Enjoy. 🙂
http://jdsfiction.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/somethingpunk-flash-fiction-challenge/
August 3, 2013 — 5:51 PM
Mozette says:
A fun – yet sad – piece… I felt really bad for the pixie … but Harper did a great thing after all.
August 3, 2013 — 10:11 PM
jdsfiction says:
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading, Mozette. 🙂
August 5, 2013 — 4:48 PM
J.E. Mac says:
Made me laugh :). Cracked out Pixies are awesome.
August 6, 2013 — 5:24 AM
jdsfiction says:
Thanks! Glad you had fun with it. 🙂
August 6, 2013 — 1:09 PM
James McCormick says:
This. So much this. 🙂
August 8, 2013 — 10:40 PM
curiouskermit says:
Here is my punk piece: Elfpunk
http://curiouskermit.wordpress.com/
feedback would be truly appreciated! =)
August 4, 2013 — 1:16 AM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Uhhh! A mental image of santa as a gingerholic and elves danicing on the table. Very funny.
August 6, 2013 — 2:23 PM
curiouskermit says:
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂
August 6, 2013 — 10:29 PM
Mozette says:
I’m sure glad we didn’t do this one near Christmas… you’d creep out a lot of people with this one.
August 8, 2013 — 8:41 PM
curiouskermit says:
thanks! =)
August 8, 2013 — 10:14 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I chose Dragonpunk (yeah which makes it fantasy) and my story is called Burrower. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
http://www.trinetoftschmidt.com/2013/08/flash-fiction-challenge-inventing-a-punk/
August 4, 2013 — 4:09 PM
Rob (@RJ_Ruthven) says:
Teslapunk exists already, but I haven’t seen much fiction for it, so I might try and do something with that.
August 4, 2013 — 5:26 PM
jodilee says:
May I present a go at HoneyPunk, titled Sting – http://jodilee.sacredtriskele.net/?p=2618.
August 4, 2013 — 5:39 PM
Remy says:
This is my first flash fiction challenge 😀 I wrote a Songpunk story.
http://doremy-marin.tumblr.com/post/57378637306/so-chuck-wendig-http-terribleminds-com
I like the world so much, i might just use it for a novel next NaNoWriMo.
August 4, 2013 — 8:34 PM
Mozette says:
That was so wickedly cool! I love it! 😀
August 4, 2013 — 9:47 PM
curiouskermit says:
That was fantastic! I would read that novel. Please write it!
August 4, 2013 — 11:28 PM
Remy says:
Thank you both for reading it! ^^ I’m glad you liked it.
August 9, 2013 — 7:16 PM
David says:
OK, behold the new genre of LavaPunk!
http://narratorium.com/2013/08/05/opus-magma/
August 5, 2013 — 12:04 AM
JoMax says:
Flash fiction challenges. Consider me inspired. I’m going 70s. Feelingluckypunk. Time to brew some words and bust some punks.
August 5, 2013 — 12:39 AM
Elisa Nuckle says:
I came up with mechapunk. It’s become a pretty solid thing that I want to expand on now. Thanks for that, Mr. Wendig, sir. 😀
http://elisanuckle.com/2013/08/05/mechapunk-aether/
Hope it’s enjoyable.
August 5, 2013 — 1:11 AM
Josh Loomis says:
I think this qualifies more as LaserPunk than CyberPunk. You be the judge. Straight out of the goddamn ’80s:
http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/2013/08/05/flash-fiction-magnum-damage/
Rock on.
August 5, 2013 — 9:37 AM
Simon says:
My upcoming novel is kung fu punk.
August 5, 2013 — 9:57 AM
Jon Jefferson says:
How about some “Super hero punk”? http://jonjeffersonauthor.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/just-another-day/
August 5, 2013 — 1:05 PM
Alex Livingston (@galaxyalex) says:
A little taste of Colorpunk. http://galaxyalex.com/?p=1197
August 5, 2013 — 8:46 PM
tbianconi says:
This week I decided to do something different, so it is not a continuation of my previous posts. http://kalganrhendron.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/genetipunk/
August 6, 2013 — 12:58 AM
seanbidd says:
First crack at one of Chuck’s challenges. I probably ended up with more of a framework than a piece of flash fiction, could of made use a lot more punk too. But I was combining a prompt from another in conjunction.
http://seanbidd.com/2013/08/03/eucalyptus-punk-a-forest-carnival/
August 6, 2013 — 4:19 AM
John Chronikal says:
C’mon fellas, I can’t be the only one who thought of SEXPUNK. Tisk, tisk.
http://johnchronikal.com/2013/08/06/the-crime-of-passion/
August 6, 2013 — 4:57 PM
Fatma Alici says:
Maybe you were the only brave one. Though, it wouldn’t have ever occurred to me.
August 7, 2013 — 12:29 AM
jreinmiller says:
Well that is well outside my wheel house, but I did think it was well written. Perhaps more dystopian than punk, but I thought you told a good story using tension, and pacing very well.
August 8, 2013 — 8:58 PM
Fatma Alici says:
It took me a while to go to this one this week even though I read the prompt and had an idea right away. Soulpunk!
This piece is titled: Shattersoul
http://naharavensari.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/shattersoul/
August 6, 2013 — 9:29 PM
ironsoap says:
I struggled with this challenge. The concept I came up with really, really wanted to be more than 1,000 words and I ended up doing way more research than I expected to for a writing exercise. But in the end I’m reasonably happy with the result.
I humbly submit: algaepunk.
http://ironsoap.com/2013/08/dry-mass-factor/
August 7, 2013 — 2:08 AM