{"id":22236,"date":"2014-02-07T07:04:35","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T12:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=22236"},"modified":"2014-02-07T07:04:35","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T12:04:35","slug":"flash-fiction-challenge-voicemails-from-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2014\/02\/07\/flash-fiction-challenge-voicemails-from-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Flash Fiction Challenge: Voicemails from the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week’s challenge is a\u00a0guest 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<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. In fact, this challenge is related to that — <\/em><\/p>\n

Well, I’ll just let them tell you, those damn time traveling magpies.<\/em><\/p>\n

* * *<\/em><\/p>\n

You be the lookout. Mkay?<\/p>\n

*pulls out slim jim*<\/p>\n

*strips back ignition wires*<\/p>\n

Ahem. Now that I\u2019ve stolen the Wendig Flash Fiction DeLorean, let\u2019s take this baby out for a spin.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the set-up:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a glitch in the voicemail system in the near future \u2013 what sort? How should I know, it\u2019s in the future. Jeez. The important part is that this glitch sends voicemails back to our time. Really, I should say the near futures<\/em>. There\u2019s a cone of possibilities, you see, and that becomes dead obvious when you listen to these voicemails. They\u2019re all over the possibilities map.<\/p>\n

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Script a voicemail from one of these futures.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019re eavesdroppers.<\/p>\n

Setting:<\/strong> Think near future \u2013 2020 to 2065.<\/p>\n

People:<\/strong> Let\u2019s cast this voicemail, shall we. Who is your caller? Who are they playing phone tag with? What\u2019s their relationship?<\/p>\n

The authentic future:<\/strong> What are the clues that let me know this is taking place in the future? What\u2019s different? Climate-changed, maybe? (more on this later)<\/p>\n

Authentic voicemail.<\/strong> Remember, this is a voicemail \u2013 one person calling another \u2013 so getting all exposition-y doesn\u2019t really make sense. (Unless your caller is a reporter for \u2013 uhoh, now I\u2019m giving you ideas dammit!) But you get the gist. Conversational. True to the spoken word.<\/p>\n

Got it all scripted? Good! Pens down.<\/strong> And now, here\u2019s the Stolen Flash Fiction DeLorean Twist: record your voicemail! You heard me correctly. There\u2019s a hotline just for you to record voicemails from the futures. How cool is that. Ready for it?<\/p>\n

+1 (321) 732-6278\u00a0 or, if it\u2019s easier, 321-7-FCOAST<\/p>\n

[note from Chuck: feel free to still give us links to your voicemail scripts if you so desire<\/em>]<\/p>\n

Wha?<\/strong>\u00a0But 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<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. It\u2019s 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 \u2013 one-sided mini conversations \u2013 helps to make a huge-big-abstract issue a little more human-sized.<\/p>\n

After you call and record your voicemail, it gets published on FutureCoast.org<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

And for those of you who go all-in, there\u2019s a storybuilder on the site called Timestream. You use it to make \u201cmixtapes of the future,\u201d using voicemails \u2013 your own or other people\u2019s. 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…).<\/p>\n

Due date.<\/strong>\u00a0Sunday, February 23.<\/p>\n

Prize<\/strong>. Top contributor gets a secret futurismic mission and the props to complete it \u2013 wherever you may be. dun dun dun<\/em><\/p>\n

Tips and inspiration.<\/strong> To be found on the \u2018behind the curtain\u2019 site: FutureVoices.net<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

rrr-rrr-rrRR- vROOM.<\/strong> You ready to take the Flash Fiction DeLorean for a spin? Watch out, it gets a little unstable at 88 mph…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week’s challenge is a\u00a0guest 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-5ME","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22236"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22242,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22236\/revisions\/22242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}