Gras Publishing

Did you see the Great American eclipse Monday, August 21? If you didn’t, we gotta ask, what Galaxy are you in?

But, if you did, and are still reeling from the wonders of space like we are, then this writing prompt is for you!

Space is a mystery; full of planets, stars, comets, and maybe even aliens. But no matter how much we learn, there is always something new to discover.

So, we’re sure you’ve heard the wives tales surrounding solar eclipses. If you haven’t, stop right now, go get educated, and come back once you’re ready to continue.

OK, now that you have eclipse folklore under your belt, what do you think would happen if the solar eclipse was a visual sign of a portal opening to another world? What if it was more than just the moon covering the sun, what if it was a warning to our planet that some strange life forms were stepping foot onto our lands for a few hours?

What would people do? What havoc would these creatures bring? Would they look just like us? What if they were an alternate version of us from an alternate universe? 

What if the solar eclipse was that one moment in time where the concept of the parallel time continuum became absolute truth?

What would happen?

Well, that’s up to you to find out. Write three flash fiction pieces answering these questions, each piece written in a different viewpoint. While you can pick whichever character type you want, we suggest the following as the most interesting character types:

The Law- How would a cop or military personnel handle this?

The Researcher- How would a scientist take this?

The Game- How would a child react? And what about a gamer?

Not only is this a fun exercise but it’s great practice for writing different point of views and character development. And if you want to make these flash fiction pieces even more challenging, make each character be witness to the same event, in the same location, at the same time, so you can really play with the boundaries of POV.

And once you write those pieces, feel free to let us know in the comments what character type you chose! And if you like what you read and want to see more, subscribe to our email list for more thoughts, quotes and writing prompts or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. 

Featured Image courtesy of Bank Phrom