ONC prompts

From my understanding other than the genre, age, gender and sexuality nothing was allowed to be changed about the prompts. I could be wrong but I don’t think you can really change the prompts beyond those things.

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They did seem very strict about the prompts last year, like amusingly so. I remember someone asking if there had to be a farmer apprentice in a certain prompt, and they received a reply that it could be another kind of apprentice, and that wasn’t even the important part of the prompt (just don’t ask me what the rest of the prompt was… it was something about finding someone from another world or something).

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Yeah like 95% of the prompt has to stay. Otherwise the story would most likely turn into something completely different that would make the prompt no longer fit.

The strictness is why I don’t try to fit a story idea I already have into the prompts. I feel like I would just end up not using the prompt because it didn’t fit with the idea I already had. But I definitely envy those who can fit their ideas into a prompt.

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You could change a bit more AND combine the prompts as well (but they didn’t recommend more than 2). If I remember correctly, the first 2K didn’t have to be on prompt, but by 8K they wanted the prompt to be evident

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Yeah, I actually had a story idea last year that I wanted to write, but it didn’t fit into any prompts. And then I had another idea out of the blue instead! (inspired by the iguana prompt) So the same thing might happen this year if I don’t find something that fits my story very well (or that I can mold the story to fit). I don’t really want to shoehorn too much :joy:

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My first one was on prompt that was a quote from Austen, that every man of good fortune must be in want of a wife, and it fit the story I had in mind without any alterations, though I made my character paraphrase those words quite openly in an early chapter.

Last year, while I never used it, I actually had a story idea that also fit one of the propmpts without requiring any alterations (conceptually)

I kinda feel that quotes often are the best

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Honestly, I thought that it was right on. Iguana. Captain. Pirates. All the ingredients were there!

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Quotes are definitely good to fit in with other ideas you already have. I always end up ignoring them mostly since I can never think of a way to naturally include them in a story.

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I thought they got released already and I was genuinely terrified LOL

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Nah you still got at least five more days minimum.

I’m hoping there will be a prompt that will work for my next project so I can enter! Or at least- For one of the concepts floating around in my brain.

The one I want to do next is going to be the journal of a cryptid hunter but twisted into ridiculousness! (Cue the Frame of Many Doors and Killer Corn)

What am I expecting to see? Ehhh… Don’t know. This’ll only be my second year, so… Not an expert here.

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Well an ambassador just confirmed that the prompts will be releasing on the first. It’s nice to have a date but I was really hoping they would come out this month.

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Well, that hat means I can still meet January goals. Lmao

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That’s great! I was kind of assuming it would be around then (I think the prompts were out on the 1st last year), but it’s nice to have it confirmed :slight_smile:

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They were out on the 18th of January last year.

Ah, I guess I’m misremembering (or remembering another year) :joy:

Skeletons riding ostriches

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Skeletons bursting out of closets and riding badass ostriches who are half cassowary?

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DON’T ENTER ONC THIS YEAR. If you win they get the IP-rights for your story for free and can do whatever they want with it. While you can’t ever do anything with it.

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Clarification and source?