Writers! Rev up your aethereal engines of imagination, and use the image above as a prompt to create a microfiction of one hundred words or less!
Anything that fits under the umbrella of speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction and more — is welcome to be shared as a comment to this post. I will select my favorite very short story from those submitted… and turn your words into a fully polished and credited presentation (in the style of my Aethereal Musings) to be featured on an upcoming Thursday on the blog!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
If your piece is selected to be featured, you will be in the running to win the 2019 AETHEREAL ENGINEER WRITER SUPPORT PRIZE PACKAGE!
This mysterious box will be packed with all sorts of wonderful goodies catering to your authorly needs, all hand selected by yours truly! At a total estimated value of at least $100, you could brag about receiving one of the highest per-word payouts for any submission, anywhere!
How might you win such a fantabulous treasure?
The featured Thursday posts for Aether Prompt winners (not the initial Wednesday prompts) will receive a score. Each “Like” on a post will grant one point to the author’s score, and each unique WordPress reblog will grant three points. The author of the piece with the most points by December 1st, 2019… WINS!
I reserve the full and unquestioned right to break any ties, disqualify entries if shenanigans are suspected, and declare a winner with absolute and final authority. If you win, I will require your physical address to ship your prize to you (with standard shipping included free of charge).
So what are you waiting for? Write to get your creative engines going today! Write for the glory! Write for a chance to win a fantabulous prize!
But whatever you do, just keep writing. :-)
Take care everyone, I look forward to your creations!
~Jason H. Abbott
Aethereal Engineer 
Neat idea!
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Thanks! Might you join in? ;-)
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I’m thinking about it.
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Looks interesting… I might try it out. To enter do you just comment on this post with your piece?
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Thank you! Yes, just drop it as a comment to this post.
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Nice one, Jason. Only 100 words is manageable too. Sounds like a great idea. :-)
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Thanks, Diana. I’m looking forward to the many directions the submissions could go in with an image prompt. It will also be fun to pick the winners, and make the picture vignettes of their pieces. :-)
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I’m still catching up from my break, but will give it a try in the weeks to come. :-)
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Amber roamed the giants’ palace and found it abandoned. There was not a sound other than her footsteps.
“This makes my job too simple. Now to find that magic goblet…”
Her whispers were just a note too high before intense shaking began. It shook her off her feet and made her sword slip out of her hand into a pile of decaying monster corpses.
“No!”
The sun was rising and she knew she’d be trapped there until sundown, lest her skin would burn and her soul evaporate.
Fate had it a vampire and a forgotten giant would fight that day.
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Congratulations, A.I., you’re the winner of the January 2nd Aether Prompt… and FIRST winner in the prompt series! :-D
I really liked your descriptions and setup here, and it gives me a cool feeling of some dark high-fantasy action about to take place. Nice work!
Your winning entry will get a featured post on Thursday, January 31st, and that also puts you in the running for the WRITER SUPPORT PRIZE PACKAGE being given out in December! Wowsers!
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Awesome, I’m really excited 😁 can’t wait to see what happens next. I can still participate on other prompts, right?
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You can most certainly participate in future prompts. :-)
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Morgan was finally home. It had been years since she had been safe within these towering walls. Morgan had first left Castle Hawthorne in what had felt like a desperate attempt at freedom. The ever watchful eye of her parents had been stifling and so she joined the army. Training as a battle dancer had been exhilarating, the rush of magic from the ground up into her hands was like nothing she had experienced before. The feeling had lasted until she‘d first killed someone. Five years later and she welcomed the sight of home, of safety and well-earned rest.
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The fragile noises of the rain were silenced before The Arch, where the realm of humans was partitioned from the unknown. Andre held an ancient longsword as his determined eyes gazed into The Arch. Upon the sword, runes glistened from rain and perspiration, their fine lines bearing the mark of exquisite craftsmanship. The pulsating light of an unidentified red stone implied the blades’ life of its own. As Andre padded nearer to The Arch, the sword seemed to howl in protest, forcing Andre to release the blade with irritation. He seized it once more and stepped into The Arch.
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I enjoyed the imagery you invoked, very nice. :-)
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