Story Prompts | December 2024
by Switch-Lit
Every month, Switch-Lit releases new story prompts to help launch your next collaborative fiction journey. You can find them on the Switch-Lit “Prompts” page, or revisit our full archive of prompts here on Substack.
This month’s theme: Heirloom
Amidst the chaos of the holiday season, whether interpersonal or professional, here’s a thought to slow down time to a singular point:
Do you have a prized family heirloom? Or perhaps something still unclaimed that you would like to caretake for the rest of your days? To whom might you pass it?
These are objects (or organic matter) made both useful and enchanted by a mix of our imagination and time. Could a collaborative story with a family member, chosen or biological, age then into another kind of keepsake, or heirloom, one day?
🎹💎🍅🗡️🥪
– Ken
S••L Editor
Prompt 1
Write a multi-generational story where each chapter presents a new family member and their unique relationship to an heirloom piano.
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 2
“LOST: Gold bloodstone ring. Family heirloom. Last seen near dog park. Reward if found. Please contact…”
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 3
After my grandfather died, I learned of my inheritance: a plot of land, a metal detector, and a jar of unmarked heirloom seeds.
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 4
The wavy dagger was a pusaka so powerful that it would snatch the souls of anyone it deemed an enemy of the truth.
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 5
Assemble a gastronomic story where every chapter is a layer of a sensational sandwich, including at least some warm slices of heirloom tomato.
by Switch-Lit