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: Playlist
This coming week, Switch-Lit will be showcasing at SXSW in Austin, Texas and so inspired by the music and film roots of the SXSW Festival, we thought the use of a music playlist as a storytelling device or structure would be a provocative one to explore from various angles.
While the fifth prompt is meant for those who will be physically at SXSW, the other prompts were crafted with you all in mind. What is the last playlist you made either for yourself or others? Explore the sounds, rhythms, and musicality of words – both curated or your own – in a collaboratively curated “playlist”.
And if you’re writing half of the “playlist”, then perhaps even more reason to be listening twice as much… 🙉
– Ken
S••L Editor
Prompt 1
After my father died, he left me his epic collection of vinyl records so I decided to listen and learn a thing or two. (Write a story or poem inspired by the true story of @soundwavesoffwax).
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 2
Speak to one another only through curated song lyrics, inspired descriptions of nature sounds, or a combination of both in this prose poem by two where “literary mixtape meets guided meditation”.
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 3
Craft a character portrait of a beloved local radio DJ in the days leading up to a final show.
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 4
Write a (two) tone poem with each chapter inspired by the emotional depth, richness, and range of your unique writer color.
by Switch-Lit
Prompt 5
Write the vivid sounds of the SXSW experience in a sensory-driven acrostic poem. The first letter of each chapter must spell out “S-O-U-T-H-B-Y-S-O-U-T-H-W-E-S-T” when read vertically for a total of 16 chapters.
by Switch-Lit @ SXSW 🏜️
🌹Inspired by one of our monthly prompts, but don’t have a writing partner? You can now join our monthly prompts-based Subrosa round to write with a stranger.
Deadline for matchmaking: March 31, 2025
(🔥You can now sign up for this round until the end of the month AND matchmaking will happen on a rolling basis!)