Santa Prompts are Coming to Town [Note on pg 73]

Santa was having the best time of his life. It was that busy time of the year for him where he made his commute to Earth far below and rained gifts on all the excited little children. He loved his job and his fancy sleigh, though he wished he could stay around and see those kids opening the gifts with their little hands and hear their shouts of joy the next morning. Rudolph was leading the way with his shiny,red nose, and Dasher and Dancer were pulling his leg as usual about being Santa’s favorite, though he loved all of them just the same.  

Everything was going perfectly and on schedule, but things sometimes do have a way of going wrong, even on Christmas Eve. Just then, Santa’s transdimensional phone pinged with an urgent text from his headquarters in the North Pole. “There is a major demand for fluffy stories this year in addition to the gifts we’re bringing, and it is upto our squad to provide these to the people on Earth who’re already bogged down with corona waves, earthquakes, landslides, and whatnot. So make sure every home you’re bringing gifts to also has a good, fluffy story to curl up with for the holidays!” 

Huh! What was he supposed to do? Where would he come up with these fluffy stories on such short notice? He was just the deliverer of gifts, not a magician like that Harry Potter kid or a writer like that Jane Austen lady!

So he did the only thing he could think of. He texted us, the FFDT, for help, praying that the famous Christmas spirit that abounded at this time on Earth would inspire us to help him. For where else could he find such brilliant creative minds that could come up with such stories other than right here on IF?

Fear not, Santa! We, at the FFDT, are more than happy to help you out and have already found a way to bring you these stories!

This is where all you splendid IF writers come in! Help us help Santa by sending us stories about Christmas or the holiday season. We will provide you with the prompts that you can use as the backbone for your story! Your stories will not only bring cheer to the people that are waiting for them, but will also provide some relaxing holiday entertainment for Santa, his reindeer and his elves who’re sure to be tired out after all their hard work this season!

If you want to be one of Santa’s little helpers, select a prompt by 18 December! 

For more details, check the next post, and for the prompts, check the post below it.

Credits

Write-up: LizzieBennet and oye_nakhrewaali

Proof-reading and Inputs: LizzieBennet

Tags: oye_nakhrewaali

Bullets and Gifs: Respective owners

Prompts: LizzieBennet, tournesol, oye_nakhrewaali

In the following post, we have provided 5 gifs which will be the first part of our five prompts. You have to choose one of these gifs, and we will send you the second part. You will have to employ both parts to come up with a story.

You have to select one gif prompt from the next post and post your selection in the comments or PM it to oye_nakhrewaali. You have until 18 December 2021, 11.59 PM IST to do so. You cannot change your prompt after the said deadline, but can change before that. We will PM you the full prompt by 19 December 2021, 11.59 PM IST. 

You can submit only one entry using the prompt you have selected. 

Your one-shot should revolve around the gif and the prompt. 

You can create your own character or write a one-shot based on any Hollywood/Bollywood movie or web or Hindi TV show. Please mention the name of the show/movie. That being said, regional shows and movies aren't allowed. 

The genre of the story should be fluff, and the sub-theme should be a celebration of the holiday season. (Pls note that it does not have to pertain to Christmas specifically. It can be New Year’s or just a general celebration but the theme should reflect the spirit of the season.)

The word length of the one-shot should be around 1500-2000 (+/- 500 words are allowed) words. The story should be in English, but a few Hindi words are allowed. 

The story should have a title. 

IF COC needs to be followed. Explicit content in the story is not acceptable.

Real person fictions are not allowed.

The FFEs and the BRs will judge the entries. The judging will be anonymous and marking will be based on creativity, flow of narration, vocabulary and grammar, theme, and correct inclusion of prompts in the story. 

We will have winners and runners-up for each prompt or the overall contest, depending on the number of entries/ participants. This decision is up to the team. 

Winner(s) will be featured in February 2022 in the Fanfiction section. 

Entries should be submitted on or before 31 December 2021, 11.59 PM IST to oye_nakhrewaali.

For queries, contact Koeli/ LizzieBennet/ oye_nakhrewaali or drop your questions in the comment section.

The prompts are meant to spark your imagination and lead you to a particular destination, but just how you want to get there is entirely up to you.

To make this more fun, we will be sharing only the prompt gifs with you but the second part of the prompt will be revealed to you via PM on 19 December. The second part can be a song, a passage, a piece of dialogue, a string of words or a plot skeleton.

To reiterate, these gifs are simply a part of the prompt. Your stories should not relate to the characters featured in the frame. 

For eg. Prompt 4 features Ram and Priya from Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2. If you pick Prompt 4, you should NOT be writing on these 2 characters.

Also, if the gif has someone speaking a piece of dialogue, you must include that dialogue in your story as well. The prompts can appear at any point in the story. The gif and part 2 of the prompt can come together in the story or at different points.

Please note that your story should revolve around both the prompts. 

Choose one among these 5 gif prompts and we’ll send you the second part of the prompt on 19 December 2021. 

Prompt 1: 

Prompt 2: 

Prompt 3:

Prompt 4:

Prompt 5:  

What is a prompt and how do I work with it? Can you explain the types of prompts provided?

A writing prompt is a brief passage of text (or sometimes an image) that provides a potential topic idea or starting point for an original essay, report, journal entry, story, poem, or other forms of writing.

Prompt skeletons: The basic plot around which your story will revolve. 

String of words prompt: These words become the key components of your story and drive the plot of your story and also have to feature in your story.

Song prompt: Use the full song or part of its lyrics to convey the story. You can either include the song itself, or its lyrics can appear in the dialogue as a part of your story, or your story can be based around the song. Be creative on how you use the song/lyrics. But remember, it plays an important part in the story and cannot just be casually mentioned once and never alluded to again.

Dialogue prompt: A piece of dialogue spoken by the characters in the story that necessarily has to feature in your story, so you can work your story around this, making the piece of dialogue appear in it at any point in the story. 

Paragraph prompt: The entire paragraph or a part of it features in your story at any point in the story. 

Gif prompt: This works like a picture prompt i.e all the action, including dialogue that is happening in the gif should feature in your story. For eg. If the gif shows a character with his mouth open and an expression of shock on his face, you need to have this action expressed in your story on any character.

How should I include both the gif and the prompt in the story? 

The prompt fulfillment should be your main goal i.e. writing the story around the second part of the prompt that we will PM you. However, you will also have to work in the gif provided (that you picked) as part of your story. Judging will be based on how well you managed to integrate both parts of the prompt into the story. By including gifs/ songs we don’t mean you should actually paste the songs/ gifs in your story. We want to see the action/dialogue in the gif featured in your story. 

(check next question to know how to include gifs in the story)

How do I include the gif in the story?

Suppose we use the above gif. So, you can write a story about how two characters went cycling. You don’t have to write on the same characters/ actors featured in the gif. What we’ll look for is the action/scene background in the gif being included in the story.

How do I write an original character if there is a gif given?

You can write a story on another character played by the actor in the gif, a totally different fictional character or an original character whose actions are similar to that of the character in the gif.

Using the example in question 3 in the FAQs, again, you can write how Shanaya from Student of the Year and Ram from Main Hoon Naa ended up cycling in Goa or write about Sunny and Ayesha from Dil Dhadakne Do going cycling or write how completely original characters ended up cycling. They need not even be in Goa. They can be in the Netherlands or Timbuktu. What we’ll look for is the action/scene background in the gif being included in the story. In the above example, it’s two people cycling down a path on a clear day with palm trees on either side.

The prompt gif shows a male character, can I change the genders of the characters?

Yes. Irrespective of the genders in the gif/prompt, you can decide what you want to do with the stories. The prompts will contain the genders so that distinction between characters is possible, but the ball is in your court. Feel free to switch genders and write same gender pairing if you so wish to. In short, you don’t have to stick to anything in the gif apart from the setting and the action happening in the scene. Take the example in question 3 in the FAQs - you can have 2 men, or 2 women, or a man and a child - Anyone at all can be cycling!

If the prompt is gender specific, you can change it, too. For eg: Prompt 3 says "Nice Guys don't kiss like that" but you can include it in your story where in its a guy saying to a girl "Nice girls don't kiss like that"You can change gender related pronouns in the dialogue

Please note that the gif from “Dear Zindagi” is just used for explanation purposes. However, one-shots based on the movie or its characters will be accepted.

Is it okay to take just the characters from the show but not the story that is being shown, like if I am writing on Arnav and Khushi, then I can write a world totally different from what is shown in the show?

Yes. As long as you avoid the characters (not actors) in the gifs in the prompt post in your shot, you are good to go. To be precise, you'll have to avoid Harry Potter for prompt 2,  Bridget Jones- Mark Darcy for prompt3, Ram-Priya for prompt 4 and Sara Thomas and Jonathan Trager for prompt 5

When is the last date for sign up?

18 December 2021

When is the last date for sign up? Will everyone get the same prompt? So for example if 4 people pick the last gif, would all of them get the same prompt for part 2 or different ones?

Yes

Are we not allowed to use the same couple from the gif? So if you pick the gif on balh, you cant write on that couple?

If you chose Priya-Ram gif, you have to write on different character, your story shouldn't feature the people in the gif, just their actions

What is "fluff" genre?

Fluff genre is simply defined as having an overall happy feeling to the work, and is the exact opposite of an Angst piece where the genre is defined as having an overall negative feeling. Stories without angst; any pleasant or feel-good stories can be said to belong to fluff genre

Prompt #1

1. WinterAy 
2. Minionite
3. AwaamKiJaan
4. MessyMind
5. TunesOfHeart
6. WildestDreams
7. Savera84 
8. foreverlazy 
9. MafiaQueen
10. Mg13
    

Prompt #2

1. Scribble19
2. Bee222
3. BlurredLines
4. docritu99
   
5. luvumjht
   
6. Chir-Cute
7. mr.Flawed
   

Prompt #3

1. aawaaradill
2. Eternized_Blues
   
3. Mridzy
   
4. -Rehanna-
5. Miss.M
   
6. elaichai
7. dramebaaz.af
   

Prompt #4

1. BrhannadaArmour 

Prompt #5

1. Shivi72
2. Elvish_Hobbit
   
3. Potterhead3009
   
4. DelusionsOfNeha
5. simply.meghana
   
6. milkcakejamun
   
7. evilxbalaa
8. Km181
9. TaaRey_LoveArt
10. Gadbad_Ghotala
11. Shalini_Taarey
12. -Sarcy-
13. sherry_24
    
14. Nupurjaishwal

Just tagging some writers from the PS forum. Would you guys like to sign up? 

tagging a few BALH2 writers, sasti masti😆

Some more from the PS forum

Yet some more PS writers!

Tagging some of our Featured Authors