Writer In Motion has kicked off again and we’ve got a new prompt. I’ve been excited for this new season for months, and even though I’m less than 24 hours into the new project, already everything is different than last time. So grab a cup of cider and a warm blanket as I put on my over-achiever pants and take you all on journey 2.0.

If you’re new to the site and missed the first Writer In Motion journey, you can catch season one’s journey here.

The Prompt

I’ve been excited for months for the new prompt. The lovely Jeni Chappelle picked it again, and even when I knew she had finally uploaded it into the new blog post, I forced myself to wait like everyone else for the image to go live. I’ll share it with you guys, then post my reaction below.

Image by engin akyurt from Pixabay

My first reaction was a sinking feeling. This in no way reflects the image or the selector, but is more a mirror of who I am as a writer. As someone who loves bizarre worlds and dark themes, this image is very bright, happy and none of the elements stand out as ‘this is weird.’

But as I zoom in and look closer, it becomes easier to pick out interesting pieces. There’s rust only on one side of the pole, her arms are two different colors, and even more interesting is it looks like she’s using a lightsaber to cut open the sky. What is she escaping and is there something more interesting on the other side?

The Ideas

Last night I woke up at 3am and a story idea sparked out of nowhere about a collection of snow globes and how each one transports characters to a different world. Think Myst.

So when I made the connection of cutting open the sky to last night’s spark, I was assaulted with a flash of browns and golds and a dusty mansion with an eclectic collection of snow globes. As I started to sketch out ideas, the main character found me and within an hour I had a first draft.

Since it’s not time to share the draft yet, I’ll give you guys some fun teasers.

1. I used Pinterest to gather image ideas, and already there’s a strong noir, haunting, abandoned mansion vibe.

2. Thanks to Thomas Bergerson’s Sun album, I already have a theme song for the story:

3. And because I’m an over-achiever and love to do blends, I also created an aesthetic from some of the images. They don’t belong to me, this is just a way that helps me visualize the world as I’m building it. Ironically, this one turned into more of a cover.

Yep, I even have a title already. Though, chances are that will change multiple times before the final draft.

4. And finally, my heroine’s name is Emmaline Harrington. It sounds pretentious, doesn’t it? I can’t wait for y’all to meet her.

Next Steps

Now that I’ve given teasers, next Friday I’ll post my first (initial) draft and a second first draft. The reason is that the first one is rushed and went in the wrong direction at the end–it was too happy. So I’m going to rewrite the same scene with a darker twist at the end and readers will get to choose which one they like more.

I’m also going to be pulling out two fantastic resources: Outline a Story in Seven Steps by Chris Winkle and RevPit editor Cassandra’s Nine Grid Plan. Both are phenomenal for targeting the structure of the story and creating an arc that opens and closes with a twist.

That’s it for today! Be sure to check out www.writerinmotion.com for all the juicy details on how to participate with your own short story. Or you can follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #WriterInMotion.

K.J. Harrowick is a freelance web developer and graphic designer with more than a decade of industry experience on a diverse range of projects. As a child, she fell in love with fantasy worlds like those found in the books of Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey, which continued well into adulthood with the worlds of Ivan Cat and Rand & Robin Miller. She began to world build and create fantasy languages in 2004, and in 2014 it became a full-blown passion to write and publish her own books. Currently she resides in the rainy Pacific Northwest where she works with a broad range of client projects, plots how to destroy her characters’ lives, and occasionally falls down rabbit holes.