Power up Prompt #1: 6.14.25

A setting, a character, and a conflict to use however you please

Welcome, one and all, to the first-ever Power Up Prompt! This is a new weekly series I’ll be doing each Saturday that builds upon the work I’ve done during Flash Fiction February and the Madness & (May)hem challenges that I hosted so far in 2025.

While you wait for the next 30-day challenge, Power Up Prompts will be here every Saturday going forward. Let’s find out how they work!

A Prompt With Three Levels

My vision for Power Up Prompts is to put the power in the hands of my fellow writers. Most prompts give you a single idea to run with, and those are great, but I’m always looking for ways to keep you on your toes.

So, these weekly prompts are going to have three separate parts that can fit together, but they can also work on their own. This will allow you to mix and match to your heart’s content, and set the challenge accordingly!

Should you decide to participate, here’s how you can figure out which power level your story falls into:

• Level 1 = A story or poem that uses one of the three elements

• Level 2 = A story or poem that uses two of the three elements

• Level 3 = A story or poem that uses all three elements

For the time being, going for level 3 will not only give you bragging rights, but it will also get you a shout-out from me on my weekly writing podcast, Saved as Draft. I’ll feature a quick look at Level 3 stories each week in the show’s introduction before the standard weekly shout-out segment.

With the rules out of the way, let’s look at this week’s first prompt, which will include three elements: a setting, a character, and a conflict for you to choose from (or combine) as you see fit!

This first prompt is also open in terms of genre, but future prompts will fall into specific categories to further heighten the challenge!

The word count limit for Power Up Prompts is 2.5K words.

Element 1: Setting

This week’s setting is the cliffs. A place once used for coming-of-age rituals by a long-lost civilization that believed it was the site of a fearsome battle between two rival gods.

On the edge, overlooking a steep drop, lies a monument. It contains, among other things, a warning to all who would dare approach.

What does the warning say? Why did the two gods choose this place as their battleground? What happened to the civilization that built the monument?

Should you choose to use this setting, those questions will be yours to answer…

Element 2: Character

Your character this week is the archaeologist. A brilliant and learned individual driven by curiosity and the desire to uncover secrets long lost to time.

Where will they go next? What adventure is calling to them? It could be the other elements in this prompt, or you can take the archaeologist somewhere else entirely.

The choice is yours. You may use this character however you please.

Element 3: Conflict

Legend tells of a portal. One that leads to a place spoken of only in legends. Those who believe in its existence say that it contains treasures and knowledge that could transform the entire world.

However, legend also says that the other side of the portal is home to fearsome monsters that protect the knowledge and treasure with their very lives.

As a result, the portal’s location and the surrounding land are forbidden. If you choose to set foot upon those lands, you will be forever exiled from the place you call home.

Do you go? Do you try to stop others from going? The choice is yours.

Let Inspiration Strike

You may use all three elements for a level 3 story, or you can take just one or two and run in a different direction entirely. When your story is ready this week, be sure to tag me and share which level it falls into.

As always, I will do my best to read every single story, and of course, level 3 stories will be mentioned in next week’s episode of the Saved as Draft podcast.

I hope you enjoy this first Power Up Prompt, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

---

Thanks for Reading! Here’s Your Musical Pairing

A little music to get you started on your journey.