Music is often the inspiration of a story. Sounds that have nothing to do with words can be the origin for a tone, scene, character, or feeling you want a story to convey. Often when I'm writing, I'll replay a song over and over to write a scene, or the music I'm listening to will influence the arc of a character, a plot point, or a dramatic moment. Plenty of authors have talked about how connected their story was to music.

• When you sign up, you will be assigned a example song from a random genre. Your story should capture the feel of that music, either with a character, scene, genre, voice, or tone. For example, if you end up with something in the blues, your story might have themes of depression and oppression, or it might be historical fiction set in the southern United States. If you end up with something in the electronic range, you might go with sci-fi, cyberpunk, or have a punk character. There's obviously a bit of leeway for interpretation here, but don't abuse it.


• Your story should not use the words of the music (if you get a song that has them), or connect to the artist. Your story is not necessarily about music, and certainly not just about the music you get. Don't be overly literal.

Regular rules of no erotica, fanfiction, rants, etc.

(Prompt Credit: Mostly Djeser)