Writing Prod - Sporting Chance 2

            Last night was the big event for football. While the game is the main attraction is it really the best part of the experience? Some are drawn to it for the half-time entertainment. Others look forward to the ultra creative commercials that are aired during the game. Then there are those like me that are drawn to the veritable banquet that is available during the game. And how about those couch gate parties where friends gather over the pretense of a sporting event?

            It seems only appropriate that this week’s prod be . . . Sporting Chance. With this writing prompt you take two sports and combine them to create a whole new one that becomes the centerpiece for your story. Or if you want more of a challenge, make up a whole new sport on your own. Think about the society that would develop such a game. Consider what sort of person would thrive in such a competition as well as who would cheer them on and who would oppose the sport altogether.

            Rollerball and The Hunger Games are both excellent examples of this sort of story. They are not so much about the sport itself, but the people and the culture that have adopted the game. This prompt lends itself most easily to fantasy and science-fiction stories, but could be done as a more traditional sports-themed tale if you prefer.

            My brother loved the pitch I developed the last time I used this prod and urges me all the time to actually write it. Let’s see how he reacts to this one.

 

     

            Dragon Pass 

            Monpar is a civilized world. Land disputes between nations are settled with a simple game of Dragon Pass. While the game itself is violent and results in the death of most, if not all of the participants, it is still more civilized than war. Each of the teams attempts to move the ball from the center of a large obstacle course to their safe zone. If the ball touches the ground it is handed over to the other team. It’s really quite easy – except that there is a dragon on the game field and the ball has been painted to look like one of her eggs.

            This is the last year that Dibbons can be drafted for the game. Even though he has lived in the same cottage all of his life, few of the people in his village know him by name. He has made his livelihood alone, in the nearby forest. Now he will have to work with a group of people he has never met and hope to survive the game.