Call for Topic requests in Alien Romance

[gs_silva]

ysabetwordsmith requests topics for their fiction poems every now and then, and I like that idea. I used to belong to a prompt-a-day forum, and keeping up by drawing a comic strip for every prompt was a challenge, but here I am working at an even faster pace than I was then.

I know I haven't been running Alien Romance here on DW for very long, but I won't have time to post any daily comics today, so I think I'll try calling for topic requests. You don't have to know anything about Alien Romance to make a request. It can be a general character development question. It can be related to something that happened to you today, or a topic that is near and dear to your heart. If you saw me hinting at something interesing and want me to elaborate upon it in comic form, this would be a good time to suggest it. If you just want to offer me a challenge, I'll give it my best shot. I'll try to stay within continuity, so no flash-forwards, but I can do flashbacks.

Also, if you like stories of diverse genres, I recommend ysabetwordsmith. She writes something for nearly every taste.

Comments

[moth2fic]

Confusion over the way different people celebrate Christmas and other holidays.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's a good one. There are so many different foods and decorations, before you even get into questions like when presents are to be opened.

Re: Yes ...

[moth2fic]

Not to mention timing! I lived in Portugal for a while and their main celebration is on 6th January for Epiphany. France and a few other countries make more of Christmas Eve.

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Fascinating.

I like the idea of Boxing Day, which is mostly British and Canadian.

Re: Yes ...

[moth2fic]

Yes, as a Brit I grew up thinking the whole world did Boxing Day!

Re: Yes ...

[gs_silva]

Boxing Day caught on with American nerds about 20-ish years ago! We didn't have the means to celebrate it in the traditional way, so we made stuff up and called it Boxing Day. I haven't seen as much of that lately, but I'm sure it'll still come up a few times in my circle.

[tesariel]

Folklore and mythology across cultures.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I love that too. Comparative literature / religions /etc. is awesome.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I used to belong to a prompt-a-day forum, and keeping up by drawing a comic strip for every prompt was a challenge, but here I am working at an even faster pace than I was then.<<

*laugh* I actually started the Poetry Fishbowl after Sol Magazine -- which used to do great monthly challenges -- faded out on those. I wanted more prompts!

I'm so happy I could inspire you to ask your audience for ideas.

>>I think I'll try calling for topic requests.<<

Things I would enjoy seeing:

* Quakers! We were just talking about that and the backstory for your characters sounded fun. One of the things I remember about the Quakers at my college, aside from their Meetinghouse being open as a quiet refuge for students -- which my friends and I used a lot -- was their Silent Vigil for Peace.

* Ways to repurpose everyday objects and materials to craft accommodations. This used to be essential back before many companies made adaptive equipment. And things like pants for wheelchair users are still hard to find -- they're higher in back so they look and feel better seated.

* Nonverbal communication between people who share little or no common language, because human body language has a large base of instinct under the top layer of cultural gestures.

* Different tricks for learning a new language, and whether a given one works or not for the person trying it. People will tell you all kinds of stuff, and it's fun to try, but none of it works for everyone.

* An overlook or any other view that would give you a good excuse to draw the background in detail, with just character heads for the conversation about what they see. It's the reverse of what you usually do and an interesting art exercise. Also "Visit somewhere interesting and talk about it in the target language" was one of my favorite practice techniques. In both Mexico and Russia we hit a lot of museums and other "sights."

Re: Thoughts

[moth2fic]

All great ideas!