September 11th Writing Prompt: Airship
The capital city has just finished work on a magical and mechanical marvel—an airship. Write about a character’s first impression upon seeing one of these for the first time.
Ideas and questions:
There are a multitude of characters who you can receive the perspective of. You might write about someone who recently came back from their time in the military, and realize that something like this could turn the tide, and ensure that many of their allies will come back from the war alive. Or you could write about a king being given a tour of the marvelous ship. Another vantage you could take is one of a wide-eyed, imaginative child, seeing it take to the skies for the first time.
A reveal of this magnitude could no doubt stir people to want to experience it firsthand, even if they’re not on the list, so to speak. You could write about someone wanting to stow away on the ship, and what efforts they take to reach their goal.
Just because it is an airship, that doesn’t mean it will be interpreted as such. You could explore the idea of a citizen believing a dragon is descending from the sky, ready to burn everything in its path.
Is this the first ever functioning airship in the universe that you are writing about? If so, are there any worries about failures?
Was this vessel made for traveling and going on adventures? Or is this the first step toward making a weapon of war?
Challenge:
Explore a story where a group of people are given a firsthand experience on the airship, and delve into what that looks like. It is possible that while the ship may be sturdy, the journey could still take unexpected turns.