Fantasy Writing Prompt & Challenge
As the sun reaches its peak and the veil thins during Midsummer, strange opportunities arise. Whispers curl through wildflower fields, ancient doors creak open in mossy hillsides, and golden light reveals paths that don’t exist the rest of the year.
It’s the perfect time for a bargain.
☀️ The Midsummer Bargain
Imagine your character is offered a deal by a fae noble, a divine messenger, or a spirit of the land. The terms are elegant, strange, and deeply personal. It’s not a coin-for-service kind of trade. This is an exchange of essence, destiny, or memory.
Maybe your character:
- Is offered the return of something lost—a voice, a lover, a name
- Can change a moment in their past, but must give up a future they haven’t seen
- Is promised success in their quest, but must carry a hidden burden in their soul
The midsummer being asks only for a single vow in return. But vows given at this time are bound to sunfire and starlight—and breaking them will cost far more than death.
✒️ Writing Prompt Challenge
Write a scene or short story where your character is offered a Midsummer Bargain.
You don’t need to decide right away if they’ll accept. Let them wrestle with it. What’s tempting? What’s terrifying? Who would they become if they said yes—and who might they lose if they don’t?
Try exploring:
- What kind of deal would tempt your character the most?
- What would a fae or divine being want from them specifically?
- How does the magic of Midsummer change how the deal feels—sun-drenched and golden, or dangerous and dreamlike?
Bonus twist: What if your character’s decision affects more than just themselves? What if saying yes curses their bloodline—or no dooms a kingdom?
🌿 For Pantsers & Plotters
- Pantsers: Use this as a discovery scene—drop your character into the situation and see what they do.
- Plotters: Use it to deepen your character’s internal conflict or as the midpoint twist of your story arc.
🌕 Final Thought
Midsummer is a time of power, magic, and mystery. In folklore, it’s when boundaries blur and things feel almost right—but not quite. It’s that “too perfect to trust” kind of beauty. The perfect stage for a story.
So…
Would your character accept the bargain?
And if they do—what will the summer sun burn away?
✍️ Tag your writing with #MidsummerBargain if you share online! I’d love to see what you create.
Happy writing, wild soul 🌸^_^
Sara's Writing Sanctuary 