November 2026 Theme

Budget Space

For we shall marvel at the modesty of it all.

Illustration by Stella Backman

Welcome to Whimsy FIFE! (5)

The theme for our November contest is… Budget Space.

Choose one of the five whims below, find your unique Object in the prompt email, and write a 300-word tale of whimsy that explores this month's theme. Feel free to interpret your prompts as creatively as you wish, but we encourage you to try and incorporate them in a meaningful way. It's a whole lot more fun and rewarding!

If you need some inspiration, each of the whims comes with four mood words/phrases to give you a sense of the creative territory. You don't need to include these words in your story - they're just there to get your imagination going.

And that, wonderful writers, is how we Whimsy:

  • Pick a whim
  • Pair it with your assigned object
  • Tell us a little Budget Space tale

Please note: the Budget Space illustration and caption are not prompts.

Now it's time to follow your whim!

Choose your whim

Below are this month's five whims. You will confirm your chosen whim on the submission form when submitting.

Bad Astronomy
· (mis)interpreting the stars · cosmic misconceptions · questionable science · awe-inspiring all the same
Worst First Contact
· meeting aliens · intergalactic introductions · getting off on the wrong extremity · unfortunate first impressions
Oops, Wrong Planet
· misguided expeditions · hostile reception · destination unknown · this will have to do
The Cosmic 9-to-5
· the rat race in space · galactic work-life · universal commerce · interstellar occupations
End of Universe Party
· celebrating the end · going out with a bang · congratulations we made it · that's curtains on the cosmos
Deadline: Saturday 7th, 11:59pm (CET)
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Submit your story