In this prompt by The Fake Redhead, we go to the fun topic of “are dragons real?” Now you may not agree with me. You may not think it’s a fun topic. That’s okay if you don’t, but this prompt is probably not for you if you don’t.
Of course maybe you just think it’s a good creature to include in fantasy, but pondering whether or not they are real is pointless, but for this particular prompt, I think pondering whether or not they are real is probably a good thing as that is what is going on in the prompt itself.
I don’t intend to go into whether or not they are real right now, though I would love it if they were and I do think it likely that even if they were, they aren’t alive now unless they are tiny which really doesn’t fit with the stories now does it?
In the prompt itself one of the characters has apparently found a dragon, a very small one, and is giving it a ride in their backpack. I love how nonchalant they are about the whole thing. “The dragon is in my backpack, therefore clearly dragons exist. No big deal.”
Big deal. Crazy big deal.
I think I would definitely be the first speaker, well, to some degree. I would hope that I would at least recognize a dragon, but hey, all we have are stories, so maybe they would look very different from what we imagine. We are, after all, already looking at a small dragon who fits into a backpack. Maybe there are more differences from what we imagine.
I think it would be kind of fun to write a story with a dragon who was clearly a dragon, but at the same time was clearly not what we expected. What kind of characteristics do you think the dragon would have? Would it be a personality change mostly or would some of the physical characteristics be different instead. How would you make a dragon who is clearly a dragon and at the same time clearly different from what people expect?
