Remember, feedback on writing is appreciated and encouraged.

Here it is, our first writing round. Because our visual round has not yet seen any submissions, I'm going to keep these set at two weeks, but now we'll be alternating between writing and illustration at a more frequent cadence. Get excited, because there's a lot of talent in the fan community, and these stories are likely to be great with the vast selection of themes that will be randomly chosen! As I'm writing this, not even I know what will end up as the theme, so I'm just as eager to plug this into a random choice tool online and see what we'll be writing about this week. Here we go...

Theme:

Your hometown in the 26th century

Details:

Awesome! This was actually the first idea I added to the list, so it's funny that this was selected first as well.

Earth has clearly seen a lot of development in the ~500 years since today, with Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, New Mombasa and New Phoenix built up into massive urban sprawls. In the latest issue of Halo: Escalation, it is stated that present-day Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona grew to become New Phoenix, meaning that this megacity has grown to encompass a previously sparse landscape of over 150 miles. That's a lot of change from present day Phoenix, and a lot of industrial growth. What would this sort of development do to your hometown? What parts would change? What parts would stay the same? How would the advanced technology of the Halo universe affect life in your hometown?

To get started, I would make two suggestions... First, build off of your personal experience in your hometown. What places do you like to frequent? What good or bad memories do you have? In essence, what is the feel of your hometown, and how would that merge with the feel of the Halo universe?

Second, take a look back at the history of your town. Go back 500 years and see what it was like in the past, then try to move 500 years forward in time and see what it will become. A lot can change in that much time...

As for the story, that's entirely up to you! You have the entire span of the 2500s to work with, so have fun!

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Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this theme! I'm certainly planning to have some fun with it. :) Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! Remember you have two weeks to submit your writing.

And feel free to let your friends and the rest of the community know about Visualizing the Halo Universe! The more people participate, the more great work we all get to enjoy!