New Challenge: Allusive
These tales are ‘new’, they are not directly derived from other myths and legends, but they must inevitably contain a large measure of ancient wide-spread motives or elements. After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of ‘truth’, and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear.
~ Letter 131 to Milton Waldman
All stories, art, and creative endeavors depend in part on the stories, art, and creative endeavors to come before them, weaving back and across and through familiar and loved (or loathed!) works. These allusions create a sense of depth and remind us that new creative works are always unspooling, an essential part of our humanity.
This month's challenge considers the concept of the allusion: a reference to a previous work of literature, art, myth, or history. Participants will choose one (or more!) prompts from a list of allusions, found below. As always, you can use your prompt however you want, and we will never question if a challenge work has adequately used its prompt. For instance, you can create a fanwork about the allusion you select, or you can use the specific phrase in your work—or you can take a totally new and different approach!
You can find the prompts for the Allusive challenge here.
Thank you to Zdenka for this month's banner and stamps!
In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 September 2026. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.
Posted on (updated ) by SWG Moderators
