I’m reading The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, a YA book a middle school teacher recommended to me. I’m not far, but am reminded a little of The Giver by Lois Lowry. Both books are set in the distant (or not-so?) future with small communities carved into a place, held by rules and kept from venturing beyond their borders. Citizens follow the rules and may even find comfort in the constraints, trading color and imagination for predictability and security.

Pair this with my brief infatuation with communes.

Now add two prompts:

Lighting the first lamps
Inside the circle

and I have a little space to explore ideas I’ve left alone for a long time. I first read about the Oneida Community in college and other communes since, some crossing into cult territory. I don’t want to suss that out here. But for a while there was something about communal living that appealed to me and though I never drove cross-country to join a group, I think I’d like to write around a short fiction start.

I’ll post from my WP soon.