Decameron Redux

Week One (Tuesday, 1/19/21 – Monday, 1/25/21)

The first story in Boccaccio’s Decameron concerns a thoroughly wicked man, Ser Ciappelletto of Prato, who is apparently about to die a disgraceful death in the Burgundian house of two Florentine brothers who want nothing to do with Ser Ciappelletto’s infamy.

This week’s challenge is to show what happens when ordinary people get caught up in the affairs of someone rich and powerful. How might the reputation of that powerful person’s misdeeds threaten the safety and security of your protagonists? Is there a clever solution to be found? Just how much deception is involved?

Remember: this site is dedicated to storytelling, but you needn’t limit yourself to the traditional prose narrative. We welcome photo series, videos, music and other audio work, visual stories, poetry, and anything else in standard shareable formats. The target length for a narrative submission is 200-1000 words. For other formats, consider what it means to present a bite-sized portion of your art, something that takes only a few minutes of your audience’s precious time. Head over to the Submit page when you’re ready to upload your contribution.