The Mark of Extinction
WEEK ONE
The Spark
――― ✎ 
✎ ―――
✎ ―――Week 1 completed a little late as I'm super new and didn't know this was around!
Starting a story is often one of the hardest parts of it, so let's get stuck in!
――― ✎ ✎ ―――
✎ ―――The Elevator Pitch:
The world has fallen. The climate has changed, illness is spreading, and humanity is going extinct. Or is it? A group of humans have found shelter together. An unexpected guest arrives. What happens when we don’t know who to trust?
One sentence: What do we do when the world has fallen, the climate has changed, and humanity is going extinct?
Three Things I Know:
• An illness is spreading fast
• The temperature has not risen above 0 in months
• The main characters are not as alone as they think
(and don’t!)
• How the characters found themselves where they are
• Where the illness came from
• Whether there is a cure
The Promise:
I want this story to make the reader feel shocked.
This story will be a dystopia (although I will not make it offensive), and I would like to take typical dystopian themes (e.g. non-graphic violence, control, surveillance) to create a shocking world and plenty of plot twists.
CHALLENGE: Steal This Prompt.
Selected Prompt: A secret
――― ✎ ✎ ―――
✎ ―――
Last edited by Nancy Grey on 12 Oct 2026, 10:35, edited 2 times in total.
Nancy Grey
"Rain will make the flowers grow"
The Mark of Extinction
WEEK TWO
Meet the Cast
――― ✎ ✎ ―――
✎ ―――This story has A LOT of interesting characters with interlocking pasts who are central to the plot. Here are the top 5 to explore!
――― ✎ ✎ ―――
✎ ―――Character 1: Cadence
- Who does your character envy? The Professors at the institute where she grew up
- What would you never forgive? Betrayal
- What do you desperately want people to believe about you? That young girls are capable of extraordinary things
- What secret would destroy your most important relationship? In fact, at the start of the story, her most important relationship hasn’t begun…
- Wants : Family, peace, home
- Needs : Security
- Fears : Solitude
- What's the single worst decision your protagonist is likely to make during this story and why will it seem completely reasonable to them at the time? Cadence is young, so she is likely to jump to conclusions and act irrationally. This will seem reasonable because she will face challenges and fears along her journey.
Character 2: Lady Campbell
- Who does your character envy ? Ezra
- What would you never forgive? Somebody hurting her child
- What do you desperately want people to believe about you? That there is more going on than people think
- What secret would destroy your most important relationship? Her past with Ezra
- Wants : A relationship with her daughter
- Needs : That very relationship
- Fears : Her daughter being hurt
- What's the single worst decision your protagonist is likely to make during this story and why will it seem completely reasonable to them at the time? Mrs Campbell is incredibly bold and would do anything to protect her daughter (who could that be?) throughout the entire story. Any action would seem completely reasonable to her if it keeps her child safe.
Character 3: Harper
- Who does your character envy? Cadence
- What would you never forgive? Mrs Campbell (although….)
- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?
- What secret would destroy your most important relationship? The truth behind her father
- Wants : To be like their father (scientist)
- Needs: Forgiveness
- Fears : Rejection
- What's the single worst decision your protagonist is likely to make during this story and why will it seem completely reasonable to them at the time? Harper is a teen girl, so she is likely to be a little reckless during the book. Her decisions will seem completely reasonable to her because she is young, so may not always see the full picture, and she is willing to risk herself for her friends.
Character 4: Lord Ezra
- Who does your character envy? Mrs Campbell
- What would you never forgive? Somebody getting in the way of his goals
- What do you desperately want people to believe about you? The secrets he is covering up…
- What secret would destroy your most important relationship? The truth behind him
- Wants : Success, fame
- Needs: Closure
- Fears : Failure
- What's the single worst decision your protagonist is likely to make during this story and why will it seem completely reasonable to them at the time? Lord Ezra is incredible determined and ambitious. It is likely that his actions could cause harm to others if they are in the way of him reaching his goals. This will seem reasonable to him because he has his mind set on his ambitions.
Character 5: Kezia
- Who does your character envy? Mrs Campbell
- What would you never forgive? Children being caused to be in pain
- What do you desperately want people to believe about you? Everybody deserves a second chance
- What secret would destroy your most important relationship? I don’t think she has many secrets!
- Wants: Peace
- Needs: Those around her to want the same
- Fears : Suffering and injustice
- What's the single worst decision your protagonist is likely to make during this story and why will it seem completely reasonable to them at the time? Kezia has a strong instinct to protect those around her and she would betray friends or risk herself in order to achieve this. She would see these decisions as totally reasonable if they keep innocent people in particular children, safe from harm
――― ✎ ✎ ―――
✎ ―――Nancy Grey
"Rain will make the flowers grow"