Cast a magician (a real one, or a party entertainer) as your story’s protagonist.

Posted in Adventure on Dec 9, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 26 stories

“The Dark Dancer” by Kang Lee

Submitted to Contest #176

“Are you sure this is the right place, Dresvale?” Jane demanded, casting a wary eye at the decaying tangle of vines. “You have to see beyond what your eyes are telling you,” I confirmed, and snapped my fingers. “Ostendere!” A cobalt rune burned in the air in front of me, and a shockwave radiated outwards. The greenery flickered, before vanishing. In its place was a monumental castle constructed from maroon bricks. We glanced at each other, before plodding forward toward the ancient, wooden door. The door was shriveled up, and it fel...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Ghost Radio” by Lauren Normac

Submitted to Contest #176

There was a radio at the bottom of the shipping boxes. Mandy hadn’t known it was there. She certainly hadn’t ordered it. She’d ordered some pendants. They were supposed to help vampires go out during the day. There were vials in the center. When the vial ran out of liquid, it would no longer work. Mandy had opened the boxes, and regretted leaving open space for the pendants near the top of the wall. That was a few trips up and down a ladder. But she’d given herself no choice. The lower area was occupied with some magical smoke bombs, some im...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Slings and Arrows of a Mage's Gig Work” by Eric De Roulet

Submitted to Contest #176

There was ample distance between Marasher and the explosion, but he felt its heat singing the hairs on his arms and prickling his skin anyway. Still, he came out mostly unscathed. His party’s arquebusier, not so much. And to think that just hours ago, they thought their expedition inside this ancient ziggurat would’ve been a relief from the oppressive desert heat. From the other side of the massive chamber, the opposing party responded with a mix of gasps and cheers. They could hardly believe their luck. Among their ranks were three assi...

4 comments 4

Read story

“REAL MAGIC” by Josiah Mporampora

Submitted to Contest #176

At this point in my life, there is very little that brings me any real joy. In my younger years, I was always so optimistic and filled with hope. Time on this Earth, however, would prove to wear those naïve feelings down and cast them into the wind. They say people usually find happiness in things like family, money, love and passion. With all of my family at peace, my wife gone in the wind and already quitting my miserable IT job, my only source of happiness is my passion. My passion…as a magician. “Is…this ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Can You Feel The Magic?” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #176

All book shops are magical. This is an incontrovertible fact that is often discarded in a ditch, on the road to ignorance. Books contain worlds. Books contain life, but not always as we know it. They also contain a whole lot of stuff as yet undiscovered, even by the authors who vomited the words down on the pages in a frenzied fit of creativity that possessed them for as long as it took for the story to come alive and enter this world of ours, and our world expands in exciting and unpredictable ways every time a new book is born. The uni...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The True Meaning of Magic” by Nikko DeGoya

Submitted to Contest #176

As the wind whipped through the dark and crowded streets of London, Castro sat on the balcony of an abandoned clock tower, overlooking one of the busiest streets in the club district in London. The particular avenue he had been keeping watch over was filled with dazzling casinos, clubs and bars, and each had their own sets of glittering lights to woo the common passerby. Lines for the various clubs and bars stretched down each side of the street for what seemed like blocks on end. The night was so full of energy and vigor, it was revitalizin...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Diamond-shaped hole” by Rex Verborum

Submitted to Contest #176

I sit behind the wheel of my Camry, my face full of make-up, and bawl my eyes out. The beating of my heart hasn’t stopped so I place my hand on my chest. I suck in huge chunks of air and slowly release. My throat is a desert. The sun is doing a madness and as I bake in my jalopy held together with duct tape and hope, the white and red concoction on my face starts to melt. I pull off my rainbow wig. Right now, I don't want to feel like a clown. Besides, the magic was dead. Between sobs, my will gives way, shoulders buckle and head falls to th...

6 comments 6

Read story

“The Brown-Leather Suitcase” by Tom Brooks

Submitted to Contest #176

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Matthew?” “Yes," the boy said. “I’m with you. I’m not saying I’m not with you. But you know, if we are caught, they will arrest us. And if you fail —” “I know what happens, Captain Stark,” he said. The captain stared at him for a second, and then stood up. “Very well. We leave as soon as the wind changes.” Stark gave the boy one last searching look, as if trying to solve a riddle he couldn’t quite understand, and then he shook his head and walked out into the hallway, leaving Matthew alone in his ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“A twisted soul indeed.” by Jack Sink

Submitted to Contest #176

There was no sound he loved more than this, the roaring of the crowd, the sound of his spells sparking and exploding. Everything was perfect. The sparkling eyes of the audience as they howled with praise. Their arms shooting up, cheering the magician. “Now everyone please calm your cheers, for my next act requires absolute focus.” Kyrin the magician spoke in a deep powerful voice that commanded reverence from all that heard it. The audience silenced themselves almost immediately. He grinned widely with narrow cold eyes watching them shu...

0 comments 0

Read story

“"Magician" Turned Magician” by Keith Maynard Jr

Submitted to Contest #176

Heels can be heard storming down the passageway, yet they aren’t heard. Quickly the heels approach the open bedroom, there sprawled on the bed he lays with one hand resting on the clock’s snooze button. The heels stop right at the bedroom’s entrance, their owner stands wide-eyed at the sight in front of her. Precociously she approaches the bed and strokes his hair and cheek with the back of her hand. She whispers, “Baby, baby, it’s time to get up”. At the same time, she grips the bed sheet and kisses him on the cheek before yanking the she...

4 comments 4

Read story

“The Last Magician” by Dylan Patrick

Submitted to Contest #176

People nowadays have a habit of romanticizing the past. I’d say this is a bad habit, but with how I think of the first and second millennia A.D. (most commonly referred to as The Witching Years), I have no room to talk. I’ll bet a show’s salary I’m the only one on the planet nostalgic for the times when people would routinely die from easily curable diseases. Wizards were somewhat like an archaic Big Pharma, we not-so-secretly benefit from others’ pain because it benefits us: we give people something to believe in, they strengthen our power ...

0 comments 0

Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story involving a magical potion — which may or may not work.

Fantasy – 58 stories

Start your story with someone witnessing magic from a hiding place.

Fantasy – 52 stories

Write a story told from the point of view of an animal.

Kids – 49 stories

Set your story in a magical bookshop.

Fluff – 46 stories

Contest #176

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Magic in the Air

$250

Prize money

231

Contest entries

111

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 16, 2022 EST

Won by Kylah Adams 🏆

Title: I Knew Better

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Cast a magician (a real one, or a party entertainer) as your story’s protagonist.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 26 stories

“The Dark Dancer” by Kang Lee

“Ghost Radio” by Lauren Normac

“The Slings and Arrows of a Mage's Gig Work” by Eric De Roulet

“REAL MAGIC” by Josiah Mporampora

“Can You Feel The Magic?” by Jed Cope

“The True Meaning of Magic” by Nikko DeGoya

“Diamond-shaped hole” by Rex Verborum

“The Brown-Leather Suitcase” by Tom Brooks

“A twisted soul indeed.” by Jack Sink

“"Magician" Turned Magician” by Keith Maynard Jr

“The Last Magician” by Dylan Patrick

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story involving a magical potion — which may or may not work.

Start your story with someone witnessing magic from a hiding place.

Write a story told from the point of view of an animal.

Set your story in a magical bookshop.

Contest #176

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

231

Contest entries

111

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: