You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

“Last-Minute Revelations” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #104

1486 wordsRated PG; injury, violencePrompt: End your story with the line, “I’m never going out with you again.”Author's note: This story is inspired by a prompt written by An Avid Writers Scratchpad on Tumblr.We all have our roles in this world, perhaps not strictly followed. However, there is a difference between straying slightly from your assigned path, and diving headfirst into the lake next to it, as the following will highlight. The hero was lying on the ground, face first in the snow. They kept their eyes closed. Maybe, if they t...

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“A Good Citizen” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #103

1257 wordsRated PG; pain, violencePrompt: Write a story where a character runs into someone they've seen in their dreams, or enters a building they've dreamt about before.I’m walking to the grocery store, just a block away from home, when they sharply turn the corner. I can’t get a good look at them. All I see is a blonde head--wet and messy--and sweat dripping from a face obscured by shadows. Those are the features I can make out on the figure before they bash their head into mine.I fall backwards. It feels more like flying than falling. So...

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“You Never Know (Part 2)” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

1320 words Rated PG; some mature subject matter Prompt: Begin your story with somebody watching a sunrise or a sunset. Author's note: This is the second part of a story. I didn't initially plan to update it, but I kept thinking about what happened next and had to continue it. With one final beam of light, the sun ends its magnificent descent. It disappears behind the trees that have shielded me for the past few days. I’ve been watching the sun slowly go down. How very dramatic. Especially considering that I’ll see it rise again in the morn...

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“Almost Barefoot” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #98

1208 wordsRated PG; blood, gorePrompt: Set your story on (or in) a winding river.My shoe was gone.I was walking along the stream at noon when it fell in. I was trudging along, tired from lunch, kicking at all the stones in my path. One kept staying in front of me. I made a game of aiming it straight so that I could kick it again. My foot had been off one time. I had kicked it to the left. On either side of me, fields. Tall stalks of grass shoot out of them. If I cared to venture further, if I wanted to push the grass aside, then I might...

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“You Never Know” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #97

1638 wordsRated PG: violence, blood, fearPrompt: Write a story in which a window is broken or found brokenI can hear her speaking. Her voice won’t stop bouncing around my mind. It’s annoying. She spoke to me hours ago, and I can still hear her jolly laugh and feel her hand on my shoulder. I can see her shimmering dark eyes, filled with evil, but. . .that’s not all. I can see ambition. I can see life. I can see something I’m not sure I understand. That was this afternoon. Now, the moon is bouncing off my cloak and trying to catch my heel...

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“Bad Timing” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #95

1094 wordsRated PG; violence, fear, painPrompt: A character stands in front of two doors. Write a story about what happens after they choose to enter one.I hold out my arms in front of me to protect myself from the light. This lasts for a minute, as I free-fall through a space that exists outside of time. Finally, I feel myself stop. Cautiously, I take my arms away from my face.There are two doors in front of me. One is black, with shadows reaching out from it like tentacles. There are illustrations of trees--bent, twisted, and being pu...

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“Second Chances” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #92

1215 wordsRated PG; implications of gun violence and substance abusePrompt: Write a story that begins in the light and ends in darkness, or the other way around.Silence for a few seconds. Anticipation. I don’t feel any pain. There’s no blood when I touch my chest. There’s nothing. I am just a blank canvas. I’m only a blob of clay yet to be molded. I am a page, waiting for someone to finally start writing my story. So that’s what it feels like to die.Brown eyes. Chocolate dripped down in sparkling pools. Eyelashes like blades of grass, d...

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“Happy Accidents” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #91

1082 words Rated PG; violence, unsettling imagery Prompt: Set your story in a library, after hours. The crow is blasted off its place. It’s like a piñata bursting. The only difference might be instead of candy, it rains feathers and organs. It’s like confetti. If confetti were an invaluable bird that will cause outrage when morning comes and someone enters the library to find this murder scene.  I cringe and turn to Dara. They’re frozen in shock. They take a deep breath and stare at their hands. The nails are singed from the latest ...

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“All Aboard” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #90

1328 wordsRated PG; violence, blood, unsettling imageryPrompt: Start your story with someone sitting on a crowded train and end it with them looking out over beautiful natural scenery.Author's note: I played around with several of this week's prompts, but ultimately decided on this one as the other stories weren't dark enough.One year I have been here. I pass out drinks and I clean sandwich crumbs. I smile at the passengers and bow to them as I shine their shoes. I give them napkins if their children dribble water or orange juice on their sh...

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“A Nice Smile” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #88

1217 wordsRated PG: violence, death, blood, pain, fearPrompt: Write about a prince or princess who is asked to give up something valuable to escape the world they came from.Author's note: No, I have no idea what creative entity has possessed me this week. I might request that they choose you next if you ask nicely.“Earth?” it asks.I bite my lip. My bike helmet is getting itchy. I fumble with the clasp and pull it apart. The helmet falls backwards and into the starry depths below me. It might go to another dimension. It might also be lost in ...

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“The Merchant's Husband” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #88

1117 words Rated PG; violence, blood, unsettling imagery Prompt: Write a cautionary fable about someone who always lies. Gather ‘round, those old and young. Come closer, and ye will be met with worlds of mystery. Sit at the stream, drink the sweet nectar within, and be reborn as is the phoenix from the ashes of the fire of the night. Stay at my shoes, and ye will be compelled to go forward with nothing but the stick of virtues and the sly hand.  Our story begins when the moon shone above the world, moving downwards, perhaps contempl...

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“A Sense Of Humor” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #87

2011 wordsRated PG; violence, blood, unsettling imageryPrompt: Write about someone who’s spent a whole year planning a big prank, and now they’re finally ready to pull it off.Author's note: I am not dead, so apologies if you got your hopes up.Disclaimer: The conversations concerning organisms from other planets, solar systems, and existences in this story have been translated.Kamusta shakes hir heads.“Please, don’t. I don’t think I can handle you doing this again.”“You are overreacting.”Hir hand rises above hir. It’s a beacon, attracting lig...

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“Mystical Misery” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #83

1615 wordsRated PG: violence, bloodPrompt: write a fantasy story about water gods or water spirits.You can’t know someone when they’re dead. It’s grammatically incorrect. When one dies, their world is erased from existence on this plane. I know longer know him, because he no longer has the universe he exists in. He belongs to another. I knew him, and those centuries together were amazing.Eubh is staring at me from across the bubble. Her slithering arms are stiff at her sides. Her tail floats graciously in the water. Even her hair defies scie...

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“I'm No Psychic” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #82

1403 wordsRated PG: violencePrompt: Write a near-future thriller where a piece of everyday technology has turned against your character--and only your character.Author's note: this story is for my parent, who gave me the idea“...and over here, we have the history of Edward Louie, creator of the first fortune-cookie machine. In the late 1960s, he was tired of folding thousands of cookies each day…”I ignore the guide my family is listening closely to. Today was my mother’s turn to choose a place to go. Our portable fortune cookie folder had pi...

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“Flames and Flowers” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

1536 wordsRated PG: murder, arsonPrompt: Write about two people reconnecting after a rough patch in their relationship.Author's note: I made this story up talking with my friend, and decided it would be fun to curse the internet with itYou are quite the gardener. In fact, you entered a gardening competition, thinking it would be fun. You had some amazing rose beds right behind your house. They grew in white, pink, red, purple, and blue if you added food colouring.Your neighbour, your gardening rival, took notice of this. She hated you so muc...

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