Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#106: Periergia

Ever found yourself experiencing a newfound appreciation for something you see or do every day? Maybe you think fondly of how many people have stood on the same street corner as you, or appreciate the centuries of craftsmanship that it took to develop the humble coffee mug you hold in your hand.

When you feel like waxing lyrical about the everyday, you might call it periergia — using flowery language to describe something trivial. While this is usually a writing no-no (purple prose, anyone?), there's something irresistible about romanticizing the mundane once in a while. So this week, we’re looking for beauty in unexpected places, whether that’s a character, something they see, or anything in-between.

This week's prompts

Start or end your story with a character noticing the beauty in something they've seen hundreds of times.

Fluff – 74 stories

Write about a character who’s known to be a cynic, but secretly romanticizes everything.

Valentine's Day – 15 stories

A mundane ability suddenly becomes a superpower. Write about someone or something affected by this.

Middle School – 26 stories

Write a story about a character who takes nothing for granted.

Teens – 21 stories

Write a story about a character who’s secretly nobility.

Thriller and Suspense – 16 stories

Stories

“CHARLOTTE GONE” by Del Gibson

Submitted to Contest #106

CHARLOTTE GONE by Del Gibson The birds are chirping right outside the window, though Sue doesn’t pay them any attention. She thinks about the day her life changed, altered for the worse, it will be forever immortalised in the painting that hangs above the fireplace – over the years she has looked at this painting, its beauty, the colours, the catastrophe that occurred, and she remembers… The painting, her four-year-old daughter Charlotte had created eons ago. It’s a stark reminder of the day Sue lost it all. She has looked at the painti...

Read story

“Through a New Lense” by K.M. Kinley

Submitted to Contest #106

Slap! Michi threw another clump of clay onto the growing amalgamation in front of him. He reached outwards to gather some of the material between warm fingertips and pulled it along the wires that jutted at various angles. From a distance, the skeletal structure looked vaguely humoresque in form. Twisting limbs bent themselves backwards at an uncomfortable angle while the ‘s’ curve of the body itself warped in a way that looked equally as discomforting. It was the shape of a human form that was too contorted to be natural. It was the bend ...

Read story

“Dragonfly” by Abigail Wilson

Submitted to Contest #106

The child sat on the lap of a woman on a metal chair by the door. Small as the child was, she filled the reception with her boisterous racket while being held tightly by the middle-aged carer. I was taken aback by the scene. I literally took two steps back from the child out of fear and silently chastised myself when her tear-filled eyes fell on me. The building, not meant to be permanent and barely held together by paint over rotting plywood, was a respite centre for autistic children run by a charity. I didn’t know that before yeste...

Read story

“Embrace Your Dreams” by Evelyn Liang

Submitted to Contest #106

Raindrops were falling from the sky, and one could just glimpse the busy street with quite a few elaborate carriages. I trotted through a muddy narrow path, using merely the faint flickering glow of lamp posts as navigation. My stomach growled in protest, struggling to overcome the appealing scent of fresh baked bread from my basket. No, I shall not, I told myself sternly, for I was only here for the reasons nobody but I would understand as I knelt down besides a dark hooded figure. Dukes, duchess, baroness. By Jove, how much I used to ...

Read story

“Copiously Profuse Trash Talk” by Amy Specker

Submitted to Contest #106

Fellow citizens, I come before you at this time to bring to light a problem that we all face. In your mind's eye, I want you to envision being at home and relaxing in your favorite chair. You can hear the screeching of tires as a large, burdened truck halts to retrieve yet another of its intended loads. From the comfort of your living room, you can hear the thudding made upon impact of the weighted canister as it is mechanically put back in its original resting place after expelling the contents it had harbored internally for the past seven ...

Read story

“A Bus Ride” by Lauren Kim

Submitted to Contest #106

“Good morning.” The greeting jolts me upright from where I sit on the bus with headphones in. It’s not directed to me, I realize, as I observe an older man exchanging nods with a elderly woman coming aboard. He holds a leather briefcase in one hand and a bus pole in the other, moving as he speaks to make room for her passing. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I relax back into my seat. The dull rumble of wheels and engine sound beneath me. The music is to help me think. A writer for the quasi-newspaper The Point, I’ve been assigned to write abou...

Read story

“A Penny Saved...” by John Lindquist

Submitted to Contest #106

Edgar is an ordinary man, who lives an ordinary life in rural Minnesota. At least he did until today. “Lizzy!” he yelled to his wife of fourteen years. “Get down here. The news. Is this real?” Lizzy was just coming out of the bathroom, and hurried downstairs with soapy hands. “What is it?” “Aliens. This can’t be happening. Is this some kind of joke?” “It must be.” replied Lizzy. “Like some kind of modern-day Orson Welles prank.” On the TV, the newscaster was looking in every direction, terrified. Metal...

Read story

“The Secret Legacy” by Lee Kendrick

Submitted to Contest #106

The Secret Legacy Everyone in our little village in Italy seemed to know my uncle Giuseppe. He was a fantastic, professional chef, but not your run-of-the-mill type of chef. Giuseppe is famous for using secret ingredients in his tasty recipes that make people healthier, look younger and live to a hundred or more. He had a restaurant just a short distance from where my parents live. He is retired now and is nearly ninety.It is thanks to my uncle’s secret r...

Read story

“Sunflower Queen” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #106

„You´re a last-minute last visitor.” “Oh Daisy, you´re in a hurry today?” Mary asked. “I have to pick up my daughter at the bus station and I don´t want to be late.” Daisy explained. “Really? Lotus is coming? I haven´t seen her since… I don´t remember.” Mary thought out loud. Daisy was sprinkling some green plants and sighed: “I haven´t seen her for the longest time either. “Why, I´ll get out of your way then.” “Oh no, Mary! That´s not what I meant! Please, you walk through and I´ll finish up here. We can close up and leave together.” Daisy ...

Read story

“A Lily, Finely Inked in Black” by Kate Le Roux

Submitted to Contest #106

I should be dead.Perhaps I was, for a while. All I know is that I gave up, and I lay down in the snow, too tired to carry on. A year ago I wouldn’t have believed anyone who told me that I would ever be too tired to keep living. I would have laughed, said that fatigue was all in the mind, that the human body (mine especially) was more than capable of transcending tired – especially when the stakes were life and death. Keep going, keep suffering, and you might live. Or lie down, rest, and be certain you will die. In my youthful pride, my ...

Read story

“Destiny's Plight” by Nicole Davis

Submitted to Contest #106

The moon gave gentle light and relief from the sun’s heat. Its silvery touch blanketed everything under it and lulled the unsettled town into rest. Though for some, the sight of the moon meant it was time to emerge from hiding. Wearing dark, baggy clothing, she crept from her spot among the weeds onto the open cargo car of the train. Quietly, she scurried to a dark corner behind some crates where she’d be out of sight for anyone who chanced to wander by. Her brown eyes scanned the area for any potential movement or threats but found none. F...

Read story

“A Secret Untold” by Dani Wood

Submitted to Contest #106

She stepped lightly over the cobblestones, simultaneously drawing and evading attention from the people around her. These people – the peddlers and the mothers, the laborers and the destitute – they all moved with an innate heaviness in their step, a weight that spoke of the trials they had overcome to merely get to this square. Her face was swathed in cloth, leaving only her eyes uncovered, but that was not uncommon. Most women wore similar, even some of the men, guarding themselves against the brutality of the winter winds. Even the king ...

Read story

“It May Have Been Maybury” by Karen Lankford-Carnes

Submitted to Contest #106

It May Have Been Maybury By Karen Lankford-Carnes She was back, supposedly to “take care of some business”, except there was no business left to take care of. Her older brother and his wife had taken care of it already. They were the dynamic duo of taking care of business. They were also the only ones in the family who had their shit together. Kathy, Kelly or Kim...no, Kaye was her name, decided to take a walk around her old town. She was reminded each time that she visited a doctor that her name could’ve been Kathy or Kelly or Kim. It w...

Read story

“Stupid dog” by Michelle Fisher

Submitted to Contest #106

"You stupid dog." I groaned as I looked at the pile of poop on the floor. It was large, with a suspiciously large fly sitting on top of it. My dog, Elmo, was looking up at me with an innocent look in his eyes, like he hadn't even seen the mountain he'd made stinking up the room next to him. "That's where you're supposed to poop." I spat as I pointed at the newspaper laid out in the corner of the kitchen. He only opened his mouth and wagged his tail vigorously. I glared at him. He wasn't even my dog really, he had been my Grandma'...

Read story

“The Rose Tree” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #106

Can a tree be beautiful? I ask myself that same question everyday when I walk past the Rose Tree on my way to work, on my way home and when I'm sitting on the bench looking at the tree. I see its beauty from afar and from near, the Rose Tree is a magnificent beauty and one that should be cherished. I see the Rose Tree as a beautiful part of nature that we should all take care of, but not many people see the Rose Tree like I do. Over the years many people have sought to destroy the Rose Tree, but thanks to people like me who see the Ros...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

152

Contest entries

205

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 13, 2021 EST

Won by A.Dot Ram 🏆

Title: I Was Always Good at Taboo

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢