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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#107: Liar, Liar

Oscar Wilde was right when he wrote that ‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple.’ The truth can be complicated, messy, liberating — and subjective! Which doesn't make it easy to draw a clean line between fact and fiction.

We’ve all been affected by someone telling a lie, and no doubt all told some ourselves — whether that’s swearing to our teacher that the dog ate our homework, or attempting to cover up for something much bigger. This week’s prompts encourage you to think about the ripple effects that telling the truth or a lie can have, and the gray area between the two.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a white lie which spirals out of control.

Angst – 27 stories

Write about a character pretending to be someone they’re not.

Angst – 43 stories

Write about a game of ‘truth or dare’ that goes horribly wrong.

Fluff – 20 stories

Write a story where a character finds out the truth about something they thought they’d known their whole life.

Horror – 30 stories

Write about a character who tells a lie which turns out to be true - or a truth which turns out to be a lie.

Dark – 30 stories

Stories

“A white lie that spiralls out of control” by Paul Howard Surridge

Submitted to Contest #107

Tom woke with a start. He was fully dressed. He looked at his bedside clock; it was 11.27 pm. He had been asleep for almost fourteen hours. His wife Penny was asleep next to him no doubt having only recently gone to bed. He quietly got up and went down to the kitchen to make some coffee, then headed for his study. His mobile ‘phone had been in his pocket all that time, switched on. There were no signs of text messages or voicemails from his mistress. He had been so stressed with the previous day’s events when the fire destroyed his business...

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“Elizabeth Highbridge Escapes” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #107

As usual, Aimee’s most bothersome hangover manifestation was the sensation of a vice tightening across her forehead. Shaky and nauseous, she gritted her teeth, praying to the god of bad decisions to guide her to the gate so she could nap before her quick flight back to Cleveland. After passing through the metal detector at the security checkpoint, her backpack glided out of the x-ray scanner. She fumbled to pick it up before turning back to grab her beaten up sneakers from the next bin, except th...

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“GOOD BOYS TELL NO LIES” by Rodrigo Juatco

Submitted to Contest #107

Perched before a coffee table inside a living room, a cute chubby little boy, Nicky, 2 years old, eagerly draws a picture with his crayons. Nicky has a secret that only he and his mommy knew. He was so happy that his mommy shared the secret with him. Nobody else in his family trusted him with a secret. They all thought he was a blabbermouth because he accidentally gave away a secret or two (or three) in the past. But Nicky’s mommy trusted him. She loved him more than anything in the whole earth; she told him so herself. The thought...

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“Simply Another Secret ” by Luc Ozich

Submitted to Contest #107

They grow up in stops and starts, she finds the quiet corners and he drags her to the loud ones. She sits beside her father at court, and he winks at her from the crowd. Together, they learn how to read and write and add numbers.And together, they orbit until they can no longer pull away.They read, once, about twin gods. Brother and sister separated from birth, desperate to be reunited.They decide that is the type of love they share. They are right.At sixteen the Crown Princess is expected to enter an engagement. She meets a dozen men a...

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“As Much A Princess” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #107

I find that people are often looking for the essence of a thing more than the thing itself. Usually, whenever someone finds something or meets someone, and they feel--If they were to say they felt let down--I suspect it would be because they had an expectation of what that introduction or discovery would feel like and, for them, the feeling didn’t match up. It didn’t have the sensation a child gets when they put together their first puzzle. Everything falls neatly into place. The order that’s accomplished in a moment of personal satisfacti...

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“Just Another Psychopath in Small Town America ” by Jules Forrest

Submitted to Contest #107

TW: murderBuzz, Buzz, Buzz. Stella glanced down at her phone, watching the post notifications increasing second by second, before returning her gaze to the vanity mirror. This was the crucial stage of her eyeliner after all, ruin this and she might never make it to Ben’s annual Halloween party extravaganza. Whoever was blowing up her phone could wait. Knowing her luck, it was probably just Alice double checking for the one hundredth time today whether they were still dressing up as sexy Mario and Luigi. Stella finished off her last fli...

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“The Secret Of Monarch Lake” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #107

The story goes, on a hot summer's night five friends decided to play a harmless game of truth or dare, which didn't go as planned. As each friend chose truth, one of them chose dare. The dare was to go to Monarch lake light house and spend hour inside. Abby took the dare. Abby walks to the light house unaware her friends are following her. Abby's friends Sam, Logan, Luke and Allison recently told Abby the light house is haunted, the truth is, it's not haunted, but Abby doesn't know that. As Abby gets near the light house, her frien...

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“Truth or Flame” by Luke Schumacher

Submitted to Contest #107

TW: SmokingWhy am I even here? Performing arts camp was definitely not my idea. It was mom’s, all the way back in January. “Come on, Jayden! It will be fun! You’ll meet other boys, just like you!”That was far from the truth. Although I do like performing arts, I’ve never been able to connect with any other kids, regardless of interests. They see me as an outsider, and I don’t even blame them. If I had the choice between talking to someone, or talking to no one, I would definitely choose the latter.Every day here feels like it drags on and on...

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“Divine Bloodline Chapter 2” by Shannon McGill

Submitted to Contest #107

Chapter 2 Antonia woke up feeling like a new woman. The absence of physical or emotional pain combined with the realization of her own sobriety meant only one thing: Mama was right. She sank into the soft ground with her eyes closed and took a deep breath. This wasn’t where she fell asleep, and that was fine. Perfect, even. If she could wake anywhere, Home is the obvious choice. She looked around, delighted to find herself beneath the giant tree on her family’s land. Balmy wind gently coaxed the dying leaves from branches while the...

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“Grandpa's Clarity” by Dhruv Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #107

Sunlight streamed through the orange and red forest canopy, dappling the ground with warm light while a brisk wind rustled through the forest. Waves and drifts of leaves moved around like an ocean - the graveyard of autumn’s past. Henry Wallman walked through these woods in a good fitting pair of dark blue jeans, a faded orange shirt, and a black bomber jacket. On his wrist he wore a watch worth more than the phone in his pocket, and around his neck he wore a necklace with a ring on it. Fall was always a bittersweet time for him - on one han...

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“Deceit's Truth” by Morgan McHose

Submitted to Contest #107

No physical compulsion? She signs, baffled by my admission.I shake my head. There is nothing to keep me from telling the truth, save the knowledge that I will lose absolutely everything if I do.Destinee raises a fine eyebrow before nuzzling closer to me. We watch her cousin in open amusement as he begins his daily struggle of wrestling the pink disc from the stubborn clutches of Night. The air shifts, Wind blessing our bodies with her cool breeze as the planet warms. Destinee wills her midnight tendrils to stay impervious to its pull. I care...

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“Shouting into the void” by Tsholofelo Tombale

Submitted to Contest #107

“Hello. Is anyone from the army listening to this?” Prospero leaned into the microphone in front of him, and swallowed past the lump in his throat. He had snuck into the radio station he used to work at, and picking his way around toppled chairs and over splintered tables, he had gone into one of the studios to throw another of his weekly pleas out into the ether. “Please if someone from the army hears this. We need help. We are a group of seven, and we’re staying at Rock City mall. We are running out food, and we need you to come rescue us,...

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“The Lie” by Kelly Haynes

Submitted to Contest #107

I am leaning against the side of our decades-old Chevy, watching the numbers on the gas pump scroll higher while I envision the numbers in my bank account simultaneously falling. The windows of the car are open. It is late summer in Texas and so hot that the air overheats your lungs if you inhale too deeply. The A/C unit in the old car died years ago, and the hot breeze is the only thing standing between my son and me and spontaneous combustion. “Dad, look at that man!” I don’t look, because I’m certain the entire gas station has heard the...

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“Time Never Forgets” by Margarita Escobar

Submitted to Contest #107

Pam knelt on the gardening pad and dug deep enough to prepare the ground to plant the rose bush. As she broke up the soil her fingers touched something round and hard; she kept digging and brought it up to the surface. It wasn’t a pebble or a small piece of rock as she initially thought. She dusted its surface, but not wearing her glasses, she didn’t inspect the item any further and put it in her pants’ pocket. A burning sensation on her back made her uncomfortable. It was 7:00 am, but because of the unrelenting sun of the Australian minin...

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“Rhetoric” by Gordon Smith

Submitted to Contest #107

RHETORIC James and I never got along. Not even when we were kids. Our mom had been on her own since my pops passed, and she wasn't much for parenting after his death. So James and I were left to our devices. When we interacted it always led to fighting. Most times verbally, oft times physically. For that reason, and for subconsciously resenting both my absentee parents, I moved out at 16. I started by couch surfing, waiting tables. I stuck with it until I could get my own place, and began tending bar. Eventually I ended up ba...

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$250

Prize money

150

Contest entries

204

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 20, 2021 EST

Won by K. Antonio 🏆

Title: The Intrusive Demon

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!

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