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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

“FAKE NEWS INC” by Jolanta Polk

Submitted to Contest #107

FAKE NEWS INC. By J.B.PolkIt started small, nearly innocent, and quite by accident, far from what it eventually became - a quicksand of lies and secrets. And once in, there was no way out. Deeper and deeper I sank.All began on the day my former school pal, Ashok, came to visit me. We chewed the fat for a while, talked about our childhood on the estate, about my computer science studies at the Uni but I noticed he was kind of down and when I asked him, he said that Prisha, his girlfriend of two years, had just dumped him.Prisha was a dishy ch...

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“Lies Upon Lies” by Sylvia Luna

Submitted to Contest #107

“It’s just a little lie, it barely has color” I firmly believed my justification as I spewed these words to my sister, Charlotte. “It’s not that I can’t hold a serious face when I’m in the middle of conducting a small lie, it’s that I don’t want to get caught…it’s embarrassing,” she confided. Whenever I think of a “white lie”, I remember a quote that I’d read on a church bulletin board, “When we tell white lies, we become progressively color blind”. I was only 11 years old when I read that quote and I can’t forget it, it’s like knowing all t...

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“A Taste of Freedom” by Paige Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #107

Royal appearance to be made at the Annual Celebration of The Harvest to take place this Saturday - Including her Royal Highness Princess Genevieve – protocol is to be followed accordingly. Amelia was startled as she finished reading the flyer posted up in the middle of the main square of her village. Princess Genevieve had only been seen a handful of times by the villagers, it was rumoured that the royal family frowned on the young princess leaving the palace. Rumours had indeed spread throughout all the villages in the nation that...

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“First Crush” by Sarah Duffey

Submitted to Contest #107

There are some people who are just impossible to shake. Amber checked her schedule and felt herself shrink when she saw his name in the 12:30 time slot. Steven. He had signed up Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday for tutoring. Despite the nearly two weeks he’d spent with Amber in the computer lab, Steven had made meager progress. She had told a classmate about him, and this classmate called him a creep, a weirdo, gross. He’d originally shown up to get help with his English paper, though this classmate speculated that he was there exclusi...

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“Dating Games” by Ryan Pond

Submitted to Contest #107

“Dating; go out with (someone in whom one is romantically or sexually interested).” “Thanks Google, but none of that describes this,” Josh said as he let out a sigh and sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on his shoes. “How did I let Zack talk me into this?” he said as he pulled the shoe on and tied the laces in a neat little bow. He moved across the room to the bathroom while he closed the buttons down the front of his shirt. The countertop around the sink was covered in an array of skin, hair, and facial care products. Josh stared...

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“Mouse Trap” by Steven Hamling

Submitted to Contest #107

“ Give me another cold one,” Spike demanded. Ted reached into the cooler, and handed his spiky, green haired friend a cold can of cheap beer. Spike opened the tab on the can. There was a low hissing sound as he pulled on the tab. In a matter of seconds, Spike downed the beer, let out a belch, and tossed the can off to the side. The can landed on the garage floor just a few feet away from his drum set. Audrey, their guitarist, laughed and blew a strand of purple hair from her face, “ Alright truth or dare guy” Her speech sounds slurred....

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“it's just one round” by Peggy Spanovich

Submitted to Contest #107

The music thumped just a little too loud, the lights flashed a little too bright, each room was just a bit too crowded. Sasha drifted out of the kitchen to the outskirts of the living room, shifting the red solo cup from hand to hand, the cheap beer gone flat and unwanted. She scanned the room for her friend, Claire, but she could not be found among the crowd. With a sigh, Sasha slipped through the other guests, writhing to the music, and resisted the urge to snap at each drunk teenager that bumped into her. Finally, she broke free from the ...

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“Sophie's truths.” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #107

She lived in a house along a row of other houses. Nothing special about that, except it, was her house. To live in as she pleases. She couldn´t care less about what other people said about all the different colors in her house, what business was it of theirs anyway? Her living room was overfilled with plants. There was only one large window in the house, so she didn´t have space for a grand piano – not even a baby grand. She made up for it by hanging up a poster of the magnificent instrument. One day she was very upset because one of the pla...

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“Lord Farquaad Haircut” by Tiffany Skinner

Submitted to Contest #107

Samantha and Whitney are best friends. They’re both sixteen years old. They’ve been inseparable since freshman year of high school. They felt like they’ve met in a past life. On Sunday Samantha couldn’t stop staring at herself in the mirror. She’s always been happy with her appearance but something kept bothering her. Maybe it’s time to change up her style she thought. She went on Yelp and found a local hairstylist. She decided to make an appointment later that evening. Hopefully it wouldn’t take her long to finish. "Here you go! This is...

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“The Hidden Truth” by Holland Wells

Submitted to Contest #107

It was a night of excitement. Finally the senior year had ended in Hampton bay high. Twenty two young teenage adults made their mark in history as a graduating class, and tonight would be a night of celebration that no one in Hampton bay would soon forget. It all started two days before the last day of school when Bobby Holder told his best friend Tommy Lance that he was going to throw a party in his uncles cabin down by Cedar Lake. They both agreed that it would be a private "BYOB" party of only the two and their girlfriends. Bobby was a si...

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“She envied my being me!” by Leny Revermann

Submitted to Contest #107

Growing up a tomboy I didn't know that it would be an engaging matter to become popular that a girl in my class used my name, my photo, and all my favorite things to do her dream, she stole my identity to meet boys! I was in the middle of the busy week preparing for an exam when I was told someone was looking for me. I grew up in the Philippines, attending one of the prominent private high schools, but very religious, and have strict rules and uniforms. I hated the strict rules of my school, but my parents believed it would help me developed...

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“My Name is Billy Irons.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #107

A man is sitting at the bar of a locally popular night spot. He has barely touched his first beer. He is thinking, ‘Well, it’s Friday night at my favourite pub, and I am sitting alone at the bar. I would like to meet some woman, and start something, even if it is only for a little conversation. But how do I impress someone quickly. I am, admittedly, quite ordinary in looks, job and generally in conversation. My best words are written, not spoken. I need a new strategy. Here comes someone. She’s comi...

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“The Witches Familiar” by Kiara Gorton

Submitted to Contest #107

The eyeballs in a jar were staring at her. She just knew they were. It was making it hard to concentrate. “Pst, Pheobe. Your potion is boiling over.” The urgent whisper came from Charlie, the red-haired golden child sitting at the desk beside Pheobes’. “Oh shivers!” Pheobe looked around in a panic. The items on her desk all seemed to blur together, nothing looked at all useful. A black streak darted across Pheobes’ peripheral vision and up onto her desk. Eldon, her cat, helpfully jumped up on the table with a wood...

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“What a tangled web we weave” by Vanessa Shipway

Submitted to Contest #107

What a tangled web we weave. Vanessa Shipway. Veronica Hadfield adjusted the uncomfortable straps of her skin-tight, amaranth-coloured dress and critically analysed herself in the full-length mirror. She groaned. This wasn’t who she was. Sexy, cool, casual, funny Veronica wasn’t her. She felt much more comfortable with her blonde hair pinned back into a tight ponytail, sleek trousers, and a blouse, whilst explaining an analysis of Romeo and Juliet to her class of year 7s. erahJust then the door of her bedroom flung open to reveal her stunnin...

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“The Man I call 'Daddy'” by Tanya Smith

Submitted to Contest #107

The Man I Call ‘Daddy’ By: Ireland Lorelei I was still in so much shock. How could he be here one day and then gone the next? I had just given him a hug and a kiss on his cheek as he left for work and I left for school this morning. My dad would never see me dressed up for my senior prom, or see my graduate high school next year, he wouldn’t be here to see which scouts came to my games and what colleges I got accepted to. He wouldn’t see any of my college games. He wouldn’t walk me down the aisle or play with his grandkids. I don’...

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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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