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!

#108: Elemental

Water, air, fire, earth, and void: together, these five elements make up one of the earliest systems used to understand our world. Ancient cultures in Greece, Persia, India, and elsewhere all believed that everything they saw could be broken down into these five core categories. While the system doesn’t hold much water scientifically, we still hear echoes of these ancient classifications today — from the groups of astrological signs, to the magical systems of fantasy worlds.

For this week’s prompts, I’m going back to basics, and exploring each of the five core elements in turn. I’m excited to see what you build out of the building blocks of — well, everything!

This week's prompts

Write a story about a voyage on a boat.

Adventure – 42 stories

Write about a person or object vanishing into thin air.

Thriller and Suspense – 44 stories

Write a story about a team tunneling down into the centre of a planet.

Science Fiction – 6 stories

Start or end your story with a house going up in flames.

Dark – 55 stories

Write a story about a character who’s trying to fill an empty space, literally or metaphorically.

Angst – 55 stories

Stories

“Tall Tales and Tiny Wings” by Freya R.

Submitted to Contest #108

The butterfly effect. From the name one would presume a beautiful phenomenon, but instead it is truly terrifying. How one simple decision can cause catastrophic repercussions. It is said that a butterfly can flap their wings and cause a tsunami on the other side of the world. James discovered this concept accidentally, yet it undoubtedly changed his life. To do him and his story justice however, one must start at the beginning. Bellbrook was a small town. Rural, dusty, dry. Some would describe it as home, while others, the en...

Read story

“Shining Bow” by Holland Wells

Submitted to Contest #108

[Warning : This is a True story with graphic parts.]The house was fully ingulfed in flames as it's smoke filled the sky near a small Wisconsin town. It was August 15th 1914 in the flat plains near the town of Spring green.There were five men and a young boy inside trying to escape as the fire raged. The men would try to open the door but it had been locked from the outside. Each time one of them would try to go through a window, Carlton would be waiting on the other side with an axe. Screams could be heard from far away and the smell of burn...

Read story

“The New Boyfriend ” by Vienna Casey

Submitted to Contest #108

Nate’s father is out of the picture. That is all the background you need. It was just Nate, his younger brother Mason, and their mom. Nate was a fairly normal teenager. He went to school, rarely did his homework, had a knack for baseball and all things baseball-related, and absolutely loved his car. His 2009 Corvette got him anywhere he needed to be, along with the occasional girl in the passenger seat. He had a passion that set him aside, though. Nathan Romano wanted to be a detective. His family lived in a pretty large suburb in Mas...

Read story

“Lighting the Darkness” by Allen Wilkinson

Submitted to Contest #108

The air seemed to rush past me and up, like a waterfall bereft of moisture and weight, turned on its head. The trees around me glowed bright yellow and flashing red, the cold glow of the moon polluted by soty light while steam hissed and billowed around the scene. I sat hunched with my head between my knees and my arms over my neck shaking with tears while the house crumbled to coals and ashes behind me. I was six and no one had the time to spare for my comfort in the destructive aura of fire behind me. I’d spent my entir...

Read story

“Leave” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #108

As Detective Frank Meyers arrived at 59 Mulberry Street, he watched the mid-1950s ranch home go up in flames. There, in his mind, sheets of fire billowed out from the newly installed ridge vents along the roof line. Flames like dragon’s breath shot out of the gable vents on each end of the house. The fire light painted the gray brick house “all Halloween orange and chimney red,” just as Tom Waits rasped in “Frank’s Wild Years.” Detective Meyers could see the blaze, as it burned the night before, because he investigated arson for a ...

Read story

“Under The Ash” by Zachary Cleveland-Blunt

Submitted to Contest #108

On a regular street, in a regular suburb, you will find a regular house. At a glance, it is not noticeably different than any of the other homes around it. The bricks are worn yet jaunty, the wooden door is tired and in need of another coat of paint, but they all have an almost cheery quality to them, suggesting many happy memories layered into its bones. There is a neat little fence, surrounding a neat little yard, with a neat little swing set tucked into the corner. The yellows and reds of the swings shine a plastic smile at the trim green...

Read story

“Magda against the world” by Paula Bissoni

Submitted to Contest #108

-Everything is blurry and confusing, where am I? The loud sound of the bedroom door being broken woke Magda up and it felt like a lightning hit her in the head. The air was filled with dark smoke coming from the fire. The hangover was brutal, and the reality was even worse: she was still alive. Carried out of her bed without realizing where she was or what day that was, Magda grasped: they have found me! Today was the day Magda has been waiting all along. Naked and zipping champagne at 9 am in the morning, feeling the crisp and fresh mornin...

Read story

“Tinderbox” by Penn Kname

Submitted to Contest #108

My dad built the house we grew up in all our lives. In between shifts, using up every weekend for two years, asking for small loans every now and then, and adding new installations to the structure whenever he saved up enough money. My mom worked too, pitching in to the construction costs whenever she could, but mostly using her salary to feed my and my sisters, and pay the rent for the crappy studio apartment we all lived in. It was hard work, and I think my dad got a tetanus shot in the middle of it all, but by the time I could start walki...

Read story

“Love From the Flames” by Tanya Smith

Submitted to Contest #108

What is that smell? Alexis Davis was awakened up from her sleep by a terrible smell. Then there was a crackling sound, then a popping sound. What is going on? Is that smoke I smell? It can’t be? I must be dreaming. She tried to go back to sleep, but the smell was getting stronger, then she heard it, the fire detector going off. Then the phone starting ringing. She answered, “Hello”. “Ms. Davis, this is HGT Security Alarms. Is everything okay? We have your fire alarm going off,...

Read story

“Wanda Gene” by Random Leigh Musing

Submitted to Contest #108

Wanda Gene was found atop a physical hoard of accumulated memories, scattered pain and a pile of evidence of her struggle to let go of anything. Her body was empty but her house full, brimming over with deeply loved, yet persistently neglected things. Her treasures, mingled and meshed with garbage, begged an answer to the question, “Why?”Possibly, a hoarder has felt thrown away at some point in life so throwing away anything one may relate to, including garbage, feels like an impossible task.To an outsider her death and her life appeared one...

Read story

“The Question Without An Answer” by Pasupu .

Submitted to Contest #108

I'll tell you how my routine goes about, I wake up every week day, just like the rest of them. I brush my teeth, and I get ready. I have my breakfast and go to office. Then I slave throughout the rest of the day in my office. I come back, I have my dinner and sleep. This goes on for the five week days. And then come Saturday and Sunday. The entire week's sleep deprivation is compensated and before no time it's Monday. What a boring story? Tell us something new, isn't that what I might get asked? Yes, I probably would ask the same if so...

Read story

“Adrift” by George O'Brien

Submitted to Contest #108

ADRIFT When I was a boy, I stood on the harbor quay in Sevilla watching the fishing boats and small trade boats move out at first tide. Often, I ran along the dock or on the narrow strip of beach below the sea wall. I waved to every boat until they were gone. Whether under oar or sail, once in motion, I could not keep pace with them. They slid farther ahead, speeding away from me. I chased futilely after them and yet enjoyed my brief run. I knew I could not keep up, but for some minutes, I was with them, part of their journey. When I laid...

Read story

“THE OLD BOAT” by Kayhan Egeli

Submitted to Contest #108

"Alan give me a hand, two more cases to shift. Where is Rob, could do with his help," I said. " No problem, is it number five, the bungalow? Rob is still in the minibus, sorting the payment with the driver, John" Alan said. " I sorted the payment I am here now let's move in the hut and go to the beach. It's really hot, I am boiling," Rob said. Our adventure had started. *** " You should be thankful to me. Look at this scenery. Miles long sandy beach, turquoise colour sea, meeting with the ligh...

Read story

“portals to the unknown” by Norma Gauld

Submitted to Contest #108

it was a beautiful late morning in May when I decided to take my daily walk around the Butter Tub Marsh walking trail, I hadn't long been out of hospital from a minor surgery so my walking was slow but steady.When I first enterd the gate into the trail, I met a woman in her late sixtys or early seventys and wearing a pink cardigan sweater, beige mid-thigh pants; she was holding a book. She had gray hair and strange, gray eyes. Although I smiled at her she did not acknowledge me as she seemed to be searching for someone or something.I continu...

Read story

“The Problem” by Del Gibson

Submitted to Contest #108

PROBLEMS By Del Gibson So here is my story. I am alive, but I am dead. There was a time when I could feel, but that was eons ago. Sometimes, I float away and disappear, but most of the time I live inside my head. That seems to be the problem. I don’t know, when I wake, which year I will be in. I would love to tell you when it all started, but it was so very long ago, that I can’t remember. Oh hell, here I go again…I am standing in a doorway, I can’t see because the room is dark. I can smell an incense stick – Sandalwood burns my nostri...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

202

Contest entries

207

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 27, 2021 EST

Won by Rachel Kenley Fry 🏆

Title: I Leave the Six Blank

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 ⭢