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

“SAVING ANDY” by Gerard Watson

Submitted to Contest #108

The wave of heat from the house fire flushed Andy Fluke’s sweaty face. He stood, unblinking, with a blank stare, as the flames engulfed his home. Smoke and soot swirled through the air. Police officers set up barricades that kept the curious onlookers back. And out of danger. The firefighters worked feverishly, trying to bring the fire under control. While some firefighters operated the fire truck hoses and shot water streams at the flames, others used axes to chop down anything that could fuel the fire. The police and fire vehicles bl...

Read story

“"Jane"” by Laney Harris

Submitted to Contest #108

"Jane" The way some people tried on clothes, I tried on identities. At coffee shops, I was Lavender, who wore wire-rimmed glasses and sat quietly reading her book over her foaming latte soft curls tucked into a messy bun. At karaoke, I was Izzy, her vivacious personality and enormous bubble that engulfed everyone around her and took them for a joy ride. In dark alleys, I was Natasha mystery coated with just a touch of darkness which was two steps ahead of her pursuers and on the heels of her next victim. The list went on and on, but I think...

Read story

“Cause and Effect.” by Claire Williamson

Submitted to Contest #108

She holds the bundle gingerly in her arms, wanting to cradle him fiercely, possessively, but fearing the consequences. He hasn’t opened his eyes yet; she imagines he won’t do so for a while, but they’ll be adorable, just like the rest of him. Her husband places a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle smile. “He won’t break, you know,” he whispers, and she believes him, she does, but if he doesn’t break then perhaps the dream they’re in will do, and she’s not ready for that. Not yet. Not again. But the warmth… it b...

Read story

“Wandering Mind” by Nati Yohannes

Submitted to Contest #108

Had it been a day? A week? A month? It was impossible to keep track of time. Nothing functions correctly anymore. It was like someone had just taken a neuron out of her brain. A gear out of her system. A piece out of her life. A limb off of her body. Life would never be the same without Laura. It wasn't fair. She was so young. Could she have not been able to stay for just a little bit longer? 7 weeks. That's how long Hanna had gotten with her own child. Why was it so harmful? It was just the flu - why did it have to take poor Laura's l...

Read story

“Grave Giver” by Alexander Kozdra

Submitted to Contest #108

The next day the grave pit was empty again. There’s a pile of dirt next to the whole. The sun hitting the farmhouse on the way up and down made it look yellow. A pile to the side with a shovel shoved in was the only evidence. Jim brought seed to cover the compressed dirt atop his wife’s plot. The fence didn’t keep vermin from harassing their family plot. The coffin was shiny and polished as if dirt hadn’t just surrounded it. Someone or something had pulled the dirt back out. When he opened the lid, she was undisturbed. The eyes were s...

Read story

“Of Kings and Queens” by Danielle Burke

Submitted to Contest #108

If anyone ever found out Queen Eleanor had clandestine meetings with a whore, much of the kingdom would be scandalized. There were those, however, who would understand, especially fellow females. And while she could have sent her maid to obtain the necessary information, Eleanor felt it imperative to go herself so no detail would be missed. On the day she married Edward and became queen, her own vow flowed beneath the marriage words: Eleanor would never become pregnant, would never carry a child in her womb destined to be forced by th...

Read story

“Pea-Soup Fog” by LAURA Spiritualquest@earthlink.net

Submitted to Contest #108

Pea-Soup Fog The cold salt spray stung my face, keeping me awake. This 60-degree ocean is no place to be without a wetsuit on. How long have I been in the water and how did this happen to me? ...

Read story

“Blue” by Hilary Meyer

Submitted to Contest #108

BLUE When Blue was 15 years old her family decided to take a trip to Europe in the year 2018. Blue’s dad bought a boat and wanted to sail the thirteen to sixteen day trip on their own, being the professional boat man he was. It was early one August morning when they set out on their adventure. The weather was beautiful and was projected to stay that way for their whole trip. Blue felt a slight wind chill though as the boat started leaving the dock. Wind on her neck always ma...

Read story

“Larne–Cairnryan ” by L Mack

Submitted to Contest #108

My phone pings. Kyle – u comin to kieran’s party tonight? Diann – on the ferry over now Kyle – can’t wait to see you my sexy girl from across the water Then a load of hearts and kissy faces. He thinks he’s some kind of love poet. I don’t reply, just give him the blue ticks. He’s cocky enough. Phone again. Steven – Just a friendly reminder. £150 by tuesday or there’ll be a penalty Shit. No kissy faces here. Steven’s all for equal opportunities –he doesn’t mind breaking women’s arms as well as men’s. But for girls my age he’ll accept other ser...

Read story

“The Voyagers” by Francesco James

Submitted to Contest #108

Francesco James Reedsy Writing Contest #257 The Voyagers Page 1 A warm sunset breeze offers no relief in the sun-scorched backdrop of the harbor, as the intense heat fuels the mirage of shimmering rooftops' rhythmic movement. The line of piers, strangled with crates and barrels matched by the congestion of river skiffs are tied up, three and four abreast, some nose to nose. It is no different on the dirt roads of the town close to two-and three-story warehouses of trading companies, the final point of departure for opium and goods ...

Read story

“Not your usual shipboard affair” by Sue Brown

Submitted to Contest #108

They met on a cruise ship. A man and a woman whose paths would never have crossed in their everyday life. They were very different people with very different lives, they didn't even live in the same country. But this is not the usual boy meets girl on a cruise ship story. This was not a romance, it was a meeting of minds, of emotions, of need. And you can’t help but wonder what inexplicable forces bring two people like this together. Martin was a 45 year old surgeon. He was trapped in an unsatisfying marriage ...

Read story

“Baroque” by M.K. Hendri

Submitted to Contest #108

The townspeople don’t know what it means when I say I brought my painting to life. They think I'm eccentric, aloof, adrift; but the truth is I did it so I could stay alive. The price of life is not just a monetary one - oh no. There’s a spiritual cost too. Two weeks ago I was sitting at this exact spot on the river, and I knew I wasn’t alone. Every day since I’ve been consumed with finding it. My brush was hardened from a long day of painting, and the afternoon sun wasn’t getting any kinder. An exaggerated breath was my admission of ...

Read story

“Dying to Live” by Amy Specker

Submitted to Contest #108

I died on August the 27th, 2021. The death was painless, but my family doesn’t know that. My body was never found. I was hiking in the Smoky Mountains of our hometown in Sevierville, TN but never came home. The rescue party found some blood on the rocks along the edge of a cliff, marked by a lonely shoe that used to be mine. Some rocks painted in blood were collected as evidence and tested to match my DNA. It did. There was no doubt that I met my demise along that cliff. My funeral will be on Tuesday the 31st. It’s going to be awful. ...

Read story

“Up In Smoke” by Trina High

Submitted to Contest #108

Okay; 350 degrees, and there you go. Marshall slid the confection into the stove. He HATED eating sweets at room temperature, so warming them was a necessary evil as far as he was concerned.The doorbell rang, and he looked at his watch. It was 5:30, already? Where did the time go? He hustled through the living room, decorated in all tan, to the basement door, flung it open, and yelled, “Go on down; I'll be right there” before racing to his bedroom.Upstairs, Marshall looked in the mirror. His blue tee and jeans would be okay for rehearsal, bu...

Read story

“FLAMES AND STARS” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #108

FLAMES AND STARS The winds raged outside whipping trees into a tangled frenzy, throwing dust and debris across roads, and even overturning top heavy vehicles. All the while, refusing to pause anywhere over the landscape of Rosa’s vast valley, the winds relentlessly scoured the land. Somewhere, someone lit a match to wind-bent dry grass. The winds did what winds do. They picked up the spark and breathed it into flames spinning those flames into monstrous fireballs and then with their mighty power, they flung those flaming fireballs ...

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 ⭢