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!

#118: Metamorphosis

Whichever way you look at it, fall is a season of change. The trees are changing color, the waking hours are getting shorter, and the days are growing colder. It also happens to be Halloween, meaning we might need to gear up for some spooktacular supernatural transformations too… if you believe in that sort of thing! 

Whether your characters are enjoying the crunch of fallen leaves, or undergoing a creepy metamorphosis of their own, we hope this week’s prompts help you get the best out of fall this year. 

This week's prompts

Start your story with “Today’s the day I change.”

Teens – 54 stories

Write about a character, animal or human, who is reborn as something totally different.

High School – 42 stories

Write your story from the perspective of an outsider watching something or someone change.

Middle School – 45 stories

Your character picks up a fallen leaf and can’t believe what they discover underneath it. What happens next?

Fall – 38 stories

Set your story during a sudden change of season.

Fall – 26 stories

Stories

“Promises” by Emma Louise

Submitted to Contest #118

Trigger Warning: Alcohol, Suicide I will always remember the first time I held my daughter. She is so tiny, eighteen inches and seven pounds. This little baby in my arms seems so fragile, so easily hurt, and she has become my entire world. From this moment, I promise myself and her that I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. My nose is not six inches from her tiny, wrinkly pink face when she opens her striking green eyes, already fringed with thick, dark lashes, and blinks up at me. She opens her little mouth, red and toothless, and...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Tunnel of Love Saga” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #118

I want to share a story with you about my employer, Euclid Beach Park. I worked at the Park in Cleveland during the summer of 1948. I sold cotton candy and popcorn balls. After I graduated from college in 1952, I was hired into a full-time job. I worked my way up in management until I was appointed as the Manager of Operations ten years later. Little did I know how events at the Park would totally shape my life. Think of what occurred as a sort of slow-motion alien invasion.***My position in the Park management was somewhat unusual because I...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Social Pariah ” by Kaylee Aleece

Submitted to Contest #118

The line outside the luxurious country club is long, but thankfully I am only a few people away from the intimidating bouncers. They hold foreboding clipboards with lists of appropriate names. I have waited ten minutes to get to this point. The trio of older women in front of me are complaining of wasting time, but I use the time to prepare myself mentally. I rehearse my story. I am running through my lines as if the card is in my hands. My name is Lilly Summers. I know he is in there. In my deepest heart of hearts, with every inch of my sou...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Under a Leaf” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #118

           In an old town hall half-filled with 50 to 60 people who are members of the local speakers club, a white-haired man wearing an ancient tweed jacket, a well-worn white shirt and faded brown pants begins his speech. The audience has no idea what his presentation entitled “I was on a walk one day” is going to be about. “I was walking one day through what I call the ‘alien forest’. I have not said this out loud to anyone before, as I didn’t want to answer any question...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The Changes War Imposes Upon a Man” by O.R. Corporon

Submitted to Contest #118

(CW: cursing, references to war)WWIII. Russia vs. China vs. North Korea vs. the US. It was 2035.The war had just ended, and Edmund Salloway was coming back to the States from his final deployment. To say that he was shell-shocked was a bit of an understatement. The war had taken a toll on him, not only in the ways one might expect. Sure, his entire squad had died twice, he watched his best friend die of gangrene, and he almost starved to death in the Siberian winter. But at least his few friends who did survive the war had a family to go bac...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Reason for the Season” by Susan Whitlock

Submitted to Contest #118

           Kevin watched his mommy dive into a huge plastic tub in the hallway upstairs. Her rear end was waving around in the air in a way that made the six-year-old giggle uncontrollably. Mommy, aka Sandra Peterson, straightened and gazed down at her son, now holding his middle and rolling around the floor laughing.            “Something amuses you, boy?” she smiled down at him.         &nbsp...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Unrequited Love” by Bernice McClain

Submitted to Contest #118

Today is the day that I change myself.            I have siblings who together have their share of complicated life’s issues all of which are intertwined with the lack of financial resources. In times like these, I wish I was the billionaire that can make all their troubles go away. A few signed cheques with three to four zeroes added and voila, all their problems will be gone. I love them dearly. We are a closely knitted bunch so of course, I want the very best for them.   &nb...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Hoddington House” by Jamie Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #118

He sits at an oak stained desk in the dimly lit library tracing the contours of the wood patterns with an antique letter opener. He yawns, stretching his aching shoulders and stares solemnly around the room. The soft dink of a fly caught between the lamps lightbulb and its shade is the only sound that can be heard. On the overread crumpled piece of paper in front of him are five words, Today’s the day I change. He yawns again and stands, surveying the hovel that has been his home for the last four hours. Opened books...

0 comments 0
Read story

“An Attempt to Change” by Hana Pomper

Submitted to Contest #118

„Today’s the day I change. “ you whisper to yourself during a bout of motivation. The hope shines bright and illuminates the path for a better future. Everything bad in your life seems behind you, a chapter you can’t wait to close. You imagine all the ways your life would improve by simply taking a few extra steps in the right direction. You move a few steps forward, happy that a better future seems a little more reachable. But there are winds ahead and it’s so far away… Suddenly this bright future gets dimmed by the fear. The fear tha...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Final Day” by Annie Zamparelli

Submitted to Contest #118

“Today’s the day I change.” I sipped coffee and clinked the cup to the saucer. “Uh-huh.” Michael’s eyes never left the page of his financial magazine. The glint of light from his gold wedding band danced as he turned the page. I bit my lip, rubbing the blue cloth napkin between my fingers. I needed to tell him; tell him it was time. Tilting my head, I studied his features, his long aristocratic nose from his great grandmother, his full lips I longed to kiss one last time, and his slender fingers. Oh, those fingers...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Sunshine Beneath the Starless Sea” by Henri S. Riddle

Submitted to Contest #118

Trigger warning: rape, kidnapping, body horror, murder I remember the sand was cold under my feet that night. I walked down to the shore with the strange, silver-haired man I had met the week prior, and it all seemed so romantic under the stars and the moonlight. The waves were roaring in the wind, but he tugged me towards the water anyway. “Did you see that! Is it a fin?” I had seen the signs on the boardwalk, bidding visitors beware of the creature lurking in these waters. “Are you afraid of sea monsters, niñita?” He asked, playfully shovi...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Thalassophobia” by Raihan Kibria

Submitted to Contest #118

Carter held his wife’s hand and gently pulled her across the beach towards the incoming waves. The tropical sun was shining brightly, and the sea’s soothing sounds filled the air. Her skin, already pale from too much time spent indoors, was now stark white from the thick layer of sunscreen she’d applied. "That’s it, slow and steady. We don’t need to go far today, just wet your feet a little bit," he said. Gracie gave a tiny, quiet whimper but followed along. "Does it get deeper quickly?" she said with her eyes fixed on the gently lapping wav...

3 comments 3
Read story

“The Unexpected Fugitive” by John Brannon

Submitted to Contest #118

The setting sun shining through the shop window causes William to squint. He is standing in line, shifting uncomfortably from one foot and then the other foot. William did not usually patronize coffee shops, but he was desperate.  He desperately needed a wifi connection.  The shop was surprisingly crowded. William sniffed and dabbed his nose with a napkin. His small gesture turned heads and brought all the conversations around him to a stop for a split second, but the ebb and flow immediately returned. The card scann...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A Hard Pill to Swallow ” by Adaeze Nkwocha

Submitted to Contest #118

Trigger warning: allusions to sexual assault, kidnapping, muggingDon’t shoot the messenger, it wasn’t my idea to begin with. I was forced to go along on the ride but I admit it wasn’t our first go-around. We had done this plenty of times before with a lot more unsuspecting people. So in a way, she can’t really blame herself. She was forced into this game just like I was. It didn’t always start out this way. The four us use to be real cool. We would hang out all day and have dreams of the life we wanted, visions of the future. I guess those d...

2 comments 2
Read story

“This is Lame” by Daniel Roueche

Submitted to Contest #118

“What’s this about? I ask Shawn.“I can’t explain. Just follow me,” he says. We walk out to the alley behind my dad’s restaurant. It smells like grease and rotten vegetables and cat feces. A pleasant combination.“But why out here?” I complain.“We need privacy.”“We could literally go anywhere else.” “Will you stop? We’re already here. Deal with it,” he says. “I promise it’ll be worth it.” I sigh. This is typical Shawn behavior. Overly excited about everything. I’m almost positive it won’t be worth it. Shawn has a way of aggrandizing ...

3 comments 3
Read story

$250

Prize money

205

Contest entries

140

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 05, 2021 EST

Won by Myia Melendy 🏆

Title: beneath the quaking aspen

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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

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 ⭢

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.