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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#127: Gut Feelings

Most people know December 31st as New Year’s Eve, but did you know it’s also Make Up Your Mind Day? Unfortunately for many of us, making your mind up is more easily said than done. I always want to make a considered decision, but oftentimes wind up relying on gut instinct alone.


This week's prompts are all about intuition, and the strange way we sometimes know what to do without understanding how we know it. Whether you believe intuition is a sign sent from the universe, or the workings of your own subconscious, it’s time to trust your creative instincts and get writing for the very first contest of 2022. Happy New Year!

🥇 Winner

“The Problem Is” by Dena Linn

CW: terminal illness It was day four hundred and fifty-eight for Paul. He weighed in at fifty-eight kilos, down from a strapping ninety-three. He was also fifty-eight years and counting. His doctor prognosed it and Paul felt old, sick, and wasted, his body no longer his own, and tomorrow would be 1999, another absolutely nothing new year.  It was years now, he’d asked Matt what Silence equals Death meant. He’d be the first to admit to being a simple guy, the one whose IQ matched h...

99 comments 99 WINNER 🏆
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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Coma” by Linda Hershman

CW: suicide, child deathThe first thing you notice is the noise. It assaults like rain beating on a tin roof, or a group of restless teenagers chattering in church. You hear voices, but the words are indistinct and whispery. You start to differentiate machinery sounds; the soft hum of a floor buffer, the buzz of fluorescent lights, and, behind your left shoulder, the steady beeping of the electrocardiogram unit.Your body begins to demand acknowledgement. You are cold, very cold. This is not the chill of a brisk wi...

11 comments 11 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“The 1%” by Jennifer Chan

Her name was Cece, short for CC31415926. She, or at least her model, was created specifically for quantifying all types of matter, from the number of white hairs on your head to the volume of water that lay trapped under Saturn’s moon. She was a novelty AI, and for a time, had been quite fashionable among the galaxy’s upper crust. It meant having enough money to delegate even the most mundane tasks to an Intuition model. The trend didn’t last though, and just a year after its release, WIRED Magazine included it in their top 10 li...

21 comments 21 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“A Single Rose” by Phil Manders

“Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, but the trains keep moving. Life is the train, not the station.”Paulo Coelho.Unrelenting darkness crawled over the empty platform as the last train rocked its way wearily into the station. The engine wheezed and hissed, sending sheets of diesel-stained snow sliding from its roof onto the icy tracks. A solitary l...

14 comments 14 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Esper for Hire” by Patrick Borosky

The outer rims of her irises were a majestic copper, and their metallic veins turned to a bright yellow as they trailed inward before plunging into the black abysses of her pupils. The eyes bewitched Kara, but she had to focus. To do her job today, she needed to take in everything she could from the photograph while she still had time. Sadly, as she navigated...

5 comments 5 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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This week's prompts

Begin your story with a character having a gut feeling they cannot explain.

Thriller and Suspense – 78 stories

Write about a character whose intuition is always right — until one day it isn’t.

Horror – 24 stories

Write a story about a problem with no good solutions.

Angst – 34 stories

Write about a character learning to trust their intuition.

Character – 28 stories

Your character makes a living faking psychic powers. One morning, they wake up with real ones.

Fantasy – 65 stories

Stories

“The Problem Is” by Dena Linn

CW: terminal illness It was day four hundred and fifty-eight for Paul. He weighed in at fifty-eight kilos, down from a strapping ninety-three. He was also fifty-eight years and counting. His doctor prognosed it and Paul felt old, sick, and wasted, his body no longer his own, and tomorrow would be 1999, another absolutely nothing new year.  It was years now, he’d asked Matt what Silence equals Death meant. He’d be the first to admit to being a simple guy, the one whose IQ matched h...

99 comments 99 WINNER 🏆
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“Gutter Rat” by Alex Sultan

It takes a clear mind to outrun a storm—and Naomi had no intention of outrunning this one. She paced through the pawnshop, dustpan in hand, unable to focus. Head in the clouds. Body underwater. She had to clean the shop before retiring to bed. Naomi approached an empty shelf, an arm pressed to her stomach in hopes of containing the fluttering within. She swept. Dust fled from her brush. Her mind wandered and drifted. Astray from reality. An arrow's flight away. Beyond the skies. B...

41 comments 41
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“Death By Sharpie” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Lori Greene was needlessly cruel and we were afraid of her. “Please don’t slice and dice other students with your sharp tongue, Lori,” scolded Ms. Attaway, our 7th grade drama teacher. “Everyone deserves your respect.”When Ryan Wiggins laughed at her rebuke, Lori Greene decided to cancel him on the spot. “You’re a pervert, Ryan,” she loudly announced to the class. “I’ve seen what’s on your camera roll, and you are a creeper.” The entire first period class, except for Ms. Attaway and Ryan, burst out into laug...

52 comments 52
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“The Ayahuasca Out Of Body Experience” by Joseph Malgeri

CW: drug use, mental healthI cannot explain why I had such a strong gut feeling, but I’m very glad that I trusted my intuition and had participated in what my friend, Steven, had claimed would be the most exhilarating, enlightening, and mind-expanding experience of my entire life.   The event, which I speak of, had occurred a couple of months ago after my friend Steven had returned from an extensive vacation in Peru, where he spent time socializing with numerous indigenous people, such as the Urarin...

30 comments 30
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“Silver Sunflowers” by Shaivi S.

TW: Death When I heard Mummy call me home for lunch, I felt a little twinge in my stomach. It wasn't because I was hungry, that sort of throb was more of a call, like a car honk from my stomach, telling me I needed food. This ache felt like a soft warning, like a black cat, scampering up the street. I've always heard those were bad luck. Or perhaps not.Something seemed wrong, but I couldn't explain it. Was this guilt? Sasha told me that guilt feels like a monster is scratching at my feelings, burying me from inside....

24 comments 24
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“The Old Tattered Sign” by Melony Beard

They were poor. Dirt poor. An old tattered sign stood in the yard advertising Maxine's services, yet hardly anyone stopped by. Most locals knew that Maxine, better known as Maxie, knew absolutely nothing about the future. So, Maxie and her husband, Danny, depended on the occasional drunk or curious traveler to stop by and hand over money for a reading into the future, even though the only future Maxie knew was her own. With each unknowing customer, Maxie knew her future held at least a paid bill or a few groceries.When the morning ...

12 comments 12
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“A Feeling for Rain” by Howard Halsall

The fierce midday light accentuated the fissures in the baked earth around our farmhouse, making them look like the collapsed arteries supporting a cadaver’s withered heart.At the rear of the property, Pop was wrestling with our water well’s crank handle, as if he was a deranged organ grinder extracting music by force from some obstinate contraption.Inside the kitchen, I could hear the mournful tune of the aluminium bucket as it clunked and clanked its way down the rough-hewn shaft. It had the dreadful ch...

14 comments 14
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“Show Time” by Francis Daisy

“C’mon! Let’s get this show on the road, Nat. The movie starts in ten,” Levi tapped his watch from where he stood near the door. Nat shook his head. “This isn’t another one of those animated ones is it?” He grabbed his coat off the back of the sofa and started to shrug his arms into the sleeves. The last action movie involved a stay white puff marshmallow hero who walked around with bacitracin healing powers or some such nonsense. “I don’t know how I let you talk me into movies. Why not just stay in? Orde...

36 comments 36
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“Hello From The Other Side” by Pj Aitken

“Welcome back everyone to “Morning Call with Sandra and Derek” live from OTV London Studios! Today we have renowned psychic Todd Mentaliss with us and he will be helping our viewers with their problems. Welcome Todd!”“Thanks Sandra! It’s a pleasure to be here! I’m excited about helping your viewers out there!”“Keep that excitement going Todd as we head straight to line 1 where we have Jess from Liverpool. Jess, how can Todd help you today?”“Hi Sandra, so great to talk to you. Hi Todd! I’d like you to help me…...

4 comments 4
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“The 1%” by Jennifer Chan

Her name was Cece, short for CC31415926. She, or at least her model, was created specifically for quantifying all types of matter, from the number of white hairs on your head to the volume of water that lay trapped under Saturn’s moon. She was a novelty AI, and for a time, had been quite fashionable among the galaxy’s upper crust. It meant having enough money to delegate even the most mundane tasks to an Intuition model. The trend didn’t last though, and just a year after its release, WIRED Magazine included it in their top 10 li...

21 comments 21 SHORTLIST ⭐️
Read story

“Coma” by Linda Hershman

CW: suicide, child deathThe first thing you notice is the noise. It assaults like rain beating on a tin roof, or a group of restless teenagers chattering in church. You hear voices, but the words are indistinct and whispery. You start to differentiate machinery sounds; the soft hum of a floor buffer, the buzz of fluorescent lights, and, behind your left shoulder, the steady beeping of the electrocardiogram unit.Your body begins to demand acknowledgement. You are cold, very cold. This is not the chill of a brisk wi...

11 comments 11 SHORTLIST ⭐️
Read story

“The Curse of the Fortune Teller ” by Avi Chaudhari

"Run wherever you may, Arvin. Hide however you wish. You will end up with my kind. I curse you that from this day, your life will serve a purpose only for others, and you will wander here to there without a home." She said, thrusting him out of the hut and slamming the door on his face."Please, try to understand, Sira. Do you think I'll live happily without you?" He pleaded, rushing over to the window. "I am a simple boy from an unimportant family, and you are.., You know what you are, right! This town will never accept ...

15 comments 15
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“A Single Rose” by Phil Manders

“Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, but the trains keep moving. Life is the train, not the station.”Paulo Coelho.Unrelenting darkness crawled over the empty platform as the last train rocked its way wearily into the station. The engine wheezed and hissed, sending sheets of diesel-stained snow sliding from its roof onto the icy tracks. A solitary l...

14 comments 14 SHORTLIST ⭐️
Read story

“The Cracks” by Ella Kelly

There's something wrong with the room. I'm not completely sure what it is, but I know that something isn't right, and it's giving me a headache. I look under the chair. Nothing is there besides the floorboards. The wood is in pristine condition, with no dust or crumbs to be found on its surface. How could there possibly be something off about such a clean room? But, perhaps that’s the po...

8 comments 8
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“What Comes After” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

I’m alive as a gentle breeze that pulls strands of hair across her face and ruffles the flowers in her hands. I coax out the sun from behind a cloud and touch her softly on the shoulder. I want to tell her that everything will be okay, but I can’t - not anymore. So I settle for caressing her cheek with the wind. I know my wife well enough to understand what it means when her lips press together and the creases form on her forehead. She’s ruminating again. She’s thinking back to the day when I doubled over in pain an...

18 comments 18
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$250

Prize money

229

Contest entries

141

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 07, 2022 EST

Won by Dena Linn 🏆

Title: The Problem Is

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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