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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#130: What's in a Name?

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about names: our names, and the names we give to stories, and the way they shape people’s expectations. So I’ve decided to try something new: as you’ll see, two of this week’s prompts let you play around with our Title Generator and Character Name Generator to spark ideas — and the rest explore what the implications of titles and names can be. Have fun!

This week's prompts

Create a title with our Title Generator, then write a story inspired by it.

Teens – 97 stories

Write about a character whose name you got from our Character Name Generator.

Character – 46 stories

Start your story with someone finding an object labeled with their name.

Horror – 37 stories

Set your story in a nameless world.

Kids – 27 stories

Write a story titled ‘The Locked Door.’

Dark – 77 stories

Stories

“Goodnight, Leopold Andrews” by Karen Kinley

Submitted to Contest #130

“Leopold Andrews.” The name drenches my lips like a fine wine, rich and sophisticated. It conveys someone of great importance. Someone to be both respected and adored. It is a name fit for a king. “Leopold Andrews,” I say again.He inherited the name from his father, but he goes simply by Leo.The name Leopold comes from Old German and means “brave people.” And brave is exactly what Leo is. He has been through some big changes recently and has overcome so much just to be here with me now. But that’s another story for another time.Leo...

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“A Place Like Alice” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #130

I can think of a few "Magical" words that must never be whispered, even in quiet places.Words like, "Curious" and "Silence" and "Clever".To utter these words, one feels the meaning resonate just like a song that reflects in the sparkle of the eye, the lilt in a voice, and the blush of a cheek.What does it feel like to be on that other side of the Looking Glass just like Alice?Alice is brave and curious.I need to leave fear behind and be curious too.I don't know of anyone who has been there and come back to tell the tale.It must be ...

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“My Romance With a Clown” by Chelly Bosworth

Submitted to Contest #130

Have you ever done something for love that ended up scarring you for life? I have. My romance with a clown began several months ago. I am a clown too, but I don’t take my work as seriously as Alex did. Alex Hawkins was what the kids nowadays call “hard core”. He was always on, whether he was working the carnival or not. Even when our troupe had downtime and could visit restaurants or bars in whatever city we were working in, Alex never took off his makeup. He played the part perfectly everywhere he went- entertaining children with little m...

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“The Locked Door” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #130

TW: Emotional struggles. Meredith stared out the window while Trevor bustled about the kitchen preparing to leave. “More coffee?” he asked while refilling her cup. She didn’t respond. “I’m going now. I won’t be late. Anything else?” “What time?” “I’ll stop by the ‘Door’ and then I’ll be home.” She reached for her coffee. “The door… Bye…” Trevor left the apartment in silence. The Locked Door was an unassuming local bar frequented by a particular clientele. The black brick façade rendered the building almost invisible to anyone not famil...

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“The Fractured Obelisk” by Cynthia Helton

Submitted to Contest #130

THE FRACTURED OBELISK Back in my grandpa’s day, all the coal was taken out of the mountains by men covered in black dust and sweat, extracted with picks and volatile sticks of dynamite. Sometimes the mountain took the men instead. But there were always more men who came along and took more, and the mountain never seemed to run dry. Sure, they would hit a thin vein here or there, but there was always more coal “in them hills”, as Grand...

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“Fire and the Behemoth” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #130

American Professor of Ancient History, Calvin Winchester spent several years abroad in Tibet studying with a group of Buddhist monks at the Yumbulagang Monastery. It was believed to be the first building to exist in Tibet, constructed for Nyatri Tsenpo, the first king of Tibet. Professor Winchester believed the fables of an ancient realm far beneath the Earth’s crust truly existed, and this was where he believed ...

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“The Seer Of the Blessed” by Baimin Xia

Submitted to Contest #130

Many years ago, in the farmlands of Iceland, there lived a grandmother and her beautiful granddaughter, Frayja. Every day from dawn to dusk, Freyja worked cheerfully in the vast fields, sowing and harvesting rye. She always saved a handful for the chirruping birds, who became her dear friends. Inside the farmhouse, Grandmother gathered the grains with a smile to her face. She baked hearty loaves of bread, each one filled with the scent of the earth and the taste of honey. In the evening, Grandmother and granddaughter ...

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“Anonymous Adventure ” by Ishita Gupta

Submitted to Contest #130

“Someone help! Please!” I clamour, sounding very desperate. The next second I clasp my throat as if someone is trying to strangle me to death. It is that I suddenly fall down and wake up. I’m pretty sure that was a lucid dream. I change into a sitting position and switch the lamp on, trying to relax myself. I take a quick glance at the time and conclude that it is 4:30 am. My parents are out for some business trip and my elder sister has gone for a sleepover for her friend's birthday. Hence, I am alone in the house. Ever since I began watchi...

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“The Locked Door” by I Legalles

Submitted to Contest #130

It is always cold in this world of ours. The sky is clear in the late hours of the night; and yet, somehow, the morning never ceases to bring snow. I do like the snow, I do. But there are times that I selfishly can not help myself from dreaming of summer. Heat, sun, sand–it seems like a fantasy, I know. But once, just once, I want to know what warmth is like. There are other ways to know warmth besides daily temperatures, this I know, but I myself have only experienced this once. There is a lovely scotch that sits in the wooden cabinet abov...

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“Deadlinks” by T.M. Kehoe

Submitted to Contest #130

“Uncle Mark, what’s a deadlink?” Izzy looked at her uncle, confident as always he would have the answer. Uncle Mark was infallible.“Dead link? That’s just a URL that points to nowhere, little one.”“NO, not a dead link, a deadlink. My best friend Felicity told me about these deadlinks. She says if you get one on your TikTok or Instagram and click it, you’re dead. Like, you never even existed. But I don’t think that’s right. Do you know?”Mark shook his head. “Naw, Izzy, I can’t say as how I’ve heard about that one. It sounds like nonsense to m...

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“Remain” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #130

This frigid world is almost completely devoid of life (except for the equator, which falls just within the outermost limits of the Sontila Habitability Index), yet its abundant natural resources, encased under glacier-thick ice, were long ago deemed too precious to let be. And so the Planetary Expeditionary Force, now known galaxy-wide as the PEF, was established, attracting only the hardiest members of the most cold-resistant species. They’re compensated most handsomely for their dangerous and invaluable efforts, and—Arïak lobbed the inform...

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“Devil's Demise” by Hannah P. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #130

DEVIL’S DEMISE Six o’clock. It’s time. I go to the kitchen first, and open the third drawer by the sink. That’s where David keeps the hammer. It feels heavier this time. My hand shakes as I pull it from the drawer. No. My hand isn’t shaking because of the hammer. It’s because of what I’m about to do. Who I’m about to talk to. I take a breath as I step into the doorway of the bathroom. It’s very dim inside. Pale light filters in through a single clouded window and the white tile floor sparkles clean ...

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“Once More” by Colleen Pinner

Submitted to Contest #130

I traced the letters with a shaking hand. I had to be sure my eyes were not lying to me. But that is what was spelled out. Violet Marie Howell There were no other words just numbers. No not numbers; dates. Dates that made no sense, I reached down and picked up one of the wilted flowers, pinching it in my fingers. I felt a prick and was actually glad to see the small spot of blood push to the surface. Okay, I was alive, not buried here in this lonely spot on this hill. I sat back and took a big breath. If this was some kind of joke it wasn’t...

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“The Second Coming” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #130

Inside the lid a plain white piece of card was stuck to the green felt lining and it had four handwritten words on it.“Property of Teper Naillian”It had started with a house move.The house move had been a success. Well, as much of a success as a house move ever is. The solicitors did their part quickly and without fuss. The funds were transferred, and the contract exchanged, and we had the keys when we were supposed to. The packing up had gone better than expected. The volume of collected detritus had been less than for previous moves. We ha...

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“The Locked Door” by James Grasham

Submitted to Contest #130

Luthar stared at himself in the mirror in the corner of the squires’ quarters. The dim light from the torches gave him a warm orange glow, a stark contrast to his usually pale complexion. He could see the change that had happened in him since he last slept in this room, his shoulders were broad and muscular, gone were his ribs, replaced with thick muscle and fine sprouting hairs. Three years of travelling and carrying sword and shield had changed him completely from the skinny young boy that had left the nameless village north of Whitestar.&...

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$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

179

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 28, 2022 EST

Won by Allie Erickson 🏆

Title: A Man's Man

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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