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!

#134: Look Up

This Friday, the 18th of February, marks the 92nd anniversary of Pluto being discovered — and though it’s no longer considered ‘big enough’ to be an official planet, it will always have a big place in our hearts. With it’s hot-to-cold cycles and snow-capped mountains, this almost-planet almost looks like home. (That said, we still wouldn’t recommend it for your next vacation!)

To mark the occasion, this week’s prompts are a love letter to our favorite forgotten planet, and the spirit of discovery in general.

This week's prompts

Your character, by chance or habit, peers through a telescope. They see something unusual — what is it?

Dystopian – 53 stories

Set your story beyond our own world.

Science Fiction – 51 stories

Write about a character who has a ‘hot and cold’ personality — or is affected by someone like this.

Character – 32 stories

End your story with a character looking out on a new horizon.

Narrative – 64 stories

Write from the POV of someone, or something, that experiences gravity differently.

Science Fiction – 27 stories

Stories

“BLANK.ZeroZeroOne” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #134

On planet AUM.108 ashes are sacred. The shadow of its inhabitants is never lonely. For it has two suns. When the two suns are equidistant from AUM.108 its inhabitants congregate. They sit cross-legged on the grey ground, place their purple translucent upper limbs on their knees and close the single eye on their foreheads. And begin to chant. A chakra begins to grow at the base of every throat,...

Read story

“The Diaps” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #134

Luke carried his backpack out of class.“Yo!” Wally called as Luke walked to his locker,“Hey, how was class?” Luke asked, towering over Wally.“Sucked. Ms. Bitchovic gave us a fuckin pop quiz on horizons.”“She did?“Yes! And I frickin bombed it!”“THAT SUCKS! What is wrong with that woman?!”“I don't know.”“You have physics tomorrow, right?”Wally groaned and brushed his brown, curly hair back. “Yes, and don’t remind me!"Luke watched as two boys with black leather ...

Read story

“Help, I’ve broken time.” by Holly Guy

Submitted to Contest #134

Broken corkscrews pile up in the well-decorated, glass jar besides me. They overspill and jump out the jar, rolling onto the stained carpet. Red stains. Red stains everywhere. The lit cigarette burns me as it kisses my fingers. I let it go. It can join the corkscrews on the carpet. Shakily, I try to push myself out of the sofa which sucks me in. As I...

Read story

“Falling Down” by Kate Winchester

Submitted to Contest #134

***Author’s note*** as with all of my stories, this one can be read as a stand-alone; however this one fills in a gap in my Falling Forward story. It’s also related to Falling Apart. He had outdone himself this time. She thought. The deep red of the dozen roses were all blushing his shame. A brown plush teddy bear sat leaning against the glass vase. Unable to sit on its own, it drooped to the right. Eth...

Read story

“Songbird” by Angelus Fluer

Submitted to Contest #134

Trigger warning: War, Death, loss of loved one, slight gore February twenty-second, oh, how I remember that bittersweet day. It was the day where we made a promise over the glistering sea. How long has it been since you died? Five years? Eight? No, I think it’s been ten years since year since you passed. Still, I remember that night as though it were yesterday. It was my birthday, you and I both baked ...

Read story

“Floaty Fallon” by Sharon Hancock

Submitted to Contest #134

People are afraid of a lot of stupid stuff, right? Clowns, the number thirteen, snakes, swapping souls with the undead, spiders—you get my drift. And for the most part, I agree, wholeheartedly, that irrational fears are just that. Irrational. Nonsensical. Stupid. I’ve never had much time for them, myself. Except for one teensy-tiny-itty-bitty thing that has always frightened me senseless. I can’t even talk about it. Thinking about it makes me cringe, takes my breath, sweating profusely now,OMG DON...

Read story

“Trapped Between Two Worlds” by McCampbell Molly

Submitted to Contest #134

Sila was exhausted. He walked into the galley, stretching his arms high over his head, then bringing them down to rub his eyes. All he wanted to do was curl back up in bed and pull the covers over his head. His eyelids were still heavy, and he swayed a little as he reached for the coffee. But even more than being sleepy, he was just plain tired. He could feel it deep down in his bones. His legs and arms felt heavy and ached, as if he had run a marathon.Yanti took one look at him. Her voice sounded muted to him...

Read story

“As Nature Intended” by Kenneth Goldman

Submitted to Contest #134

As Nature Intended by Ken Goldman Geoffrey’s ultimate decision felt right. He had to smile while anticipating his first face-to-face with the woman soon to be his new wife. Not that the divorce se...

Read story

“When I’m Cleaning Satellites ” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #134

Contains language that some may find offensive. I really should have studied properly when I was at school. I could be doing a proper job now if I had. I could be a bartender, a spaceship washer, or a refuelling jockey. But no, I was too much of a smart arse to do any studying at school on Gemini III. I thought I didn’t need to do ...

Read story

“In the last hours of May” by Cairo Woodward

Submitted to Contest #134

This story contains the following:Mental healthPhysical violence, gore, or abuseSuicide of self-harm Faded, I slump into the back seat of a cab I didn't call. My leather jacket looks inky in this moonlight. Muscle shell black, they called it. Looking through the pay window, I can see a hoard of exhausted cigarette stubs in the ashtray awaiting another casualty. A silvery ribbon of smoke hits me with De Ja Vu, but there's no way I've been here before. It snakes towards the ...

Read story

“I am a Cloud ” by Sarbjeet Kaur

Submitted to Contest #134

I am a cloud. I was not always a cloud, but now that is what I am. I was born a little girl and was given my grandmother’s name. I still find it funny that my name was not even my own. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I don’t go by anything now and soon it will slip my mind. My life is a peaceful one. I linger above in the great blue and I see the whole world. In the summertime, I would go cloud gazing with my brother on lemonade filled days but now I go people gazin...

Read story

“Mosquito Men of the Mata Atlântica” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #134

Okay, so there wasn’t actually an astronomy salesman at the store peddling telescopes and promising me a wonderful evening on my balcony watching celestial objects like the moons of Jupiter. I dished out two thousand reais–roughly three hundred and sixty dollars–for a StarBlast refractor telescope because the picture on the box showed a father hovering over his son who looked through the telescope with his lips pursed i...

Read story

“The Absolutely True Story of Gork and Slarb” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #134

Many time cycles in a different notion of our galaxy, Gitfangula was born. Wait, that really is not fair. How could I possibly begin the story of those two that way? In the celestial voids of Marnus and Minuous, there was a plan (oh, yes, that’s much better). In the minds of the elders of those sacred spaces, there was an urgent need to create a place where their thoughts could meander and grow without caus...

Read story

“Uncle Sam and the depression,” by Mark Nicholson

Submitted to Contest #134

I woke up depressed. Waking up with depression is like waking up filthy dirty, but it’s not cured with a bar of soap and a long shower. Depression clings on like a withered snakeskin and I needed to shed this filthy putrid skin before it suffocated me to death. But here’s the rub, depression doesn’t want to peel off its host. It wants to hang on grimly and putrefy slowly making everything smelly and ugly. No few hours o...

Read story

“Stars over the Horizon” by Isaiah Wilson

Submitted to Contest #134

A blaring sound rang across the small town, it was oddly rhythmic. As if it was sounding off to the tune of that one Rick Astley song. Markus couldn't remember the name but the words came perfectly to him, as the siren blared the town began to sing in a beautiful unison “We’re no strangers to lov– Can you turn your alarm off?” Markus’ eyes shot open with a look of surprise and disappoint...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

227

Contest entries

131

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 25, 2022 EST

Won by Story Time 🏆

Title: The Hovering Age

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 ⭢