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!

#152: Miracles and Oracles

We have little control over what happens to us, though there’s nothing more human than trying to micro-manage what will come next. This week, I want us to think about both the expected, and the unexpected; times when life throws positive twists at us — miracles, some might call them — or times when we try to predict those turns, for better or worse.

This week's prompts

Write a story in which a miracle happens — or everyone thinks it did.

Middle School – 45 stories

Start your story with a character saying “I can see it now.”

Middle School – 37 stories

Write about a character whose life changes for the better.

Middle School – 47 stories

Set your story in an oracle or a fortune teller’s parlor.

Fantasy – 66 stories

Write a story about someone whose job is to make miracles happen, literally or figuratively.

Middle School – 42 stories

Stories

“The Riddle in the Tree” by Ross Williams

Submitted to Contest #152

“Hey, look over there! Come on, we have to try it!” Gabby snaked her arm through Jake’s and he reluctantly let her pull him into the musty tent. Strung-up purple lights and strong incense greeted them as they stopped to let their eyes adjust to the dim interior. “Greetings,” said a withered, almost imperceptible voice from the back. “Come closer and let Madame Gedau dispel the illusions that cloud the truth.” Jake didn’t move, however, holding Gabby back as she started moving forward. “Maybe we should sit this one out. I’m rather fond of ...

Read story

“Fortune's Misgivings” by Anna Boyer

Submitted to Contest #152

I’ve always had these ideas in my head about fortune-tellers. They’d live in musty back alley parlors, deep within a room filled with a haze of lavender and myrrh. A wrinkled woman wrapped in robes of wisteria would take your hand and direct your gaze toward a pearly translucent orb that sits on the table covered in beads. She’d close her eyes and chant mysteriously before spilling out the tantalizing hints of your future like silky drops of plum tea. The exotic trinkets would clatter and ring. Sunlight would stream thickly through the dust....

Read story

“Vessel of Grey Clouds and Present Lives” by Katelyn Davies

Submitted to Contest #152

Trigger warning: Serious illness of a loved one.Grief is a powerful, unforgiving state that demands to be felt. It holds onto you and doesn’t let go until you’ve spiraled into every emotion imaginable. Even when you believe you’ve overcome it, it remains lingering, striking in the least expected, most vulnerable moments. The only thing worse than grief itself is the present moment when it hasn’t consumed you yet, but it’s in the shadows, waiting for the inevitable, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. It always starts as a low hum...

Read story

“Voice of Honey and Blood” by Robert Lang

Submitted to Contest #152

The challenge had been sent out to the entire world. The Hiereiai scramble around the Temple of Apollo to prepare for the coming of the king’s emissary. Fruit and caskets of wine are laid out in a circle around the Pythia as she sat in silent contemplation. Her hair, once dark as the raven, frames her face in silver behind her violet veil. The priestesses know not to address the Pythia when she is in this state and go out of their way to avoid her path. &nbsp...

Read story

“Sanctity of the Mind” by R. B. Leyland

Submitted to Contest #152

Feeling nothing but disdain, Orym plastered what he hoped was his best smile on to his face and spread his arms wide.“Welcome to the Orym Oracle experience. Please, take a seat” he said.A twinge of guilt made itself known as the frail, old lady lowered herself gently into the cushioned chair opposite, being helped down by a weathered looking man maybe thirty years her junior. He brushed it away with a practiced air, using his mind as the perfected tool he knew it to be. Grief emanated from the pair ahead of him, but most who came to him had ...

Read story

“The Regulars” by Tressa Teeter

Submitted to Contest #152

Not everyone loves their job; hell, MOST people don’t love their jobs, especially jobs like mine. I worked for minimum wage, got customers with crazy complicated orders who yelled at me for the simplest mistakes, and cleaned up after lazy coworkers. There were many reasons to hate my job. But I don’t see it that way. Well, at least not all the time because, believe me, I do love to complain. I started my career as a barista only five short months ago, and although being a barista is a silly dream job, being a barista really is my calling. Mu...

Read story

“Heaven Sent An Angel” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #152

I want to tell you a story about a woman who performs miracles on unsuspecting people. In this case the miracle worker goes to a town in desperate need of her work. This town doesn't believe in miracles, but she will make them believe and believe they will. The town of HopesWell is a small unassuming town with a population under a thousand. HopesWell is a town many people believe is full of hope, but that is not the case. No one knows this but HopesWell is a town you don't want to visit nor do you want to live there. Then one day she comes...

Read story

“Healing and Dealing” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #152

Karma had forsaken her. The thought echoed in her head as she paced across the living room, certain that the carpet would soon dissolve beneath her. She wanted to think Drs. Parkins and Bellinger quacks; or that both of them, or both of their labs, had happened to slip up on the same patient. But logic wouldn’t allow it. She had no options, no treatments, no hope of seeing the next year. Unless… &nbs...

Read story

“When Inspiration Strikes” by David Needell

Submitted to Contest #152

Humans have always believed their ideas to be, well, their own. And given their limited sensory inputs and primitive cognitive functions, who could blame them? After all, if humans could grapple with the concept of an ethereal, hyper-dimensional agent tasked with bestowing femtosecond, ineffable sparks of inspiration, the very existence of said agent would be, as a result, superfluous. Alas, humans are limited—trust me, I should know. Whether igniting an ember via exothermic friction, sketching the double helix structure, der...

Read story

“Wishes and Miracles” by Michele Duess

Submitted to Contest #152

I’m not granting you that ability. Sorry, and all that, but no. Truthfully, I don’t care if you got me out of this lamp. I’m going back in after your three wishes anyway, what’s the difference? Even if you wished for my freedom, which rarely happens. Well, this isn’t some cartoon, so pick something else—fine. But before I do, I’m telling my story. Maybe you’ll think twice. One day a man found this lamp in an antique shop. Let’s call him Tim. Thin, tall, thirtyish. Lived alone and worked as...we’ll say a shopkeeper. It’s close ...

Read story

“Deva's Last Miracle” by BA Eubank

Submitted to Contest #152

Deva’s Last Miracle “Morning Deva,” my boss Celeste greeted as I walked into the Miracle Room. “Busy today?” Soft beeps mixed with an occasional buzzer resounded in the room. “Eh, not too bad. I’ll take it after last Tuesday.” I nodded. Tuesday was one of the busiest days I remember. I performed over a thousand miracles alone during my shift. I sat at my desk and placed my hand on the palm reader. The screen appeared before me. The left side showed miracles that had succeeded since I last logged off. Thankfully, the right side ...

Read story

“I got you” by Magnus Thomsen

Submitted to Contest #152

TW: Alcohol abuse, neglect, suicidal thoughts and self harm... I got you Where am I? Wait… Who am I? Fuck… What am I?! All I see is darkness. A sort of red darkness, and I feel strangely light, like I’m weightless, or maybe I'm floating? The world grows brighter with each passing second, or maybe it’s minutes? I don´t know, I can´t really be sure of anything right now, in fact I´m incredibly unsure of everything right now. As the red grows gradually pinker, my anticipation grows with it, and I am finally… elsewhere… It takes a minute ...

Read story

“The Clearest of Minds” by Lan Ha

Submitted to Contest #152

Two girls approach me, each carrying a little heap of yellow mangoes in conical hats that they’ve flipped upside down, the air around them sticky with the nectar-like smell of the ripe fruits. It is the peak of noon, when the sun beams gloriously down and penetrates even the leafiest of branches, and the girls slump down at my feet, their fruits spilling on the ground next to them. Pulling their hats from under the mangoes, the girls wave them back and forth, fanning themselves and catching their breaths. They were plainly dressed in worn c...

Read story

“Dancing with the Devil” by Marino Bubba

Submitted to Contest #152

Jerry Jacobson was having a bad day. This wasn’t in itself an uncommon occurrence (he had bad days like he had Cheerios for supper), nor was this day exceptional in its badness, but it was unique in being the last unremarkably yet unquestionably bad day Jerry Jacobson was willing to put up with. So, on this particular bad day, Jerry Jacobson drove his dying Ford Taurus through the intersection of Main Street and Maple Lane and, instead of turning right into the subsequent cul-de-sac as he had done every day at 5:13 PM for as long as he car...

Read story

“Downward Diggins” by Cari Dehne

Submitted to Contest #152

The day started out good and felt a bit normal. I was on my way to see my best friend Jo and play like we normally do. Summer heat on my back as I walked the two blocks down from my home to see her. I, Cari was a thin straggly haired girl. Blue eyes and always fashioning a smile. I grew up in Cadillac Michigan with three sisters and my two parents who got married young. I have a fraternal twin. She never likes to be known as a twin, but I call her my wombmate. Get it, we shared the same womb. I lived in a small town that knew everyone else. ...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

101

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 01, 2022 EST

Won by Aeris Walker 🏆

Title: Foretold in Smoke

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 ⭢