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!

#154: The Right Timing

It has come to our attention that Backstreet Boys (you know, the famous boy band from the 90s) recently announced that they'll be releasing a Christmas album. Naturally, this week's prompts are all about timing.

In a rapidly changing world, it can be hard to keep up sometimes. The newest TikTok is old almost as soon as it has gone viral, and trends come and go quicker than the seasons. And yet, some things are timeless classics. Taking inspiration from the ebb and flow of time, here are this week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying, “We’re running out of time.”

Middle School – 77 stories

Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Sad – 57 stories

Write a story — romantic or not — about two characters who can’t find the right timing.

Romance – 32 stories

Write a story about an object that has been around for centuries or passed down generations.

Kids – 46 stories

Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.

Science Fiction – 68 stories

Stories

“Excalibur” by Crystal Lewis

Submitted to Contest #154

“To many-towered Camelot” - Alfred Lord Tennyson “The Lady of Shalott” The hilt gleamed golden as it rested against the darkness of the throne. Its pommel was shaped like that of a lion, proud mane and proud gaze. The quillons were engraved with vines, the hilt wrapped in worn, red-brown leather. The blade gleamed silver, sharp and almost glowing with an unnatural brilliance. Engraved into the center of the blade was a single word: Excalibur. A man sat upon the throne; lithe, athletic body, eb...

Read story

“THE HITCHING POST” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #154

Lydiana’s love of horses seemed to have always been a part of her being. While in high school, most of the others in her birth group couldn’t care less about these long-ago legendary creatures that were often in stories from the Before Time. Her birth-groupers were passionate only about the latest tech inventions created for “Get-Aways,” where they could virtually exist as if in a real world without real world consequences. Admittedly, “Get-Aways” were tempting, but then, her birther group members hadn’t experienced anything else, so w...

Read story

“The Diamond's Curse” by Bree Adly

Submitted to Contest #154

[Very VERY loosely based on an old tale, mostly fiction.] The Diamond's Curse I'm not nearly as dangerous as the humans believe me to be. Well, not usually. Humans are fools for mysteries and conspiracies, I have learned. I've spent many years near them and I know they'll believe anything. Just like lambs, they will follow any keeper they first lay eyes on. Humans are very easily manipulated. A sad but important truth. You might know me, or know of me. My early history was long and arduous. A long story for another time, perhaps....

Read story

“The Trunk” by Gina Burke

Submitted to Contest #154

The Trunk By Gina Burke “Wow, this yard sale has a lot of cool stuff, doesn’t it, Ethan?” “Oh yeah. It’s great. There are some tools I want to check out on that table over there. I’ll meet up with you.” Carly enjoyed watching her husband excited at yard sales like a child on Christmas morning. Not only did Ethan love a good yard sale, but he also loved to collect just about anything. As Carly watched her husband inspect everything that would undoubtedly end up in one of his collections, she chuckled and thought, True, I’ll eventually n...

Read story

“Cher: The Time Traveling Cow” by Kelly Pinto

Submitted to Contest #154

“Give me something, anything,” Mason says, leaning his head down slightly to try and force himself into my eyesight. My gaze shifts to a bookshelf filled with all types of knick-knacks. The handy thing about having a discussion in an antique store is that there’s a slew of objects to occupy your attention. “How about at least a season?” he pesters. “You have to have input on that.” I don’t. I really don’t. “I say we flip through a calendar, you yell ‘stop,’ and wherever my finger lands, that’s the date.” I force a ...

Read story

“A Return Trip to the Circus” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #154

I cannot believe the experience I just had. People will think I am crazy if I share the story with them. I was taking a walk in in the empty field just north of the city. I was feeling kind of sleepy, had been for days. I thought that an aggressive walk might wake me up. But I only got more tired, so much so that I had to sit on the rarely used park bench at the entrance to the empty field. In very little time I went into a state that I first believed was deep in sleep. But when I ‘awoke’ I was not in an empty f...

Read story

“Sylvia's Time Travel School” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #154

You can find some incredible stuff on social media. For instance, my latest discovery was an ad for Sylvia’s Time Travel School. I checked the ratings and found most of them were extremely favorable. Lots of thumbs up. I have always wanted to travel in time, in other directions besides the straight ahead direction most of us are used to, but I found traveling in the accepted direction has bored out of my skull. After getting fired from my minimum wage dead-end job, my mom told me I should give community c...

Read story

“Harper's Ruin” by ErikAnne Davis

Submitted to Contest #154

September 28th, 1982The world wouldn’t have blinked if Tommy hadn’t broken his leg...They’d been out fuckin’ around in the woods near their neighborhood, he and his friends, pretending to be shipwrecked pirates exploring the dangerous island. His friend, Harper, who was the Pirate Queen (mostly because she came up with the game and partly because she was kinda mean when she needed to be) had agreed to let him and Marcus climb a nearby tree to scout the area. Marcus had successfully argued that the Pirate Queen would order her minions to do s...

Read story

“Emerald Flame” by Gordon K

Submitted to Contest #154

When I was a young boy, there was a creepy old mansion not too far from the school I attended that all the children were afraid of. It wasn't just creepy because it was old and abandoned, but because it was on fire, and had been for thirty years. The story goes that the fire brigade had spent weeks trying to put that fire out, but it just couldn't be distinguished. The fire never spread beyond that building, though, so it was decided that as long as it was contained it wasn't a threat. It didn't give off smoke either, so there were no inhala...

Read story

“Antientropic Artifact: Plastic Doll's Head, Found Third Millennium B. C. E.” by John Walsh

Submitted to Contest #154

Neela was getting bored watching the pigs when she looked down and saw lying against a stone, a thing with colors different from any she had ever seen. She hesitated; new things could be dangerous. It seemed harmless. It didn’t move and looked soft and smooth. Neela bent down and closed her left fist around it. She straightened up and brought it near her face to examine it more closely. I...

Read story

“Jean and Jace” by Jamie M. Samland

Submitted to Contest #154

“‘We’re running out of time.’” “Shut up, Mike,” Linda groaned and adjusted the thick collar of her bomb disposal suit. “I’d say that’s famous last words, but I don’t know if anyone heard them.” Mike stood on his toes to see the long line dwindling to a speck in front of the pair, to the limitless white that was the group, horizon, and sky, then to the line behind them just as long. “Our radios were open. Someone heard it.” Mike shifted the weight between his feet and looked down at the fluffy white wisps billowing around his shins. “What...

Read story

“WHO NEEDS A FAMILY ANYWAY?” by Jo Gatenby

Submitted to Contest #154

"Maybe I should run away." Carolyn said, as she hauled herself out of a snowdrift yet again. "This stupid ski trip is the last straw!" That was not a new thought. She stared across at the steeper slopes where the rest of her family gracefully shushed and slalomed, while she was stuck here on the bunny hill. Carolyn snorted. "Baby hill is more like it." Her mother, Ellen, grinned and called something Carolyn couldn't hear, and her older brothers and sisters laughed in response. She blinked away tears. "I guess they ARE just as happy without...

Read story

“When Emotions Took Shape As Words” by Latha Prakash

Submitted to Contest #154

There was a hurricane of activity in the hallway. The atmosphere was exuberant. Ignoring all the frolic, Monika sat at her writing desk and stared at the speck of dust on the window pane, without diverting her gaze even for a second. That tiny speck seemed to take in the myriad eclectic emotions that churned in her heart and created a whirlpool. The paper that lay on the table fluttered in air and made a tapping noise each time in stroked the table. The clock ticked at its pace oblivious to the turmoil in her heart. Her mind was flooded with...

Read story

“One Last Dive” by Kaden Riznyk

Submitted to Contest #154

You never knew why people were so interested in aquariums. To you, it seemed as if someone had just grabbed a handful of random marine animals to see how many of them could be stuffed into a tiny glass tank. People would pay 40 dollars to watch an exotic fish that was nearly on its deathbed swim robotically back and forth for over an hour. He enjoyed it, though. While he observed a hammerhead shark, you observed the shades of turquoise that gently caressed his soft, round face. You silently wished that it was your palm instead. Every s...

Read story

“Visiting Home” by Ian Stobaugh

Submitted to Contest #154

The heavy air blanketed the neighborhood, seemingly suffocating everything around it. The humidity made it hard to breathe, forcing me to inhale much more than I’m used to. Despite the conditions, only a small amount of fog had formed. Although it wasn’t much, it was enough to give the surroundings a strange atmosphere. It was worse that I was already here under strange circumstances. My friends and family found the idea dangerous, but I’m not particularly known for being cautious. Recently, my childhood home had been declared as an abandon...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 15, 2022 EST

Won by Suma Jayachandar 🏆

Title: Moonlight and Madness

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 ⭢