CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#16: Once Upon a Time

Earlier this week, we published a blog post about modern fairy tales, and it got us thinking about the fact that no genre of literature is without its own set of tropes — and that certain literary tropes we still see commonly today are rooted centuries back.

This week's prompts are all elements pulled from fairy tales — both modern and old. You can feel free to play them straight: in other words, using the trope traditionally. Or you can feel free to twist the trope on its head. That's the great thing about tropes: they might provide you with a foundation that's already well-worn, but the opportunities to make it your own are endless.

🥇 Winning story

“The Sackcloth Liar” by Vivien leanne Saunders

There was once a woman who loved to tell stories. She had six children, and every night she would tell each one a different tale. When they were young the stories were short and simple, but as the children grew they became jealous of one another. They pleaded for more details, and demanded that their story should be the most exciting, longest story of all. The woman began speaking every night at sunset, and stopped when the sun rose. Her voice grew so weak, and her walk so weary, that all of her neighbors noticed. They dec...

25 comments 25 WINNER 🏆

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This week's prompts:

Write a story around the theme: Be careful what you wish for.

General – 85 stories

Write a story that involves love at first sight.

Romance – 99 stories

Write a rags-to-riches story.

General – 21 stories

Write a story in which characters are warned not to go into the woods.

Mystery – 110 stories

Write a story about a character on a quest, trying to "prove themselves."

General – 35 stories

Stories

“The Sackcloth Liar” by Vivien leanne Saunders

There was once a woman who loved to tell stories. She had six children, and every night she would tell each one a different tale. When they were young the stories were short and simple, but as the children grew they became jealous of one another. They pleaded for more details, and demanded that their story should be the most exciting, longest story of all. The woman began speaking every night at sunset, and stopped when the sun rose. Her voice grew so weak, and her walk so weary, that all of her neighbors noticed. They dec...

25 comments 25 WINNER 🏆

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“Little Red Riding Hood” by Heidi Hanson

I am used to the chemical smell in the air. We all are. We all have to be. It coats our throats and hurts when we breath, but we fight through it. There simply aren’t enough gas masks to go around. We don’t have a choice. We need food. We need wood to keep the furnaces going. Without the precious logs that others bring in, we would all freeze to death in the only thing keeping us safe fro...

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“Forests of Bone” by Joshua Insole

1“You remember where to shoot ‘em?”“In the head! Always in the head!”“Good girl.” He tousled her blonde hair. It was short and cropped so that it couldn’t get caught on anything. Short hair also meant that nothing could grab it very easily, either. “Did you remember to do it?”A guilty silence. Her eyes looked shiftily from side to side. She didn’t know what he was talking about...

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“katherine” by Pareesa K

rain pours down on us as fiercely as my feelings for her. wet and cold, alone and vulnerable. we are all the things we tried so hard not to be. there she stands, this tall, pronounced, beautiful woman. her red curls dampened to a light brown, her pink, accentuated nose pointing upward, her full lips protruding outward, the freckles scattered across her face barely visible. I know who she is, I have heard of her spirit, h...

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“Cuts” by Renée Chatelain

I’m a really good guy, through and through. It sounds a little self-conceited, but I really am. But in my family, that’s not good enough. You don’t meet people like me around here anymore. I don’t expect to meet someone like me either. If I’m lucky, maybe another nice person will cross paths with me. Alm...

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“Seeing Blind” by Jayden Foster

Seeing Blind She gripped the basket in her left hand and held her coat closed with the other. The wind always picked up on her way home, she could hear it rustling through the trees. The path beneath her feet was overgrown, created only by her feet. No one traveled through the forest, especially these days. Rumors of angry beasts and cruel men who lived in the ...

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“Homeless” by Melody Davidson

The old man sat with his dog, the warm wind tickling his skin. Wearing only denim shorts he looked out at the waves and waited for the next ship to come. Beside him, his dog rested by his side and whimpered. The man rubbed his ears giving the dog a look only it could understand. The man then stood up and walked around, picking up scraps of fish and chips along the peer. Sitting back down he smelled the food and tried to remember the last time he ate, but instead of feeding ...

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“Have a Magical Day™!” by Tanner Call

February 18, 2019 Ms. Gilman, Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate you reaching out to the Department of Complaints in regard to your less than satisfactory Magical Wish Granting Experience™ with Khamul the Grand (ID: 47-829351). Here at Genies Inc., we strive for superb customer satisfaction and are sorry that you did not have a positive experience. We regret to inform you, however, that we are unable to address the complaints you filed. Upon reviewing your request, we forwarded it to our Division for ...

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“One Wish ” by Hermione Granger

The sky was a bright blue, accompanied by two or three fluffy, almost decorative clouds. Despite the beautiful scenery outside the train windows, it was freezing cold inside the train itself. Marissa stuffed her pale hands into the pockets of her fleece, shivering as she made her way down the train corridor. She was headed to the front - where the staff's cabins were. She had pressed the "Call Attendant" button in her room, but no one had showed up. Now Marissa was headed to complain to the staff about both the temperature of the ...

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“Christmas Wish” by Karen Jones

It’s hard to get in the mood for Christmas when it's 80 degrees instead of 30, sand instead of snow, and palms instead of pines. All I've ever wished for the holidays is snow, a warm fire, and friends to share it with. Even the robins, our usual harbingers of winter, haven't arrived yet and even if it was cold, my fireplace isn't working right. No one wants smoke billowing inside their living room instead of picturesquely curling out the chimney.

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$50

Prize money

397

Submissions

Ended on 22:59 - Nov 22, 2019 EST

Won by Vivien leanne Saunders 🏆

Title: The Sackcloth Liar

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