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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.

This week's prompts

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

Novel – 79 stories

Write a story that involves love at first sight.

Romance – 87 stories

Write a rags-to-riches story.

Novel – 20 stories

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

Mystery – 98 stories

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

Adventure – 30 stories

Stories

“Old before her time.” by Craig Harbor

Submitted to Contest #16

They warned us to never walk in those woods. If they’d just left it at that then maybe we would never have gone in there. The things they made up to stop us going inside though, that made it irresistible. “Time ain’t welcome in there.” Auntie Tess explained when once we questioned her. “Things happen any damn order the...

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“Finder's Keepers” by G M

Submitted to Contest #16

A late morning sun beamed from its cloudless, azure sky. The little girl blinked a few times, questioning the sight upon returning her gaze to the spot where her mom’s progress of planting remained unfinished. At least for the moment.How was it possible, that on a day such as this, her mom could have missed it? It was right there, nestled gently on the mound of freshly churned soil, twinkling, as if winking at her. At close inspection, she could see that the thing was actually a circular braid, delicately woven by the thinnest strands of sil...

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“Mother's Day” by Damian Perry

Submitted to Contest #16

Hailey sat in bed and stared at the badge, trying to keep the panic from her expression and maintain the air of excitement she held for the Reject Shop soap and the paper basket her children had made her. I took her cuppa from a suddenly shaking hand and looked over her shoulder to see what it said. I winced.“Hey kids, how about you go and get your mother another round of toast?” I told them and they clambered off the foot of the bed and raced to the kitchen to fight over who was going to put on too much butter. Hailey stared at me and I shr...

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“The Student and the Serpent” by Grace Layton

Submitted to Contest #16

I quickly got up and jumped in the air, barely dodging the snake's attempt to bite me. I began sprinting toward my sword which had been knocked from my hand moments earlier. The serpent followed close behind gaining on me, but miraculously, I somehow was able to get hold of its metallic handle and swing it around slicing the head off of the monster. “Great answer Laura. Did everybody hear that?” My teacher turned around to face me, snapping me out of my daydream. The rest of the class groaned. “I guess not. Laura, could you please repeat wha...

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“Legendary Warrior:Bamboo Mechanic” by Leophel Ampatin

Submitted to Contest #16

In the land, trees and plants is considered as an important factor for survival. The very extinct and unique is the bamboo. In the tribe of Mamba, they considered the bamboo as the very important plant more than gems, food, gold or even the metals. The leader of the tribe is the old Mamba; he is the keeper and the ruler of the tribe. In the community, every family has a bamboo plant inside of the house. It is planted in the middle of the house where it is available for the sun. Bamboo has its different color; the black bamboo contains a stro...

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“Enna Feather and Felicity Curry, Two Brave Chickens” by Jane Marple

Submitted to Contest #16

Enna flipped the pages of the newest C.H.I.C.K.E.N (Courageous High-flying Chickens Kill Evil Necromancers) magazine, marveling at the heroic chickens with her scaly claws. C.H.I.C.K.E.N had published another story featuring her favorite undefeatable duo; Albert and Amelia Egghart. They had an amazing repertoire and superpowers! Albert had incredible strength and could lift up to 100 pounds, while Amelia was a light speedy chicken who could fly! “Hey Enna, would you like some of these worms? They were just delivered by Instachicken tod...

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“Greener Pastures” by Shelby Yocum

Submitted to Contest #16

I have come to several conclusions about myself over the last few years. Some I’m proud of, some I would like to bury in the back yard for the dog to piss on.While I am completely self- sufficient, I don’t necessarily want to be. But I do. It’s like trying to balance a see-saw in the middle of my head. I enjoy the ability of being able to accomplish these things from the everyday mundane to the supreme success of the out-of-the-ordinary classification of a modern day female. These activities do not warrant much praise from me after initially...

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“Ace of the Midnight Skies” by Coleton Ritmanich

Submitted to Contest #16

“You can’t solo the Aether Master! Even a team of the best Level Zeroes couldn’t beat the Extra Boss, and you're only level 55, you don’t have a blizzard’s chance in hell.” The man spoke, “You probably played the Story Mode and thought you were hot stuff, huh?” “It’s not possible.” “You can’t do it.” “No way.” All of these negative nannies were making me angry, then someone spoke, “Why not? Why not Solo the hardest Extra Boss in the game.” From the crowd emerged a man, “I know someone who Soloed an Alpha Boss, with the right skill, anything ...

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“The Girl Who Grew Freckles” by Shelby Shennan

Submitted to Contest #16

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called May. She had bright red hair that curled up into tight springs on her head, eyes as blue as the sky on a summer’s day, and the clearest skin you ever did see. People would always compliment May on her clear skin, saying how lucky she was to be without a single mark. And the little girl would think to herself, “Yes, I am lucky,” and she would smile. One day, while May was out for a walk through her town, she noticed that there were people around her who didn’t seem very well. They were pale and...

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“7 Cups of Tea” by Sequoyah Hopkins

Submitted to Contest #16

Sequoyah/Me: A rabbit hole appeared in the lurking shadows and before everyone noticed that I'd fallen down the hole. I was on a mission. Then I look beside me, sadly my dog wasn't there, which means he disappeared when he entered the rabbit hole. Leah, my friend who me on a mission when she noticed the rabbit, threw glitter down the rabbit hole, to see how far down it goes, the glitter lands gracefully in my hair, making my hair glittery. I take a deep breath, sigh, and continue to walk, looking for the Mad Hatter. I soon stopped in my trac...

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“Ellis and Mr. Christmas” by Alya Khomenok

Submitted to Contest #16

Once upon a time there was a charming crawkulian named Ellis, who lived in a small town called Greenwich, which was to the east of Blackwich, but to the west of Greywich, and to the south of Redwich, but to the north of Whitewich. At first glance, Ellis seemed to be an ordinary crawkulian. She had the muzzle of a bat, the wings of a crow, short hairy paws, and a kind heart. Yet it was only on the surface that she seemed ordinary. In fact, she was quite special, because one of her eyes could see everyone’s future, except&n...

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“Those Who Kill” by Nare Gharibi

Submitted to Contest #16

THOSE WHO KILLbyNare Agakhanyan Gharibi Noelle spent Sunday afternoons at the local café observing people in their natural habitat. Her particular favorites were the mothers and their daughters who came by around 3 o’clock. They would have their arms full of shopping bags as they smiled to one another. Noelle longed for a similar relationship with her mother as she watched these strangers from a distance. In her twenty-seven years, she had almost forgotten what it felt to be a normal. A year ago, Noelle’s father got sick. His coughs ha...

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“Blue Mist Creature” by Savanna Chaney

Submitted to Contest #16

Tilly pulls a large branch from the dirt road that she and her group are traveling on. Tilly stops, a small movement catching her eye. She looks toward it, a pile of leaves rustle and the pile bursts apart. Tilly takes a surprising step back, standing not five feet from her is a small rabbit. “Ha, your afraid of a bunny,” Ben teases, he puts his hands up behind his ears like he had rabbit ears. “Oh, stuff it,” she snips back. Tilly looks over to her best friend Molly and whispers, “Man, he’s an...

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“Be Careful What You Wish For” by Boris Schwetz

Submitted to Contest #16

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR &n...

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“Buried Sunk ‘n Treasure skyrocketed dirt poor vagabond!” by Matthew Harris

Submitted to Contest #16

Rumor persisted and fanned courtesy - fuel of exaggeration by yours truly. Word of mouth thru generations this tract of real estate once trumpeted barren open space. An overactive imagination whet the fancy of an even number of oddballs yours truly included. One after another rapt listener unwittingly elaborated, vis a vis master charging adding slight embellishment here and there. Within figurative wiggle of earlobe initial story materialized into mouth watering, eye opening, nose twitching, et cetera mythic legend. Analogous, high née iden...

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$50

Prize money

314

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Nov 22, 2019 EST

Won by Vivien Leanne Saunders 🏆

Title: The Sackcloth Liar

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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