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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

“Talking of Love ” by Anna K Firth

Submitted to Contest #16

“It was love at first sight,” Graham said, climbing up on the piano in his sock feet to light the chandelier. “Excuse me, it was not.” Elizabeth tossed a thin cloth like frothed gold over the table and set golden candlesticks on it. “It was for me,” Graham said, fire in his hands, laughing down at her from the piano. “I’m only speaking for myself.” “Even for himself he isn’t telling the truth,” Elizabeth said to us, her silvery dress catching the light every way she moved. Her quick fingers lit the candles and her bre...

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“When Souls Meet” by Sarah Kreiger

Submitted to Contest #16

The ballroom was huge. Hannah had never been in a ballroom before, but from all the historical romances she constantly read this was definitely bigger than she had pictured and far more elegant than her imagination could conjure up. The chandelier itself was probably bigger than her eight hundred square footage apartment! Luckily, Hannah’s half-face lace mask protected her from having to squint when she looked up to see the darn thing, there was no way her friends were going to believe how huge the hanging glass ornament was. The wood floors...

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“katherine” by Pareesa K

Submitted to Contest #16

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, her kindness, her enthusiasm."hey!" she screams over the rain. I point toward the school building and beckon her inside. it ...

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“The Danger in the South Woods” by Kaysie Davis

Submitted to Contest #16

“What do you mean, you dared Barrie to go in the South Woods?” I was trying to keep my anger out of my voice. The little boy in front of me was digging his foot into the dirt. “Tell me what happened. Right now, Burton!”“I didn’t think he’d actually do it.” Burton’s grey eyes were wide. “He was bragging about how brave his is and how he could do anything! He was calling me a scardy cat because I wouldn’t go climb trees with him! So, I told him that he still wasn’t brave enough to go into the South Woods!”I sighed, “And so my headstrong little...

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“The Words I Can't Write (Literally)” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #16

Where I’m from, my village has this little ritual that has labeled us crackheads to the rest of the world. When a child is born, they are chosen by a weapon. The more destructive the weapon, the more praise the child gets. Afterwards, the adults smoke crack. It’s a jolly day. Not for me, though. I was chosen by a pen. At first, my parents didn’t even want to teach me to write. They didn’t want to encourage my use of the pen. Instead they jammed swords and bows and bazookas into my tiny baby hands, just hoping they would stick. They didn’t. B...

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“The Wrong Name (Too Many Colors)” by Adriana K. Maxwell

Submitted to Contest #16

Bounce. Pick up one. Catch.He had the wrong name. “Ethan” was supposed to be strong.Bounce. Pick up two. Catch.Or maybe he was just the wrong person. Perhaps if his mother had given him his own name, instead of an Old Worlder name, it would have better. He could have made his own meaning.Bounce. Pick up-Madik!He almost said a swear word he learned from his visit with the Masari. He hadn’t, he had stuck to his mother’s own “exasperation word” of “I don’t like” but he almost had. Maybe his people were ri...

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“The Flight Risk” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #16

Marcus smiled down at Destiny. “May I buy you a drink?”“I have one, thank you. But we can talk.” She held a glass filled with icy clear liquid and a wedge of lime.“Great.” Marcus sat next to her. Each table stood in its own intimate alcove, perfect for conversation. Most of the tables were filled with travelers reunited or saying their good-byes.Destiny smiled. “My name is Destiny.”She was the most beautiful woman Marcus had ever seen. “I’m Marcus.” Destiny offered her hand and he took it gently. Her touch thrilled him. Destiny smiled ...

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“Cuts” by Renée Chatelain

Submitted to Contest #16

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. Almost everyone I’ve met here have deep cuts, even the children. All I have are the tiny paper cuts of white lies on my fingertips and forearms––consequences of little formalities and camouflages of sorts. Some people have long...

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“Beethoven's Tenth Symphony” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #16

Beethoven’s tenth symphony rang through the choir hall. It was previously undiscovered. Hidden by the lapping waves of history. Nine glorious symphonies were praised for almost two centuries while the tenth one waited, in a birch box, written in careful calligraphy. I stroked the keys of my instrument with the same gentle love born of soulmates. My lips silently moved, mouthing the notes’ letters as I continued. Then, the symphony was over. The last note echoed through the concert hall with a lasting promise that this symphony was too beauti...

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“The blue-haired witch” by Marte Van Der Linden

Submitted to Contest #16

Grandma used to tell me all sorts of stories before she fell ill. She told me about the witch who lived far away in the deep dark woods and would grant wishes. But only if you completed the tasks she set you. If you failed, she would cook you and eat you.I loved listening to those stories. Once, when I was about six, I declared that I would go and find the witch and ask her to give me wings so I could fly. But grandma grabbed my shoulders with her bony fingers and shook me until my teeth rattled. “Never do that!” she said. She made me swear ...

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“The Antics of Erik the Drunk” by Lee Witkowski

Submitted to Contest #16

Erik the Drunk was drunk again. By this point, the townspeople had stopped keeping track of how many times they had awoken to his intoxicated yelling in the middle of the night. They had stopped ushering their children quickly away from his crooked finger pointing and his twisted mouth laughing in their direction. They often saw Erik swaggering up and down the town’s dusty main street, pretending to face off with dragons or bandits or barter with invisible merchants, but after years of this, they no longer feared him. In fact, he was beginni...

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“Have a Magical Day™!” by KC Gilman

Submitted to Contest #16

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 Dissatisfied Customers. They will...

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“Seeing Blind” by Jayden Foster

Submitted to Contest #16

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 wood tended to keep young children from straying too far. Nayeli didn't know if those rumors were true or not, she simply knew that it was getting dark. She was normally home by now, h...

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“The Big Surprise” by Deborah Mercer

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #16

It was one of those days that seemed so close to perfect it was hard to know whether to glory in it or not quite trust it. The mid-morning May sunlight was clear and warm, but there was just a little breeze to stop it being too warm, especially when it was filtered through the burgeoning crowns of the trees just come into full, hopeful, rich springtime leaf and it made little dapples on the sandy paths in the woodland. To the left and right of the paths, in both shade and sunlight, the bluebells clumped together as if rejoicin...

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“The Diamond Pond” by Renée Chatelain

Submitted to Contest #16

My people fear the forest. Why? I don’t know. No one in the village or in my family has ever told me why. All they say is “do not venture past the forest’s edge,” or “your fate will meet you if you traverse the forest’s domain.” Sometimes they simply say “you will die if you dare enter the forest; do not go in.” Naturally, one would be skeptical. Why shouldn’t I enter the forest? What on earth could be in there? The forest seemed friendly enough. Birds could be heard happily singing in the branches; sometimes a little rabbi...

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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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