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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

“The Forest Within Us” by A FL

Submitted to Contest #16

Once upon a time, an old man told me about a wood that stretched at the bottom of a deep canyon. In this wood he said, obscurity is king and the sun rays shiver when they come close to the dark green foliage of the chasm. Between the trees lie a silence so deep that toads silence their croaking during the dark hours of the night, and birds go hide in the hollow trunk of the dead, giant vegetation. The old man, who’s wrinkles reminded me of bark, warned me that any soul that possess enough temerity to enter the forest will not leave, as the s...

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“ Concede ” by Amara Morena Bennett

Submitted to Contest #16

Nestled between the banks of the river that ran from the top of the Shefgough mountain, the crystal clear water filled with multicolored leaves that slowly ran under the fallen branches that laid on the banks. The swiftly running water slipped round the rocks sticking out of the river making a crooked walkway to the dying meadow. As the water runs south, the sun sets in the west, just over the deep, mystical grove that sat on the left side of the river was a village. The leaves of the trees above the dark grove were already in full color, th...

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“Callaghan Manor ” by Katie Kerrigan

Submitted to Contest #16

Callaghan Manor 1957 “I’m sorry things turned out like this,” Emory’s mother said, her eyes staring blankly at the road ahead. “It’s okay,” Emory replied. His mother glanced at him, prying a hand off the steering wheel and patting his shoulder. “I promise everything will work out. It’s just until your grandmother gets better.” Emory nodded. “I know.” The road braided through the thick forest, weaving between rocky cliff sides and pine trees. Raindrops splattered gently against the windshield. In the distanc...

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“My Family Was Right” by Rachel Frankki

Submitted to Contest #16

My family told us not to go into the woods but that afternoon, my cousin Sam and I ventured into the darkness of the trees. We both packed a small bag of necessities just in case we felt like adventuring for more than a quick look around. Part of us wanted to discover what everyone in our family was consistently covering up during conversation. Our yearly family reunion was being held at my great-grandma’s house, but everyone in her neighborhood was sneakily discussing how weird things had been seen and heard coming from the ancient fo...

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“Hunger” by Christopher Abel

Submitted to Contest #16

The wheel had turned once more, and the cycle began anew. The family stood together in the thicket at the edge of the wood, taking in the air. The sky was heavy today, pregnant with omens and signs, ready to let out the tears it had been storing these last few days. Papa looked back at the field they had cut through, wincing inwardly at the single, narrow, highly visible track they had left in their crossing. The weeping of the dying plants had soaked their legs, and once the vegetation was trampled down, it lacked the heart to stand again. ...

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“A Second Chance” by Melissa Kay Bishop

Submitted to Contest #16

“You can’t do that!” Mabel screeched. “You have arthritis and a heart arrhythmia! Not to mention you haven’t so much as walked around the block in years.”Merle slumped over his plate of dry scrambled eggs and mumbled to his wife, “But I’ve heard it’s a beautiful hike.”“It very well may be,” Mabel said over the dishes she was crashing into the sink of running water. “But you can see all those nature things on the Discovery Channel. And you won’t have to risk your neck. Just because some kid told you he had a good time hiking this ...

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“The Strange Tale Of Avina Vaillancourt” by Tobi Anderson

Submitted to Contest #16

Avina Vaillancourt was an idiosyncratic child according to her peers. Substantially, she was such a bizarre child that she did not care about the fact that she was an oddity. Avina really only cared about her one friend, Louie, who in an even more ghastly turn of events was a talking dog. “Lou-ie,” she huffed, leaning over in her seat to shake the curled figure beside her. Louie was a brown spotted Picardy Spaniel from Avina’s home country. He was a pup given to her on her eleventh birthday. Her father, Gibson Vaillancourt, had taken him in ...

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“Olympian Files” by Jay Nicole

Submitted to Contest #16

“Zachary stay out of that room” “Zach stay out of the basement” “Zach there’s a lock on the shed for a reason” “Zachary stay away from those woods” These words have been drilled into my head, pretty much all my life. I can be halfway out of my room, trying to sneak my way down to the basement and my Aunt is in the other room yelling at me. Nothing gets past my Aunt Kelly, although every once in awhile, I’m able to get away with things. For instance, that room I was talking about earlier, is my mom’s room, when I was 11, I found the key...

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“"You must never go into the Woods alone."” by Alannah Norton

Submitted to Contest #16

Ever since little Penelope was young, she had heard the words of her grandmother echo in her mind: “You must never go into the woods alone.” Every time she heard it echo in her mind, she had this peculiar feeling, she wanted to defy her family. She felt like the woods were always calling out to her. The woods were part of the village, just past the windmill and the crumbling church. It was part of their life and they used it to their advantage, greedily, they chopped it d...

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“A Tight Grain and A Rich Stain” by Grant Gordon

Submitted to Contest #16

I pushed the sturdy wooden chair back from the table as slowly and quietly as I could manage, yet somehow my mother still heard and poked her head into the dining room. “Is your breakfast done?” “Almost,” I replied, shoveling eggs into my mouth, leaning far enough forward to not make a mess, “done! Can I go out and say good morning to dad now?” “If you’re really done,” she offered with a smile in a tone of mock severity. My parents enjoyed making it seem as though they ran a disciplined and structured home. However, we all unders...

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“Saved by the rings” by Jeanne Lejeune

Submitted to Contest #16

“You must never pass the mile marker beside the poppy field, or wander under the guarding oaks, otherwise you’ll be caught by the creature in the woods.”This was the typical scary story told to children to stop them from misbehaving. There are many different versions;“Clean your room, or the monster of the forest will get you.”“Be nice to your sister, or the tree man will take you away.”“Never wander off from your parents, or the wood thing will find you.”From a young age, a healthy fear of the forest bordering the town of valae was instille...

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“Midnight Moon II” by Lilith Sylvaine

Submitted to Contest #16

Once upon a time in a little village in the countryside, along a twisting, bumpy road, there sat a beautiful cottage. In the cottage there lived a kind young woman by the name of Rose Winters, and on this sunny afternoon she was exceedingly excited as she hurried through the rickety wooden gate and up the cobblestone path. The garden bloomed bright with wild flowers and the sun sparkled on the wind-rippled pond as she unlocked the front door and slipped inside, the reason for her excitement clutched tightly in her hand.Rose abandoned h...

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“Don’t go into the forest” by Kathleen Tison

Submitted to Contest #16

There's only a few more hours. Hours, like weights on her. They hold her down, keep her anchored. They are like shackles. She is bound by them. She needs them even as she strains against them. They are what she has.What she doesn't know is if they are enough. The day began with out so much ominous thought. The day began without so much blood and drama. Lilly stood in the parking lot at the basin of the mountain and shuffled her feet. She was the only solo traveler. The only single perso...

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“The Crystal Girl” by Wolf Royalty

Submitted to Contest #16

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess named Leilany. She had long classic Hawaiian curls, a beautiful chai skin tone, cute monolid eyes, and iris’ a warm sable tone. She resided in a magnificent castle. A castle so big and beautiful that it could be seen for miles. The castle sat in the middle of an enchanted forest that was home to many fantastical creatures such as Griffins, Unicorns, Dragons, Faries, anything you could imagine. Except it’s the 21st century, Leilany was just a normal 7 year old girl, and she didn’t have ...

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“Going into the woods” by Kristin DeLong

Submitted to Contest #16

All of my life, I had been warned, “Don’t go into the woods!” and I would answer back, "Why not?" I was most insistent on finding out, however, no one ever had a good enough reason. It was almost as if it had started out as a rumor which eventually had grown into an urban legend. That is, until I asked Granny Taylor. She isn’t my grandma, she is the town’s local homeless person. Most of the time she was seen walking around, pushing a grocery store shopping cart loaded with her belongings. She wore giant sunglasses, red lipstick and a giant w...

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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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