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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#170: Best Laid Plans

As the old saying goes, "We plan, God laughs"; no matter how carefully we try and prepare for the future, life tends to get in the way. Sometimes these obstacles are actually opportunities, and things work out for the better. Sometimes, these disappointments don’t have a happy ending. Either way, we have to muddle through.

This week’s prompts are all about plans — whether they work out, they don’t, or we never had one to begin with!

This week's prompts

Start your story with the line “I’ve got a plan”.

Dialogue – 60 stories

Write a story about a character who tries to control their life down to the most minute detail — but has to learn to let go.

Character – 25 stories

Write about a plan that goes wrong, for the better.

Middle School – 38 stories

Write a story that involves the architectural plans for a building.

Mystery – 10 stories

Fly by the seat of your pants and write a story without a plan.

Short Story – 68 stories

Stories

“The Spire” by Kalin Demirev

Submitted to Contest #170

Alrin looked up towards where the glaring desert sun sat in its celestial throne. The sun looked back at him with its own mocking gaze. He pushed back a long lock of dark, sweat-soaked hair from his forehead and cursed at the sun, then resumed trudging onward; vast, unchanging, blindingly radiant desert sprawling as far as his dry bloodshot eyes could see. Even though he had known his platoon was underprepared for this expedition, he was still in shock from the extent of his failure. His men, soldiers under his command, all perished in last ...

5 comments 5
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“Well-Fed Barbarians” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #170

The clinking of the silverware and the wine being poured were the only sounds to be heard at the dinner table. The lights were bright and harsh, casting dark, sharp shadows across the dining room. What the light could not reveal, however, was that the couple would be trying to kill each other that night, and that both would have bullet holes in their heads in the end. ************** “Where’s Bethany?” Dominic looked up from his plate, gazing stoically at his wife. It was the first words he had spoken to her all night. Ellen didn’t bother loo...

13 comments 13
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“An Evening with a Writer Without a Plan” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #170

“Fly by the Seat of Your Pants and Write a Story Without a Plan.” -      Reedsy Reedsy, you don’t know what you are asking me to do. I don’t know what I am doing, which is a definite drawback to good writing. With no plan, I am like James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause,” running around and getting into trouble. Well, you asked for it. Just remember, this was not my idea. The problem with flying by the seat of my pants and writing a story without a plan is I don’t know what to write about.&nb...

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“Lost” by Ann Martin

Submitted to Contest #170

LOST Ann Martin My Dearest Lost Love, It’s been six weeks and they’ve stopped looking. I don’t want to stop, but I don’t know how to go on. Where are you, Jack? Why can’t I find you? Always, always I have known where you are. If not beside me, you were five minutes away, a phone call, a text, an email away. But I can’t reach you now, you don’t answer me and I don’t know where you’ve gone. That’s why I’m writing this letter. I can’t remember ever writing one to you before, but at least I know it will last. Paper and ink do last, long after...

1 comment 1
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“Odometer” by Michelle SHAAY

Submitted to Contest #170

The birds loud but beautiful singing was enough to make Linda jump out of bed. Today was a day most would probably play the lottery as favorable odds seemed certain. The weather was gorgeous, it was pay day, and Linda's 45th birthday. A trifecta of sorts, her work anniversary also happened to fall on this day. She was extremely proud too for the path to success had not been easy. For more than 15 years she dedicated her software development talent to Triple Square Innovations, LLC. A mostly male dominated industry sometimes triggered moments...

2 comments 2
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“Redneck Without a Plan” by Sharon Hancock

Submitted to Contest #170

CONTENT WARNING: violence, gore, naughty words, substance abuse      “Not me, Chuck, no way. I ain’t never gon need a plan. Nope. I’m a ‘fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of guy.”  I flick ice chunks off my beer and close the cooler. Me and my buddy, Chuck, spent the day muddin’. Now we’s pontificatin’— otherwise known as, “shootin-the-shit”, whilst guzzlin cold ones and chill-axing in a lawn chair perched on the bed of my ’85 Ford Pickup. Chuck’s eyes glaze over as he draggs long and hard from a bong, big...

2 comments 2
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“Ellie and the Ethereally Endeared” by Ryan Roarke

Submitted to Contest #170

“I only have three hours?” I asked incredulously. “Less than that, actually: two hours, 39 minutes, 11 seconds.” She was calm and serene, which of course did nothing but add to my already increasing nerves. “But I have nothing to write about!” I argued. “How am I supposed to write a story—with no plan—before midnight?” “Well, you should probably start with a name,” she mused. I paused for a moment, staring at an empty word document on my screen. I’ve always thought that a blank page, cursor blinking on a vacant first line, was one of...

4 comments 4
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“Fate Unexpected” by Sarah Rich

Submitted to Contest #170

“I’ve got a plan,” he murmured near her ear, “and it’ll only be nice for me!” With a shrill cry, the woman grabbed at her hair as she was dragged down the hallway. The man ignored her as her neck whipped and jerked for freedom. He could hear the heavy breaths of struggle escape her lungs rapidly, and it fueled him. There was no greater trophy than the streetwalkers. Lonely, young, but easily missed, they were the perfect candidates for consumption. Something that always fascinated the Vampire Lord was just how quickly they begged...

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“My plan” by Myesha Rodhan

Submitted to Contest #170

I've Got a Plan. My plan is simple. Wait for a few days and gain her trust then... BOOM. I'Il hit her with my new invention, The sting ray, no not the fish. The gun, also no not the rifle. My new invention which comes with automatic reloads and flour bombs mixed with fart spray.  I know what you're thinking right now. I'm a mega huge big brain who needs to be recognised. Well sadly I'm only ten but soon I will invent something that can change the age so that I, Cody Mills can grow up and be a recognised genius scientist. Wait no, c...

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“The Man With No Plan” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #170

“I’ve got a plan,” he said with utter conviction. He always said this sort of thing with utter conviction and for so long I believed him. It wasn’t just that delivery of his of course, I wanted to believe him. I was so invested in him. He’d made sure I was invested, that was how he kept me in the game, and it was a game. It was all a game for him. The problem was that that was all it was and nothing more. It was so much more for me. It meant some to me, always had. Now I was beginning to realise that that counted ...

6 comments 6
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“Flying Straight and True” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #170

“I’ve got a plan.” As usual, Derrick doesn’t seem to hear me. Ironic, since I’m the one without eyes or ears. “See that rope? The one suspending that heavy-looking box in the air?” I’d point if I could, but… no hands, either. “Shoot me through it! The box will fall, and—” Uh-oh. He’s nocking me. And he’s decidedly not aiming me at the rope. “Shoot the rope, Derrick! The rope! It’s straight ahead! We could do a lot more damage if you just—” He fires me. For those few moments I’m sailing through the air, becoming one with the wind, I for...

5 comments 5
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“Love potion ” by Dao Huy Kien

Submitted to Contest #170

  When in high school, I was secretly in love with a classmate named Evelyn, who had beautiful round eyes, pinkish white skin and smooth black hair. She had a face of angel so that a lot of guys like her, even the guys from upper class and colleges. Meanwhile, I was neither a handsome boy nor an outstanding student. I was not a rich kid or an excellent basketball guy either, just an average teenager so that I thought there was no chance for me to be her boyfriend. I enjoyed watching her secretly, especially when she tied her hair u...

2 comments 2
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“Faces of Time” by Bev D

Submitted to Contest #170

The stories are not supposed to be true. And though the other gods enjoy that our existence is a secret, I intend it not to remain so. In a mortal's time, it took nine decades before they started hearing my whispers. Another nine until they sought me. And then another nine for me to build a place where they can. In the heart of the forest where I waited, the wind was so unfamiliar with the mortals’ scent. The scent of dirt, death, and desperation. It took centuries for those first mortals to find me, but I was not impatient. I knew that alre...

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“You've Got Red On You” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #170

“I got nothing.” “Yeah, but that’s always…” started Lando. “Not this time, buddy,” Single was shaking his head gravely, “not this time.” “OK, but there’s the…” began Lando. Single shook his head again. “Really?!” blurted Lando. “Really,” confirmed Single. “But Roy is down there on his own!” gasped Lando. Single frowned, “I know.” “But without the mysterious and unknowable force of the power, that we all know drive the contrived plot…” Lando trailed off. He didn’t need Single to butt in this time. “He will have h...

23 comments 23
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“When The Sky Cries” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #170

When the sky cries, the clouds thicken and multiply to create an impenetrable sheet that disguises how unattractively it sobs. The farmers are grateful for it: the end of the drought is a moment for rejoice, for they will have produce to sell soon, their land nourished with the tears that fall in heavy pellets. The children hate it. It makes them miserable, stuck up inside because everyone knows it's dangerous to play when the sky cries. The ground becomes slippery, but not only that – when the sky cries, its tears are infectious. To be pois...

9 comments 9
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$250

Prize money

201

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 04, 2022 EST

Won by Camphor White 🏆

Title: Fini Flight

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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