Menu

Prompts

Directory Contests Magazine FAQ

Apps

reedsymarketplace

Hire professionals for your project

reedsyblog

Advice, insights and news

reedsylearning

Online publishing courses

reedsylive

Free publishing webinars

reedsydiscovery

Launch your book in style

Bestseller Podcast Book Cover Art Success Stories

Tools

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Directory

Contests

Magazine

FAQ

← All contests

#180 A Roll of the Dice

Despite all our skill and effort, sometimes life simply comes down to luck. Whether you’re trying to win a game, land a job, or find a significant other, there’s no sure way to know how it’ll work out — or how good your luck will be. A twist of fate could send you catapulting into happiness, or your luck could sour in the blink of an eye. But if you can push through bad luck, you might just find you can change it.

So this week, you’ll want to get your rabbits’ feet and four leaf clovers ready. Are you feeling lucky?

This week's prompts

Write a story that hinges on the outcome of a coin flip.

Adventure – 68 stories

Start your story with someone having a run of bad luck.

Angst – 42 stories

Write about someone losing their lucky charm.

Mystery – 24 stories

Set your story in a casino.

Adults – 33 stories

Write about someone whose luck is running out.

Character – 44 stories

Stories

Out of Luck

Submitted to Contest #180

It’s nineteen-sixty-seven, and Larry Lungren is hot-footing it to the nearest bus stop. Behind him are two big burly looking guys in close pursuit. Larry makes it to the bus just as the doors start to close. He forces them open, jumps in, and stuffs a ten in the cashbox. “Step on it, will ya!” he snaps. Gears grind, and the engine lunges to life. In a cloud of smoke, the bus rolls into traffic. Larry laughs as he watches his two pursuers give up the chase. Slapping the driver on the shoul...

12 likes

The Boiler Room

Danielle Thompson

Submitted to Contest #180

Maxim hated being good. He sat quietly at the dinner table, trying to slouch as best he could in the straight-backed hotel restaurant chair. His parents were sipping their wine and droning on about some boring adult conversation related to insurance and the recent rise in taxes. “Taxes are the onus of the people, and yet the government is determined to break our backs!” Maxim’s father said loudly. His mother nodded her agreement and took a long sip of her chardonnay. Maxim looked around, trying to find anything else to occupy his...

12 likes

The Weight of Duty.

Submitted to Contest #180

The first time that he said it, we were standing on the balcony beside our bedroom too far away from the inner door for the palace guards to overhear. I laughed and considered his attempt at humour as a good sign. But his eyes were still hooded and weary. His shoulders still curled forward with the weight of what was on them. I sighed internally and took a slow drink from my wineglass, savouring the dry burn as the liquid slid down my throat. Then, turned my back on him and looked out over the city of Marion. It hugged the base of the mounta...

12 likes

20 Milligrams of Pain

Submitted to Contest #180

1Apollo reclined into his chair, stretching his spine. It was eight hours after midday. He was alone in the office as he stood out of his chair, sighed, and snatched a prescription bottle off his desk. The little orange container held more evil than Apollo could ever imagine, but he wasn’t thinking about that–he just wanted to get home. He stepped onto the cold pavement, backpack over one shoulder, and his trembling left hand clutching the bottle. The pills rattled with each mindless step Apollo took. Right foot in front of the left other, t...

12 likes

Heads or Tails?

FabWritesStuff -

Submitted to Contest #180

“Alright it's decided. Heads, we stay in for the night or tails, we go out! That sound fair to you?” “Yeah, I guess.” Stella nodded reluctantly as she watched her friend, Lacey, twirl a quarter between her fingers. She really hoped it landed on heads. Staying home and watching Harry Potter movies while eating bowls of popcorn sounded like the perfect way to spend a Friday night, but Lacey didn’t agree. Lacey, one of her oldest friends, was much more extroverted. She loved going out, meeting new people, and visiting new places...

12 likes

Knock Knock..

Submitted to Contest #180

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ B- -one eye closed, Ava Rangiheuea tapped her phone to silence the incessant alarm sounds that blared from it. She took note of the time on her screen - 6:01 - before unceremoniously clunking the device on the wooden side-table. She allowed her head to collapse back onto the flat pillow, her caramel skin warm beneath the light-blue cotton layers. She loved the tranquil energy of the mornings. It was quiet; the usually reliable Auckland traffic having not yet reached its peak hustle. Time ...

12 likes

A Fallen Millionaire

Lincan Liu

Submitted to Contest #180

Oliver sat by the window, blowing the last cigar and watching tall buildings outside move away from him. Shortly came into his eyes were not glimmers of the metropolis but vast fields lying under the dark sky. The chilly wind roared, beating against the window repeatedly, like a debt collector from hell sent by his father. “I will fulfill my pledge. Take back what I’ve lost,” he whispered, with a few tears creeping down his cheeks. The glories he boosted about, sitting on a luxury yacht, drinking with famous singers, or traveling by pres...

12 likes

Critical Inaccuracy, Chapter 1 of 7 - A Common Goal

Jared Meeks

Submitted to Contest #180

It was just another typical, boring, completely ordinary, spring morning. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, yada yada.Only, today was not just a typical morning. For Torrain..."Today's the day.", said Torrain, fresh out of bed, "I've got no time to waste, I've gotta get ready for my interview!".Torrain hopped out of his bed with a child-like excitement, as he stretched, and got himself ready to get himself ready.He took a shower, humming the whole way through, followed by a clean shave.Torrain looked deep into the mirror with a stee...

12 likes

Hand of Fate

Submitted to Contest #180

Fate parked outside the B&B, waiting for Georgia, though he knew he shouldn’t get involved. Even in this supernatural town, the name Noqoìlpi inspired fear. He-Who-Wins-Men. And this beautiful little human was hunting him. Her poker skills were impressive, but just because she’d cleared a table of amateurs at Chonky’s Bar last night didn’t mean she could take down a Navajo gambling god. His orange and black cross fox, Mel, crawled into his lap. Fate scratched behind his ears and cooed, “That one’s trouble. Just like you.” Georgi...

12 likes

Lost Property

Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #180

The pretty tune of dread rings out, impossibly loud. So loud in the confined space of the corridor that I cringe in an attempt to make myself smaller, unseen. Those few discordant notes pierce the ominous silence and they announce the beginning of my end. The ripples of those sounds send me reeling and I clutch my neck. I clutch my neck knowing that everything has changed. It has gone. I look down at the metal slats beneath my feet and for a maddening moment, I consider the merits of a futile pursuit of the one thing I had left in ...

12 likes

Atlas

Sean O

Submitted to Contest #180

March Goodman grinned reassuringly. “You’ve got this.” Cassie wrinkled her nose at him. “Says you. Things have a tendency of working out for you.” She pulled a pair of dice from her jeans pocket, and March couldn’t help but wonder why she’d been carrying them around at all. They glinted red in the sunlight that streamed in through the Venetian blinds and filled up the coffee shop. She held them out to him. “It’ll be a 7.” March cautiously opened his hand, and she dropped the dice into it. He did as told, shaking them about for a moment befor...

12 likes

Hit or Stay

Ross Brewer

Submitted to Contest #180

The only game I know how to play is blackjack. But knowing how to play is very different than knowing how to win. Gambling isn’t something I get a thrill out of. However, since my somewhat close friend, Keith, is getting married in the Spring, I agreed to spectate as he and his brother test their fates on the tables. Keith and Terry are hypermasculine, the football type, but they are both under six foot and constantly express the regret I should have for not trying out as a six-foot-two introvert with mild haphephobia. The Mills Lodge C...

12 likes

Monte Carlo

Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #180

There are many casinos in the world but none that felt as special as ‘le Casino de Monte-Carlo’. The exterior could be described as classically beautiful and palatial, while the interior envelopes you in elegance and sophistication. Being close to the Italian border, it received a fair share of the wealthy patrons from both France and Italia. Not including the international jet-setters or the mega-rich, who moored their sleek yachts in the harbor. Appearing to be part of the scene, I wore an Armani Tuxedo, gold Blancpain watch and, diam...

12 likes

that's just show business

Alexa Lea

Submitted to Contest #180

tw: brief mentions of body image-1956Cindy is 14. Sometimes, when I close my eyes at night I see a woman. She drips with jewelry and burgundy silk. Gold lays on her neck softly, coiling around her wrists in dainty loops. Her hair is in pins and her teeth are the color of paper. I see her now, on the stage. She’s swaying as she sings; her voice comes from deep in her stomach. In the heart of the stage, her body doesn’t reflect the spotlights that hit her; she soaks them in. The beams wrap around her, sliding unde...

12 likes

Easy & Slow

Liam F

Submitted to Contest #180

Jack sat at his bench, as he did each night, and he considered smashing his head through the keys. No. This time, he wished the weight of the piano would be too much for the stained carpeting to bear and the gorgeous 1969 Steinway would fall all the way down to the first floor as a result. That’s where the ugliest, cheapest gamblers played. It would crush a few of them - if he was so lucky. Things were so different, now. Jack didn’t enjoy these recurring violently insipid thoughts and he really didn’t enjoy the pleasure it brought him. But, ...

12 likes

Load more stories

Contest #181

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

211

Entries

99

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Jan 13, 2023 EST

Won by Marilyn Filewood 🏆

Title: Come In Spinner

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!

reedsylearning

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel