Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

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

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#181: Standing Tall

The mountains are the place where many people go to seek adventure, whether that be hiking, climbing, or skiing; but they’re also where some go to find stillness, and reconnect with nature. Mountain ranges have an almost spiritual feel to them 一 they stand tall, enduring the test of time, and remind us of our scale in the universe.

In literature, mountains have often served as powerful settings, or as a metaphor for the insurmountable obstacles characters have to deal with. This week’s prompts are inspired by them:

This week's prompts

Write about someone who realizes they're on the wrong path.

Character – 69 stories

Write a story about someone who has to “move mountains” to get what they want.

Angst – 15 stories

Write about a character who’s climbing a mountain, whether internal, external, or both.

Adventure – 59 stories

Write about a character who, for whatever reason, retreats to a remote cabin.

Mystery – 62 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Let’s go for a walk.”

Dialogue – 73 stories

Stories

“Cult in the Valley” by Jamie Pickering

Submitted to Contest #181

Karen woke abruptly to the piercing sound of her alarm clock radio. She was at a crossroads in the youthful stages of her young adult life. Getting out of bed was becoming a chore, post break up from her boyfriend of two years; she was 19 years old with the “whole world ahead of you,” her father would regularly quote. Karen wanted so much to be a journalist, a writer, but her inspiration had faded along with her health. Karen gradually dragged her tired, weak underweight body up to gaze at herself in the mirror. Staring back was a sha...

Read story

“AN ISLAND OF HER OWN” by Eileen Turner

Submitted to Contest #181

AN ISLAND OF HER OWN “I’m not parting with it. I’ll squeeze it in somewhere even if I have to climb over it.” “You’re being ridiculous.” Sonya’s sister-in- law was packing the nice dishes, carefully wrapping each item in newspaper. Sonya was being allowed by her in-laws to keep the every-day dishes, the flatware, and her kitchen things that she had not already moved out. Her in-laws went through the house like vampires looking for blood. Sonya was allowed only the inexpensive, non-antique items. She clutched at the figurine that had be...

Read story

“Inch by Inch” by Pamela Blair

Submitted to Contest #181

INCH BY INCH Standing at the edge of the snowfield, I stare down its precipitous incline, knowing I don’t have the courage to cross it, even though on the other side lies the path up to the pass. Midway across, I’ll panic. I’ll slide all the way to the bottom. I’ll die. I look up at the only other way to get out of the mess we’re in—a narrow, steep scramble enclosed by the snowfield and a rocky outcrop jutting out all the way up to the pass. Between the two lies a narrow channel of thick mud, scattered with small,...

Read story

“About Face” by Cindy Hammonds

Submitted to Contest #181

About Face His thoughts were like the light dappling through the trees, wavering, just out of focus. He felt certain if he could just make one connection his path would become clear, just as the dense forested path he was running had opened into a peaceful sun-filled meadow. He certainly hadn’t planned to take on a father role but then he never figured a car crash would leave him without a sister and his nephew without parents either. What the hell was Cari thinking anyway. Sh...

Read story

“SOLITUDE” by Angela Pirozzi

Submitted to Contest #181

I am constantly on guard. Listening for anything out of the ordinary. It is difficult though, because nothing here is my normal habitat. I am a city girl. Born and bred. Yet here I am. In the middle of a forest. Living like some lonely hermit, trying not to accidentally poison myself by eating a toxic magic mushroom or a fatal dew-covered berry. If only my momma could see me now. She’d be rolling over in her grave…if she were in a grave. But I digress. I have no formidable hunting skills other than using a can opener, which the lovely prior ...

Read story

“Saved” by Doug Turnbull

Submitted to Contest #181

Prey. The thought came to Dwayne suddenly as he stared out the screen door at the front yard. Fine hairs rose on the back of his neck, while his ears perked up, and his hawk-like eyes scanned his surroundings, the trees that bordered his land. “Ellie,” he said to his partner, “we got company.” The roar of an engine and the crunch of gravel under tires reached his ears then. One vehicle it sounded like. How many people? Ellie, in her ratty pink robe, shuffled to stand beside him. She slipped an arm through his and snuggled in close. She...

Read story

“Me, My Human, and Our Evening Walks” by Dohen Gallagher

Submitted to Contest #181

Smells. Smells. Wonderful smells. My nose twitches, and I can't stop wagging. She, my human girl, who I love, who calls me "baby" and "good boy" and even sometimes "Stinker," smiles down at me. Together, we sit in front of an open den hole. I will admit that these den holes confuse me from time to time, but my human, my girl, is too smart. The cumbersome wire mesh never tricks her. When my nose bumps against it, she laughs, "Calm down, Davie-boy! Soon, soon! After the rain!" I don't understand her mouth sounds, but I know my name, so I turn ...

Read story

“Conquering catatonia” by Autism Active

Submitted to Contest #181

He lay across the breakfast table, locked in uncontrollable rigidity. His head was turned to one side and the unchewed food bulged in his cheeks. She jumped up, once again on red alert. “Jimmy, Jimmy” she called as she immediately shook his shoulders to sit back up. He didn’t respond. With the confidence of a pro, she pressed on his chin, opening his mouth and in one fluid movement cleared the contents onto the side plate in front. Jimmy returned to the room from his trancelike state, as if on cue, awakening back to the present. He glan...

Read story

“Hope on the Other Side of the Fence” by Brenda Wilson

Submitted to Contest #181

“Let’s go for a walk,” says Kristoff. A walk, he says as if it isn’t so blistering cold our toes may freeze at any moment. A walk, as if we have the power to truly go anywhere. As if there isn’t a fence between us, keeping us from touching, from loving, from the warmth each other provides. As if we aren’t prisoners. As if… I shutter. Momma reminds me every morning to be brave. She says that the only thing they can’t take from us is our hope and we must cling to it like our life depends on it. Because the...

Read story

“Witch Walk” by Nicki Nance

Submitted to Contest #181

“I’ll tell her you called, but I’m not giving you her address.” Danny Fortunato disconnected the call and turned to see his son, Rhett, staring at him from across the greenhouse. “Trouble?”Danny shrugged. “Not yet. Jen’s brother is looking for her. He probably wants to guilt her into going back to Ohio with him.”Rhett scowled as he finished straightening the seedlings. “God, not this again. You really need to get a girlfriend with some staying power.”“C’mon, Son. Jen and I have been together for four years. Do you really think she’s going so...

Read story

“The Path to Glory” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #181

“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate all you’ve done.” I say, shaking Dr. Sullivan’s hand. “I only wish I could have done more,” he says. “But it’s gone too far, I’m afraid. I’m sorry.” “Nay, don’t be. I’m the one who always puts things off. It’s my own fault.” I shake his hand one more time and leave. As I exit the building, I’m in a world of my own. Passing a couple engaged in convers...

Read story

“Not The Killer” by Elizabeth Lee

Submitted to Contest #181

Sensitive Content Warning *Death of a Loved One* I can’t feel my fingers. I guess that’s normal after what I went though, so for now, there’s no reason to panic. Pretending to be fine is one of my greatest strengths. Learned as a little kid and fostered until adulthood. It’s landed me a good, steady job and some quality friends who think I’m Mr. Emotionless. We laugh about it over too much beer and not enough water on the nights we get together to relive our senseless, careless college days. But, even with laughter and jokes ringing in my ...

Read story

“a Breath of Fresh Air” by Molly Morgen

Submitted to Contest #181

Matt rolled over on his side on the bed. “Ugh,” he said, lamenting the start of a new day. He looked over at the clock on the bedside table situated right next to his trusty bottle of whiskey. 1:05 pm. He hadn’t moved or done anything since he had woken up at 10:00 am that morning. Anything except replay the moments from the past month over and over again in his head. Dumped by his girlfriend of three years. Rejected from every architecture job he applied to. Fired from his crappy box boy job at ...

Read story

“I Am Flight ” by Jordan Cochran

Submitted to Contest #181

Fight, Flight, Freeze… the three trauma responses that I have heard about for years. I wish these three, along with the other trauma responses, did not even exist. But they have to, right? Because if we did not have trauma responses, our kind, humans as we know it, would never have made it to present day 2023. Our ancestors were rough and tough, and without the internet to look up “How to dodge a bengal tiger” back then, the good Lord gave them the almighty amygdala to activate the fight, flight, or freeze response. The activation of these t...

Read story

“Dreams Change” by Avery S

Submitted to Contest #181

Tears fill my eyes, which are forced to a squint due to the elated smile occupying my expression. I made it, I think wholeheartedly. It was in this moment that I was consumed by the utter joy of achieving each and every goal I had once set for myself. I strut through my med school graduation ceremony as I feel each doubt and every fear that once existed in my head disintegrate into thin air. I had worked through never-ending tears, anxiety, missing out on the typical college experience, and the devotion of all of my time to the study of ...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

278

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 20, 2023 EST

Won by Aeris Walker 🏆

Title: Out of Place on the Appalachian Trail

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢