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!

#184: Technical Difficulties

If you’ve ever experienced technical difficulties, you know the boundless frustration it can cause. Glitches, bugs, constant buffering, or — worst of all — no connection whatsoever; these small inconveniences can throw our days off balance (and make us want to pull our hair out). Taken to the extreme, technological failures and a breakdown of the internet infrastructure could have far-reaching and devastating consequences on a global scale.

This week’s prompts are inspired by technostress and issues of connectivity, inviting you to take your frustration out on the keyboard — or even imagine a world without the internet! 😱

And psst! While we have you, remember to check out your free digital copy of PROMPTED — a new literary magazine, featuring winning stories from weekly Prompts contests just like this one, edited by Reedsy professionals.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying “Houston, we have a problem.”

Dialogue – 41 stories

Set your story during a complete city or nation-wide blackout.

Thriller and Suspense – 52 stories

Write a story about a character who is experiencing glitches in their reality.

Mystery – 81 stories

Write about someone who has chosen to disconnect and live an analog life.

Character – 36 stories

Write a story where a character has to decide whether to press the button or not.

Science Fiction – 70 stories

Stories

“This is Starfinder” by Matt Francis

Submitted to Contest #184

“Houston. This is Starfinder. Captain Jay Thomas here. We…uhh…we’ve got a problem here.” Silence. Well, not quite silence, seeing as the back half of my ship is gone, along with my first mate. Cooper, my only friend on this side of the galaxy, is now lost, most of my supplies have been destroyed, and Starfinder, the one thing keeping me alive out here, has been rendered a burning, screeching, almost useless hunk of metal. But the radio has certainly never been quieter. “Houston, I repeat, this is Starfinder. Major problem; ple...

Read story

“The Apollo Mission” by Sara Whisler

Submitted to Contest #184

“Houston, we have a problem.” “It’s not funny. It’s never been funny.” “Come on, Houston.” “I know you’re upset, but it wasn’t your fault.” They looked down. On the bottom of a custom-built perch was a beautiful, dead parrot. “Do you think my boss is going to care? I was supposed to take care of Apollo. I had one job.” “Technically, two.” “If we don’t figure this out, I’m going to have no job. Please just focus, Eric.” “I’m focused,” Eric said. He laughed but tried to cover it with a cough. “I’m going to lose my job and you’re laugh...

Read story

“When Darkness Falls” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #184

“We are all of us, afraid of the dark” he says it sadly, as though he’s delivering a terminal diagnosis, and in a way, he is. “When we’re kids, yeah,” snorts Philips. Now he’s lazily shaking his head with an economy that makes it all the more striking, “we still are. Every last one of us.” “How do you work that one out?” says Philips, disdain dripping from his words, disdain and the beginnings of aggression. There is a threat here, but it’s pathetic. Philips is showing himself to be that bully-in-waiting and I wish he’d shut up. I disl...

Read story

“The Darkness ” by Tameka Blackwell

Submitted to Contest #184

Hello, hello, can anybody hear me"? Yells Bryan as he tremors in fear of the darkness "NO one can hear you!" Kelly said while pacing back and forth, trying to figure out a plan to get out of the Darkness and to some light. Stuck in the city of Tennessee in the middle of nowhere. Bryan reached into his pants pocket to grab his phone; when he opened it, he noticed it only had 3 bars left. While he knew that 3 percent of a battery wouldn't last long, he smiled and shined the light on Kelly. "Look, we have some light," Kelly's...

Read story

“Sassy” by Molly Kelash

Submitted to Contest #184

CW-slight hint of suicidal thinking, some swear wordsSweet sax strains of "Stormy Weather" swell and fall, taking the edge off my aching loneliness for a moment.But my classic jazz downloads fail to distract me from my level six pain this morning. They never help with pain, but I like to tell the few people I still talk to in the flesh other than doctors that they do, that music is a pain management strategy, a mindfulness tactic I employ alongside my daily rainbow of drugs. These caring folks crease their brows, nod ooh and a...

Read story

“Memories Like Smoke” by Carmen Grey

Submitted to Contest #184

Arya Locke glanced down at the knife in her hands. It trembled slightly and she tightened her grip.Thinking too hard could seal her fate. Thinking too little was just as deadly a mistake.She walked over to the window, in reflection.Dusk was arriving on slow currents, the sun setting: a distant orb of orange. The sky hueing to dimmer shades, fading down into the grey buildings and the few sad trees, with green heads bowed in their lonely sorrow. The only ones sentenced to this monotoned and strangely empty street.She hadn’t always hated New Y...

Read story

“Troxler Effect” by Phineas Andrews

Submitted to Contest #184

19th December 2022. I watched the soccer match that would forever be earmarked in history books as the most unbelievable game to ever take place. Kylian Mbappe had just scored against the Argentinian team. It was Kylian’s 11th consecutive goal against goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, with 15 minutes still remaining on the clock. The Frenchman was on the cusp of being the first person in history to score a quadruple hattrick in a singular match.The game was deplorable, and I couldn’t help but think how this may be another prime example of the c...

Read story

“Make All My Mountains a Road” by Kristin McDavid

Submitted to Contest #184

Ady felt the drain from months of traveling, but knew that clarity was just on the horizon. When you spend extended time alone, it has a way of bringing a brightness….inspiration even. Her final stop was just hours away, the Sanctuary of Asclepius. Greece had always been on her list of travels, and somehow this journey, work related but also deeply personal, finally led her here. As the guide droned on about the distant mountains of Attica, Ady reached into her bag to look for her itinerary, and pricked her finger on...

Read story

“A Cut-Rate Date” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #184

Arthur held his cell over his restaurant menu texting. “Could you stop that please?” Paulina said. Arthur looked up to see her giving him the crossed arms. “Sorry.” He put the cell down on the table as he could not bring himself to put it away entirely. “Anyway, I felt awful when Halls Investments fired you. I thought I’d give it a decent amount of time, and then I wanted to invite you out, because I missed chatting with you.” “I resigned. The place was making me sick.” &n...

Read story

“On-Hand Off-Grid, Part One” by Steffen Lettau

Submitted to Contest #184

Jerome had enough. After five long decades of working the industries, watching technology take over almost every aspect of a laborer's life, he felt that now was the time to retire and live out the remainder of his days in analogical solitude. Now, Jerome wasn't against technology. Far from it; he would get any electronic device to utilize in his life, whether it was contacting old friends or fixing up his vehicle. Cell phones, computers, laptops, pads and pods, electronic music players, and battery-powered tools were brought into his hom...

Read story

“Click Click Boom” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #184

5:15 p.m. Reminder for September 25, 2161: Do you want to send the video message? Cinia stared at the “yes” and “no” buttons on her computer screen. The decisive moment had arrived. The office was silent except for the cool air blowing through the vents and the hum of the fluorescent lights. All that remained was her and this decision whether to say “yes” to the reminder on her screen. Her stomach twisted as she looked out of the window. She could see the glow of the spatial anomaly burning like a second sun in the sky. Where did it lead?...

Read story

“Collector's Item- A Fable Of The Future” by Richard E. Gower

Submitted to Contest #184

Paulus Cranshaw stared at the rows of numbers on the curved panoramic screen in front of him and felt a sweat break out under his armpits. His predecessor, damn his exactitude, may have been correct. There was a potential imbalance in the stats and it was deadly serious. It was the largest discrepancy Paulus had ever seen in his almost thirty years with the department. He still had doubt about the accuracy of his findings. But the numbers couldn't lie, could they? Double-entry accounting was one of the few systems that had survived pas...

Read story

“The Feline Urge” by Alyeska Salinas

Submitted to Contest #184

Before I fell asleep, Maxwell, Lucy, and I were still in our apartment. I was preparing for a much-needed nap under the rays of the setting sun, too sleepy to care for the debating between my people. "We need to get out of here, Luce," Maxwell said in a hushed tone, almost as if he were worried about who would hear him. "What about Nox? There's no way I'm leaving him here." Lucy responds, and I can feel her gaze as she speaks. "I still have an anesthetic for him somewhere," Not daring to open my heavy eyes, I only hear Maxwell r...

Read story

“Green eyes” by Anthony Harding

Submitted to Contest #184

I awake upon hearing the tear of the duct tape from across my mouth, ripping across my lips. The rope loosens around my ankles and wrists, and I rotate them slowly in my new found freedom. There’s still darkness in the musty, damp room I look around, squinting to make out the shadows my paranoia sees in every corner. “It’s just me.” A rich voice echoes around the chamber of a room and I turn to face my kidnapper.. “Why- why did you take me?” My voice trembles as I choke back a sob while the kidnapper muses with a light-hearted hum, the tune ...

Read story

“Instruction Manual” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #184

Please read carefully…Congratulations on your purchase of the device from one of our many fine dealers! We do not yet offer the product in the regular chain stores, so your purchase must have taken place through the many new and wonderful franchises now growing and thriving across the nation, soon around the world. We thank you for your interest.As you inspect the device, it is necessary to remind you one more time that once you decide to use it, it is a one-time deal. No money back guarantee is offered on a used device, unless you decide to...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 10, 2023 EST

Won by Michelle Oliver 🏆

Title: All the Lonely People

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 ⭢