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!

#195: Sidekicks and Second Strings

Growing up, I was never a huge fan of superheroes. Maybe because I didn’t really identify with the grand, brave acts and main-character energy of the likes of Spider-Man, Batman, or even Sherlock Holmes. Instead, I was partial to the less flashy, secondary characters: the Watsons working quietly behind the scenes, the bassist in the band, or the defenders who quietly keep the team from conceding points, while the quarterback gets most of the credit.

This week, I want your stories to be an ode to the unsung heroes, the underdogs of storytelling, and the small acts that, collectively, can be just as heroic as catching the bad guy or defeating evil in one grand swoop.

This week's prompts

Set your story in a staff room of an essential profession that is often undervalued — nurses, cafeteria staff, sanitation workers, etc.

Character – 51 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a sidekick, or someone who is happy to stay away from the limelight.

Character – 87 stories

Write a story about someone who receives — or makes — a life-changing, anonymous donation.

Dramatic – 23 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Dialogue – 27 stories

Write about someone who is learning to recognize and take credit for their own achievements.

Character – 18 stories

Stories

“Empty Heart” by Jack Gorzo

Submitted to Contest #195

A wave of fog gently crashed onto the cobblestone streets of Cortland, New Hampshire. The weather had just begun to turn towards autumn and the inhabitants of the tiny town were tucked into bed. The brick road beneath a flickering streetlight subtly changed color from orange to gray and back again, over and over with no discernible pattern. It was the dead of night yet a single figure lumbered down the middle of the street. &nbsp...

Read story

“Square Root” by Adrian Hayes

Submitted to Contest #195

“Beep, Beep, Beep” the sound went on in succession “Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep” so ingrained was the tone she hadn’t noticed it had stopped. So occupied was her mind, abuzz with varied thoughts of the tasks she wanted to complete, and the tasks she must complete. “Miss, are you alright?” The clerk asked as she fell back into the present. “Madam, did you hear me? That will be 1200.79 Francs.” Waiting patiently the clerk eagerly watched her reach into her pocketbook, and slid out the correct amount of currency with expediency, rushing her ou...

Read story

“The Great Emerald Heist” by Steven Smith

Submitted to Contest #195

No boy ever learned the concept of justice right off without the whipping post. Elective goodness seemed too complicated, too many fruits of temptation not to slip into vice and transgression. The trick, it seemed, was to sidestep a whipping or a clout to the head. Taking something that didn’t belong to you—many parents agreed on that sermonette--just wasn’t done. Walking the path of thievery was risky. You never knew if some stout mother lying in wait with a wooden spoon might lay a purple knot on your coconut.Sin and sanction seemed a...

Read story

“Bingo” by Maya Mason

Submitted to Contest #195

Trigger Warning: This story contains several brief references to physical violence, medical trauma and repeated profanity. “What are you doing?” Matteson asked as he strode into the break room. Matteson’s right hand absently traveled to the radio on his waist and turned the sound down as far as it would go. General break room etiquette. “Why Matteson? You want in?” Smith mumbled. “I don’t know. Just being polite I guess. I really just want to heat up my lunch.” He reached into the fridge and the fridge light poured out. The break...

Read story

“Deorbiting” by M. Youngblood

Submitted to Contest #195

Deorbiting, unbeknownst to common earthlings, is a tedious process. For those who have never left the home planet, let me describe it to you—You are born. Your parents, members of the successful elite, impart a potent ethic of ambition unto your psyche at an early age. You attend school, where this ambition grows. A teacher encourages your potential, and others follow suit. They even go so far as to write recommendations and letters spewing your prowess, and you begin to feel as though you might, in fact, amount to something. You are accepte...

Read story

“Sophy” by Shirley Horwich

Submitted to Contest #195

When I was a very small girl, we had a big grandfather clock. It stood in a sort of alcove on the landing and on one side of it there was just enough space for me to wriggle in and hide. The shiny brass pendulum would swing back and forth, back and forth with a steady regular rhythm and I felt safe in my hiding place beside the grandfather clock. But then I grew too big for the hiding place, and I had to go to school. I would go each morning holding my big sister’s hand but once there I was on my own among all these other little children and...

Read story

“"I Hope the Nickname Sticks"” by Jonathan Daniels

Submitted to Contest #195

"I Hope the Nickname Sticks” I knew that I did not belong on the stage but there I was, on the far left side in the back row of fellow middle schoolers dancing their hearts out. I was dancing my heart into palpitations. It wasn’t because of the physical excursion. It was from the sheer terror of messing up and everyone seeing it. Thankfully, I was as inconspicuous as someone could be on a stage, almost sinking into the black draping curtain, constantly behind the sharp line of kids to my left and out of sync with all the other students. ...

Read story

“Carl ” by Peter Gerber

Submitted to Contest #195

“Mr. President, the country is under attack. Several military bases along the southern border have confirmed hostile UFO sightings. Initial reports seem to suggest they are 2 meters long. Extended limbs. Elongated faces, no mouths, and crustaceans for ears. All of them carrying what seems to be a downsizing weapon, where everything they point at, immediately shrinks 100-fold. We immediately shared information with our allies around the world and they are also suffering from this surprise attack. Cities across the world are gone. Paris, Budap...

Read story

“Edward Goes To Camp” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #195

Edward sat on the front porch reading Doc Savage novels and playing make believe. He wasn’t hiding from his parents or his older brothers, but he was hidden from the neighborhood. This part of the porch wrapped around the side of the house and Edward could not be seen for the overgrown bushes and hedges. He sat on the double car seat that substituted for deck chairs and imagined he was leading a group of five companions on adventures. He didn’t imagine he was Doc Savage, but rather his own creation of a hero that wore a permanen...

Read story

“A Beautiful Death” by Kathleen Manarang

Submitted to Contest #195

I died in a car crash. It’s not what you’d call beautiful. It was gory. It was messy. It was tragic. It wasn’t the way anyone would want to die, nor hope to be reunited with a lover, but it was what fate had in store for me. Julia broke up with me months before I died. She was ill, and she said to me, “I’m dying, James. You deserve someone you can grow old with – have kids and grandchildren and share a lifetime with. I can’t be that person.” I wanted to take care of her. I wanted to stay by her side until her last breath. I...

Read story

“Critical Inaccuracy, Chapter 3 of 7 - Trust is a Double-Edged Sword” by Jared Meeks

Submitted to Contest #195

It was just another peaceful, solitary, dreadfully droll, spring afternoon. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, yada yada. Only, today was not just a typical afternoon. For Wyril... "Ah... Well, that's enough of that.", said Wyril, as he finished stretching, and stood up from his bed, "I won't get anywhere just lazing around all day. With that said, no good work is done on an empty stomach.". Wyril stepped out of his room, and into the kitchen/dining room, hoping to find something good in the fridge, though knowing it was wishful thin...

Read story

“Lucky” by Amanda Goeppner

Submitted to Contest #195

Raina looked over her shoulder as she turned her back in the snowy parking lot to lock up. From the backseat of her Saturn she got out her scraper and began to work the ice. Inside the car’s engine growled, shaking its steel frame as she sat there hunched in a shaggy black overcoat. The pumps were deserted. The car wash was closed up tight for Willie who they let sleep inside with his dog. Just as she was about to pull away she saw a figure coming towards the gas station. It was Gean. Raina cursed under her breath as she watched him approach...

Read story

“Two Journeys, One Path” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #195

The man strode with purpose through the bustling street, resolute and unwavering. The traffic lights dared not impede him, nor did the chaotic rush of vehicles, each blaring their own cacophonous tune. For his mind was set on one destination, a place where he could finally lay to rest the unbearable weight of his pain.And thus he tread, each footfall bringing him closer to his aim. Yet he paused for a moment when he stumbled upon a towering tower, the very one he had once set his sights upon. He tilted his head back and beheld its spire stre...

Read story

“The Original ” by A.J Roberts

Submitted to Contest #195

"I am not the original, but I do carry her memories." The clone thought as she gazed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her long brown hair mimicked a lightning bolt victim. She reached for a thick handled brush while she contemplated her situation. "The original was a secret rebel writer who was kidnapped and executed. No one ever noticed that she left for the grocery store and never came back. I was created and programmed before the execution. The government discovered the ...

Read story

“The Teacher's Lounge” by Larry Parks

Submitted to Contest #195

The teacher's lounge had a lot of scars on the wall. It served many functions. It was a sanctuary, a stress reliever, a boxing ring, and even a bunker. There was a gun threat one year, and the entire support staff locked themselves in the teacher's lounge. The walls were painted a pale white that had begun to peel. There was an old leather sofa, a microwave, and a round table in the middle with three chairs, two of which rocked side to side because the legs were uneven. In front of the sofa was a coffee table with coffee cup ring stains, and...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

206

Contest entries

92

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 28, 2023 EST

Won by Geir Westrul 🏆

Title: Untold

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 ⭢