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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#203: Back to Basics

If you’re signed up to the Prompts newsletter, you’re probably interested in writing short stories — and love getting emails from people called Laura. With that in mind, I have a recommendation for you...

Editor Laura Mae Isaacman offers a free, 10-day email course on How to Craft a Killer Short Story. She has edited literary giants like Noam Chomsky and Joyce Carol Oates, and her course breaks down the principles of short story writing into manageable chunks.

This week’s prompts take cues from Laura’s tips and examples, taking us back to the basics of storytelling, and can help you brush up your short story skills alongside the course.

This week's prompts

Write a story during which two conversations happen simultaneously.

Dialogue – 28 stories

Write about how a single event affects a seemingly unrelated area of a character’s life (their friendships, career, romantic relationships, etc.)

Character – 35 stories

Write about two friends getting into a fist fight.

Angst – 31 stories

Write a story that experiments with tone — perhaps a difficult subject dealt with in a playful way, or an ostensibly happy scene that hints at darkness lurking beneath.

Short Story – 63 stories

Start your story in the middle of the action.

Short Story – 69 stories

Stories

“Tonguing the Underpinnings Between Venial and Mortal Sin” by Éan Bird

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #203

Bless me, F. Scott Fitzgerald, for I have sinned.I fucked— oops. Sinned again.Seems I forgot to holler in advance of adult content. Please permiss my clumsiness. And my blunt diction. It's been a hot minute since mouthing confessionals into tight boxes. Take heed:Fore! Ho! in future progression.Allow me to begin again: Bless me, F. Scott Fitzgerald. I might have sinned. You see, I found myself involved in a little predicament--a "rhetorical" triangle, as you call it. Several years ago, I borrowed a book from a teacher's shelf. Wait, pau...

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“The birthday boy” by James Larder

Submitted to Contest #203

‘How many times?’ Angela asked her husband, as she stabbed the sixth, skinny candle into the oversized birthday cake.‘I don’t know.’ Steve mumbled, as he pierced the wrap on the pack of paper plates with a steak knife- Pealing it away and crunching it into a ball, before tossing it on top of the granite worktop.‘That many then?’ Angela said, as she put the pack of candles back on the side. Steve stayed silent. ‘Are you not going to put that in the bin?!’ Angela then asked, acutely.Steve looked at the clear, crumpled wrapper on the sideboard....

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“Fallin' Apart at the Seams” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #203

Walking through the halls of West Wherever High School was never one of my favorite things. I was big enough to not get bullied, most of the time. I was brash enough for people to be wary of, most of the time. I was solitary enough for people to wonder why.While most people walked through the halls to meet up with friends and share a two-minute laugh between classes, I raced through them to avoid those encounters. I’d enter a classroom, find my seat early, open my books, appear ready for class, and hope that those efforts would divert my tea...

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“The Taking” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #203

Serial #1: The Taking (This is the first of a serial written for this prompt, not published.)____“William, wake up.” Carol was jostling me. I hadn’t slept long; the room was still dark, shadows just before dawn. “What?” The alarm showed 5:12 AM. “Someone’s in the house. The living room.” Carol pulled me in tight with both hands. I could tell she felt scared. Really scared. I didn’t wait. The bedside table on my side held a small .22 revolver. The only time I’d ever fired it was in a half day lesson I took after the riots ...

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“Maknae” by Eurae Muhn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #203

*cw: transphobia “So you see, Officer Brittel, that is why–-” So-Yeon, who perpetually suffered from cotton mouth whenever she was nervous, paused to dislodge her upper lip from her gum line, where it was presently stuck. It was the unfortunate result of saliva evaporating from her mouth at impossible speeds whenever she was uncomfortable. There is no discreet way to unhook one's own inverted lip. But it had to be done, as consonants--including those required to say the name of her potential employer--were becoming increasingly difficult t...

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“white boy” by Colleen Ireland

Submitted to Contest #203

“White boy, white boy, whatcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when they come for you?” “Claire, STOP! Not funny or appropriate….” “What? He’s white, a boy, and you called the authorities, so..” “Claire, can you not? How can you joke about it?...” “You know dark humor’s my go-to in stressful times. It’d be yours too if you had a stepdad like mine.” Kenna twisted her face, “Ew. True.” Gripping the wheel tightly, Kenna turned onto the street leading to the private community entrance where she had seen him earlier, distressed ...

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“Sweet Justice” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #203

The trail of devastation is clear, the evidence becoming more and more compelling the further into the crime scene I step. I move with careful stealth, to ensure that nothing is disturbed, careful not to move a single piece of evidence. I am not going to blow this by rushing through the scene.At the epicentre I stand and turn, a slow lighthouse, to study the scene with a practiced, veteran eye. This is not my first rodeo. There are traces everywhere: a crumb, a discarded wrapper, a knife that lay where it dropped, a broken plate. I...

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“Club of the Grotesque” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #203

Flea markets: the Mecca of antiquarians and hoarders alike. The first search for underpriced antiques hiding among the worthless junk. The latter uses them like a drug addict uses needles, the hunt and acquisition of more stuff gives them a high. Lying in the middle of these extremes are average people: the garage seller, the poor, the stingy, the bored. However, there is a minuscule amount of people who can’t be put into any category. A group that shouldn’t even exist in polite society. Chad McDoon belonged to this group. A rear breed of gr...

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“In Counter” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #203

It was only a coffee. Could it have been any simpler? Decaf with skim milk and Stevia. They didn’t have Stevia; they only had Sweet n’ Lo. No big deal, she’d said. Fine, the waitress replied. Fine, again. Why had she had to say fine twice? Jenn wasn’t that hungry, and she told the waitress as much. The waitress asked twice, Can I get you anything else? And twice Jenn said, No thank you. Twice. The first time she said it with a smile. No thank you, I’m not hungry. &...

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“The Midnight Inferno” by Janie Holliday

Submitted to Contest #203

The roof collapsed in on them. Flaming debris fluttered down from the hole in the ceiling. The two young women cowering inside the building stared up in horror, though they couldn’t see anything through the rising smoke. A shrill scream ripped out from one of their mouths, but it got lost in the commotion outside. Shouts and screams filled the air, combining with the roar of the flames and the cracking and collapsing of the nearby buildings. “Go, go, go! We’ve gotta get moving!” the one who’d been silent shouted once her senses returned...

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“A Note on Cleaning and Maintenance ” by Georgie Lewis

Submitted to Contest #203

A Note on Cleaning and MaintenanceBy Katherine WestermannDear New Owners, Mr. McJay, always the professional, wearing the kindly whatever-you-prefer-ma’am smile of a true salesman, dissuaded me from meeting you, or any of this home’s prospective buyers in person, so we are perfect strangers. Let me introduce myself: Elsa Frip; ninety-eight years young; never mind the cane, never mind the palsy, make no fuss about The Eye! The Eye has been a problem since 1934 when I mistook rubbing alcohol for water and cooked some brain...

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“But Miss Editor -” by 💮 Honey Lillith 🌸

Submitted to Contest #203

Foreword: If you're looking for literary skills, this story is not for you, but if you're looking for a bit of fun and some nonsense, then I am happy to say look no further; You've come to the right place.Hey, Miss Editor, I don't think that's fair. (I had to warn them somehow, didn't I?) It's making fun of my 'literary skills'. (Your literary skills? I'm the one writing this.) That's insulting! I may be just a character on paper right now but I have feelings too you know! You think you just created me out of thin air? (Where else would you ...

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“Cleansing” by Sophia Gavasheli

Submitted to Contest #203

Every Sunday, we watch someone die.This Sunday, as usual, every seat in the arena is filled because all residents of the Community are required to attend the Cleansing. I fidget in my hard plastic seat, muscles tense, eyes on the pedestal at the center of the arena where the Governor should appear any moment. Next to me, my best friend Alena slouches in her seat, eyes flickering across the thousands of people in their seats. As if death doesn’t hang over us like a veil, suffocating every soul. It’s definitely hanging over my dad, who lo...

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“Front Desk” by Susan Whitlock

Submitted to Contest #203

“So, what should I put for the address?” the chubby boyfriend, introduced as Trevor, asked. He stared at Brenda with glazed, muddy brown eyes. “Excuse me?” she replied. She raised her head to answer his hundredth question. “I don’t really have an address. I never filled out a job application before. Do I put where I stay in Ada sometimes, or my girlfriend’s place here in Neosh...

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“Experience” by Racer Goddard

Submitted to Contest #203

His sword clashed against mine. I didn’t want to do this, but I knew I had to. I knew I had to do this because I couldn’t let more people die. I love him with my soul but he doesn’t understand what will happen if I don’t do this.My sword was pushed against his as I stared into his black eyes which were once a deep blue. I didn’t want to kill him, but I have to.I have to.I push a little harder and his sword slips. I quickly take my chance and plunge my sword deep into his chest.His body hits the ground with a loud thump, and I can’t do a...

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$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 23, 2023 EST

Won by Kris Hawkins 🏆

Title: Echelon

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!

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