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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

“The Target” by Dane MillerHass

Submitted to Contest #203

The glare of the sun hit his opaque visor. The cyber cycle shot across the metallic highway, kicking up loose bits of steel here and there. The rider looked ahead, seeing the holosign that read "Exit 38A". Sweating profusely in his Scarab Combat Armor, he flipped up the cycle's rear view display. Nobody was behind him; just the empty stretch of freeway he had come down. Twisting on the cycle's handles, he careened down the exit, his tires going from the smooth silver of the speedway to the rough asphalt of the road. Sleepiness tugged at his ...

4 comments 4
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“The Sum of It All” by Bethany Schoech

Submitted to Contest #203

“Who is that?” Ben had asked me. My ears turned red from embarrassment as the slow recognition kicked in. She walked, no, stumbled more like, to our table falling into the centerpieces along the way. I always wished to see my mother again. I just never imagined it would be like this. How could she show her face, drunk, clearly on drugs, and on my wedding day no less? I didn’t even recognize her when she barged in. “If it isn’t my little one.” she hiccupped. “Your father always said you’d make sumfin of yourself but, I never saw it.” She swip...

3 comments 3
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“Going Over” by Nicki Nance

Submitted to Contest #203

Sky. Tree. Grass. Tree. Mud, Sky, Rock, Sky, Black.Sosy Michaels rolled, slid, and bounced to the bottom of the hill, and settled so close to the river that it drew her golden curls into long, lithe dancers gracefully moving to the music of the water. She was covered in blood, grass, and dirt.Silence, pain, buzzing, splashing. “You are the luckiest unlucky girl I ever met.”Sosy opened her eyes to a blue-eyed stranger in a flannel shirt and ball cap. She tried to push herself up, but a pain in her side gripped her. “I have to —”“Hold on there...

10 comments 10
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“The Flight of Annabelle Jennings” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #203

Based on the 1866 Memphis Massacre, this story contains violence, sexual violence, and child abuse.I saw my daddy fall to the ground, his eyes staring right at me, looking like two marbles but deep like the endless night sky. I wanted to run to him, but I was frozen in terror, breathless. Fighting filled the streets, nearly trampling me as I stood there gazing into my father’s eyes. A stray bullet bounced off the ground, grazing my calf. The sting of that hot metal slicing through my delicate skin was enough to break the trance and the sound...

1 comment 1
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“Whispers of Resilience: Reclaiming Light from the Shadows” by Abby Leighty

Submitted to Contest #203

In the quiet solitude of a small town, a young girl named Lily grew up with a heavy burden upon her shoulders. Her childhood was marred by the presence of an abusive mother, whose heart had turned cold and indifferent towards her eldest daughter with each passing year. The once tender love she held for Lily had withered away, replaced by anger and resentment.Lily's world was shattered at the age of six when her mother forced them to uproot their lives and move to a large farm house that belonged to her grandmother. The new surroundings were ...

4 comments 4
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“Childhood love” by Neha Gosavi

Submitted to Contest #203

Susan and Nat were friends since their childhood. More than friends, their parents were cousins and Susan’s uncle and Nat were neighbours. Every summer vacation Susan used to visit her uncle. Her cousins used to join her for almost a month. They used to go the farms, pluck mangoes from the trees, hit the bee hives and collect the honey, play since morning till late evening. They used to enjoy having their dinner under the stars. Other kids from the locality used to bring their food and join Susan and cousins for dinner. Nat was a studious k...

0 comments 0
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“Mr Llewellyn” by Dean Rielly

Submitted to Contest #203

“I’m going to be going away for a while I’m afraid, Billy. Your bitch of a mother has been cheating on me.”   These were my father’s words that come to mind any time someone asks me: 'What led you to work with underprivileged families?' Their tone often carries just a hint of disdain toward the whole endeavour, if they realise it or not.   'You're braver than I am. I can't fathom dealing with those filthy dysfunctional people. They must all be druggies, wretched things!'   I mean sure, some struggle with addiction, but i...

2 comments 2
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“Where's the Mailman” by Michael Renteria

Submitted to Contest #203

      The morning smelled of rain and petrichor, and the sun stretched far and wide, peaking its bright orange light through the clump of clouds. It reminded Dave of his childhood: walking, hiking, and biking through his neighborhood in the summer making his way up the Franklin Mountains. In the mountains, there were different trails to venture off through, and Dave hiked through them all. It was on one of his hikes that he knew that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. His uncle always said, ...

3 comments 3
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“The Rotary” by Evelyn Griffith

Submitted to Contest #203

The buzzing was faint at first. Quiet, but annoying, like a fly just far enough away to know that it would soon dart by his ear. He never did like house flies. They made him wait, the suspense of it all grating on his nerves before he’d swat at thin air, realize he was alone, and start the whole process over again.  The buzzing started that way, making him reach for one of his favorite fly swatters, but an hour went by, then two, and as he made his third cup of morning coffee, the buzzing became as present as if his phone alarm were co...

6 comments 6
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“Jack & Jack” by Clyde Laffan

Submitted to Contest #203

Jack & Jack Even before the gnarled knuckles of his brother’s right hand grazed the side of Jack's nose, Jack knew his brother Jack would hit him. Luckily for Jack, his reflexes were fast enough for him to roll his head back and miss the king hit. Jack's brother was blood red with rage and anger. Fair enough, figured Jack. From the outside, what he'd done was brutal but, in Jack's opinion, necessary. What surprised Jack was his brother's left knee, which was raised, so when Jack swerved to miss the fist, he drove himself into his bro...

3 comments 3
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“A Fight For Jersey” by Alex Joyce

Submitted to Contest #203

A Fight For Jersey They met the girl that changed their summer coming home from a concert.  On that hot North Carolina night in a convertible on the highway, David Herb and Vinny DeFazio pulled into a massive gas station that was lit up like an airport.  They had gas but were in need of snacks and beer.  When they returned to Vinny's car they couldn’t believe their eyes.  There was a dog in the backseat.  The dog was sitting up right, ready to go, all but buckled up.  Dave spoke first, “Dude, is that a dog?...

1 comment 1
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“The Atheist” by Alexander Hanna

Submitted to Contest #203

Having had its doors locked hours earlier, the parking lot of the church was empty. The night sky was clear and the moon was bright and full and lit the suburban landscape blue and white. The air was still apart from a small breeze every now and then weaving its way through the leaves of the trees. In the middle of the church parking lot, a single car sat parked. The engine softly buzzed as a young man leaned back in the driver’s seat and listened to the sound of the cool air coming out through the vents. He blankly stared out the windshield...

0 comments 0
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“Diamond Despair, Dusty Delight” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #203

PROLOGUEIn the midst of a not-so-ordinary day, under a sky as moody as a stubborn mule, uniformed superheroes - including firefighters and police officers - converged around a boy who looked like he just emerged from an unexpected plunge in a pool. They saw a peculiar object on the pavement nearby; it looked more like a dummy than a legitimate corpse. Almost instantly, a vehicle came zipping down the road. From it popped a couple who seemed to have just stepped off a movie set, looking all dramatic and dishevelled. Likely the boy's parents, ...

2 comments 2
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“A Woman's Role” by Beatrice Gomes

Submitted to Contest #203

It was the best day of the year for now 11-year-old Sofia: her birthday. She was surrounded by her relatives and classmates singing “happy birthday” to her. She was the centerpiece, the star of the show today. She stood at her stage at the head of the dining table with her chin almost held up high. Father stood across the room, his glazed-over eyes aimed in the general direction of the table. As the small crowd wrapped up the song, the birthday girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. Sofia cherished this moment when the world ...

0 comments 0
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“The Deadly Swipe” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #203

Myrah crouched as close to the ground as she could against the metal cylinder.  She hoped they could not see her, but that also meant she could not see.  She could smell the trash can beside her horridly, but she feared the horror that it would expose her to if she didn’t hug onto it.  There was a breeze in the air and it was a sunny but not too hot day.  Of course it was a sunny but not too hot day.  No one goes to the local park if it is not a sunny but not too hot day and therefore.  And on a sunny but not to...

2 comments 2
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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