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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

“Agua Rainha” by Jay DeBurgh

Submitted to Contest #203

Pulled underneath the water gasping for air, Jonah couldn't see what tightly gripped his ankles. He let out a huge bubble of scream with his last breath, while losing consciousness. "We need to wake him up and get him adjusted before the Queen sees him," the translucent-skinned woman said, prodding Jonah with a long finger as she glanced down her nose at him. The next human male to save their race. "Wake him, then test him. I want him to suffer like Grandpa did, it makes them grateful in the end." The junior guard nodded, and pres...

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“Fist-Fighting and Fine Dining” by Ethan Jarmush

Submitted to Contest #203

“Punch that rock.” Zenzu said Carl looked at the old man blankly. “Uh, no.” “Punch the rock, Carl. Only then will I know if you’re worthy of my teaching.” “You ask my family to send me all the way up here. I spend 3 harrowing nights trudging along only to be told to punch a rock when I arrive?” “Appears that way, yes.” Zenzu nodded. “How are you going to teach me the way of the…of the fiery…fist? What’s it called again?” “Way of the flaming knuckles,” Zenzu corrected “Yes that. How can you teach me if my h...

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“BUILT ON SAND” by Andrew Bell

Submitted to Contest #203

BUILT ON SAND “It’s a bloody El Dorado, mate.” “Yeah, we just have to figure a way to get rid of the Indians.” “Shouldn’t be hard. They’re all solo Mums, dole bludgers or surfies.” “Dole-bludging surfies at that.” “Oh, that’s a bit harsh, mate. Some of them work at McDonalds when the surf’s flat.” Bob guffawed through a mouthful of wine. “Steady on, mate, you nearly made me spit up a perfectly good pinot.” Ed plucked a piece of fluff off the right knee of his trousers. He looked up at Bob. “Seriously though, Bob, they’re pond scum a...

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“GO AHEAD, YOU FIRST,... ONCE UPON A SUMMER... ” by Robert Kovacs

Submitted to Contest #203

Dear YMCA Camp Director, I am trying really hard not to be emotional and ramble on, but please forgive me, as this is the first time my child will be left with anyone but family or school. I hope I made the right decision to send my child to camp, specifically YMCA camp, have you ever seen how many choices a parent must make when they send the child to camp? I am not yet a parent of a child, but I can assure the families I serve, placing a child in my care, I, foremost worry of the safety of both my campers and my staff and then I try t...

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“A Stranger” by Bridget Pierpoint

Submitted to Contest #203

“What year are you in school?” the lady with the tortoiseshell glasses asks. “Oh, I actually graduated from undergrad last month.” Alyssa responds, brushing a lock of honey-colored hair away from her face. “From where?” “Um, Harvard.” “Humph.” The lady looks down at her desk, breaking eye contact. Bravely, Alyssa ventures “Wait, what’s wrong with that?” “Did I say anything was wrong?” Mrs. Lawson shoots back, with a stern glare peering through her oversize glasses. “Well, no. But it just sounded like you disapproved…” Aly...

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“The Prince and the Jarl” by Joseph Peck

Submitted to Contest #203

WARNING: This story features several mature topics, up to and including implied threats of forced marriage/unwanted romantic attention, implied threats of violence, and an antagonist who is crazy. With that, let us begin. “Jarl Hal, please, this is madness!” A great oaken door was hurled open as an irate young man garbed in armor marched out of the room. His blue eyes brimmed with rage beneath furrowed brows, a snarl on his lips. His fair hair was in disarray. His suit of plate and maille clanked as he walked through the stone walls of ...

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“Two Conversations” by Teigen Bond

Submitted to Contest #203

“Hi honey.” Mom says. “Hi mom.” I drop my backpack on a dining room chair How did you mess it all up this time? You always find a way. My head whispers. “How was your day?” “Alright I guess. I’m tired.” I yawn, feeling the weight of the day in my arms, my legs. You’re always tired. Lazy piece of crap. I tell myself it's just depression speaking, and if I ignore it, it will go away. “How’s Amelia?” Mom asks. “She’s okay” She hates you. No she doesn’t, I insist internally. “How’s her painting coming along?”...

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“YIL-TAS” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #203

Content warning: World War II Pacific Theater setting, war violence, deathThe ground is trampled, the soil torn, bugs and tap-roots exposed. In a shallow pit, men are trapped. Bullets race invisibly over helmeted heads dripping sweat. To lift their heads would be to invite death. Not to watch their enemy would also be to invite death. Being in this place at all is inviting death.Yet they are trying to avoid death.One man inches up, rifle clutched against his body, any sound he might make overwhelmed by the unfathomable roar of war all a...

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“Up from the Underbrush” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #203

Tom Potenski had crawled through the underbrush of his high school career like a fugitive trapped in a never-ending forest. He faced an uncertain future with limited prospects and no plan on how to move forward. He had managed to bluff his way to decent grades at St. Jerome’s High School, particularly in English and history. He couldn’t see how this had prepared him for anything except standing in front of a classroom trying to jam som...

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“Schrödinger’s Baby” by Allan Bernal

Submitted to Contest #203

The first time the Memory seeped through was in freshman year of high school, sitting in 4th period lunch across from my girlfriend of two weeks, Ruthie. We had just learned about genes with the Punnett square, and I could see her doodling those boxes in her notebook, fantasizing about her future family. “Do you think our kids would have my curly hair, or your straight hair?” she asked innocently. “I don’t want kids.” – I never realized that’s how I...

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“How it all Ends.......” by M. M.

Submitted to Contest #203

I woke up three days later bruised and groggy from the painkillers they gave me at the hospital. The loudspeakers buzzed with the usual calling for Dr. Kildare stuff. With a tired hand that touched a throbbing face, my mind still cloudy. A face now bandaged and non too appealing. I lay back against crisp white pillows. I slept, only to dream about things left in the past that were so far gone then dredged up again. Faded memories I thought had all been buried. Until three nights ago........"Well look who's here if it isnt Jake Ryans. Long...

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“In The Eyes of The Stars” by Evan Halvorson

Submitted to Contest #203

They were drunk when they arrived. Roy felt the walls of the bar as they ascended the stairs while Lue tried to prevent the blood from fleeing his wounded heart. He imagined plugging its holes with his fingers, one after the other, in a fruitless pursuit to mend what he knew were terminal wounds. Roy sensed his friend’s destruction, fed off of the perilous energy, and used it to compel him up the stairs and into another bar so that they might both feel okay for just one night. The lights in the bar were like those of an old tv, seemingly fad...

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“Boys will be Boys” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #203

Charlie Summers' annual barnyard bash is the highlight of the school year. Every spring the school gathers on his parent's farm while they are on their annual Carribean cruise to get wildly intoxicated and partake in games and competitions. The defining characteristic of this high school festivity is the boxing. Anyone you had a problem with for any reason throughout the school year, you got to call out to lace up the gloves. If you were challenged, the whole school would drag you into the ring and not let you out. I just got challenged. I h...

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“Fight” by Ellen Neuborne

Submitted to Contest #203

Kayla was two exits from home when she got the text, delivered via her car speakers. “Fist fight in the weight zone. Please come back.” It was the calm, neutral, automated voice of her Honda, but in it, Kayla could practically hear the panicked shriek of her new assistant manager, Davis. That kid needed a lot more training. The afternoon shift shouldn’t be so challenging. Kayla pulled off the highway and made a U-y at the traffic light. She ignored the honks and hand gestures of her fellow motorists and gunned it back to Future Fitness...

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“THE LAST DANCE” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #203

THE LAST DANCE “Welcome, welcome. Come in and make yourselves comfortable. The others are all here”. Joseph Rosenblatt, dressed in his finest clothes, ushered his final two guests into the apartment. “Naomi, it is thirty degrees, this evening. You feel you had to wear your fur coat?” “Oh, I just love to have an occasion to put it on. I can’t help it”. “Well, tonight, you have chosen the right occasion. This is a special evening as you will see”. As Joseph slipped the coat off Naomi’s shoulders, he cast a g...

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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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