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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#204: Wild, Wild West

The days of the old American West have long held weight in the collective imagination of storytellers. There’s a mythic power to it. Tales of survival, revenge, and itinerant gunslingers still draw us in, whether for a bit of adventure or to ask deeper questions about morality and philosophy.

The desolate desert landscapes, the struggles and conflicts between settlers and Native peoples, the wandering heroes, all these elements and more have inspired writers across genres, from George Lucas to Stephen King. Perhaps the best thing about a Western is its malleability and creativity: its ability to be set anywhere from America in the 1800s to a galaxy far, far away. So this week get your cowboy hats (or space helmets) ready as we go to explore the great unknown.

Plus, you're invited! 🎉

The second issue of PROMPTED, our literary magazine, is coming soon — and to celebrate, we're holding a live online event next Thursday! Find out more and get your free ticket right here.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a stranger coming to town and shaking up the order of things.

Character – 56 stories

Set your story in a desert town.

Adventure – 52 stories

Write a story about someone undertaking a long, dangerous journey.

Adventure – 39 stories

Write a Western-inspired story in a new genre or setting (e.g. a space western, fantasy western, etc.)

Fiction – 78 stories

Write a story about someone seeking revenge for a past wrong.

Dramatic – 73 stories

Stories

“The Ballad of Cactus Peat: The Rootinest Outlawn of the Wild West” by B.C. Licht

Submitted to Contest #204

The West, as you know it, is dead. No, it ain’t the Winchester repeating rifle that did her in. It ain’t the steel horse locomotive that did it either. Or the airplane, or cars, or any newfangled way of transportating from point A to point B. No, the West died doing what she loved best, watching men tear each other apart, limb from limb until the fiery, green hands of the atomic clock struck high noon. Life took a bit of a siesta to cool her strings in the nuclear winter before playing the next song in this cosmic symphony of souls we call E...

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“Dirty Dan” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #204

Buckeye, Arizona 1888 Dan Dobler slithers down Main Street spitting tobacco juice, his blind, milky left eye enhancing his threatening personality. Dobler’s poverty-stricken appearance and penchant for violence have earned him the nickname “Dirty Dan.” Townspeople find it hard to believe that the twenty-six-year-old Dobler is heir to Calvin “King” Coleman’s “King’s Ransom,” the largest ranch in Buckeye. A curious hound dog trails Dobler. He turns toward it, kicking it in the side. “Git away from me, ya mangy cur!” The dog barks angril...

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“A Change in the Weather” by Beth Peterson

Submitted to Contest #204

Eustace Grik sauntered down the dusty roads of Cedar Rock. With one hand comfortably resting on his holster, he took great pleasure in surveying his desert kingdom. There were no sultans or shahs on the wild frontiers of the Nevada Territory. But for Eustace, no title held more power than— “Sheriff,” an old man sputtered as Eustace waltzed into the general goods store. “Henry McClellan,” Eustace called out. He glanced around the half-bare shelves and unswept floors. “I’ve seen manure heaps in better condition than this.” “I’m sor...

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“A Disappointment” by Lyba Pinson

Submitted to Contest #204

I rolled into the town just before dusk, eyeing the shuttered windows and tumbleweed-laden earth. Dry like a handful of raisins. This was not what I had expected. Meeting that prospector in the foothills of North Carolina had seemed an answer to all my prayers. It hadn't taken me more than a few minutes to pack up all my supplies. I was always ready to move at a moment's notice, for the right price. It wasn't every day I got news like this. It seemed heaven-sent. I had been lost the last few years. Couldn't scrape together ...

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“The Last In Town” by Jake Fordyce

Submitted to Contest #204

Mattie stood at the bow of the caravan as its solar sails retracted and the momentum carried the enormous vehicle the rest of the way into town. She ran along the rail and cheered as the wheels that were as tall as her father rolled within an inch of the wooden sign that read “Welcome to Hazelmoor”. She bounced in place, then ran from side to side to look at all of the buildings as the vehicle slowed more and more.The caravan finally came to a gentle stop in front of a tavern. Hanging high over the double doors was a bronze sign, now fully g...

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“Near Death Valley” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #204

The warm desert air blew through Mia's dark hair and she smiled at some silly thing that Stevie said. In front of them, Route 127 unrolled across the barren landscape as they motored south toward Vegas. Scrubby land all around, purple mountains in the distance. A Neil Young song, Cinnamon Girl, played on the radio. Somewhere far south of a small town on the perimeter of Death Valley, they turned off the road and onto a dirt track and stopped. The late April sun slid down to touch the peaks of the valley mountains and leng...

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“Under Construction” by Evelyn Griffith

Submitted to Contest #204

The door was thick, brown, and it smelled like sawdust from the construction site across the street. Though that might just be the air quality in Arizona. I breathed in the smell, not knowing if the remnants of wood, powdered concrete, and dust would end up suffocating me, filling my lungs with gunk that the doctors couldn’t remove. That’s what happened to Pa. His death always made the world smell like chemicals, like asphalt and epoxy. The alley door was awkwardly placed, wedged between two brick buildings. It was too thin –like it had skip...

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“The Desert Gives and the Desert Takes Away” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #204

A dusty SUV pulled beside a gas pump. A couple, Scott and Judy, got out, looking just as dusty. He filled up the tank while Judy went inside, searching for a restroom."Over there," an old woman behind the counter pointed to the bathrooms."Thanks," Judy wasted no time. She really needed to go and had for over thirty miles.After Judy finished, she perused the aisles, not looking for anything but relishing the cool air-conditioned store. Theirs went out just before leaving Oklahoma. They could hardly believe their dumb luck. Here they were, abo...

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“Trial Through Desert” by Freedom Leigh

Submitted to Contest #204

The woods were silent as he glanced frantically around. Too silent. “Jesse!” The doctor’s voice quivered. “Where are ya, boy? You didn’t die out here, did you? I know it’s been a long time since I last visited you, but remember that knife I gave you? You might not remember me, but you don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m your dad, Jesse. I wish I would have come up here to visit you more, but I was so busy with all of my patients.” There was no sign of movement, nor any sound indicating the boy’s presence. “Come out now, Jesse. I need to talk ...

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“The Exchange” by Eric E

Submitted to Contest #204

For C.M.His fingers loosened around the pistol as he slipped it into the holster on his hip and his eyes scanned the tableau of destruction around him. To his left, an empty space where the one called Jenkins had been before, his cards on the table still face down; beside him, an empty space where the one called Fitz had been blown backwards, the toes of his boots grazing the edge of the table; beside him, his brother, whose head was down with his arms in L-shapes on either side of his ears. The cards and bottles and chips around the table h...

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“Finding Joy” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #204

Ambrose said, “What’s the point?” They scanned the unbroken desert stretching to the horizon. “If we don’t change direction, we’ll end up where we’re going.” “That is the idea, Ambrose. I told you, we’re not diverting. We’re going where we’re expected.” End of discussion. Josiah had nothing else to add. “But maybe there’s a better way. Look at that.” The sun hadn’t shown itself, but the sky shone brighter by the minute. “I see it. Need to go…” A dark line of a mountain range marked the boundary between earth and sky. One could almost think...

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“The Angels of Cascade” by Julie Clark

Submitted to Contest #204

It was high noon, and Sister Cadence walked toward the bat wing doors of hell.At least that was what the Reverend Mother usually called saloon doors. But that morning, after chapel, she had dismissed that reference as she handed Sister Cadence a thick envelope and package.“I need you to deliver these to Miss Pearl Arquette, the owner of the Brass Rail in Cascade. And yes, before you raise your eyebrows at me, I realize what I have called such establishments in the past. But Miss Pearl is doing God’s work and I do not believe the Lord cares w...

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“Marauders of the Plains” by John-Paul Cote

Submitted to Contest #204

SUMMER, 2199, ORIONIS STEPPES Arne and Frode looked out over the scene. Many bodies from both sides lay on the grass of the field, now bloodied by battle. It was bodies neither side could afford. The native Betorans’ numbers were dwindling because of the Great Plague brought by the settlers had taken many of them. For the settlers, the meteor shower had destroyed their ship and communications, cutting them off from space. They were alone. There would be no rescue coming. “We cannot keep up this fight,” Arne said. “Each time t...

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“The Man who Painted the Sky” by Deryn Pittar

Submitted to Contest #204

“Grampaw, wake up.” The high-pitched command dragged him from a dream where he’d been almost flying on his palomino while trying to paint the sunset. He stared at his granddaughter, banishing the nonsense of his dream and concentrating on her blond curls which bounced as she jumped up and down beside his rocking chair. “Mumma says you have to come to the table.” She grabbed his walking stick, cut from a length of black wattle, a tree under which he’d had his first homosexual experience. It reminded him every day how lucky he was to have a wi...

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“Custer's time warp disaster” by Michael Heavener

Submitted to Contest #204

With a snappy salute, Colonel G.A. Custer embarked with the famous Seventh Cavalry on what may have been the most fool-hardy mission in the western theater of the U.S. Army. They planned to march bald-faced into what, although they didn't know it, was the largest gathering of native Americans since the French-and-Indian War a century before. His commander, General Matthew Terry, cautioned Custer to rest his men as often as possible. Custer was well-known for daring escapades, but Terry, understandably nervous, tried to impress on the brash...

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$250

Prize money

298

Contest entries

94

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 30, 2023 EST

Won by Katy B 🏆

Title: The Ungentling

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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