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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

“When East Met West” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #204

Molly “Their behind us Molly!” Jamie yelled. I felt his cold cheek on my sternum and turned his head forward. “I know!” I said sternly, sounding like my mother. I flicked the reins one more time just to make sure the stallion was giving it everything he had. I had just glanced up at the north star when I risked a look back. Jamie was right, behind us was a gathering of six lanterns. Called them all did ya? I thought. Sur...

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“Release” by Phoebe Marsh

Submitted to Contest #204

Every morning before the sun appeared, Harper found herself outside her small shop, sweeping the porch without fail. She exhaled, resting her hands on top of the straw broom. She’d still be sweeping this porch in forty years, fighting the endless battle with the sand. And what else did she have to look forward to? She had nothing but her candle shop. Her parents had died years ago, and this small shop with her tiny apartment above it was all Harper had left of them. Looking up, she could make out just a hint of the rainbow effect of th...

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“Starfires” by Paul Watson

Submitted to Contest #204

Clayton Connor strode down the boardwalk along West San Francisco Street. Behind him, the church clock by the Plaza struck six. Even at this hour, the streets were busy -– after all, Santa Fe was the territorial capital. A goods wagon racketed past, the horse’s hoofs thudding in the snow and mud slush. He knew people were eyeing him curiously. Unlike most men, he wore no hat or topcoat, so that the falling snow dusted his shoulders and bald pate. He did not feel cold, however. He had not felt the cold fo...

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“Murder, She Said” by Rachel Belville

Submitted to Contest #204

An ache rides up my tailbone with my thighs yearning to be rid of this horse. Not that Sally isn’t a good mare, but riding for hours on end is like a corset for the whole body. “Ahh, see there, Miss Jones?” Austin points to the town filled with horses, cowboys, and the same dust that had powdered my black gloves on our journey. “I see, Mr. Wilder. I do hope you’re ready for another rude welcome,” I say with a mischievous grin. He tilts his hat at me. “Yes, ma’am.” We reach the posts as I gratefully hop down from my horse and pat the ...

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“Peregrine White” by Amanda Rantanen

Submitted to Contest #204

As Susanna sat in her room watching the clock she kept smoothing down her billowy skirts and taking deep breaths. The Cuckoo Clock struck three in the afternoon, a little wooden door popped open, and out came two alpine dancers. They spun around, then quickly went back inside and the small door closed behind them. Normally, the amusing clock would bring a smile to her face but today she bit her lower lip, closed her eyes and waited for William to come back. She needed to have a serious talk with him. At last the door to the stateroom...

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“The Half Breed” by Liam Murphy

Submitted to Contest #204

The Half BreedShe was tall and moved in such a way that those watching her approach understood she was to not be meddled with. Part Cherokee Indian and part Mexican, she walked with catlike assuredness. Our small outpost of Graham’s Gulch was not a place that attracted many outsiders since the gold seam was mined out a dozen or so years ago. Strangers, especially lone young females, were greeted with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Fear held the upper hand as curiosity could lead one to a freshly dug plot in Boot Hill on the edge of town. B...

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“Dry” by Howdle Gavin

Submitted to Contest #204

The stranger rode into the desert town of Dry Gulch as the sun was setting, casting long shadows across the sandy landscape. The sky was ablaze with colors of orange and red, signaling the end of another scorching day. As he approached, the town's folk gathered around, curious about the arrival of this mysterious traveler. He was a tall man, with broad shoulders and a sun-beaten face that showed the signs of his many horseback journeys. His piercing blue eyes seemed to peer directly into one's soul, and carried with them a wisdom that only...

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“Mountain Picnic” by Madelyn Fried

Submitted to Contest #204

I never liked sand. It gets under your fingertips, your hair, and all over your darn clothes. My mother is constantly telling me to “brush that filth” off my dress, but it is impossible in this desert town. As Adam and I are walkin’ up the path, I can feel the sand diggin’ in between my toes. We stop in a clearing to shake the sand out, and we peer over the small town. I don’t got any memories before moving here, I was a youngin’. When we arrived, mother had gone to work in the saloon. In exchange, the owner let us sleep in the back wit...

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“Remember Us” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #204

At first, I thought it was a mirage. After walking for two nights of freezing cold and two days hiding in any shade, a boulder, a large cactus, my tarp to escape the searing sun, hallucinations may have joined in this taste of hell. My trip started on May 24, 1990. like most, a three-hour drive from one small town to another, recording information about America's dwindling small towns in the Southwest. I took hundreds of photos of dead or dying towns. I gleaned information from old newspapers in musty basements and interview people who sh...

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“Lady with a Lantern” by William Richards

Submitted to Contest #204

TW: death, some horror * * * The hospital was like the wild west. Diseases the bad guys taking people down. Doctors the sheriffs trying to make things right. Patients dying from lost shoot outs. And a sense of lawlessness. The fact that no one seemed to be in charge. The fact that things happened here that shouldn't happen in civilised society. People would be doing fine and then suddenly – flat line. The resuscitation team arrived and did their best but the patients would die. No one batted an eyelid. It's where I met the lady with a ...

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“The Stranger” by Lisa Mason

Submitted to Contest #204

The Stranger As the scorching sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the dusty streets of Thornwood, a hushed silence fell upon the old western town. The arrival of a mysterious stranger, bathed in an air of enigma, set the restless inhabitants abuzz with curiosity and apprehension. He rode into town astride a powerful black stallion, its hooves pounding against the worn cobblestones, as if announcing the stranger's presence with every thunderous beat. The townsfolk, their gazes fixated on the imposing figure, couldn't h...

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“Ride On Through...” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #204

Old Town hadn’t seen change for as long as it could remember and it didn’t know what change looked like, not until he came along that was. Some places fall into a way of things. A rhythm that feels a lot like the gentle beating of a heart. The residents of Old Town were in synch, their hearts beat as one. Everything had its place and there was a place for everything that was necessary for Old Town to circle around and keep doing its thing. That’s not to say that people didn’t come and go, because they certainly did. Those people were alw...

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“Personal Uber to Another World” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #204

The scenery along the deserted road in the Virginia-North Carolina countryside reminded me of some of the most haunting scenes from Deliverance. To add to the negative atmosphere on this road trip from hell, my least favorite Realtor office colleague sat next to me The stillness on this Saturday night made me feel like a solo mortician closing up shop after the last mourner following the wake of the least popular crotchety old man in the neighborhood. My fellow Realtor, Jill McIntyre, had a voice tha...

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“OPEN Sign” by Chris Francis

Submitted to Contest #204

I miss the clouds. I don’t know where they’ve gone but I wish they’d come back. They used to provide brief moments of shade or break up the monotony of the blue desert sky, add a darkened reprieve to the tan/beige monopoly of the ground. From the beginning of time to the end of it and now to here the land has always remained the same. The heat remains brutal, life teams beneath the hot sands, and the mountains fill the distance with imposing monoliths. But now the sky is a little more empty, and I wish the sun's friends would return. Becaus...

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“A Perilous Journey into the Enchanted Wilds” by Lintu Mol Louis N

Submitted to Contest #204

A long time ago, in a town settled at the foot of a transcending mountain range, lived a young girl named Mia. She was known all through the town for her kind nature and faithful generosity. Her eyes always gleamed with interest and wonder, mirroring the world as though she saw it interestingly. Her giggling resembled a delicate song, ringing out with an untamed fulfilment that touched the hearts of everyone around her. The town, encompassed by rich vegetation, held an old legend about a supernatural forest concealed deep inside the core of ...

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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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