Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#217: Tropes

Last week, we revisited the old “show, don’t tell” rule. This week, let’s throw out the rulebook and have some fun.

In your reading, you’ve probably come across some recurring tropes. In romance, we’ve got star-crossed lovers, fake relationships, enemies-to-lovers, and happily-ever-afters. In fantasy, we’ve got Chosen One protagonists, reluctant heroes, and wise mentors. In mystery, we have unreliable narrators, jaded investigators, locked rooms, and remote settings. It goes on.

Subverting these tropes can be fun, but the tricky thing is that you need to do it for a reason, and in a way that enriches your story. Can you do it?

This week's prompts

Write a story about two characters who like each other but don’t get a happily-ever-after.

Romance – 91 stories

Set your story in a creepy mansion — except nothing horrifying takes place in it.

Horror – 64 stories

Write about a person who's been called to mentor someone in a special skill, but doesn't really want to.

Adventure – 27 stories

Write about a sleuth who’s a little too keen, but not because they have a traumatic past they won’t talk about.

Mystery – 10 stories

Write a story about a warrior who doesn’t want to kill the dragon.

Fantasy – 92 stories

Stories

“Draconic Taxonomy” by Cecilia Englishby

Submitted to Contest #217

It was a warm and sunny day within the city of Douphé’Zentol. Lush mountains rolled high in the south and west; miles of tall rock-face that held magicians, sages, mysteries and most important of all, Dragons!Their peaks glittered with verdant shades of green on blackish-browns, or brownish-blacks. It was unclear as far as the city was concerned, as was evident with the need for monthly meetings, with full blown arguments resulting every time. Aldrich always silently thanked his ancestors that his people had not needed to fight for anything ...

Read story

“The Love Eclipse ” by Charlie M

Submitted to Contest #217

Quick Disclaimer: Honsu is The God of The Moon, and Arka is The God of The Sun. Just wanted to clarify so no one was too confused.I held Honsu’s hand and laid against him as the trial was waiting to start. He laid his head on mine and breathed deeply, his way of trying to stay collected in front of others.I looked up at the ceiling, my breath calm and still as I closed my eyes, and the room began to get hotter and brighter as the light that was coming from my body went across the room in rays. I could feel Honsu’s body relax, as, even though...

Read story

“Abode” by Kathryn Kahn

Submitted to Contest #217

It wasn’t fully dark, but the light was fading. I stood on the porch at my grandfather’s front door, heart pounding and hands damp. Grandpa’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but it might be in the barn where he sometimes kept it. I wasn’t going to walk back there in the growing darkness to find out. No lights shone in the house. I rang the doorbell anyway. Nothing. I tried the door. Locked. I knocked, loudly. “Grandpa?” I called. “It’s Lisa! Are you there?” Everything was perfectly silent. I pressed my ear against the door, trying to detect an...

Read story

“Sunday Morning Drive” by Thandi Parris

Submitted to Contest #217

The suburbs constantly sing with the tinny buzz of lawnmowers. In the summer, suburbia sweats the smell of freshly cut grass- manicured lawns. The fall is for breathing out leaves needing to be raked.It was chilly for September, thought Miriam. She wiped the moisture from her brow and threw the rake down in disgust. She was angry at the leaves for still being soaked from the rain two nights ago. As the wind stirred again, she kicked the leaves and decided that her neighbor James could take over tomorrow. He already mowed her lawn in the summ...

Read story

“The Castaway Bride” by Christine Richardson

Submitted to Contest #217

THE CASTAWAY BRIDE “Land ho!” A desperate bellow, brightened by hope. Perhaps salvation was within our grasp and we would survive after all. I tightened my hold on the whatever-it-was that I was clinging to, and held my breath as yet another salty shower washed over me.. The night was alive with curses, screams and prayers. A bolt of lightning turned our darkness into day, and I caught a glimpse of two men wrestling with the great wheel of the Windrider, striving to keep her nose headed into the towering waves. I po...

Read story

“Thoughtful” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #217

“I don’t what you’re talking about fella.” The truth was not only did I know what he was talking about, but I did hear his thoughts. “This guy is bullshitting me. His sister said he would deny it and I can see it in his eyes.” I’ve never heard that one before. My eyes? Yeah, they may be the window to my soul, but I always thought they were blank. Someone in my family must have told this jerk off about my curse or what they call ‘my special ability’. I don’t know if they realize the noise volume or cacophony of sound I endure. That’s why I al...

Read story

“The Star and The Shadow” by Izahbel Willaims

Submitted to Contest #217

I feel my body aching, my vision blurred, and tingling sensation scatters across my body, my muscles numb.I feel new, fresh, as if waking from a long slumber. As if I had just been born for the first time. The sounds of crunching gravel catches my attention, and slowly approaches my weak body. I open my eyes, the room is dark, the soft glow of crystals providing a comfortable amount of light. But still my eyes remain unfocused, all I see are the meaningless colors of light blue gems and the purple-gray rock that forms the cave. But then a f...

Read story

“The Final Task ” by Megan Bacher

Submitted to Contest #217

I stood motionless as I watched seven large men lobbed ropes over the dragon's body. Its head rose ever so slightly as it took its final breath of air, savoring the element which kept it alive. The dragon's head then fell hard to the floor with a loud thud that shook the arena, and just as its eyes closed for the last time, I swore it met my gaze before its limp body melted into the ground. My classmate, Adwin, threw his bloody hands up taking in the crowd's roars of cheers. The elders looked unamused, keeping stern faces at bay. Adw...

Read story

“Sister Till Death Do Us Part” by Peter Stone

Submitted to Contest #217

“Hazel where did you put the money for this big man,” asked Ethel. The big man was Jason Watts a fourteen-year-old Mexican boy that had been adopted by the Watts family at birth. His dark skin was glowing from the sunscreen his mom had applied before he left the house. He had just mowed the Greystone Mansion’s lawn and reluctantly entered into the parlor to collect his pay.“Jason, do you have to drip sweat all over my nice clean floor? Asked Ethel as she pushed her walker closer to him. Jason had heard so many horror stories at the local sch...

Read story

“A Deal With The Dragon” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #217

There once was an ugly duckling … but this story isn’t about him.No, it’s partly about a dragon who was no picture either, but that’s the very nature of dragons really, isn’t it? Unless you’re another dragon, and then I suppose they may all have a certain allure.But I digress already.This dragon lived in the mountains, as dragons normally do. Like all of his brethren and sistren, he had a fiery temper to go with his fiery breath. The temper of this dragon was especially incendiary, however, and came from a sense of inferiority, which in turn...

Read story

“Agatha Christie--Not!” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #217

The decrepit door on the rundown building creaked as he opened it, almost falling off its hinges. The eerie light in the cobweb-covered interior revealed a long, dark corridor illuminated on each side only by a series of book lights, one every few feet. John’s girlfriend Jane had texted him a half hour before and told him to drive to an abandoned mansion on what had deteriorated into the seedier side of their small rural town. She had forwarded directions, one message at a time, separated by agonizing intervals of five minutes. Her voice so...

Read story

“Lover's Clash” by Ro Davis

Submitted to Contest #217

I remember watching him be pulled away by the officers. The dust floating up in the air from his shoes dragging across the sandy orange ground. Everyone in town gathered around and watched the love of my life be taken away from me, all for being wrongly accused of stealing an apple. Today I sit in my hammock that I have set up on the roof of my strong clay house. I look at the town, it’s beautiful as always. The sun rising over the horizon. The sky is lit up in orange, yellows, pinks, and a beginning of the beautiful blue which covers...

Read story

“Two Ways to Win” by Ashton Macaulay

Submitted to Contest #217

Two Ways to Win Penrose donned his armor, the polished metal sparkling in the early morning. After a night of lost sleep and sore elbows, it had better be sparkling. It wasn’t every day that you had the opportunity to become a knight of the realm. That most prestigious position was only afforded to a precious few. The title would change his life forever and move him far beyond the ranks of his traditional family status. Five years of practice, exams, preliminary rounds, and mandatory service. All that was left was one final challenge. Grante...

Read story

“Those Eyes” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #217

“Rebecca, would you like to join the others in a card game?” Her gaze shifted from the blue sky through the window to the lady standing over her waiting for an answer. Card game? What was she talking about? “Rebecca? Hmmm, what do you think? Want to play some rummy?” “No.” She returned her gaze to the bluest of skies letting the voice float away. It was the perfect color, reminding her of that day so long ago. Where was she? Leaning back, legs outstretched holding onto those chains she saw ...

Read story

“To Kill or Not to Kill” by Nicolas Roberge

Submitted to Contest #217

I was the only one who could do it. Why, you ask? Because I am the knight in shining armor. The hero of the people. The one who gets things done. So, I embarked on a journey, a quest. To deliver the castle of Mourne and save the town surrounding it from an evil dragon. The creature had made its nest there a few years ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to hunt it. After so long, though, I couldn’t afford to wait any longer. And nobody else volunteered to do it. I was the only one who could do it anyway. My travels took me through muddy roads an...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

130

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 29, 2023 EST

Won by Paul Crehan 🏆

Title: Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus?

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢