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!

#225: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

From Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection to the speaking mirror in Snow White, mirror images have always been a popular motif in literature, commonly used to introduce questions of identity or self-consciousness. But they can also be used to create a split between reality and illusion: is what we see really the truth, or are our eyes — or indeed minds — playing tricks on us? Taken one step further, one might even argue that texts themselves are a reflection of their author and the world they inhabit.


This week’s prompts invite you to reflect (pardon the pun) on topics of self-image, twisted realities, and outer appearance that may or may not capture what’s going on beneath the surface.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone buying a cursed — or perhaps blessed —mirror from an antiques store.

Fantasy – 74 stories

Write a story about someone trying to paint (or otherwise create) a self-portrait.

Character – 66 stories

Write a story about someone coming across their doppelganger.

Mystery – 48 stories

Write a story about a character who one day notices that their reflection has taken on a life of its own.

Fantasy – 50 stories

Set your story in a house of mirrors and make the atmosphere increasingly eerie.

Horror – 42 stories

Stories

“Burnout” by Sabrina Hauer

Submitted to Contest #225

Not again... Anna’s hand tightened around a paint-stained brush. Before her stared an angry red face with splotches resembling burns. The urge to stab the image bubbled up from inside her. “Everything alright?” Came a voice next to her.Anna faced a young woman whose borrow was furrowed. A brush daintily dangled between her paint-stained fingers. “Oh, yeah, it’s just...” her voice trailed off as she stole a glimpse of the canvas in-front of the other woman. It was almost as if someone had placed a mirror in-front of her, h...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Rorrim ” by Grace Ray

Submitted to Contest #225

It's been months since I last picked up a brush. Seven months, in fact. Seven months gone whirring by like a montage of sunsets over a riverbank. Seven months since I was in America, with Julia. Seven months since I was in love so deep in consumed me; until I ended it. Now I've confined myself to a hotel room in the Netherlands, watching snow fall beyond the aged yellow curtains from a musty twin bed. The view was bleary, and I couldn't tell if the distortion was from the thickness of the windowpanes or the fog behind my eyes. Time...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A Portrait of the Sketch Artist as a Young Man” by Warren Keen

Submitted to Contest #225

He couldn’t care less about catching criminals, but there wasn’t much else for an art school dropout to do around here. He snickered at the thought of having “artist” in his job title. Not once did he ever envision having a piece hung up in some gallery. He only went to art school to piss off his dad. As a kid he drew to distract himself from the fact that he was distracted. As a teenager he drew girls to get girls. That’s why all the criminals he sketched had feminine eyes. He could never figure out how to draw a man’s eyes. When they cam...

1 comment 1
Read story

“You Da Man” by David Worrell

Submitted to Contest #225

WHO DA MAN?        As a trial lawyer, albeit now retired, Dave was accustomed to talking - a lot. He would talk to clients, court personnel, partners in his firm, and others who were involved in the judicial system. He would talk on the phone and talk in court when attending hearings or trials. He even signed up to give continuing legal education talks to other lawyers. So, it came as no surprise to him that, after retiring and moving to a small farm some twenty miles outside of town where he lived alone, m...

2 comments 2
Read story

“It's A New Dawn, It's A New Day” by DeBorah Evans

Submitted to Contest #225

     She was one of those girls who was born beautiful. At 17 years old, she had matured into a smart, classy, kind, and friendly young woman. Not only was she popular, she was President of the Student Council and Valedictorian of her senior graduating class. Boasting a 4.0 average, and holding down an after-school job as a production assistant at the town’s local newspaper, she was destined for great success. As if all of these accolades were not enough, she was an usher at her church, an up and ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Window” by Madison Davis

Submitted to Contest #225

My days blur together. Every day is the same. Wake up, take a shower, eat some breakfast, read a book, watch TV, and go to bed, over and over again. It may seem boring but I prefer my days this way. Predictable. Easy. With a slight haze to my vision. No doubt the drugs my doctors give me to keep me calm. I have crippling anxiety. At least that’s what my therapist says. Because of this, I spend my days in this repetitive manner. It calms me. Keeps me grounded in my reality.  One of my favorite parts of my day is when I walk past the...

2 comments 2
Read story

“True Reflection” by Honey Perez

Submitted to Contest #225

“What if there was a magical mirror? One that can predict your future depending on the path you choose to take, would you use it?” Maggie thought about the question. Would she? Life hadn’t gone in the direction she wanted. She’s working at a warehouse, which she hates. She’s in a loveless relationship. And to top it all off she’s stuck in her childhood home. Enduring the constant criticism from her mother.Could she believe something like that existed? Maggie searched her best friend’s eyes for any signs of deception, but all she saw was sinc...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Jealous of Myself” by Christopher James

Submitted to Contest #225

"Have you ever noticed how that same homeless guy sits out there every day? The one with the dirty gray hair." I say to Jessie, my coworker as he mops the floor of the Seven-Eleven we both work at.  "Beats me, man. There are always at least a couple of homeless people hanging around here. They think somebody will throw them a bone I guess. What's got you so interested in that dude anyway?" Jessie says without even looking up at me.  "I don't know. Everyone else out there seems to move along eventually, but he never seems to leave...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Killer Mirror” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #225

“I’m a huge fan!” “I get that a lot.” Eunice was shivering inside her large fur coat, eyebrow raised, watching Barry drop his pen. “It’s cold in here,” he said, “I expected something more, you know, glamorous…” Eunice smiled behind her oversized sunglasses, “Yeah, well, welcome to showbiz.” The studio for weekly music show ‘Jamboree’ occupied the hollowed-out space of a frosty Victorian church in north London.  1967 was both the best and worst year for ‘Jamboree’ and what happened to The Freeway Girls during the live performan...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Twisted Reflections” by The Singing Ghost

Submitted to Contest #225

Eddie was sitting in his middle school's cafeteria, programming a website on the computer the school gave him for assignments. It was a Chromebook, but he had installed Linux on it, since it could do so much more than Chrome OS. He was coding a forum website for a video game he liked called Void of Souls. It was pretty obscure– so obscure that he couldn't find any online communities for it– so he had decided to make one himself."Hey, want to go to the carnival with us?" Eddie heard Connor say behind him. "It just came to town a few days ago....

2 comments 2
Read story

“Metanoia” by Paisley Bird

Submitted to Contest #225

Enter to Receive Your Wildest Dreams, these words etched in stone above the door frame. Stark and cold, the concrete house sat in the loneliest part of the desert. It was rather small for a traditional house, it was more like a large shed, only sheds do not typically have candles lit around their opening. It was known as Metanoia, the Greek term for a transformation of the heart.  One could not see the delicate flames from far away, they only become visible within six feet of the entrance. As soon as your eyes meet the blaze, a chilli...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Mirror Mirror ” by Debra Demars

Submitted to Contest #225

Lena Crosby lingered in her usual spot on her way to work--same as she had done every morning--for weeks. She liked to stand directly in front of the antique shop's large glass display window. Her eyes glued to a small silver framed mirror.      The shop had just appeared one day, it seemed. "They must have moved in over a weekend," Lena remembered thinking. For the longest time, she had walked past an empty storefront every Monday through Friday, on her way to the small plumbing supply company where she worked ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Day the Mirror Appeared” by Connie Hieb

Submitted to Contest #225

The Day the Mirror Appeared                                                                                    Connie Hieb 11.1...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Reflections” by Jim Mccleery

Submitted to Contest #225

Reflections “Reflections are not lies, but can be very deceptive. The eye of the beholder must choose to decide if what they see is really as it is supposed to be. Glamours, illusions, mirages all look real from some angle. Perspective is the key to wisdom of one’s true self. The essence of one’s true reflection can’t be seen with mortal eyes.” Unknown The inscription was carved in the bottom of the bulky Maple dark wooden frame inlaid with a massive mirror.   Finn come look at this. It’s insane. I look at the mirror from the left s...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Silver Fish” by Sae Luy

Submitted to Contest #225

Late in the evening, Adam left the tall office building. He was wearing an expensive, sleek suit and fashionable eyewear. He carried the weight of a leather briefcase—a reminder of the successfully concluded contract.Waiting for a taxi, he rubbed his eyelid and took a deep sigh. Despite the triumphant culmination of the recent deal, he didn’t feel lighthearted.Adam took out his phone to check where the taxi was when he noticed an unread notification. It was nobody but his jobless friend, aka freelancer, who’d sent another weird link to some ...

0 comments 0
Read story

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 24, 2023 EST

Won by Olivier Breuleux 🏆

Title: The Day Alfred Googled Himself

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

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

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 ⭢

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.