#23: Winter Wonderland

By the time the holidays have passed, and the first week of January is in full swing, it's impossible to deny one fact any longer: winter is here.

Shorter days and colder temperatures often mean more time spent indoors writing. This week, we suggest you sit by a window and let the wintery world outside inspire your newest piece of short fiction.

This week's prompts

You go for a walk in fresh snow. Suddenly you realize you're not leaving any footprints.

Fantasy – 128 stories

Write a short story that takes place in a winter cabin.

Winter – 76 stories

A busy city is quieted by a big blanketing of snow. Write from the perspective of two (or more) characters who live there.

Winter – 51 stories

Write a short story about someone experiencing their first winter.

Winter – 31 stories

Write a short story about people stuck in traffic during a blizzard. There's nothing much to do but wait, and talk...

Dialogue – 67 stories

Stories

“New Beginnings” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #23

They say after every rainstorm comes a new beginning. So what about after a snowstorm? During the night, a thick layer of snow blanketed the city, keeping the skittish inside. The city looked anew, tarnished with a brand new white layer like a blank slate. The streets and sidewalks were clogged with snow, making it impossible to travel anywhere--including work and school. Every citizen awoke that morning with the same thought: ‘I am not going outside today’. Well, almost every citizen. I stared through my apartment window laced with a thin f...

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“When it snows, it blizzards.” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #23

“I think I forgot my keys,” I say. When I turn around to go and fetch them, I suddenly realize that I didn’t leave any footprints in the snow. “Oops, I might even have forgotten my body.”I walk back to the office, and indeed: there I am, sitting behind my computer screen, still trying to figure out how to fight global freezing. Watching myself I must admit that my wife is right. She always complains that I do look like an old, scattered professor. I wonder if she still loves me.“Come on,” I tell my physical self, “It’s time to go home.”“Is i...

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“The Being Dead Thing” by Sophie Sharek

Submitted to Contest #23

The hearse was a stark black line against the snowy white of the horizon and surroundings. A man with a curling mustache and brown, stained loafers sat in the driver's seat, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. He particularly hated the cold, and the heater was on full blast, purring like a kitten in the dim atmosphere of the hearse. The snow was falling in thick sheets and the man had to fight to keep his line of sight intact; the windshield wipers moved lackadaisically on their path across the glass. There were three bodies in t...

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“Red Skies, Until Further Notice ” by Bree Kokiri

Submitted to Contest #23

The sky above Untergang Falls was veiled in a rich blanket of reds and purples. It was a brisk December morning, just like the one before, but this one felt different. Oskar Fredrikson pulled back the curtains of his son’s guest bedroom window, and stared up into the clouds. “Dårlig. Veldig dårlig…” He mumbled. “What’s bad Farfar?” His granddaughter, Sophia, climbed up onto his lap. “See those clouds over there? See the deep red? Bad. Very bad. Means evil is afoot. When I was a boy, my village in Norway was attacked by one of ...

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“An Unlikely Stroll” by Morgan Douglas

Submitted to Contest #23

It was the second night in the row where the snow was falling. An ordinary sight in the Rocky Mountains during winter time. December had just descended, and I was getting excited about the holidays that were coming so soon. For my family was going to be coming in for Christmas to visit. Upon looking out the window of my little townhouse, I decided to walk out into the snowy night and take a nice stroll through the park nearby. It was a bit of a hassle, being that the snow was coming down harder and harder it seemed as I was walking down the ...

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“We like you” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #23

The wind is whistling through the trees overhead- no, it’s screaming. Screaming through the trees overhead, and I can’t feel my feet any more. My cheeks went numb within seconds of leaving the hut, and I wish I’d taken that as a hint to stay behind. “Regretting you came now?” Lucas bellows in my ear, reading my mind as he so often seems to do. If he wasn’t so scary it’d be kinda funny. “I’m fine.” I’m not, but I ain’t gonna let this lot see that. I chose to come with them, and I’ll deal with it like a man. “Hah! Hear that everyone? Thinks co...

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“The Inescapably Fated” by Issy T

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #23

The cold and I are not best friends. Nor are we enemies. We are friends that catch up once every year but have no need or want to be in constant contact. When they arrive, I embrace them with open arms, looking forward to our much needed reacquaintance but when it is time for them to leave, we part happily and readily. We are currently towards the end our of encounter which is why I was rather begrudgingly putting on my shoes to go outside. Everything was crisp; the light, the snow, the air and sun. A white glow emanated from every angle of ...

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“The Rabbit” by Caroline Ryder

Submitted to Contest #23

As a blizzard roared and tormented the people in Beaver Creek Colorado, a cabin stood tall against the groaning wind and glassy snow and ice. Little did anyone know that the scariest storm was not the blizzard, but the one taking place behind the pine of the cabin walls. A family resided in that cabin for the week. They thought a week away in the Colorado woods would be a good way “to get away from it all”. Mistakes and harsh words were said that contributed to this voluntary mess of a vacation. With the bitter cold lurking into the cabin, t...

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“Snow Journal” by Dana Orr

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #23

SNOW JOURNAL - ENTRY 1Waking up to see snow is one of the most incredible things.And especially as a 13 year old girl who rarely gets to go outside. My name is Emily. And I'm an orphan.I don't get to go outside much simply because the hag that owns the orphanage isn't exactly the nicest woman. But I understand that if she let one of us go outside, she'd have to let us all go and that's probably not a good idea. Some of the boys here would give her trouble.My best friend Margaret, she's 17, says she is becoming poor. And that she might lose t...

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“Hearthstone” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #23

We weren’t expecting the blizzard. “If we don’t leave before 4 a.m. Blake, there’s no point in us going,” Charnika said to me. We had not left for the cabin so at that moment we were more concerned about traffic. A few snowflakes to close out the winter, we expected. Thanksgiving, Christmas, the new year had long passed months ago. We were embarking on the Spring. Embarking. Some trees had started to bloom. As usual, the coyotes were on the prowl. We saw bear cubs in the distance. And the rare black fox. Or maybe just rare to me. And de...

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“Wood Smoke” by Tori Caskey

Submitted to Contest #23

Jagged white flakes tumble to the earth, collect on the wood piled beneath the cabin’s frosted window. Fuel for the only remaining source of heat since the power went out. Carmen extricates her grip from the back of the puke green couch and faces the spacious living room. A circular rug spans between her, a matching recliner, a stone hearth, and oak shelves displaying antique cookbooks and a tiny wooden train. Viola returns from one of two other rooms, a sweet fragrance mingling with that of charred timber. Her arms are loaded with two mugs,...

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“Nevermore” by Migelin Benel

Submitted to Contest #23

“Why do I never listen?” I said out loud as fresh snow tumbled down the dark heavens. Through my flashlight, I could see my words and breath form mists as it met the chilling air. The local weather man said to stay in doors as this would be the coldest night in Manifest’s history. But then again, Manifest was a tiny boring town so the folks here dubbed everything as a first. “Oh, he is the first Asian in town. Oh, the first to drink a milkshake out in the cold. I can go on and ...

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“A walk in the park” by Sam Kirk

Submitted to Contest #23

Today, I woke up with a raging headache, unable to attribute it to anything. After all, I have been sober for 99 days. Back in the day, massive headaches were a regular occurrence. A bottle of Advil never left my nightstand. The moment I would open my eyes, I would grab three or four pills and chase them with a sip or two of water. No matter how drunk I was, I always made sure to go to bed with a tall bottle of water nearby.Last night, I got home from work, ate dinner from a box that I “cooked” in a microwave, watched the news, and went to b...

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“Angel Blood” by Amanda Olmstead

Submitted to Contest #23

“There’s angel blood in that one.”The men whisper as I pass, my bucket of water icing over as I make my way home. Everyone else unlucky enough to be out in the cold trudges through knee-deep snow. I skim lightly across its glittering surface, leaving no trace of my passage. Angel blood. Da says that was what she was, but for a long time I’d simply thought it the ravings of a hopeless romantic. Down in the Southern kingdoms there had been no snow to reveal my true nature. We had lived peaceful, simple lives. There the whispers had all been pi...

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“The Nunavut daemon” by Roko Krmpotić

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #23

No word sets fear in the hearts of Nunavut tribes' elders like winter. For many other words come along with winter. Hunger, desperation, cold, death. Everyone recognizes it as the season when all evils break loose and plague the poor Inuit people. What they all fear, however, never bothered you in the slightest. You find yourself rather fascinated by winter, you might even consider it your favorite out of all the seasons. When winter comes and the air grows even colder than usual, an unimaginable force urges you to abandon ...

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$50

Prize money

353

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 10, 2020 EST

Won by Angeliki P 🏆

Title: Pied Piper

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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#23: Winter Wonderland

This week's prompts

You go for a walk in fresh snow. Suddenly you realize you're not leaving any footprints.

Write a short story that takes place in a winter cabin.

A busy city is quieted by a big blanketing of snow. Write from the perspective of two (or more) characters who live there.

Write a short story about someone experiencing their first winter.

Write a short story about people stuck in traffic during a blizzard. There's nothing much to do but wait, and talk...