#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

“Woof” by Cassidy Caldwell

Submitted to Contest #23

Shelby hated walking the dog, almost as much as she hated her mother.Here was the routine: Shelby would be sitting in bed, minding her own business, when her mother would come in and yell, “Time to walk the dog!”, to which Shelby would groan, sit in bed for a few more minutes, and then give in to her mother’s demands. “It’s your job while you’re home on break,” her mother would retort. “It’s the only thing I ask you to do.”Today was particularly dreadful, though, due to the blizzard that was taking place outside their home. Shelby begged and...

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“Yukionna” by Rose Buckingham

Submitted to Contest #23

Howard drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, a rhythmic patter that didn’t quite fit with the music on the radio. He sighed and straightened his arms, locking his elbows out in an attempt to ease the tension in his neck and shoulders, although nothing ever really dispelled the aches and pains anymore, and the cold was settling into his joints as though they themselves were turning slowly to ice. The windscreen wipers swept begrudgingly across in front of him, affording him a brief view of the back end of the same car he’d been sat ...

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“The peace of a winter walk” by Veronica Keuchel

Submitted to Contest #23

I saw my breath puffing out like a surge of tiny clouds indicating it was time to brave a trek outside to gather some wood out of the shed. My wool sweater and heavy blanket had kept me unaware of the dip in temperature. In contrast, I lost myself in the book propped up in my lap, the giant tome that told many fables about the Fae enthralled my imagination. I had to set it now aside and go to the front door to take on the long process of putting on snow pants, coat, mittens, hat, and heavy boots. I proceeded to the outdoors, struggling throu...

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“Impossibly Soft” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #23

Owen was excited. The weather forecast the previous night had for once been correct. The British winter had finally produced something other than hours and hours of disappointing drizzle and half a dozen snowflakes that ended up cold sludge moments later. Overnight a decent amount of snow had descended, covering the whole of Owen’s neighborhood in a fluffy, white blanket. So far since the thick fall there had also been no drizzle, the skies surprisingly clear and blue. Professor Owen McCloud could finally test his latest invention. Timing wo...

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“Magical Trees” by Cassidy Caldwell

Submitted to Contest #23

The cup of hot chocolate balanced on my knee had exactly four and a half marshmallows in it, just the way it should be. They were the giant kind – the kind that made absolutely no sense to put in hot chocolate because they were just too dang big for the cup. But that’s the way he was.The half-marshmallow was from a bite taken out. I could hear his words in my ear, Because why wait to enjoy them? as he would stuff one of the marshmallows in his mouth, eat half of it, and then plop the other half into his cup. It made no sense to me. It didn’t...

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“Into the Unknown” by Alaina Logan

Submitted to Contest #23

Moving. Different country. We have to leave ASAP. We understand you're disappointed. If we don't leave now, Mom and Dad will end up in jail, and us two will be in an orphanage. Or worse, Aunt Mett's house.Those were the words my older brother Jim used to describe what was happening. Mom and Dad were always busy packing, selling, or donating our things.I didn't have much of a choice. There was Sweden, our Danish(and very prim, strict) Aunt Metallise, or an orphanage. Which was worse? Mom and Dad admitted if I was that distressed I could stay ...

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“Not So Cozy Cabin” by Aha Blume

Submitted to Contest #23

Winter had come in with a vengeance. Somehow, I made it up the road. Visibility was bad, but I could see the cabin in front of me. I hoped that there would be roaring fire, and I could settle in for the night. Finally, I made it to the door. I knocked. “Hello?” I called. She had said that the door would be open. She was supposed to be here. I reached for the doorknob, and thankfully the door opened. But there was no roaring fire waiting for me. And she was not waiting. I stepp...

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“As Fate Has It” by Cory Pines

Submitted to Contest #23

Shaun started out the window of his small log cabin. It was the middle of winter, and there was still no show on the ground. He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at the lack of cold weather. He wondered if this was global warming's fault. Usually, he didn't mind the fact that it didn't show. Shaun wasn't the biggest fan of cold weather, especially since he moved out of his parent's house, but something had changed. About six months ago, Shaun went to see a fortune-teller. He didn't believe in such things, but his sister did and s...

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“Snow in the Morning, and then in the Afternoon, Evening and Night, and then All Week Long” by Nathaniel Schwartz

Submitted to Contest #23

Snow in the morning is a most curious affair. One sleeps well and wakes the next day just as they did the day before, but after yawning, rising, stretching, and drawing the curtains, one finds a world drastically different than the one in which they slept so peacefully the night before. This experience is much the same in the country and the city, as trees and barns tend to blanket themselves in the pure stuff just as easily as skyscrapers do, and the steady sound of flakes upon the roof is just as soft in the cottage as in the townhous...

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“Snow (Reprise)” by Boston Chandler

Submitted to Contest #23

He hauls the beast from the woodlands to the town. He felt poor calling a deer a beast, for deer are good spirits of the forest, but during hard times it is easier to call many things beast. His family waits for him. They are not starving but they are hungry, they haven’t had meat in a week or so. There was a snow the sky had during the hunt, made it harder to track the beast. But track he must and track he did— tracked it down to the furthest place you can go down— tracked it down to death. Calling it a beast made it seem heavier aroun...

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“Birthday” by Leanne Mara

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #23

“He should have eyes. Here.”“What’re those?” “Rocks.”“I can’t give him rocks for eyes.”“Sure you can.”“I won’t. Wait here.” I will. Wait here, that is. I think all I’ve ever done is wait—not that I’ve been at it long. I wasn’t, and then I was. And then I waited, and finally you came. You and your sister, tumbling and slipping and stumbling, working very hard to roll and shape and stack me. You’ve given me a good, sturdy body, just so. And long straight arms—though they don’t seem to do much—and a scarf around my...

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“Invisible” by Elvinna Ali

Submitted to Contest #23

At dawn, she wanders aimlessly around the snowy streets of Surrey B.C for hours on end. I've seen her confusion and I've felt her despair. I've searched for any indication of life in her eyes but all I see is a vacancy of numbness. Like every other day, I stand outside the large manor where the girl I fell in love with lives in. The weather this morning is sunny and partly cloudy although I don't feel warm nor cold. The sidewalks and driveways are blanketed with 4 inches of snow from last nights snowstorm. The breeze has calmed down and...

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“WINTER WONDERLAND” by Sophie Davis

Submitted to Contest #23

The world was frozen solid, her fingertips were frozen solid. As she shuffled slowly across the glassy pavement, she noticed that she had been loosening her arms so that the thick coat slipped halfway down her body. The sharp sting of cold air prickling against her delicate skin felt euphoric. She had walked far from home and yet she was exactly where she wished to be... no more yelling, no more screaming, no more monsters, just the simple shock of frosty air and the numbness that trailed closely behind. She was walking faster now, willing t...

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“Miracle on Morton Street” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #23

My friend Annabelle, who means well, bought me a tea-towel last year, only it’s not the kind of tea-towel you dry up the pots on. I mean, you could, I don’t doubt it was perfectly serviceable, and not like one of those ornamental teapots that don’t hold water, but it was obviously designed to be decorative, not functional. And not merely decorative, but inspirational. It had that little tale on it about footprints in the sand – you know, where it turns out there was only one set of footprints at the hardest times because ...

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“April Snow Showers in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia” by Camill Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #23

Close your eyes and think of the Christmas season. I bet your seeing snow, pine trees, twinkling lights and giggling children sitting on Santa Claus’ lap. Now, with your eyes still closed imagine these words worked into your thoughts of the Christmas season. Imagine the Christmas season being hot, dry, with sand instead of snow and enough sun to bring a sunburn just as fast in December as it will in July. Doesn’t sound like Christmas on television, or that most people are familiar with does it? That’s because it’s my Christmas experience and...

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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...