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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#230: In a Flash

I’ve been reading a lot of flash fiction recently. It’s a great format for close study, as its compression forces writers to question the function of every sentence.

Since there are many lessons to be learned from reading, writing, and thinking about flash fiction, I thought we could make it the focus of this week’s contest. To be clear, this contest accepts stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words, but this week, I’m inviting you to try and stay as close to the lower limit as you can. Our usual word count range is still the official guideline, and stories that are closer to 3,000 words will not be disqualified — but I hope that with flash stories in mind, you’ll feel inspired to be as economical with language as possible.

Not sure how to begin? Check out our best tips for writing flash fiction.

This week's prompts

Write a story framed by a single scene: something happens, a flashback or inner monologue intervenes, and then the story ends with the rest of the original scene.

Narrative – 90 stories

Write a story in which a character achieves a new level of clarity about how they’re really feeling.

Character – 57 stories

Start your story with someone uttering a very strange sentence.

Dialogue – 52 stories

Write a story that hides something from its reader until the very end.

Mystery – 101 stories

Write a story in the form of a list.

Narrative – 62 stories

Stories

“Cheesemergency” by Olivia Lake

Submitted to Contest #230

Mondays are not peak cheese selling times, I thought to myself as I opened my store. I resigned myself to a slow morning when a woman entered that I’d seen once before. I had just flipped the sign mere minutes ago from Closed to Yes, We’re Open! She rushed in with her head down and her cheeks pink, her shoulders slumped, her spirit broken. “Can I help you?” I asked as she approached. I noticed she was carrying a bundle. She didn’t meet my gaze but started straight down, and I could hardly make out her mumble: “I’m so sorry,” she began ...

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“When Opposites Attract” by Mikayah Parsons

Submitted to Contest #230

I. “Your favorite novel is Lolita?” I don't miss the way her lips tug down disdainfully. I shrug, speaking around the lollipop in my mouth. “One of many.” “Right.” The look in her eyes tells me she doesn’t believe me, and it sets me on edge. As a matter of fact, everything about this posh, preppy princess of a girl makes me want to gouge my own eyes out with a soup spoon. She rolls her lip under her teeth before speaking. “Have you ever been down to the lake?” I roll my eyes because everyone has been down to the lake, but h...

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“Safety Off” by Ben LeBlanc

Submitted to Contest #230

Mark was on the way to history class when it happened. As the four notes of the fourth period bell sounded over the PA system, the halls of Pioneer Valley Public School came alive with the bustle of students migrating between classes; the squeak of sneakered feet on linoleum, frenzied chatter, the random prepubertal yell or feminine squeal. Mark sighed, and the low-grade anxiety began to flutter back into his chest. He hated crowds. To him, people were merely obstacles to get around, beings whose continued existence held only the p...

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“White As Snow” by Keith Menendez

Submitted to Contest #230

Mario marched to his room and stood in the doorway. Sandy followed. The ladies tiptoed down the hallway to eavesdrop. He said, “Sandy, how many closets are in this room? Now, look at the placement of the closets. Where are they?” Sandy looked intently at the wall. “Three. One is at a forty-five degree angle on the left. The next two are parallel to each other on a flat wall.” Mario pointed. “On the right side, the wall again changes to another forty-five degree angle.” “I’m getting a headache.” Sandra complained and caressed ...

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“Paradise, 2017” by Zyn Marlin

Submitted to Contest #230

Hell looks like four wicker seats around a low coffee table in the open-air lobby of a paradise resort.The Cozumel evening is warm, with a gulf breeze brushing gentle fingers against my bare arms and face and bringing the faint smell of salt and fish and someone’s coconut sunscreen. Round light fixtures in the varnished wood-plank ceiling above us and strings of bulbs outlining the boardwalk back towards the condos cast a soft, magical light by which my three-year-old daughter is coloring pictures at the table. Her wavy brown hair, loose aro...

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“Five Tarantulas in a Teapot” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #230

Funny, how places aren’t places, as much as they are times. I let the thought ripple across my stream of consciousness, as careless and as casual as a sea breeze. I look at the blooming hydrangeas before me, then reach out to pluck one of the pastel petals between my fingers. Yes, places aren't places, as much as they are times. Lost in thought, I study the flowers that grow here — lemon daisies, sunflowers, toad lilies — and admire how each flower adds a touch of wild beauty to my grandmother’s garden. Every step I take shifts their sh...

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“The light switch ” by A. Torrecilha

Submitted to Contest #230

“Do you also want to turn off the lights?” He inquired with a smirk on his face. I felt him eyeing me down, even thought we were the same height, the entire time he was in my house I could swear it was the only way he looked at me. He grabbed around my waste tightly, I could see every hint of emerald in his eyes even if I was unable to look directly at them for very long. I stared at the empty bottle of beer I left in my desk, it was the first time I had had alcohol in weeks. Before I was in my room with this complete stranger, I had been i...

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“I Must Have Forgotten ” by Kai Lockhart

Submitted to Contest #230

(Before reading, trigger warning for mentions of homicide and criminal investigation) “Sir, I don’t think you are understanding the severity of this situation,” the police officer said to the man with ragged, stained clothes and blonde hair that looked like it had been cut with kitchen shears. “And I don’t think YOU are listening to what I am saying, I have killed no one. End of story. Now let me go home,” The man once again tried to get out of his seat, forgetting he still had handcuffs chained to the table and jerked backward back down on...

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“To Go Too Far For Sex” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #230

tw: gruesome death Mom always told me, “Don’t ever look towards the stars. That’s how your dad died.” So I’ve avoided staring at the night sky for years, even though Dad has been dead longer than I can remember, so I don’t think anything I do can kill him again. It wasn’t until I entered adulthood when I started looking towards the stars for answers behind my mother’s back, only looking back down when she’d turn around. At first the stars gave me no answers, but then I realized that I had to ask it questions first, such as “How can ...

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“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #230

“Out of all the reasons for my imprisonment, helping one of my honor students shouldn’t have been one of them,” I muttered. “Bob, you have ten hours and three minutes before meeting your maker!” He chuckled sadistically as he spoke. Reflecting on my feelings, my jaw tightened at the thought of not missing this jerk. Twelve years ago, Missy asked for my help. Suddenly, her clothing preferences drastically shifted. Her grades plummeted from A’s to C’s and D’s. The clanging of the jailer’s cudgel rang out against the bars, waking many ...

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“Golden Trophies” by Sreenija Paruchuri

Submitted to Contest #230

The murder should’ve been easy. I had the whole thing planned out. A ladder, a card, a chain, a hook. It was all there. And now I was shrouded in blood. Far too much blood to clean. The red soaked my yellow shirt. Perhaps I should’ve planned for things to go wrong, to give room for error. Yet another shortcoming. I looked down at Maddy’s disfigured head. “Always so precise,” she taunted. “Always losing.” I was supposed to win this time. I was supposed to throw her off guard, kill her, and get away with it. I was supposed to win in the en...

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“Momma” by Daniel James

Submitted to Contest #230

Idle hands are the devil’s playground, that’s what everyone says, but if that’s true, what, then, is imagination? Worse yet, a child’s imagination? They can dream up anything, known and unknown, real, fantasy, friends. An imagination that can even blend into reality itself. Bea didn’t know if that’s what she had done or not, but she felt certain of one thing when she woke up this morning. Nothing anyone seemed to say could change her conviction, much less her mother. “Oh, come on, Bea,” her mother’s voice said. &nbs...

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“Classified Interview, Pulled for Admission” by Freya Inkwell

Submitted to Contest #230

Primary Witness’ Responses to the Alien Bureau of Investigation (ABI) Interview, Transcribed: Thomas William RennerI was 17-years-old at the time, born January 7th, 2037.I’ve lived in Moncks Corner, North Carolina, all my life. I’m sure you already know that, though, seeing as how you’ve spoken with my father, Chief William Renner. No, I’ve gone nowhere else. Traveling for us laymen has been limited since the alien war.Just one sister—Layla. She’s 13-years-old this year. No, we went to the local schools. I assumed I...

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“Mitchell’s in the Barn, Again ” by Ryan Darnowski

Submitted to Contest #230

It was some minutes past midnight, when Emma looked out her bedroom window. Out at the barn across the gravel driveway. From the glow of the gooseneck lamp, the right double door was partially ajar. Damnit! She thought. Grandpa Mitchell’s in the barn again. Once awhile, usually once or twice a week, Emma had noticed her grandfather would get up in the middle of the night and sneak off into his old barn. The old man was nostalgic, and he had built the barn with his bare hands during his thir...

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“ The Curiosities of Cactus Creek: A List-Based Adventure” by Gail Ormsby

Submitted to Contest #230

A tumbleweed whispers secrets through the dusty streets of Cactus Creek, a sun-bleached town clinging to the edge of nowhere. Its population: ten misfits, ten stories waiting to unravel. Sheriff June is sharp as a coyote's grin and weathered by desert winds. Her trusty revolver, Calamity Jane, purrs against her hip, keeping the peace amongst the bar brawls and tumbleweed tumbleweeds. In the ramshackle diner, Amelia fries up dreams on a greasy grill. Her spatula conducts a symphony of sizzling bacon and clinking mugs, fueling the town's gossi...

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$250

Prize money

362

Contest entries

108

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 29, 2023 EST

Won by Ethan Zimmerman 🏆

Title: The Lop-it-off-a-me List

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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