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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#24: Genre-Blending

This week is a special edition of the Reedsy Prompts contest because our friends at Barnes & Noble Press are taking it over with their own theme, prompts, and special bonus prize! We'll let them take it from here...

With an abundance of content these days, it really takes a little something extra to keep a reader engaged. And one optimal way to do this is by blending genres.

When a story takes on characteristics of more than one genre, it’s not just about reshaping norms or conventions; it’s also about understanding what makes the different elements of those genres fit together. If the elements are treated with respect and appreciation, blending together multiple genres can have the positive effect of capturing your reader’s attention, and also maintaining it. This happens because it keeps a reader guessing, it subverts expectations, and it highlights narrative strengths.

For our takeover, we've put together five genre-bending prompts that we hope will get the creative juices flowing, strengthen and flex the narrative muscles, and sparks new ideas.

As extra incentive, we’re throwing in a $50 B&N gift card to the winner who best blends different genres in a way that feels fresh and unique. Good luck!

This week's prompts

Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways.

Science Fiction – 70 stories

Write a sweeping romantic tale of two lovers who must overcome the horror of being hunted by an unseen foe.

Romance – 87 stories

Write a murder mystery with an amateur sleuth who must navigate a fantastical world in a quest to discover the truth.

Mystery – 38 stories

Write a thrilling adventure of a special agent who is harboring a paranormal secret.

Thriller and Suspense – 47 stories

Write a magical realism story that takes place in the Wild West.

Fantasy – 51 stories

Stories

“I Like Him” by Dianne Bramble

Submitted to Contest #24

Adria opened her eyes slowly. The awakening was never pleasant as the cryogenics wore off. It left people with a feeling of unease and nausea. It was best to lie still and get your bearings before trying to sit up. She had learned this the hard way the first time she woke up. It took the droid a few minutes to clean up that mess and she needed a new uniform.She struggled to remember how long she had been in cryogenic sleep this time. This was her fourth sleep since embarking on humanity’s greatest ever migration. In the early 2000s forward t...

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“Variables” by Will Bussey

Submitted to Contest #24

‘Do you believe in aliens?’ Lix asked.‘What are you talking about? Of course I do! We’re aliens!’ Phaz shot back.‘How do you figure?’‘If we’re on a different planet, then we are the aliens.’ Lix ponders this, rubbing his three-fingered hands together for a moment before responding.‘I’m not sure that’s how it works. We’re not even on a planet. Besides, I think you need to have, like, tentacles or something.’‘You’ve been watching too many human movies.’‘Are humans aliens?’‘To us, I suppose they are.’‘But they don’t have tentacles. Unless ...

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“Drifting” by Augustus Gigous

Submitted to Contest #24

We drift. Every hour we pass by, we drift. Like survivors of a shipwreck, we cling to our raft as we float on the black sea of space. A comet sails in the distance like a fairy running a marathon. A nebula, hundreds of lightyears away, is our major source of light in the pitch darkness; it stretches like a towering cliff on the coast. Stars dot the sky like tiny bubbles of sea foam. Or is it space foam?Ezekiel won't admit it. He is stubborn that way. Every time something happens, it is never his fault. Even back when we were training, w...

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“Side Quest (from a WIP)” by Obsidian Eagle

Submitted to Contest #24

Reddest Orkh – the Anti-Angel, had come to the inner solar system from the outer Oort cloud. Therein orbited Nybyruh – a planetoid shrouded by the shadow zone of Daath. Orkh was chief among the Dæmon & Druuj, hence he commanded a vast army composed of both these greater and lesser fiends.They were on a punitive expedition to a planet they called Tellz inhabited by us primitive Homz. However, something had gone sideways as their company passed between Daath and the material zone of Malkuth...For cosmic reasons beyond his learned comprehen...

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“A story about two main characters in the dark recess of space” by Rukhsar Baig

Submitted to Contest #24

Space is a dark, low abyss. Let me tell you how we got here. Hi, I’m Alvin, Alvin Reid and I’m recording this space journal after our space collision. We were traveling through a high-speed orbit and one of out ide panel got detached and a few wires seemed to be damaged when a fleet of asteroids appeared in front of our ship. I’m no expert so I called the space Centre control room through radio communication and headed out with my space partner, Henry Pavarotti.The second reason I’m recording this journal is to rant about how annoying Henry ...

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“Sync” by G. K. Derickson

Submitted to Contest #24

Deep in space, a lone ship drifts though the shadow of a moon. Alarms blare as the ship shakes from the strain of staying together. Vika flips a switch up and down, her thick gloves catching. She grits her teeth as she tries to pull a wire from the panel. She yanks the gloves off and throws them behind her. Who cares if the cold of space gives her frostbite if she’s dead? The cold seeps into her fingers as she wiggles them through the wires and yanks the one she’s looking for. The li...

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“Space For Two” by Jackson Boomhower

Submitted to Contest #24

“Year 1, Month 8, Day 21. Engines are running on fumes, life support is minimally active in only necessary areas, still lost in deep space…” “Why do they call it deep space? What does depth have to do with anything? From a three dimensional perspective, we aren’t shallow or deep, high or low, left or right. I mean, really, that kind of perspective would require a static navigational point to measure out from and even with that, we would need to…” A socket wrench, when swung at certain velocities against any number of ...

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“Tundra” by Maya Henneman

Submitted to Contest #24

Day seven: Oxygen draining, food vanishing, water diminishing. Mind going blank. Nightmares continuing. Tired. Only way out. . .none. Exhausted. Worried about family. Stressing. Need to find an escape. Tune out voices. Growing darker. Enclosed spaces. Can't breathe. Heart beat slowing. Eyes, heavy. Tongue, dry. Cold everywhere. Ice in the air. Stars cease to exist. Cold. Cold. Cold. Lights put out--''Dan! Danny! Hey, are you writing in your diary again?'' there was a thud and in came a young, tall adult with hair of black and eyes of brown w...

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“ I Said I'd Go To The Ends of the Earth With You, But I Lied. ” by Darlene Kwarta

Submitted to Contest #24

My name is Amelia. When I was a kid, I told people that I'd been named for Amelia Earhart, a famous woman pilot, explorer, adventurer, and the bravest woman who had ever lived. I bragged that I would grow up to be just like her. There were only two problems with this story: 1) My parents had really named me after a rich, old, spinster aunt in the hopes she'd put them in her will, and 2) The First Amelia had flown off on a great adventure and was never heard from again. I was raised to believe that if I set my mind to something and worke...

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“That Edge of Affection” by Jennifer Denslow

Submitted to Contest #24

When Peter reached for her wrist, Kate recoiled under the bulkhead and hissed. “Here, kitty, kitty,” Peter crooned. “My friends call me Kate.” Her voice came from beneath the greasy metal of the ship’s infrastructure, but Pete couldn’t see more than one of her feet, clad in an almost pristine white boot. The foot twitched and then was still. “Okay, Kate.” Pete sighed. “Come out slowly and no one gets hurt. What were you thinking? You can hide under a bulkhead, but you can’t stay there for the e...

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“Man Versus Machine” by Joseph McGrory

Submitted to Contest #24

Captain’s Log: 15th January, 2040Its been a couple of days since the crash and I’ve been recovering here since then. I’ve been calling it a crash, but I don’t know for certain that was what it actually was. I’ve been playing it over and over in my head trying to work out what actually happened and what I could have done differently. The mission is over I know that much but if rescue is coming then I have heard nothing yet. I will wait, it’s the only thing I can do right now, and continue to document in this journal. Its something to do at le...

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“The Next Couple” by Michael Nabi

Submitted to Contest #24

I had no idea where I was, or how long I had been here. I felt a 5 o’clock shadow on my face so I guessed I had only been here a day or less, maybe less than 12 hours. I don’t remember anything about what I had been doing prior to my arrival and how I got here. I was in a supine position on a stainless-steel examining table, or at least I assumed it was stainless steel. It was cold, there was no cloth or paper covering to lessen the irritating cold on my skin, my naked skin. I sat up and saw a woman on another examining table about 4 feet aw...

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“Life Beyond” by Sydney G

Submitted to Contest #24

It was 2:08 ante meridiem Universal Time, and the Electro Boyz were already blasting at maximum volume. Annika, aroused by the pulsating synthesizer, groaned and fumbled for the temperature dial on her sleeping pod. Aside from the electronic beat vibrating through her skull, the cold was also a shock to her senses. Space was cold. Very cold. Her fingers, nearly frozen, continued to twist the dial, but to no avail. Finally cracking her eyes open, she saw not the simulated wallpaper of her sleeping pod’s screen, but the fluorescent ceiling lig...

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“I'll call you S.T.A.R.” by Faith Sea

Submitted to Contest #24

The abyss had a way of looking at me that made me feel safe. It was quiet, peaceful. Quite lovely to be frank. The immense blanket of darkness that surrounds me has comforted me as long as I can recall. From time to time there would be music, murmurs that travelled from far away to be translated into unrecognizable syllables. Sometimes the darkness would bring me friends, some would stay and some would go. A few times us gaseous clouds dissolved into one another and created a new being. I let myself indulge in relaxation as I melt into the u...

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“The Dirge” by Nathan Greenebaum

Submitted to Contest #24

Author's Note: The following contains depictions of suicide. “Tell me a story.” I rolled my eyes. My husband was busy in the bedroom, packing. “I can’t right now,” I replied. “There’s no way I can think with everything that’s been happening.” “Oh come on, I love your stories,” he said. “It’d help you relax?” I sighed, closing my eyes so that all I could hear was the sound of him humming to himself as he tossed clothes into his suitcase, and the concise babbling of Majorie Clare on the news. “I just can’t right now. I’m sorry.” The remote clu...

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$50

Prize money

293

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 17, 2020 EST

Won by Gabrielle Gerstley 🏆

Title: The Ghostwriter

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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