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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

“Fridge Logic” by Vivien Leanne Saunders

Submitted to Contest #24

Goodwin couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that he was missing something. He closed his eyes. The house was quiet. Too quiet, he thought wryly, and winced at the cliche. Where were the gossiping neighbours, the reporters’ phones buzzing and chirping like insects? He had clicked off his radio so he could bloody well string two words together, but he couldn’t even hear the busybodies stomping through the daisies.He stuck his fingers in his ears and swallowed hard. Sound rattled back with a pressurised pop. Pressurised? His stomach lurch...

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“Two Sides To Every Story” by Anastasia Foxx

Submitted to Contest #24

(Authors Note: I realize that this story is everywhere, but I tried to include as many genres as I could (sticking true to the genre blend prompt) Thank you for taking the time to look at my first story. Enjoy!) This week it was arson; the week before was poison; the week before that was murder. All of these near impossible cases only had one thing in common, they were all solved by Ace Artino. Artino was a master at his craft, able to sniff out crime like a bloodhound. He was confident, even cocky, his smooth sure movements attracting all o...

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“Adziil Tse” by Ash Brinton

Submitted to Contest #24

“Stay away from her, kid. She’s bad news,” a man said. “How come?” a boy asked. “You’re new here. You ‘aven’t saw what happens to people when they get involved with her.” “Like what?” The first replied, “They go missing, and no one can find them for months, until they show up out of nowhere, ravin’ mad. Can’t e’er get ‘em back to normal, neither. Never works. No matter what we do, they’re completely crazy. No one can reason with ‘em. Talking about anvil tea, the lot of them, and no one knows what they’re sayin’.” “What does she do to them?” ...

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“Dressed for the Devil” by Leya Newi

Submitted to Contest #24

The wagon rumbled across the plain, the horses kicking up dirt. The wind tickled my bare feet, my boots sopping from the last river we crossed. I looked past the horizon, trying to think of my old home, a cozy cabin surrounded with long, swaying grasses and a small stream to the side. Horses passed by the house daily, every new rancher wanting to get a taste of my mother’s famous homemade dried bean chili. I sighed, hardly being able to picture my mother without sore thoughts. She was the reason we were on the road right now, even thou...

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“Little Red Balloons” by Matt Strempel

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #24

I can’t put my finger on why I murdered Jerry, because I lost my fingers in an accident. Accident. That is to say, Jerry hit the go button on the waste disposal unit while I was fixing it, and it munched my right hand off at the wrist. To be fair, the robotic prosthetic is about a thousand times better than my real hand was, but it hurt like hell at the time. He maintains I said, “Hit it,” but what I said was, “Quit it.” I was always telling Jerry to quit it. He was the most infuriating guy in the entire universe, I’m telling you. I should k...

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“Blue Moon” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #24

Dril entered from the air-lock. Myr looked up from the vid-screen.“Brrr, it’s cold out there.”“Don’t you wear your suit?”“Of course I do. You think I’m crazy?”Myr raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer that. “I remember reading it is always cold out there. It’s the moon, silly.”“I know it’s the moon. I got us this gig, remember?”“That I do.”“I mean, who better than us to prospect the best sites for mining delicious moon cheese?”“No one I can think of.” Myr sighed. “You know what you forgot to have delivered?”“What’s that, Honey Pie?”“Some new m...

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“Bioluminescence in the Interstellar” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #24

Wrong, wrong, wrong.How could this be happening? Every single reading Jerrie took didn’t make sense. Yesterday, the readings were spot on, perfectly in range. Today… today was just wrong. Most scientists felt a thrill when readings turned uncharacteristic, hoping for a breakthrough discovery, but Jerrie knew that her readings were not uncharacteristic. They were just wrong. She also knew the reason.“Charlie!”For the last two months, she had been living in a tiny research capsule jus...

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“Lethe” by Marte Van Der Linden

Submitted to Contest #24

A marriage between a scion of the ruling family and a gardener’s assistant was not the sort of thing that was likely to be met with approval. In fact, the grand duke had expressively forbidden the match, and had even gone to the trouble of posting guards outside his nephew Rupert’s room. Which was why Rupert was climbing out the window in the middle of the night. He twisted his hands into the ivy that covered the palace walls and dug his toes into the gaps between stones and very slowly made his way down. He wasn’t very athletic. He had alwa...

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“The Possum” by Amanda Lewis Silva

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #24

The whiskey stung going down. Sheriff Houghton coughed back the cheap swill and took in a deep breath through his nostrils, taking in the scents of Old Delilah’s saloon. That one sniff carried with it the musty memories of liquor, twice chewed tobacco, and the unmistakable truth that it had been weeks since the bartender before him had seen a bar of soap. He quickly rejected the breath, pushing it out from his mouth with great force and slamming his empty glass onto the table. “You’re doin’ nobody favors here, Kipp.” The words came out in a ...

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“Preppy Tonk and Jon” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #24

Preppy Tonk looked at her rival with an evil twinkle in her eye. “What?” “Nothing.” “I see that evil twinkle in your eye again.” “No. It must be the burning hot sun reflecting off your chromed head.” “Nuh-uh.” “Yeah- huh,” Preppy Tonk shot back. “Whatever, lets continue. “King to knight rook.” The purple slug looked down at the holographic chess board. “Poopy-doodles, you win again!” “Yaysies-daisies!” ”If this was Earth Chess, I’d kick your butt!” Jon exclaimed, wiggling his fat, dripping eyestalks. “Yeah, but the author doesn’t know how t...

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“Codename Paul” by Marte Van Der Linden

Submitted to Contest #24

He was given false papers, a gun disguised as a pen and the codename Paul. Additional tools and weapons would be given to him when he reported for duty at midnight. That left him only six hours to tidy away his meagre belongings and get whatever sleep he could. He would have to say his farewells too. Louisa was not going to be happy. Would she want to come? Would she be able to?“We’ve got your will already, I see.” The commander closed the file on his desk. “Any questions?”“No, sir.”“Good luck, then. Dismissed.”Paul saluted and went in searc...

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“Sweet Little Things” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #24

Helene had no irises. She had discovered that this morning in the mirror. Sunglasses were her new best friend. Helene didn’t usually go to the mall by herself. There were too many creeps. She didn’t feel safe. Especially now that she looked like a freak. “That will come to 17.49.” “Debit.” She paid, then turned and speed-walked out. All she wanted was to get out of here, back to her car, back home. The parking lot beckoned her to run. “Oof!” She collided wi...

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“The Magic of Logic” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #24

“Another mage corpse. Give it to the priests and get on with guard duty.” Bellus’ ears pricked up. Was that another one? With a quick check to make sure that the quarter-master wasn’t watching he slipped out the armoury line and made his way across the room to the captain. “Another one captain?” “What- Oh gods no. No Bellus. Don’t you have other work to do?” “But sir-” It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, but that was never going to put Bellus off. He pulled out the sketch that he had on him. “I can figure it out. Look- all...

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“The Interdim Bureau” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #24

I wake up in a strange bed, next to a woman who isn’t my wife.Diffuse light penetrates through the curtains. The only sound in the room is the soft ticking of a clock. I’m looking right into the half open mouth of my supposed one-night stand. What have I done? How did I end up here? What happened? I blink my eyes and then I recognize the woman; it’s Linda from accounting. Suddenly I realize she isn’t breathing anymore.My throat feels dry. I try to rub the sleep from my face and discover that I have a mustache and a beard. Not the usual stubb...

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“Something Swims Behind (Still My Sunshine)” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #24

1We were just entering the hadal zone when we realised, we weren’t alone. For those of you who don’t know, the hadal zone is six thousand metres under the ocean. To put that into perspective, the twilight, or mesopelagic, zone – that’s where just one percent of the light from above reaches the depths – is just two hundred metres deep.Now, you’re probably wondering, What about the bit where there’s no light at all? That would be the midnight zone you’re talking about. Otherwise known as the bathyal zone. That starts at around one thousand met...

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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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