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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#244: Oh Snap!

Photography is the art of capturing light, and moments; a way to freeze time and observe the ever-changing nature of life, if only in a small way. Pictures serve as a testament to our experience, helping us remember, understand, and share it. From cherished childhood snapshots to historical photographs, artistic compositions, and even selfies, some pictures truly are worth a thousand words.


This week’s prompts are all about photographs and the stories and meanings behind them — just remember that, in this case, a picture is worth between 1 and 3 thousand words.

This week's prompts

Center your story around a photo that goes viral.

Funny – 29 stories

Start your story with a character staring at a picture they don’t remember taking.

Mystery – 73 stories

Write a story about a character who risks their life to take a photo.

Adventure – 39 stories

Write about a character who sees a photo they shouldn’t have seen.

Dramatic – 66 stories

Begin or end your story with a character taking a selfie.

Fluff – 33 stories

Stories

“No Drama, Piranha.” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #244

"Yah!" Kai, the midget of Smallville Secondary College, woke up on the first day of the Spring holidays. The sun was shining beneath his blinds, he had no plans to do holiday assignments. No indeed. Kai left all that energetic, competitive stuff to the the Year Seven nerds. Way too active. Holidays are for resting, and adventure. What a thinking male needs for holiday fun is a pet! Yes, touchdown. He sneaked to his mother's handbag again, and once more 'borrowed' her credit card. Retail therapy was cool for kids, in Kai's opinion. What to b...

2 comments 2
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“Finding Holly” by Kay Smith

Submitted to Contest #244

It was late evening. We had just finished dinner and as I had cooked, my husband was on clean-up duty. I was in my bedroom, reading. My oldest daughter, Holly, had just vacated the foot of the bed and was en route to grab a shower before bedtime. Though she had her own bathroom inside, she had recently become very adamant regarding privacy. We had a separate room outside off of the carport. I thought it was weird that she wanted to shower out in what was essentially our second laundry room. Granted, it was a private, spacious room complete w...

9 comments 9
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“Wandering Hearts” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #244

Finn's journey unfolded in the heart of forgotten landscapes, where the sun-kissed fields whispered their secrets to the few who knew how to listen.Finn was greeted by a sea of red lights as he drove over the hill. Unlike Manhattan, this was supposed to be a peaceful countryside. The journey began with a detour on an isolated road through wheat fields.He believed he'd sidestepped the broken-down traveling circus blocking the road ahead. Yet, destiny's hand guided him straight into a creek due to a washed-out bridge.The screeching sounds...

4 comments 4
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“In Tents” by L.B. Goldman

Submitted to Contest #244

Sometime late in the night Mal wakes up. She doesn’t need to pee and she isn’t thirsty. Her pillow is wet with drool; she wipes the cheek that’s been resting on it. It is too dark to see anything, but she can hear John’s steady, sleepful breathing.She checks her phone for the time, blinking sleepily at the bright light that emanates from the screen. Just past three in the morning. Brilliant. She lies down, turns away from John, and unlocks her phone. Just a bit of mindless scrolling before she goes back to sleep. Her phone opens automat...

4 comments 4
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“Across the Karman Line” by Diego Cota

Submitted to Contest #244

Aiysha could feel her heart rate quickening as she climbed higher into the atmosphere, her pulse echoing in her ears like a distant drumbeat. The sensation of weightlessness began to envelop her as the altitude increased, a subtle but undeniable reminder of the immense power of the world around her. She momentarily shut her eyes, instinctively seeking solace in the darkness behind her eyelids, a momentary respite from the overwhelming rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. Inhaling deeply through her facemask, she tasted the stale ai...

2 comments 2
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“Shadow Captured In My Lens” by Noted Moments

Submitted to Contest #244

Amanda had always been drawn to the mysterious and the unexplained. Her tiny apartment, perched on the edge of the city, offered a perfect view of the busy road below. She'd often sit by the window, camera in hand, capturing fleeting moments of life; the cries of children being dragged along by their parents, the hustle of commuters, and the occasional fender-bender. One rainy evening, as thunder rumbled in the distance, Amanda heard the screech of tires. She rushed to the window, camera dangling from her neck. Two cars collided, metal crunc...

4 comments 4
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“The Waterfall ” by Vince Roman

Submitted to Contest #244

A blood-curdling scream tore from Amelia's throat as she stared at the photo on her camera. It had been four days since she had arrived at the desolate ranger station nestled deep in the heart of the Steens Mountains. Her mission had been to capture the landscape for a prestigious nature magazine, promoting tourism to this remote region of Oregon. She pulled her pickup truck into a spot next to the ranger station and shut off the engine. Stepping out of the vehicle, she inhaled the thin, crisp air, filled with the refreshing scents of p...

2 comments 2
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“The Park Picture” by Martin Harp

Submitted to Contest #244

My mom first noticed it when I was about 7 years old. We were at the park around the corner from my childhood home. I was playing on the monkey bars when my mom took my picture on an old Kodak disposable. Any child of the 90s will remember those old yellow bricks, the snap of the flash, the clicking of the cog as you turn the film to the next photo. You wouldn’t know what was in a picture until it was developed days later at your local drug store, a wild thought for the current generation living in instant gratification. I don’t even remembe...

2 comments 2
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“The Gracious Host ” by B.C. Peach

Submitted to Contest #244

   The Party began at ten p.m. sharp. Cormack Desner held a large party for the public every other Friday night. His house was massive. A modern home, built with the look and feel of the Victorian era. Large bay windows painted the front of the gray colored home.   David and Ben, walked through the assembling crowd on the front lawn. Men and women dressed in fine clothing ranging from suits and elaborate gowns, to tuxedos and white gloves. The occasional couple would arrive wearing masks one would find at a masq...

3 comments 3
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“Top of the World” by S. E. Foley

Submitted to Contest #244

Note: Hundreds of people have died due to attempts to take spectacular photos and selfies. Mateo realized his mistake when his leg lodged hip deep into the old, moss-crusted roof. He had his digital camera in one hand and a bottle of Coke in the other when he’d fallen in. Glistening soda splashed the aged roofing. The surprise overrode the pain for a blink, but as he watched the bottle roll down the roof and off the ledge the stab of something in his thigh screamed for his attention. The sky was the fading blue of late midday, the air sweet...

7 comments 7
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“Kodachrome” by Karla S. Bryant

Submitted to Contest #244

Ian had put it off long enough. His mother, Lillian, had passed two months ago. Lillian’s clothing, fashion jewelry, and vast collection of expensive handbags had been given away or were for sale at St. Paul’s Consignment Shop. His older sister, Sofie, had done that part.Now Ian stood in the middle of his mother’s study and looked around. Stacks of boxes surrounded him. Tax records and greeting cards with faded writing, financial statements and old photographs, sentimental letters that smelled musty and utility bills… where to start? This wa...

5 comments 5
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“Can You See the Color?” by Emma G.

Submitted to Contest #244

I wake with a jolt as my TV blares the jarring tone of the Emergency Alert System. Still half asleep, I get myself out of bed and trudge into the living room. It’s only four thirty in the morning.The screen cycles through the same message over and over: THIS IS A NATIONAL ALERT. DO NOT LOOK AT VIRAL PHOTO IN CIRCULATION. EXPOSURE TO VISUALS MAY RESULT IN PHYSICAL HARM.Viral photo? I don’t know what it’s talking about. Is something going around on social media?Curiosity getting the better of me, I grab my phone off my bedside table and am abo...

2 comments 2
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“Regret Hurts” by Naya's A Writer

Submitted to Contest #244

The air was musty, the scent of rotting fish thick in the air. My breathing was ragged as I looked down on the pale figure. His eyes were dreamy, but somehow lost at the same time. It seemed like he was searching for something that didn't exist. Or maybe he was. Maybe he was searching for life. But his body is lifeless now. I was the one that caused that. The 9 mm pistol in my hand fell loose of my grasp and it dropped with a soft thud onto the moist ground. My breathing got heavier as I heard the blare of police sirens. This is it. I'...

6 comments 6
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“Executive Man” by Jack Conlan

Submitted to Contest #244

Her whatever it was – her entanglement, if that was the word for it – had started innocently enough. She and Jacob had started chatting one night near the end of her shift. It had been a real crusher, multiple patients had coded, and everyone had been running wild all night. It had been blissfully quiet on the floor then, a hazy pre-dawn light was breaking through to the nurses’ area where she had been sitting when he walked up and started making small talk. He was tall and athletic if not classically handsome. Good looking, but he knew it. ...

8 comments 8
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“STUNT DOG DEMONSTRATION” by MIke JOHNSON

Submitted to Contest #244

           I was with Lewis when he gave his remarkable and unexpected demonstration. It was late summer when unrelenting desert heat was spent, giving way to more amicable conditions. That clear, sparkling California morning came with early brightness and the promise of many adventures.          Monday morning, Lewis chose to confound the evil slave system that inhibits true expression from a free-spirited artist—he called in sick. He used a ...

4 comments 4
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$250

Prize money

239

Contest entries

91

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 05, 2024 EST

Won by K.A. Murray 🏆

Title: The Party

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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