Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#246: All Fun and Games

We all know the saying “it’s all fun and games” — and the perhaps less-used ending, “...until someone loses an eye.” There are many variations of this saying, but they all boil down to a similar idea: play has its time and place, but things may take a turn for the worse if you’re not mindful.

This week’s prompts are inspired by games and play, and especially that strange territory when something lighthearted suddenly turns more serious than intended, asking you to find the golden balance between the pursuit of fun and its consequences.

This week's prompts

Write a story that includes the phrase “It’s all fun and games…”

Dialogue – 58 stories

Set your story in a playground: two characters are having a serious conversation while on the seesaw/in the jungle gym/on the swings.

Angst – 83 stories

Write a story about someone participating in a seemingly innocent game that suddenly takes a turn.

Dark – 62 stories

Write a story about someone who takes a joke way too far.

Character – 26 stories

Write about a character who treats everything like a game and struggles to be serious when they most need to, or vice versa.

Character – 17 stories

Stories

“Clouds from Both Sides Now” by Nick Baldino

Submitted to Contest #246

Mary Beth likes the feeling of everything nowadays. Her head has found a home in the crux of her boyfriend’s collarbone, and her new tennis shoes are just the right size, and the sky is open and blue as a robin’s egg. A blade of grass tickles the back of her neck as she traces a finger up above. “It’s a beautiful day,” she whispers. “Not as beautiful as you,” Farley tells her. He moves his hand from her waist to her breast. She is just sweet enough and just dumb enough to believe him. Mary Beth scoots her head up and looks at him. He has a...

Read story

“The Arranged Marriage” by Rubekkah Estero

Submitted to Contest #246

A man could be forgiven for thinking that the vision of merriment and mirth before him, seated on a bar stool, was in the highest of spirits. Yet, that vision didn’t match with the harrowing tale unfolding before him. ‘An arranged marriage, you say?’ Verity Harbinger’s sky-blue eyes sparkled, and her blonde shoulder length curls bounced as she spoke with animation, a strawberry margarita in hand. ‘Yes, Sir, I’m afraid so,’ she cooed, adjusting the ‘Bride to Be’ sash that hung across her shoulder. ‘Alas, by this ti...

Read story

“The Sanguinarian ” by Gracie Davies

Submitted to Contest #246

Billie kept her distance from her brother, Jack, as one always should when their he is moments away from sinking his teeth into a fresh body. It wasn’t just the principle, as one should always respect others’ space when feeding. Really, it was the practicalities of it all - the blood splashing, ripping, so on and so forth... Jack was just a very messy eater. His table manners hadn’t improved since he'd left the cot, and Billie was wearing her brand-new chunky leather cleats. Unfortunately, she knew that as soon as her brother sunk his teeth ...

Read story

“The Soul” by Gavin Reed

Submitted to Contest #246

Adonis, named for the winter he was born in, was playing in the dry dusty brook. He was small of frame, but strong of voice, Adonis was known for his boisterous attitude. Many attributed it to his father, a soldier that spent years at home while injured rubbing off on his son in the process. Unfortunately for the boy, war never rests, and his father just left again recently, and if it bothered the boy it was certainly hard to tell. He grabbed one of the river rocks and studied it. The weeks of no water showed as dirt was caked on it. His fat...

Read story

“Diversity!” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #246

There he lay, naked as the day he was born to the planet. In all that hot, searing sunshine, a veil of flies surrounded his remains. As the red dust hung over the thirsty drought season of Old Hometown, the local policeman gazed at the ex-husband ,sleeping forever in the gutter by the road.Roscoe pushed back his policing hat, wondering at the barbed wire fence of the front garden. He leaned down and examined the stiff, and the inadequate plastic Band Aids that barely covered the body's blistered genitalia. Roscoe hauled up this incriminatin...

Read story

“The Girl in the Well” by Madison Tirrell

Submitted to Contest #246

It's all fun and games until it's not anymore. Two girls, ages twelve and fourteen, were playing in the backyard of the abandoned house down the street. The house had been vacant for years; the owners had died and never had the chance to put it up for sale. The roof had fallen apart and windows shattered due to age and harsh weather. The city hadn't bothered to try and clean it up and resell it. No one had ever been inside since then, but the backyard was a hotspot for the kids. The backyard consisted of a stone patio, with the weeds growing...

Read story

“ Blue Glass and Captain Malcolm Monet, October 21st of 1948” by Jeffery Young

Submitted to Contest #246

Icy blue waves battered the white hull of the M.M.S. Monet with an unpleasant disposition, warning its three passengers of an impending storm. Malcolm Monet manned the helm with the same cold, stalwart expertise that he had brought into thousands of similar expeditions. The fishing ship obeyed his commands with minimal fuss, its sputtering engine obeying the repairs that safe harbor had only three days prior wrought. The cold northern seas that surrounded Birbour, the destination of Malcolm’s two enigmatic passengers, were tumultuous this ti...

Read story

“The Dandelion ” by Rae Shue

Submitted to Contest #246

TJ Allens sat alone on a swing, slightly swaying, at his favourite park, thinking. His dad had just gotten orders and it was just before TJ was due to start high school. He watched the other kids around him, playing and laughing as though nothing was changing. That life, as he had known it, was being turned upside down. He sighed as he saw his mom walking over to him. He turned his music up a little louder in a poor attempt to discourage his mother from talking to him. Harper Allens sat in the swing next to her son, ...

Read story

“Imaginary Friends” by Laura Barnes

Submitted to Contest #246

TW: Bullying, themes of mental health and eating disorders.“Stop following us,” Marnie, the most popular girl in Mrs. Whatshername’s first grade class, snapped.Poppy’s eyes widened. Her pants were a little too long, and her pink t-shirt didn’t match her bright green jacket. Marnie by contrast, had been dressed in an expensive autumn-themed ensemble. Her curated perfection only made Poppy stand out that much more. “I just want to play,” Poppy said.I smiled to myself. Poor Poppy. So desperate for friends, yet too inept to make them.Her parents...

Read story

“Up and down” by Jae Po

Submitted to Contest #246

“He killed a man.” “Oh, come on, that was years ago!!”“Okay, and? It still happened,” said the first man on one end of the purple, rusted seesaw, as he forced his body down, propelling the second man into the air, his legs dangling. “And pretty serious that it did…”“But it was out of self-defense,” said the second man, pushing himself downward, as the first gave way some of his resistance and went up. This continued as they continued. Although they’ve played this many times before, it somehow is still just as exhilarating and inten...

Read story

“Striker” by Bahadrhan Cicek

Submitted to Contest #246

They gathered as usual and started to play, taking advantage of the empty stadium. As time passed, they felt the stadium starting to fill up. At first, they thought it was just the usual children waiting to play after them, but then they realized that the situation was different. The stadium was almost half full. The usual weekend events had turned into a real atmosphere this time. When they decided to leave the field, another team from the same age group offered to come and enjoy the atmosphere. Eight teams of five players each emerged. Th...

Read story

“Dress to impress- A runway horror!” by Grace Meehan

Submitted to Contest #246

Imagine going to your friend's house to show each other your prom outfits, the chance of something bad happening is near to zero. But it's all fun and games until someone's life gets taken. It was all fun and games... It was soon to be the prom. After working hard at school all year, this was the time that everyone was waiting for. In preparation and with excitement, my friends came to my house to show each other our outfits. It was going to be an evening of glitz and glamour. Jasmine and Mia went to get ready. Jasmine, who I met at primary...

Read story

“A TRUE RUSSIAN HERO” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #246

A TRUE RUSSIAN HERO The weather on this June day is glorious as he arrives for the hastily convened meeting of the Presidium and he, the most powerful man in the country, is in ebullient form as his chauffeur pulls into the courtyard. Those closest to him, the officers that he has personally nurtured and promoted, have never previously seen this smiling, tolerant side of their boss who, for so long, has been feared by so many but has, himself, privately, feared for his own life.But times have changed. Oh, how they have changed. Joesph Vissar...

Read story

“Roll a Double” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #246

The drive to the coast was too much. He could feel the weight of it on his shoulders and another part of it pressed obscenely into his forehead. He would have cried, but that option was not open to him – it lay in a faraway place and the distance of it hurt him. There was no release here, which flew in the face of why they had come. A long weekend away from the stress of the day-to-day. An escape from the dumb humdrum. The peculiar price paid for such an adventure was beyond any that he was willing to pay, but he would pay it all the same. P...

Read story

“Hide-and-Seek” by Brian Rohrig

Submitted to Contest #246

“It’s hide-and-seek, not hide-and-go-seek.” Gillian clenched her little fists into balls. Braylen was about to see the receiving end of those fists. The little brat. He enjoyed being difficult. “It’s hide-and-go-seek, dipwad. Once you hide, everybody goes and seeks you. You can’t seek if you don’t go.” Gillian put her hands on her hips. “You’re the dipwad, dipwad. Going is implied. You don’t need to include it in the name. It’s soccer, not go-and-play-soccer.” “Whatever, twattlebreath.” “Scumbucket.” “Barfbrain.” “Roachsucker.” The tra...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

99

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 19, 2024 EST

Won by Sarah Coury 🏆

Title: Hearts Are Trump

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢