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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#248: From the Top

Often, one of the most difficult parts of writing a story is giving it a name. I've been known to agonize for days over finding the "perfect" title — because, like it or not, we do judge a story by its title. Those few words at the top of the page set the tone for what follows, and picking the right ones matters.

This week, I'm asking you to approach titles in a different way. Rather than writing your story and then choosing your title, we want you to start "from the top" with a just title and see where it takes you. I've selected some evocative titles from literature to inspire you — but don't worry, you don't need to have read the original works to respond to them.

This week's prompts

Write a story titled 'A Tale of Two Cities'.

Adventure – 34 stories

Write a story titled 'Paradise Lost'.

Angst – 70 stories

Write a story titled 'Desperate Remedies'.

Dark – 66 stories

Write a story titled 'The Wind in the Willows'.

Spring – 50 stories

Write a story titled 'Persuasion'.

Funny – 41 stories

Stories

“A Tale of Souls City” by George Beasley

Submitted to Contest #248

Hello there from Souls City of the lost and forgotten. We have been here for a very long time. I am the spokesman for the city and will be your contact point from here on out. If you feel the need to reach out of the spectrum of the city you may be banned for any future contacts, family or not. We are a very close colony of lost souls. I have been ask so many times what is your purpose in this colony of lost and forgotten souls? Our purpose to collect the forgotten of the two cities. Some have called us the trash collectors of sorts. Is...

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“Yes, I Have Ghosts” by David Pampu

Submitted to Contest #248

Once upon a time I was a broken bird with frayed, graying feathers that found itself imprisoned in a golden cage. At some point I began to believe that flying was wrong. To protect my heart I entered the prison of my own free will; after all, it was surely to my benefit not to fly when the ground is so very hard. Yet my spirit became uneasy; my wings hung limp at the bars of my cage— when I said flying is wrong I believed it. I was naive. As if in answer to a silent plea, I am no longer alone in my golden prison; a pair of gloved hands, whit...

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“Persuasion” by Brian Haddad

Submitted to Contest #248

Aria gently touched her fingertips to her lower lip, lightly sliding the pad of her index finger back and forth. The deep ridges were gone. Her fingers were... smooth. She'd never felt anything so soft and sensual before. Even the sounds around her were more vibrant and broad. She listened intently as the waves gently rolled under the ship, straining its great, tense timbers. The creaking alone was full of high clicks and low croaks, a whole range of tones flying through the air to reach her ears. Air! She took a long, deep breath, letting i...

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“Desperate Remedies” by Lindsey Kel

Submitted to Contest #248

Content warning: suicide, substance abuse, physical abuse, and violenceDesperate RemediesBy Lindsey Keller There was something I had been practicing for months. It seemed like a typical science fair project, but it wasn’t that fatuous. In fact, I could save my world with this thing. Looking up at the hunk of metal I felt a wave of satisfaction rush over me. I had done it. Taking a deep breath I turned it on. The circuits and fans were working perfectly. After hours of retouching different aspects, my travel to the past machine was rea...

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“Paradise Lost” by Mary Mack

Submitted to Contest #248

Everyone thinks I don’t go into the lake because I fear water. In a sense that’s true, I do fear water. In particular, this water: Seneca Lake — the longest and deepest of the Finger Lakes. But not because I’m afraid I’ll drown, I’m actually a very good swimmer. I don’t go into the lake because I know what’s down there and they do not. So, here, on the south shore of the lake, I sit and watch small white waves roll in while other people swim. The clear and deep, chilly blue waters of the ominous lake are not for me. Nor, I suppose, not for C...

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“Desperate Remedies” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #248

Dee flashed before me for a minute, his terrified look mirroring my own.“What?” he exclaimed before falling onto my new hardwood floors—the ones I had spent years saving for.I was good at saving up—I've been saving all my life. I always put off what could be done until tomorrow or next week. The years go by in what seems like a month, and then it's the new me! Ta-da! I fooled myself!Dee says I'm always fooling myself. We have the perfect marriage, and he’s always ahead of me. You’re such a mind reader! I told him one day. I meant it as a jok...

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“Desperate Remedies” by Joseph Keener

Submitted to Contest #248

There was blood on the phone. That phone had been expensive. That was all Dani could think about as her father slammed the receiver until it cracked, his wrist leaking blood where the jagged plastic cut at his hand. He picked up the device and hucked it with incredible force into the safety glass of the conference room wall, a resounding thump to the people on the other side. As Wilson set himself back down on the chair, he placed his head in his hands. Concern was growing all around him, the employees were ushered away as the others: her fa...

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“Persuasion” by Dr. Stephen A Salaka

Submitted to Contest #248

The reek of charred wood still clung to Zoryana Volk's armor. It was the dragon's scent – she knew it – a rancid promise of fire and teeth. Each stride into the forest wasn't a march but the pull of a tightened noose. Yet, with every step, anticipation thrummed beneath her fury. She longed for the fight, craved the righteous clash of steel against scale. Yarilo village was a fading ember behind her. Even their wails echoed with a strange hollowness, as if the forest had begun to swallow them even before she hunted the true culprit. Rumors ra...

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“The Wind in the Willows” by B. D. Bradshaw

Submitted to Contest #248

'The Wind in the Willows.' I never actually read the book but I remember the puppet series from when I was a kid. It used to terrify me - something about the stop motion was too uncanny for my eight-year-old brain. There were only a couple of episodes that followed the plot of the book, the rest I assumed were original stories written with the same characters, or parts of the book padded out for runtime.Although that one show scared the heck out of me as a kid, I remember the main story and the characters themselves fondly. What was it reall...

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“Persuasion” by Margarita Escobar

Submitted to Contest #248

PERSUASION As a dark and menacing storm unfolded, the rain splattered the windows and sounded heavy. The wind roared. My big old house up the hill seemed to shake, anticipating the squall. Lightning flashes came through the frayed curtains of my office and reflected on my bare walls. The light of my desk lamp flickered. These are the nights when my demons lurk around my brain relentlessly. I removed my glasses and rubbed my eyes. I was the only doctor in this small town. Being away from larger places, I had to deal with all kinds of sicknes...

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“Desperate Remedies” by Cara Fidler

Submitted to Contest #248

We’ve all been there: endured the blind date from hell with a guy who turns your stomach. You know the type: short and portly like a hobbit and a head like a cue ball. Not surprisingly, he’s smitten with you and continues to call despite your efforts to dissuade him: “The medication I take makes me drool.” But like a termite, he is an unwanted, tenacious pest. Fortunately, the good folks at People Repellants are on standby waiting for your call. You call to make an appointment for a customized Pest Elimination Plan. After that, a Pest Elimin...

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“The Wind in the Willows” by Maple Ip

Submitted to Contest #248

I. Thin. Reedy. Willow shoots raised their heads to the sky as hands patted down the dirt base. Spaced two hand-widths apart, the tube-like yellows and greens of newly planted cuttings stood proudly, too short to catch the sultry currents."There," Mother sighed, unbending at the waist. Her palms, powered with rich soil, fed the roots of his hair.His brows wrinkled. "Mother.""Ah, sorry, sorry, A-Liu," she chuckled, and ignoring his attempts at...

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“Paradise Lost ” by Александра Ковальчук

Submitted to Contest #248

Yellow tulips. Thin stems. The dew still on their petals. He remembers them. He remembers that she gave them to him. For no reason at all. A warm smile and eyes sparkling with happiness. How could he lose her? People like that are once for a lifetime. He remembers: The quiet town, where events don't happen often, was flooded with sunlight that day. Two rings that were waiting for their time shimmered in the soft rays, and two hearts beat moderately hard, which did not prevent them from beating in time."Yes," it sounded consonant.That day end...

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“Paradise Lost” by Joy O'Sleibhte

Submitted to Contest #248

I run my hand over my stomach, uncomfortably stretched in my eighth month of pregnancy. It seems like the only noticeable thing about me, these days. According to my family, my church, my school, my everyone, I’m just a suitcase for a child people pray will turn out better than I have. Literally. I’ve heard Mama say those words, eyes clamped shut, clutching her crucifix. My thighs stick together in the sweltering heat of the cramped sanctuary. The windows of the little Catholic church are dragged up a few inches, but the muggy breeze th...

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“Desperate Remedies: The story of repeats” by Krissa Svavars

Submitted to Contest #248

Did you know that the world keeps repeating itself. Trust me, it does. Every 150 years or so another perfect copy of you is born and lives it’s own natural live. It does not have your soul, but the body is yours. Down to every blemish and freckle. How do I know that? Well, it’s both easy and difficult to understand. I myself am eternal. I’m the first. The greatest of us all. I was born in the beginning of time into the first tribe of men. I watched as our species grew and had my own hand in nurturing it forward. Always trying my best to c...

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$250

Prize money

261

Contest entries

97

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 03, 2024 EST

Won by Honey Homecroft 🏆

Title: Paradise Lost

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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