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!

#252: Obsession

The Netflix series Baby Reindeer, inspired by a real-life stalker story, has garnered millions of views over the past month while receiving both critical acclaim and heavy backlash. In the show, a chance encounter between a barman and a total stranger descends into a chaotic tale of stalking, destruction, and mutual obsession. Delving into themes of personal boundaries, power dynamics, identity struggles, and mental health problems, the show depicts some of the complexities and contradictions inherent in human psychology.


Inspired by Baby Reindeer, this week's prompts are an invitation to explore some of the nuances of human behavior. Whether you write a witty story, a heartwarming tale, or something tense and gripping is up to you!

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character being followed.

Dramatic – 99 stories

Write about a character who struggles to do the right thing.

Character – 35 stories

Write a story in which one of the characters is a narcissist.

Character – 39 stories

Make a character’s obsession or addiction an important element of your story.

Dramatic – 129 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Character – 55 stories

Stories

“Ain’t No Fun When The Rabbit Got The Gun” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #252

CW: Contains themes of drug trafficking, violence and profanity.Ain’t No Fun When The Rabbit Got The Gun“Ay yo, Mo-Mo, maybe you should be careful what you wish for. Things is basically goin’ all right now but they can get worse real quick I think. We can prolly smooth this shit out. We should try and talk wit them, for starters at least. Shit.”He just looked at me, with something dark and dangerous swimming through the shallows behind his gray-green eyes.Sure, it would have been easy to just go along with the rest’a them but my pops raised ...

13 comments 13
Read story

“Ghosts of Loyalty” by Megan Weiss

Submitted to Contest #252

Samuel’s return to Arlington was indeed a delicate dance, each step laden with memories and the weight of unfinished business. The snow whispered secrets, and the eyes that followed him bore into his back like shards of ice. Who could be watching him this time? The possibilities swirled like the snowflakes falling around him. The Barkeep—a seemingly innocuous figure wiping down glasses behind the tavern’s frosted window. But Samuel knew better. The barkeep had seen him arrive, noted the tension in his shoulders, and observed how he scanned t...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Woman Beside Me ” by ER Castaneda

Submitted to Contest #252

It started in Target, where I was picking out some creme-colored, large towels for the bathroom. She, a woman who appeared to be in her mid-40s with a blonde, short, choppy, inverted bob with a side-swept fringe and chunky highlights, looked like the definition of a Karen. Because I never did learn her true name, she inwardly, was always "Karen" to me. 'Excuse me," said Karen when she bumped into me when I unfolded a bathroom towel to make sure it was the right-sized towel. She looked almost comical in her baggy capri pants, t...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Prosopagnosia v. Cotard's Syndrome” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #252

CW: This story contains themes of mental health issues, suicide and physical violence.Prosopagnosia v. Cotard's SyndromeMy new doctor - a bright and friendly guy named Sarbjit - took the time to explain his diagnosis to me. He told me my condition was mental, not physical, but it was hard to pay attention to everything he said because my left arm was numb and rotting from the inside out. I smiled and nodded and then when I got home I looked up Cotard’s Syndrome online. Here is what Wikipedia had to say on it. “Cotard's syndrome, also known a...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Room 533” by John McPhee

Submitted to Contest #252

Room 533So here I am sitting on the floor leaning up against the wall in this nice hotel room.I’m having a hard time trying to figure this one out. Where did it go wrong? Where did I go wrong?Was it really just five short weeks ago that I had dinner with uncle Tim at Smitty’s Bar and Grill? He had asked me how my Private Investigator’s business was going after my first 18 months.I knew Uncle Tim had been disappointed when I quit the force at NYPD after just three years, but I just couldn’t take all the political and bureaucratic crap you hav...

12 comments 12
Read story

“Shadows of the Past” by Mark Parsons

Submitted to Contest #252

The streets of Edmonton were eerily quiet as Liam walked home from the pub. The chill of the night air bit through his jacket, and he pulled it tighter around himself, quickening his pace. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw nothing but the empty street and the dim glow of streetlights. Yet, the sense of being followed persisted, gnawing at the edges of his mind.Liam was a barman, known for his easy smile and ability to mix the perfect cocktail. His regulars loved him, but tonight, ...

6 comments 6
Read story

“The Slide” by Andrea Doig

Submitted to Contest #252

“Anna … you know that curiosity killed the cat.” I always hated how he said my name when he used that know-it-all voice.  Ann-ahh; nostrils slightly flared, eyes narrowed, and chin lifted so he somehow seemed to be looking down on me more than usual. God, I hated him. Had I just thought that? I remember thinking. Surely, I didn’t mean it? “Yes, but satisfaction brought it back!” Ha, take that! I had thought. You don’t know everything, and you can’t win every argument! “Ann-ahh nothing can bring back a dead cat”. I remember wanting to...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The Midas Touch” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #252

There is a lesson in the story of Midas king of Phrygia about wishing for something and then finding out that it was not really what you wanted. The Greeks used this as a life lesson about greed and an insatiable appetite for luxury.  The king learned quickly enough that having a golden touch was not a blessing.  It was a curse. Barney Jackson was dejected when he walked out of Cashman’s Bar and Grill, his favorite watering hole.  His gait was unsteady as he approached the wishing well in front of the bar. He stopped and stare...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Stay Out” by Kim Olson

Submitted to Contest #252

“You really want to go undercover at Stay Out?” the sergeant asked him. “You know there was a shooting there last year, right?”“I know,” Detective Ziccarelli, or Zic as everyone called him, said. “But our snitch told us there’s a regular dealer who comes in there almost everyday and sells to the customers. I really want to make my first drug bust.” “Well, be careful what you wish for. It’s a dangerous place,” the sergeant said. “Thanks Sarge,” Zic said. “I’ll do my best to stay safe.”Following that conversation, Zic was ecstatic. H...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The Flood of 1931” by Craig Scott

Submitted to Contest #252

Defeat exerts a geologic force on the spirit. Over time, parts of the mind sag under its tectonic pressure. Left untended, this burden sharpens and eventually punctures some vital organ of the soul. What hope and vitality remains bleeds out in a bitter ash, to be swept away on the currents of the world. Lenn was a man meant to suffer such. He was aware of it too, for all the world whispered the message. Standing now under the overcast skies that spread across his homestead, he heard their voices. In the foreclosed shack once called a home,...

7 comments 7
Read story

“It’s Janet” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #252

This story contains sensitive content, please be advised    There were just two working the helpline’s dead shift, Janet and supervisor Ivan, as Shannon had called in sick, again.“Typical,” Janet tutted after Ivan told her she’d be on her own.    “She’s got a lot on her plate,” Ivan said, pulling on his headset.    “What happens when I get my ‘caller’? You know I’m not supposed to rush anyone.” Janet had received a number of advisory comments during her volunteering.“Don’t sigh whe...

6 comments 6
Read story

“The Morbid Fascinations Podcast” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #252

Trigger Warning: Physical and Sexual Violence; Suicide I never meant to do it. Well, I did mean to do it, but somehow when I did, it only felt like fiction. That was how the podcast always felt too; like fiction. It was just another story to tell.It all started as a lark with my best friend Josie. We grew up reading about crimes in the newspapers we snuck out of the recycling after our dads finished with them. We read Nancy Drew novels like it was our job. We played detective games and spent all of our free time solving whatever mysteries we...

3 comments 3
Read story

“The Heaviest Emotion” by Brittaney Gambrell

Submitted to Contest #252

Warning; sensitive content : Physical violence, substance abuse, profanity              It crushed her. Like a steamroller creeping over her prostrate body; the gravity of each moment pressed down heavier than the last. She cried out to God as the weight macerated her soul.               But there was no relief. Why would God offer liberation when he manufactured the pressure in the first place? She...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Broken Royals ” by Natalie Portera-Sickler

Submitted to Contest #252

I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but most of the memories I have left of my grandmother are unpleasant. To say Eve was unkind was an understatement. She was downright cruel. She made a sport of pitting others against their friends, their family, and no one was safe from her sadistic schemes – especially not her own husband and children. If you ever spoke a word against her, she would verbally tear you down for daring to challenge her, and then cry victim to your so-called unfair treatment of her.She suffered a disease of disillusionmen...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Until You're Mine” by Emily Hostetter

Submitted to Contest #252

Tuesday, July 14th I could watch her all day. The way she curls her hair. The way she puts her makeup on. The way she does her laundry. Even the way she drinks a cup of tea.  Too bad she doesn’t know I exist.  At least not yet. But that’s about to change.  The sound of my knuckles rapping against the solid oak door echoes in the courtyard. In the distance, a dog barks at my intrusion on this peaceful summer evening.  My heart rate quickens at the sound of her approaching footsteps. Thump thump thump. The blood rushing in...

2 comments 2
Read story

$250

Prize money

357

Contest entries

143

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 31, 2024 EST

Won by Danielle LeBlanc 🏆

Title: Seven Hundred and Thirty Days

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

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

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 ⭢

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.