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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#260: A Twist in the Tale

Has a friend ever recommended a book or a movie with the line, "The twist is amazing"? I usually hate when they do that. Even if they don't spill the beans on what the plot twist is, just knowing there is one can spoil the fun. I won't be able to resist trying to pre-empt the plot, and guess what that it might be — but a truly great twist is always rewarding, whether you expect it or not.


Here's a twist I'm sure you saw coming: this week's contest is all about them. Your readers will know there's one on the horizon. Can you still manage to surprise us?

This week's prompts

Write a story with a big twist.

Dramatic – 188 stories

Write a story in which a character learns something unexpected about someone they thought they knew well.

Mystery – 63 stories

Write a story about someone who realises the story of their life has been pre-determined — until they decide to divert from the expected path.

Character – 31 stories

Write a story that includes the line, "I didn't see that one coming."

Dialogue – 41 stories

Write a story using the most clichéd twist of all; it was all a dream.

Narrative – 105 stories

Stories

“Amongst the Wind and Waves” by Charlotte Li

Submitted to Contest #260

It was the summer of '94, a hot and sweltering day when my beloved sister's voice rang from the doorway: "I'll be at the beach; see you in an hour ."That was the last time I heard my sister's voice.  My sister Julianna was always too beautiful. Her eyes resembled the blue ocean and were filled with depth and ingenuity. To hold onto her gaze was to plunge into the deepest waters, as they held onto you in such a mesmerizing way. Something that made Julianna so loved by all was the way her eyes constantly seemed to tell one they were ...

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“Fire” by Fatima Aladdin

Submitted to Contest #260

Fire surrounds you. You’re not sure how it happened; you’ve just woken up, and your room is on fire … Are you even in your room? It’s hard to tell, it’s too bright to tell. Maybe you’re at the camping ground you go to on the last weekend of every month and your partner forgot to put out the fire – like they often do, and somehow the night carried it onto your tent. Or maybe your partner was trying to be romantic, maybe they knew that forgetting your anniversary would be the last straw, and they remembered it after you’d gone to bed, so they ...

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“Patient 27 ” by Olivia Rose

Submitted to Contest #260

Chloe couldn’t remember if the blood on her hands was hers or someone else’s. She inspected her palms, noting the way the scarlet liquid wedged itself in the grooves carved into her flesh. It was an excessive amount, dripping down the sides of her hands, splattering on the floor beneath her in a rhythmic drip-drip-drip. A thud before her prompted her to look up and see a man—her patient—bang his head against the wall. His hands were shaking, and when he raised his head to pin those wild, crazed eyes on Chloe, she noticed his bleeding nose. ...

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“The Comedians” by Caleb Patstone

Submitted to Contest #260

John watched the river's inky depths as it oozed under the bridge, the dim moonlight casting ghostly reflections on the water. With his back to one of the bridge supports, he stretched out his legs, pushing the five-foot-long, protective black case at his feet over the edge. He watched it fall with a smile of sinister satisfaction as he raised a can of Philip’s Soda Works Sparkmouth in toast. The box hit the water, disrupting the stillness of the night before sinking into the river's depths.        &nb...

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“Copycats” by Derrek Carman

Submitted to Contest #260

The sound of the alarm on his phone made Paul wake up. He shut the alarm off and put his phone back down on the nightstand. He rolled over and looked at where his wife slept. Strangely she was already out of bed. He climbed out of bed and walked out to the kitchen. Sharon was standing at the fridge and was talking on the phone. She hadn’t noticed that Paul walked in.  “Yes. I understand. No, he doesn’t know yet.” Paul was confused from only hearing one side of the conversation. She closed the door and made eye contact with Paul. She smi...

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“All Good Things...” by Dom Murph

Submitted to Contest #260

As Jessie sinks into the bathtub, she slips into her past.    Creative and a natural singer. Popular and pretty. Life had promised much.   Jessie reaches out of the steaming bathwater and runs her fingertips along the small scar on her cheek, which, as a teen, she had learned to hide under concealer. The scar tissue sends Jessie crashing back to her childhood bedroom.  Sat cross-legged on a Little Mermaid bedspread surrounded by the smiles of Ariel and Flounder, Jessie listened to her parents arguing. Jessie cu...

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“Fluffy’s Remorse” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #260

My name is Dirk. I don’t remember when I fell in love with Maribeth, but it was sometime during my senior year in high school. I was 17. We spent endless days together, driving aimlessly with the windows down in the old Buick, ballroom dancing, laughing at private jokes, going to the drive-in movies they still had back then, and sharing dreams as vast as the horizon.  Maribeth had a way of making the world brighter. Her laughter was infectious. She was a dancer, and her energy was boundless. The girl was beautiful in an effortless way, ...

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“The Ring” by Esther Aardsma

Submitted to Contest #260

Dear [illegible], I don’t even know what to call you anymore. You’re not my Mum anymore; you lost the right, the privilege to be called that. It feels weird to call you by first name, and wow the irony that your name should be Angel. Your mother should have called you Thief instead. Or Breaker of Hearts. I refuse to call you Mrs. Harkness anymore either, you shamed Dad in ways you didn’t even care about. I wish he would just divorce you. But he says he doesn’t have time, and he doesn’t have any desire to get married again anyway, so wha...

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“The Flying ” by Daniel Unda

Submitted to Contest #260

Oh, bird of my soul, fly away now, For I possess a hundred fortified towers. Rumi Julia had always been a friend to birds. Since she was little, she liked to observe their strange movements. She grew up in the countryside, and chickens were her faithful companions during her childhood. She watched them walk clumsily, always looking at the ground for worms, with their spasmodic movements, vacant and expressionless eyes, and guttural clucking. Above all, she was drawn to observing that apparent air of dislocation, as if they wer...

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“All Dolled Up” by Brandon Ohl

Submitted to Contest #260

Lori Delapena shuffles things around the top of her cluttered dresser as she spirals deeper into a fit of exasperation.Son of a mother f…She imagines punching something but instead steadies her nerves and promises herself to be more organized from now on, something she’d done and would do many more times.A-ha!She finds what she’s after under a picture of herself when she was a baby. Brick red lipstick. The same kind she wore on her first date with her husband, Kasey, and it had been his favorite color ever since.Relieved, Lori puts on the li...

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“The Perfect Partnership” by Mackenzie Mohnacky

Submitted to Contest #260

The only thing missing at Lillian’s wedding was an armed escort. With the Red Devil Gang still at large in the desolate streets of 1932 Chicago, reporter Lillian Charles and detective Edward Gray remained prime targets of unprovoked violence. Their repeated victories against the leaders of the gang almost ensured the visit of several uninvited guests on their special day.Regardless of the relaxed security system, there must have been at least three hundred people squeezed into the small church, all dressed in the best they could afford. The ...

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“A Rage To Burn ” by Timothy Holland

Submitted to Contest #260

The five-gallon gas can was in the bed of the old gray pickup truck. A pack of cigarettes rested in his shirt chest pocket. A book of matches in his pant pocket. Old newspapers lay on the passenger’s side of the truck seat. It was dark enough to get the job done. Leroy Stanford Jackson had had enough. The anger which had always been a part of him was at the boiling point. On this night, the man, who in his mind, so many people had passed over was about to get revenge. That revenge would come at the hands of all who worked at the sawmill. Th...

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“Dragon Dialog No. 1 (From the foundational documents of the Church of the Meaningless Coincidence)” by Drew Herman

Submitted to Contest #260

Northern Africa, sometime in the sixth century A.D.St. George has defeated the dragon. He trusses the monster up in Princess Sabra’s girdle and all three start off for the village. On the way, the dragon strikes up a conversation to pass the time before his trial and execution.DRAGON: I apologize for choosing a lair so far out of town, but I found the view and quiet neighborhood irresistible.GEORGE: I had particularly noticed the fine vista. I congratulate you on your selection.DRAGON: Thank you, although I must credit an excellent estate ag...

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“The Hidden Future ” by Arnav Janeesh

Submitted to Contest #260

I stared into the depths of the mirror in my bathroom and saw a gleaming reflection of a boy much more mature than he had ever been. A soft smile was chiseled onto his face; a smile he had been practicing in front of this mirror for a long time now, as well as how else he would present myself to the interviewer later today. I checked to see if the buttons on the blazer were tightened, and he did the same thing, strutting a confident and affluent look that seemingly no New York businessman could match. I adjusted my tie, though I knew it was ...

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“Build A Husband” by Nan Qu

Submitted to Contest #260

After reels became completely flavorless, Jessica ran out of things to do. Her thumb window wiped her phone, back and forth and back. Youtube. Instagram. Reddit. Google News. She chewed through them all. What else. Then she saw it. The app she downloaded a while ago but never felt like it to try. Edam. Her thumb loomed over and cast a shadow. She hesitated. Three seconds later, she tapped on the icon, a purple apple, undevoured. A message showed demanding an update. Jessica was glad about the reason not to proceed. Yet before she c...

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$250

Prize money

428

Contest entries

131

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 26, 2024 EST

Won by Elizabeth Hoban 🏆

Title: You

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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