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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#266: The Write Stuff

Hello, fellow writers! Before diving into this week’s contest, I have an exciting announcement to make: the Reedsy Book Editor, our beloved (and free) writing app, is now Reedsy Studio! This cozy space is designed to be your creative haven, where you can make boards to sketch out your wildest character ideas, set goals to help you reach the finish line, export your stories with beautiful, customized typesetting, and so much more.

Studio is a gorgeous, functional book editor where your creativity can truly flourish… which brings me to the focus of this week’s contest. If you’re an aspiring author like me, you’ve probably experienced writer’s block at least once in your life — not to mention all the distractions life seems to perpetually throw at you. So, this week, let’s write stories inspired by artists and the creative process. Whether you’re the world’s biggest procrastinator or have been waiting for inspiration to strike, there’s bound to be a prompt below that speaks to you!

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone who wants to give up on their career right before their big break.

Short Story – 39 stories

Your protagonist discovers that everything they type comes true. What happens next?

Short Story – 54 stories

Write from the POV of a character in a story who keeps getting re-written by their second-guessing author.

Short Story – 92 stories

Your protagonist has the perfect day scheduled — but things don’t go according to plan.

Short Story – 40 stories

Write about someone who summons the creative muse through a convoluted ritual or method.

Short Story – 56 stories

Stories

“The Prodigal Daughter” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #266

The cuckoo clock chimed seven. Douglas listened to it all the way through before getting out of bed. He glanced at his reflection in the dressing table mirror. Not too bad for an old man of seventy-five. His bearing was erect, his steely blue eyes clear and sharp and although his hair was silver verging on white, he still had plenty of it. He showered, shaved and dressed and was in the kitchen by seven thirty on the dot. He started the coffee maker and began to heat the water for his boiled egg. He set the egg timer and went to consult the w...

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“Shadows” by Amelia Corbeau

Submitted to Contest #266

Locals say that their island was raised for the artists and the dreamers. That the slow-paced nonchalance of their days gives way to nights of bright and boneless sleep. That their clean air, their forested labyrinths and lush bracken breed the inspiration for free thinking. The living etched from the tedium of their pebbled shores is scant and humble, but it grants the space to create. Their rhetoric is their anthem. A lighthouse amidst a chicanery of violent seas. A lilting promise that beckons those who have only ever watched f...

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“MuseConnect” by S.L. Stallings

Submitted to Contest #266

2:20 a.m. — Alma scrolled through her social media feed, unable to sleep. Dim light cast eerie shadows across a dozen unfinished canvases hanging in wait. Her creativity had dried up weeks ago. All that was left was anxiety and a sinking feeling that her parents were right.Art isn't a way to make a living.2:22 a.m. — An ad for 'MuseConnect' appeared. It blocked her scrolling and refused to close. Alma stared at the screen, eyes wide.Have you lost your edge? Need to do something spectacular to silence the parents? If you're a creati...

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“The Alchemist's Muse: A Ritual of Urban Enchantment” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #266

In the heart of a bustling metropolis, within a narrow, dimly-lit apartment on the top floor of an aging skyscraper, Elara sought the elusive muse that had long evaded her creative grasp. Her apartment was a curious blend of modern minimalism and arcane relics, an unusual sanctuary amidst the city's relentless pace. This juxtaposition provided a unique backdrop for her intricate ritual. Elara’s journey to summon inspiration was as complex as the city skyline was vast. It began with the meticulous selection of thirteen rare herbs, each one im...

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“ENGL 682” by WM .

Submitted to Contest #266

“Who's late to their own class?” Another student stands up, “Yeah, I’m about to leave.” Frustrated, he exited the classroom, followed by half the students. The door slams, a chuckle ringed from the back of the room. “Now we’re ready to begin.” The man says, standing up. The room was silent, nobody remembered seeing this man sitting in the back. He wore a black hoodie, a bucket hat, and gray sunglasses. By the time it registered, he had already locked the exit. He was huge, definitely more of a door than a window.“Okay, n...

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“Triple M Day” by Nikki Elbertson

Submitted to Contest #266

Olivia turned off her alarm, hopped out of bed, and exed out yesterday’s calendar square with her magenta glitter pen. Triple M Day finally had arrived, and she was ready. She rubbed the ladybug locket that hung from her neck, as she examined the items on her desk next to her laptop: candles, tea, essential oils, the book, and of course, the checklist. Today was Olivia’s first day off in almost two months. On weekends and most evenings, Olivia worked at her family’s vintage store, Another Woman’s Treasure, allowing her parents, now in their ...

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“Seeking the Wild Muse” by A.K. Guidry

Submitted to Contest #266

My legs are sorer than I ever recall them having been and my skin is marred with no less than nine mosquito bites. I counted them last night while trying to fall asleep under a scratchy quilt in a cabin without adequate air conditioning. If I had been in a rational state of mind, I might have asked myself why I would possibly think that spending a couple weeks in the middle of nowhere with little more modern amenities than a working bathroom and a place to plug in my phone, which is mostly just serving as a glorified notebook at this point, ...

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“The Night at Solomon's and the Days After” by Emily Brown

Submitted to Contest #266

At her desk, wrapped in her dad’s old jumper, Sylvia Lamb stares at a lump of clay. She hasn’t touched it in the last hour, only every so often reaching out, struck by an idea before flinching away, sure that it was wrong. Before enrolling in university, Sylvia had no problem creating, in fact her room in her mum’s house was filled with sculptures. Six months later and half a term into her new school and she was stuck, paralysed; as unmoving as one of her pieces. Around h...

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“Thanks To Carolyn” by Mason Clark Jones

Submitted to Contest #266

Thanks to Carolyn “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” -Pablo Picasso Perhaps it didn’t matter where I started, as long as I got through the whole thing, but something about her hands called to me. Folded so neatly, resting with light grace on the arm of her chair, such a simple and elegant gesture. Crrrkkt went my cheap scissors, slicing her hands away. They fell to the table, perhaps even more beguiling on their own, the softness of her subtly detailed fingers a glowing contrast to the scarred plastic beneath. Her e...

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“It Stared Back” by Jide Fadairo

Submitted to Contest #266

On the border of the school, brushing against the stones of the wizard's sanctum was a forest. Older than the school, it had magic of its own. You could smell it in the air, dense with near-stagnant, eternal life. You would feel it as the mildew from times gone lingered long enough to drench the shoes of the today.Walk into the forest, travel far enough, and it will become clear it is not a place for man. Foliage with minds of their own grab at your clothes to keep you from sinking deeper. Plentiful roots breach the soil to wear away at your...

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“Rubidoux” by Anna Stasko

Submitted to Contest #266

“Hot food, hot food!”Meghan peeked at me through the serving window, her red curly hair sticking out through the hair net and her brows furrowed in an irritated expression.“What’s the matter with you?” she said. “Hot food’s getting cold!”“Nothing,” I said as I grabbed the hot plates and placed them on a tray. “Got a lot on my mind. You don’t need to holler about it, I got it.”“Yeah, but you’re slow today, poking around like you’re planting a garden or something.”“Not slow today,” I said. “We’re just busier than usual.”Meghan was all bark, no...

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“The Office” by Enrique Melendez

Submitted to Contest #266

My morning is nothing special, woke up at 7 am, washed up, had coffee, and off to work. The horns and screams from all sides gave me anxiety and the 35-minute time to get there only gave me reasons to turn around. “Come on, the turn is right there, you idiot,” I said to an old man who couldn’t use a turn signal. I gave ...

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“Is It Time To Go?” by Allysa Agnes

Submitted to Contest #266

‘I’ve been doing this for ten years… And I’ve never felt more tired in my life. Still nobody understands my poetry, people refuse to read my books… What am I supposed to do now? Is it time to give up on my whole life?’ This is what Alice was thinking certain summer day. She’s been professionally working in this industry as a poet and writer for four years now, but it started with blogging ten years ago, indeed. She’s worked hard for her own name all this time, and in the end, she grew tired of trying… Could it not be her destiny after all…? ...

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“Little Blue Book ” by Grace Fleming-Williams

Submitted to Contest #266

The final paragraph gently came to rest on the page. A life time of secrets perfectly and privately captured within the world of my characters. My box of blue diaries sat neatly on the kitchen table. What was once a lively little box of tangled, wriggling memories was now as peaceful as a sleeping child. 60 years worth of diary writing compacted into one story. Hannah’s wet nose nudged my forearm. I must have been sitting too still. For the first time in many years, my mind was straight. My skin was calm. The door knocked. Tabatha was l...

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“Maze” by Prem Swamy

Submitted to Contest #266

It’s a Maze. If you’re hung from the ceiling, you see a huge space bounded by glass walls, Filled with boxes: more of half cut boxes with each having an opening to enter and exit and a computer on the table inside it. Groups of these boxes are interconnected by wide walkways which can fit two people at a time. There are special glass boxes too, with large rectangular table, chairs, a projector and screen.People fill up these boxes over the morning, move around throughout the day, leisurely retire by the evening. And some even reserving half ...

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$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

108

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 06, 2024 EST

Won by Derrick M Domican 🏆

Title: inspirAItion

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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