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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 – 57 stories

Stories

“Typo ” by Anastasios Repousi

Submitted to Contest #266

L…o…ll…y…A twisted treat suddenly fell from her father’s wall-mounted file rack, and she caught it, barely, and gave it a gentle blow. Ruby had seen a lot of really swirly sweets, but nothing compared to this. It had a strange mix of colours: periwinkle and tangerine tango, and where the white should normally be was a gloomy grey, like a smudged marble.Ruby had also eaten a lot of really swirly sweets, and this one tasted better than she’d ever eaten. She sat in her father’s office chair, eating the treat, and listening to the impressive sta...

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“The Wishes of a Waitress” by Dana Orr

Submitted to Contest #266

Fieri walked into her room after a hard day at work. She was sick of people mistreating her. As a waitress working for a classy and expensive restaurant, it was to be expected. But she’d grown tired of it rather quickly. It was always some elderly man or teenage boy harassing her or drooling over her. She knew she was pretty, with her long dark chocolate hair curled and pinned up elegantly, and equally stunning dark eyes. She wore glasses and thought they made her seem mature, but a lot of the female customers that came into the restau...

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“The Magic Protagonist” by George Wallace

Submitted to Contest #266

Margret looked out of the window, it had rained all day, the day was so dreary, she had a book to finish her agent had been on the phone to her hourly. The phone receiver was red hot. The noise of the rain was like a broken record, it just went on and on. ‘I will never get this book done, I just can’t be bothered to do it but I need the money, I will lose the house if I can’t pay the mortgage, thought Margret to herself. ‘John, can you ...

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“The Written Word” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #266

Casey Morgan was stuck. A struggling writer in her late 20s, she spent her days juggling part-time jobs—tutoring, freelancing, and walking dogs—just to pay rent on her cramped New York City apartment. Her nights were devoted to writing, though her manuscripts never seemed good enough to get noticed. Every rejection email felt like a nail in the coffin of her dreams. On a particularly frustrating night, after hours of staring at a blank screen, her battered old laptop froze and flashed a strange update prompt: “Install New Writing Enhancement...

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“There She Blows” by Shelley Lamie

Submitted to Contest #266

9:07AM. My phone began to vibrate to the beat of Macklemore heading downtown to pop some tags. I glanced over to see it jiving towards the edge of the desk, caller ID announcing Wanda on the other end. “Wanda, you know this is Do-Not-Disturb-Me time,” I mumbled. The gyrations stopped as T-Mobile told her to leave a voicemail. “Just send me a text message like you’re supposed to,” I thought and looked back to my laptop, not sure of how to get my momentum going again. Ah yes, Jackson was considering using the alley door of the convenienc...

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“Lucky List” by Mark Graves

Submitted to Contest #266

“What cha doing, Billy?”, my six-year-old sister asked, interrupting my meditation. “None of your business,” I said. “Now go away. I’m busy.” “Didn’t look busy to me. It looked like you were sleeping,” Suzie said with her annoying, childish giggle. “Shows what you know. I was manifesting.” I wish Mom would let me lock my door, but she promised to take it off its hinges if I locked it again. I get caught smoking weed in my room one time and they subject me to mom boot camp. Now they were threatening to make me quit the football team if I did...

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“The Writer's Curse” by Sofia Palmerston

Submitted to Contest #266

Viktor Petrov, a fifty-two-year-old author, sat at his desk, the worn leather chair groaning under his weight. He was of average height, but years spent writing had ruined his posture, making him appear shorter. Viktor didn’t care how he looked; all that mattered to him was his work. His blond hair was messy, his blue eyes hidden behind glasses, and his once soft, pale skin had grown dry and weathered. His latest novel, a dystopian thriller, was nowhere near completion. The deadline loomed, and his publisher couldn’t hold his spot any longer...

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“Haven” by Danno Guerrero

Submitted to Contest #266

My characters suck and are so damn boring | I throw my fingers into the roots of my hair and pull. Hard. The palm of my right hand throbs from the pounding I just put into my desk–in perfect time with the cursor blinking at the end of my latest masterpiece, my truth in fiction. And the truth is that I am losing time, and that nothing I ever do is— Slurp. Sluuurp. Sluuuuurp. The final slurp is what gets me from questioning if the sound is in my head to knowing it’s right behind me. I spin in my chair until I’m facing Alex. I know he’s Alex, ...

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“Miranda and Lancelot's Happy Ending” by Mary Botsford

Submitted to Contest #266

Miranda and Lancelot’s Happy Ending &...

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“PEN POWER” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #266

The strange phenomenon started for Karley one day as she sat in her favorite spot in her garden with her journal in her lap contemplating what to write or draw. She loved this garden and cottage which she had called home for ten years now since her retirement decision to leave the city and move to a much more bucolic environment. It was an overcast day. She wished the sun would break through. It wasn’t exactly gloomy, just overcast, foretelling the coming of rain with thick clouds blocking the sun. The roses about her in the garden seemed do...

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“An Escape, I Mean Heist, I Mean Spy Mission” by Britt Garman

Submitted to Contest #266

They’re close behind me as I burst onto the roof, quickly realizing there’s nowhere to go from here. I sprint to the edge of the building and look down, seeing the street 30 stories below. As I contemplate my next move, I hear the door open behind me and turn back to see three imposing men in matching suits scan the roof. It takes only a moment for them to see me and suddenly I’m out of time. I eye the gap between this roof and the one across from me. I can make it. I head towards the men for a moment, get...

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“Blank Slate” by Christina Miller

Submitted to Contest #266

I swing my sword...no, my dagger, towards Princess Acantha. Her golden hair, the same color as my sister's, no, my stepmother's, bounces as she avoids my blow. She smiles, the smirk making me grit my teeth. She's been intentionally grating my nerves since the first time we met. That was one year ago. Or was it a month? A week? Regardless, I dodge her counterattack, then, pressing my dagger to her throat, force her against the closest wall. I frown. Why did I suddenly think this seems cliché? And why am I now the one with my back pressed to t...

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“After a Deletion” by Jennifer Pletcher Borg

Submitted to Contest #266

This is excruciating. I can literally be doing anything else, but instead I’m stuck here. Waiting. Forever waiting, it seems like. The sound of clacking keys makes my heart soar but it’s the pauses in between that I dread. Especially when those pauses drag on for way too long. Make a decision already! Put your idea, however heinous, down on that ancient laptop so I can move on with my life. It figures that I get stuck with the fresh-faced amateur that's still trying to figure out how to write. Tiffany debated whether to accept th...

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“Plot-bound” by Ocean Boudreau

Submitted to Contest #266

An uncertain hand peeled apart the leather-bound notebook: my companion throughout countless drafts and revisions. The room was dim, and the only light emanated from a cheap candle casting long shadows over the piles of crumpled paper and empty coffee cups that littered my desk. Perfectly developed for my optimal productivity, I say, having spent later days defining a premise for a unique novel—thoughts tangled in frustration and anticipation. I flipped through the marred pages, and a peculiar letter pressed between the sheets tumbled out on...

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“A Very Rough Draft” by Dana Orr

Submitted to Contest #266

Alright where to start? Ah, I know. We’re going to start off easy. Let’s give her a name. Hm, let’s name her Atti. Now we take Atti and place her into the story. We’ll start her off in her bed and she’s going to wake up and go to work at- “Hold on, let me get this straight. First, you name me something as boring as Atti. Then you start my story off with me going to work?! BARF! C’mon, do you have a brain? Give me something goooood. Make me a princess or a siren or how abou-“ Atti. This is my story. And I’ll write you however I choose. You sh...

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$250

Prize money

282

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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