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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

“Dandelion Tenacity” by Judy Shank Cyg

Submitted to Contest #266

First, let me make this clear. I, Thyra “Dandelion” Teague, am real and no fictional wizard, regardless of what Auryn Rowe is writing in her latest online story chapters. Hanzi called me at work today. “You didn’t tell me you knew the author of Rose and Crown. How about dinner tonight at my house?” “I wish I did,” I said, “and yes, I read her latest story beginning. too. All right, but warn me if you’re serving macaroni and cheese so I can eat something substantial first.” “You’d criticize a free meal?” he said. “I d...

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“The Ever-Changing Story” by Lindsay Nicole

Submitted to Contest #266

Elliot I know I'm not supposed to be aware of these things, but here I am, stuck in this ever-changing maze of words and edits. To be honest, it’s a rather peculiar way to exist, if I even exist at all. My name is Elliot, although it has sometimes been spelled with one "L" and once with two "T's". Although, there are moments when I am simply referred to as "the protagonist." Honestly, that’s not the biggest concern on my mind. What I think about most is how every few paragraphs the world changes around me. For example, one minute I’m brave...

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“Go Ahead, Make One More Change” by James Barrett

Submitted to Contest #266

Three-fingered Jack Garcia. That’s me. Most lawmen and evil guys call me Three-Fingers. I am the most feared anti-hero on the planet. And the most popular. I was created by my former friend, writer Horace Lovestreet III. Horace is an Old West aficionado. He keeps a vintage Colt .45 in his desk. He pulls it out occasionally, hoping for inspiration that never comes.It all began one rainy night in Los Angeles. Horace was finishing a bottle of Jim Beam Bourbon, wondering how he would make a living now that the writing thing clearly wasn't workin...

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“Twisted Tales” by Andrea Krist

Submitted to Contest #266

Hi, my name is Bella, which is short for Isabella. I live outside the city in a small neighborhood with long sidewalks and few trees. Don't ask what city it is because at the moment I can't remember. I realize I should know where I live, but recently details—especially ones pertaining to my life—have been getting all mixed up. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like someone is playing a practical joke on me. It's like I'm constantly forgetting who I am. Some days all the details feel right and sometimes they just feel—wrong—like they were s...

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“The Many Pennies” by Lauren Nicole

Submitted to Contest #266

“Want an Almond Joy?” the taxi driver said, leaning back toward me and shuffling through the bag––a monstrously large collection of little blue wrappers.“That’s very nice of you,” I mumbled, nodding my head. When I realized he didn’t see––he was looking straight ahead––I said, “yes, please,” so softly I could barely hear my own voice. I leaned toward the driver so he wouldn’t have to turn around. “Thank you very much.”As I nibbled at the Almond Joy, the driver scooped three more candies for himself. Plopped them in his mouth all at the same ...

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“You Wouldn't Make Up Your Mind, So I Did It For You” by Geneva Plummer

Submitted to Contest #266

I was sitting in a white void, looking at the screen in front of me and listening to the constant tap-tap-tap of the author's keyboard on the laptop. My author, a 20-year-old woman named Erin, was on the other side of screen, furiously writing and re-writing the paragraph that was supposed to describe me. Apparently, I was supposed to be the main character of some sort of modernized fantasy novel. She had been procrastinating with my creation for so long that she had literally written out everything else in the story but me! At first, I didn...

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“What Wally Was, Writing” by Gabriel Constant

Submitted to Contest #266

Wally was sitting at a desk of fine African ivory. The desk was an opulent bit of furniture crafted from the tusks of eleven African bush elephants: 5 adult males, 4 adult females, and 2 adolescents – nearly an entire herd, really. Wally didn’t think of that often. Right now, he was thinking about what to write. He contemplated deeply, undulating with powerful thoughts when suddenly it struck him.“Why not me?” he thought, and then said it out loud, repeating what he had said in his mind. You see, Wally was looking for a protagonist. Wal...

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“Uncertainty” by Bec Newton

Submitted to Contest #266

Bright light burned through my eyelids, the spidery veins pulsing in time with my throbbing head. There had been too much cheer, too much merriment, and now there was a price to be paid. It seemed like it would be worth it at the time. We were, after all, celebrating a great victory and such things should be celebrated to the fullest extent. But oddly, I couldn't seem to remember what that great feat was or who else was in my company. Losing the night after in a fog of ale was to be expected but to forget what we were celebrating… A so...

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“A Few Minutes with the Fictional Character Support Group” by Bill Richter

Submitted to Contest #266

Thank you for letting me be here on such short notice, I had no idea something like this even existed and I appreciate you all giving me this time. OK, I’ll give you a little background about me first, as much as I can. Based on all the drafts of this story so far, I can tell you I’m a pretty reserved person and I am the calmer one in the relationship I have with a woman named Kara. While Kara has had a few minor re-writes along the way, she’s generally stayed the same and is the one who is more outgoing, more impulsive, and the one who has ...

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“Clarity” by Allen Pearcy

Submitted to Contest #266

Clarity A Short Recollection by Allen Pearcy Friday, September 13, 9:45 pm: How do you even start one of these things? Dear diary? To whom it may concern? Dear future me? A lot has come together for me recently and in a short period of time so I thought it would be a good time for me to start journaling. I just want to capture some daily musings if nothing else. Maybe the occasional deep thought. Who knows, maybe even an earth-shattering revelation. But, for today, I’m going to set my bar a little lower. I just started a new job and I’m ...

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“Apex ” by Dane Andersen

Submitted to Contest #266

Without you, I am still something. Surely I am here existing even if you see me as nothing more than your next meal. Those below me are nothing. The sound of his voice echoed throughout his hollow chamber of sticks and mud; each individual part of the mold was a part of a greater ornately laid design which if examined long enough appeared to be collapsing and expanding simultaneously in a dizzying, dancing, embrace. This house of sticks and mud had been built by the strength of his parents and their parents before them. This was his home and...

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“Edits.” by Anil Ibrahim

Submitted to Contest #266

Edits He could feel the light on his face. Who needs an alarm clock when the heat of a thousand suns comes right into the bedroom uninvited every goddamn morning.Without opening his eyes he furrowed his brow, “Really? A thousand suns? Why didn’t you put in some blinds or curtains on the window?”“Because that is how you chose to wake up in the mornings remember? You thought it would be more natural or something.”“Dude, come on. I’m tired you had me running all over town last night!! Try Again, I am fucking tired!”“Fine.”“He rolled over off th...

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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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