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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 Art of Desire” by Jax Wilder

Submitted to Contest #266

The spell was more complicated than I had anticipated, requiring ingredients that weren’t exactly standard fare in our spell kits. I had to gather them all under the cloak of night, sneaking through the shadows of the campus, hoping no one would ask too many questions. First, there was the lock of hair from a true artist—this one I “borrowed” from the head of a particularly talented upperclassman who had a habit of brushing his hair in the common room. Next, a drop of ink from a quill that had written a masterpiece. For that, I made a visit ...

2 comments 2
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“The Perfect Life” by Marshall Gothage

Submitted to Contest #266

Gregor sat, surrounded by the morning rush of the congested coffee shop, occasionally checking his periphery for any admirers.  He peacocked as a struggling writer. He was sporting faded blue jeans, a wrinkled white button-down, and a rusted suede coat a few sizes too small that strangled his arms like a boa. The coat forced him to write uncomfortably in ten-minute intervals, anything over that, and his arms began to go numb. Without it, however, he would not look like a writer, ruining the point of writing in a coffee shop.  The t...

5 comments 5
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“Worlds Abound” by Christina Miller

Submitted to Contest #266

The satisfying clacking of the keyboard echoes above the upbeat tones of the background video game music I always listen to when I write. The sound brings a slight smile to my lips. Nothing makes me happier than sitting here, listening to the cartoon monster-catching music and making progress on the book that I'll probably never finish, but love working on anyway. Keon knew he needed to get away from Declan as soon as possible. Lyn's brother was dead set on destroying the known worlds by any means necessary. Keon's Gift would make it easier ...

0 comments 0
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“A path worth taking” by Veronique Aglat

Submitted to Contest #266

The dog started showing up at the end of August, just as school started. He waited for Devon every Tuesday at the corner of 5th Avenue and Bannantyne. How did it know it was Tuesday? How did it know he had a pound of hamburger for the family's weekly tacos? How did it know it was 3:30 pm?! Animals can tell time. Someone should write a PhD about that.At first, Devon ignored the dog; he didn't want to share. If anything, he wanted the one-pound bloody package to be more voluminous!But, as the trees dropped their bounty of leaves, as schoolchil...

1 comment 1
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“Just Words” by Fredrich TheFrogdrick

Submitted to Contest #266

You've probably heard about me before. I'm someone who was never bragged about. I'm not a straight A student, not a pretty girl, not smart, and not dedicated. I tried, but with so much failure it didn't seem to matter. At first when I said it's fine, it wasn't, but it grew to be. I got used to it. Used to a life where my all was never enough. Where to all I was no more than a let down so I started hiding in the crowds, just another head bobbing in the masses, a fish in the school, nothing notable about me, not a thing out of place, just how ...

0 comments 0
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“Murder Into Art” by Geir Westrul

Submitted to Contest #266

"I give up! It's all shit!"  "Pardon?" "I said that out loud, didn't I?" The burly, bearded man knocks back the last slug of the cheap whiskey, motions at the bartender for another, and swivels on the bar stool, eyes bleary.  "Of what do you speak?" The small man with the fantastic mustaches wears dove-grey gloves on his small hands, both hands palms-down on the bar top, a small glass of an emerald green liquid on a cocktail napkin placed at the exact midpoint between his two hands.    "Publishing." "Oh, you are enga...

5 comments 5
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“The Murderer Next Door” by Kristy Schnabel

Submitted to Contest #266

(This story indirectly hints at alcoholism and physical abuse.)I’ve been a member of an online writer’s group for three years, and tonight, I’ll be mixin’ the agenda up in a way they couldn’t imagine. We critique each other’s writing to make it better. First, we offer praise such as “good characterization,” “Nice pacin’,” or “Great descriptions.” Then, we go in for the kill: “The story bored me in the middle,” “The character lacks emotion and depth,” or “I didn’t get the endin’.” It can be brutal, but if we can survive the criticism, we end ...

5 comments 5
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“The Creator's Cure” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #266

Dear Cynthia,I want to write something with you again. I still love to write and I know you do too. We had so much fun. We still can. What do you say? I want to call it, The Cousin’s Cure, because I think we can help each other. Creating can be a very personal thing, and I want to share it with someone who will understand. I know you will. I’m curious to see where this road will take us. Maybe back to one another. Maybe we can be best friends again. God knows I miss you. I miss you more than words can say. Write me soon.&...

1 comment 1
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“Shadow Bonds ” by Favola Viola

Submitted to Contest #266

In the old town of Ravenwood, the fog descended every evening, enveloping the cobbled streets and contributing to the eerie atmosphere that had made the town a haven for lovers of gothic art and literature. The shadows lengthened quickly along the deserted streets, and anyone with a bit of sense would retreat behind closed doors, leaving the town to the night, its mysteries, and its artists. On one such night, a young writer found himself at the bedside of an old man, famous for a single, extraordinary novel he had written in his youth. That...

1 comment 1
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“Interview with the Writer” by Chaim Holtjer

Submitted to Contest #266

My palms were sweaty, as they always were right before any public appearance. My heart pounded in my chest and I felt a stir in my gut that was all too familiar. A wave of almost unbearable uncertainty washed over me as I tried to push my negative thoughts away. I wasn’t any good at all, my writing sucked worse than that of the average social media user, and I was nothing but a scam and a fraud. As the audience applauded on the other side of the dark curtains, I took a deep breath and remembered the soft words of encouragement from my therap...

0 comments 0
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“Aspergillus Flavus” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #266

The backhoe tears at the earth, digging up rich, brown soil. “You’d better come up with something, Cliff… And soon,” Randall warns. Schooled at Cambridge in England, reed-thin, bi-racial Randall Fakir Raheem speaks four languages. As the King’s Counsellor of State and liaison for the Valley of the Dead Excavation Project, Randall has developed a fascination with native folklore. Small in stature with a prevailing roguish smile, Cliff Romer often gets away with his mistakes because he resembles a carefree leprechaun. Cliff calls himself an id...

2 comments 2
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“The Halls of Meh” by Rebecca Hurst

Submitted to Contest #266

Every profession has its own Valhalla. The cops and the firefighters have clubbable halls, where there is much back-slapping and drinking. A lot of reminiscing. Eventually, these people will fade into oblivion, but their full stop is gentle. It’s pleasing. There is no heaven or hell, but purgatory is cosmically vast. The rules, however, are earth-bound in their petty-mindedness. Supermarket workers have an enormous, well-stocked hypermarket where they enjoy a permanent tea break. Lawyers engage in endl...

8 comments 8
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“The moth” by Eszter Szalay

Submitted to Contest #266

Tom sat nervously in front of the head officer’s workroom. He read the seedy letters on the door over and over again like a sacral mantra, Stewart Alma’s office, chief of police. This was his fifth time visiting the police this week as he feared for his life as well as the righteousness of our legal system. So he sat in the same dirty brown leather chair, letting his whole body covered in cold sweat slowly sink into the worn out dirty furniture. Above his head were yellow lights, with flies buzzing around , hitting the lightbulb in agony fro...

3 comments 3
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“Let There Be Light... Eventually” by Matt Robson

Submitted to Contest #266

If morning had been invented yet, God would have woken up on this particular morning feeling rather chipper. Today was The Day. The big one. The one he’d been planning for all eternity. Summoning his ‘To-do’ list, he glanced at the small sheet and the single item written across the top in neat, block capitals.  CREATE THE UNIVERSE He vanished the list and clapped his hands together with a sound akin to what humans would eventually name thunder, rubbing them in anticipation. “Right”, he announced to no one in particular, and to all of th...

2 comments 2
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“Musings” by Dafni Ma

Submitted to Contest #266

I swore I would never be like my family. Growing up, my parents were a constant source of embarrassment and the cause of my bullying at school. The only thing they said to me when I came back crying was: “They don’t understand. Forgive them.”It’s funny how the words of Jesus were used to cover up their unholy acts which led to my crappy childhood. It’s also funny how the kids who were making fun of me somehow had the stupidest accidents after a while. By the time I was in the last class, there were too many accidents to ignore, and no one wa...

1 comment 1
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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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

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Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

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