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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

“One Hellish Quota” by Lindsey Bugajski

Submitted to Contest #266

One... two... three! She counted and she tapped along with her fingers to the keyboard. Blinking rhythmically with the clock that hung behind her, sunken head hung around her laptop. She felt her limited time slowly slink away, as it’s always done before. An electronic buzz later, she realized her time was up. She sat up from her seat and began toward the now busy breakroom, where her other coworkers enthusiastically whispered about their works, about their speed, about everything Penny didn’t have. The clattering of mugs as wired workers d...

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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...

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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...

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“Ritual Inspiration” by Les P

Submitted to Contest #266

September 6th, 2024 It's been so long since Milo died. I've become a worse author without him around. My characters are flat, my pacing stunted. We used to talk for hours about the ideas that were rattling around in my head. When they stay in my brain, they just suffocate. But once he put his touch on them, they came to life in a way I could never accomplish on my own. He was my muse, my best beta reader. And for the past two years, I've written nothing of worth. I miss him so much. That's why I've resolved myself to fix this situation, what...

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“Rapture” by Joshua Petty

Submitted to Contest #266

Everything was poised perfectly. A cornucopia of inspiration surrounded Cassidy Flemming, and yet he stood, seized, with the sharp tingling smell of white spirits burning his nose, the bright white canvas burning his eyes, and the warm reassuring weight of the paintbrush burning his heart with its betrayal. Cassidy threw the brush down with disgust, rocking the small table beside the easel. He hadn't been able to paint anything in months so here he was surrounded by all the required elements for the ritual with the Conduit. He looked over th...

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“Waiting for Inspiration” by Beverly Goldberg

Submitted to Contest #266

Samantha knew that the only way she’d ever produce an interesting article about the city for the editor of the newspaper she’d finally gotten an interview with was to force herself to concentrate. To avoid any and all distractions, to keep herself behind her desk for as long as it took to find the strong premise for such an article. She had been desperate. Not only for the money, but for a start on the career she wanted. After all, that was why she’d enrolled in all those journalism classes after her divorce. The alimony she received just di...

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“Dead to Write” by Cameron Navarre

Submitted to Contest #266

My faithful readers,In the pages of this monthly column, I have revealed to you the mysterious doings of some of the most curious and eccentric persons on this earth. Over the years of your faithful readership, you’ve followed along on my adventures in meeting such elusive characters as the Bayou Swamp Preacher, the Magician Salesman, and the Mob Exorcist. Although I’m proud of my chronicles thus far, there had been one particularly evanescent figure of great importance who had evaded my attention…until now. Join me as I regale my encou...

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“A Work of Truly Staggering Genius” by Benjamin Rice

Submitted to Contest #266

"Where y'at, Ken?" "Hey, Phil. Um... this is going to sound dumb, but I am going by John now." The young professor slumps down on a stool at Phil's bar. Phil had not seen the man in at least a few weeks, maybe a month or two, now that he thought about it. He could not say that he was not a bit shaken by the man’s appearance now. Haggard, unshaven, and pale in complexion. Now he wanted to be called John? "John's your old man, ain't 'e? Seems confusin'. But whatcha want. Speaking a which -- Sazerac?" Phil wipes down the old wooden bar in front...

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“Aaliyah” by Max Wang

Submitted to Contest #266

Chapter 1: Aaliyah It was early morning, and Aaliyah, still rubbing her eyes as usual, stepped into the blinding sunlight as warmth began to crawl across her skin. Younger than her peers, the elderly women of her community would often ask her to run errands near the bustling marketplace in the morning, such as purchasing herbs, flowers, oils, and fish, and to wash the dishes and clothes at night. “Why do I have to go?” she shouted to a eunuch, ordered to guard the walls of the ...

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“The Author's Tale” by David Newcombe

Submitted to Contest #266

There had been yet another long period of worry, stress, confinement and social withdrawal but all that had now changed, for now. Today was the first face-to-face meeting of the Billabriggy Writer’s Club since the third pandemic. Everyone looked forward to catching up. They were lucky to reserve a table at their usual café as the world emerged from its enforced confinement to re-establish a more normal existence. The neighbouring kerbside cafes were crowded and the roads busy with traffic. Instead of their former spot, the group found themse...

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“When All Else Fails” by Deni Bee

Submitted to Contest #266

“Who says I can’t write to a deadline,” Joanne cried exultantly, punctuating her delight by typing the last character, of the last word, of the last section of her story, with a flourish. Her roommate, Serena, was busily reading, but smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “Almost done,” she said. “C’mon,” Joanne gestured, grabbing her jacket from the back of a dining room chair, “you can finish proofreading that later. I need to get some fresh air.” Laughing, they pushed the outer doors of their apartment complex open, nearly knocking over one of ...

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“What Comes Around” by Dan Coglianese

Submitted to Contest #266

Monday, 9:15am. Simone slumped into her cubicle chair with a sigh. Closing her eyes as she lowered her head, Simone rubbed her temples with her fingers. Five minutes later, she stood behind two others in the break room waiting for the Keurig machine. There was only one, and there was no way she was going to settle for whatever slop was in the glass pot sitting on a round warming tin straight out of the 1980s. It...

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“The Inadvertent Spy” by Phil Browne

Submitted to Contest #266

I didn’t ask to be born, but who does? I feel my situation is unique though. More created than born. I have name. I had a different one an hour ago. I go from place to place and travel back and forth through time. I never seem to stay in one place for very long. I have to believe that if he can just finish a story, I will finally be anchored to a home. A place where I can rest. Who’s he, you ask? The dummy on the other end of the keyboard? I don’t even know. I can tell you he has big ambitions to be a big-shot writer. I can also say with con...

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“You’re only a reflection of the author” by Fletcher Fox

Submitted to Contest #266

Being a fictional character has some challenges. Not nearly as many challenges as being a living breathing human being who uses the bathroom (no, luckily most fiction fails to include that bodily function unless it’s relevant to the narrative), but some challenges. Sometimes your name will be changed, or even if you’re written as a ‘you’ or in the third person, or even your entire character can be rewritten, trading a motivation that once ruled your every action for a more general goal or simpler emotion, or, more often, the change occurs th...

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“Take #4” by Marie Nolan

Submitted to Contest #266

** Story contains some suggestive sexual innuendo **My fingers lazily trailed down Vanessa’s arm. My dark brown eyes maintained steady eye contact with her bright blue ones as my fingers lazily stroked the inside of her wrist. I heard an involuntarily shudder and moan escape from her parted lips. With increaseing confidence, I moved my fingers to her hip. I let my fingers linger there for a bit, waiting for unspoken permission to delve further downward. “Plesse, Jake… don’t stop,” whispered Vanessa. Her body had told me that I could proceed,...

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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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