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#27 Agatha Christie

It's no secret why one of the most-repeated writing tips is: to read. You can learn endless craft wisdoms by reading the works of literary greats — and also lesser-known authors, too. Reading, in general, is simply a valuable way to improve your skills as a writer.

This week, we're pulling inspiration from the author behind two of crime fiction's most beloved sleuths: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Yes, each of the below prompts relate in some way to themes, symbols, or other common elements in the writings of Agatha Christie.

Want to learn more about the Grand Dame of crime fiction? Check out our Agatha Christie reading guide!

This week's prompts

Write a short story that takes place on a train.

High School – 127 stories

Write a short story about a jury of people tasked with making a decision. (It doesn't necessarily need to be a court jury.)

Adults – 29 stories

Write a short story in which a specialist is called upon to carry out a job.

High School – 36 stories

Write a short story that ends with a twist.

Mystery – 154 stories

Write a short story that takes place in a quaint, idyllic, English village.

Fiction – 31 stories

Stories

The Scepter of the Priest

Ahmed Wael

Submitted to Contest #27

The gates were wide open, thick high gates of pure gold, decorated with many elegant hieroglyphic symbols and spells that prevent the king's enemies from trying to assassinate him. Hiding behind them a very large hall, at the end of which the great throne made of pure gold settles in the middle between two statues for two giants with the head of a jackal and a human body, a huge throne that accommodates a giant, which makes the queen appear slim in size.The guards advanced inside the hall pushing a short, slim man compared to the two giant g...

12 likes

Evelyn's Gone Mad and I Feel Fine

Submitted to Contest #27

“Pirates? Like in Peter Pan?” “Well, technically pirate. Singular. Just one. A girl.” “A girl pirate?” “She says her name is Anne.” Evelyn fidgeted uncomfortably, pulling at her skirt. “I didn’t know there were girl pirates.” “Well, there were. At least two, anyway. Anne tells me that she had a friend called Mary and they were pirates together on the sea.” I tore into the scone Evelyn had given me with unladylike vigor so I’d have time to process this. The only pirates I’d ever seen were the mustachioed men from that Peter Pan play I saw ...

12 likes

Track Therapy

Christine Johnson

Shortlisted for Contest #27 ⭐️

Audra needs a quiet train ride this morning so she is purposefully taking a later train than normal. The sunrise train cars full of business people bickering about work-induced anxieties will be pulling into the terminal station tunnels downtown when she boards the eight-nineteen.With the Loomis presentation on digitizing their warehouse only two days away, Audra will lead the rehearsal for the entire team this afternoon. As project manager, she will orchestrate a cohesive narrative – ensuring everyone understands how their piece o...

12 likes

A Fowl Liberation

Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #27

The train was set to leave the station at midnight, full to the brim with merchandise and passengers travelling from Omaha, West to the California coast. The engineer, Tommy, let out a slow breath and watched it crystalize in the air. It was going to be a cold night and a long quiet ride. He pulled his parka closer around his face and felt the warm fur tickle his nose. Shivering, he pulled himself into the engine, and with one last wave to Fred the stationmaster, he released the brakes and headed out int...

11 likes

Upper Morecambe’s Science Fiction Festival All-Ages Costume Contest

Marte Van Der Linden

Submitted to Contest #27

According to a particular genre of movies - the kind involving copious explosions and bad guys with no shooting skills - a visiting UFO should fly past the pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge before landing in either downtown Manhattan or a cornfield with a scarecrow and a creaky windmill. The movies got it wrong. The first UFO to visit Earth actually landed on the outskirts of the village of Upper Morecambe, Gloucestershire, England, where it parked itself neatly behind Miss Peabody’s honeysuckle-covered cottage. The little white fence that sep...

11 likes

Night Train to Pinea

Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #27

“Tickets and passes, please! Tickets and passes!” bellowed the conductor, startling John awake from his slumber. His eyes snapped open and he lifted his head from the table. Panic jolted into his veins like crackling electricity. His stomach lurched.“Ticket?” said John with a frown, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “What ticket?” In his half-dozing state, the phrase came out as, Wha’ tic’?“Tickets and passes, please! Tickets and passes!” repeated the train conductor, who was now moving into view, walking down the train carriage towards John. ...

11 likes

The Adventures of Malachi Norton: The Mystery of the Missing Memory

Lee Kull

Submitted to Contest #27

My dear friend Malachi Norton and I received letters and callers at our London apartments seeking our detective services on a nearly daily basis, but even so, my friend refused to interest himself in any of the cases, claming they lacked novelty. Average, run-of-the-mill crime had always bored him; he craved a challenge worthy of his outstanding mental capabilities. The nearly catatonic appearance of my friend, sitting motionless in his armchair, remained unchanged for the major portion of the day. He was seated thus in perfect silence, his ...

11 likes

Unfavorable demons

Kari Hyp

Submitted to Contest #27

“Kore, you have a mission.” The leader of my block says; he brandishes a pistol out from his belt-pocket and hands this to me.It’s not like I have a choice either way: why ask?“Yes, commander.” “Good. Now, remember your mission: find the peasant that had betrayed this company and bring him to me alive.”How I wish that I had listened to those words. Alive. As I shifted my feet back-and-forth-back-and-forth, I couldn’t help but be unsettled by the mission. Commander Dimitri was c...

10 likes

A Day in the Life of Pest Control

Kaysie Davis

Submitted to Contest #27

A Day in the Life of Pest Control I sat there, going over the paperwork for my company. You wouldn’t think a pest control company would generate so much paperwork! The ringing of the phone from the other room jerked me out of my thoughts. “Summers Pest Control, Jodie speaking, how can we assist with your pesky problem?” my secretary greeted as she picked up the phone. I could hear her asking questions and writing something down as she spoke. “Yes, sir, we are the best pest specialists in the area. Mhm, the best rate too.” A few min...

10 likes

It Came Out of the Sky

Lee Kull

Submitted to Contest #27

The noise jolted Zara awake. A massive boom, like distant thunder, but somehow different. She listened in silence, but hearing nothing more, she relaxed and closed her eyes, trying to regain the blissful peace of slumber.A kind of distant humming became faintly perceptible, but it took her a while to realize it was steadily growing louder. She got up. Slipping her feet into her slippers, she glanced at the plush hot pink pompoms adorning them, and scurried to the window. She squinted outside, not knowing what she expected to see but certainl...

10 likes

Vampires and Zombies

Submitted to Contest #27

A train stands still in a field. The weather outside is bad. It’s raining, and clouds are covering the moon. There are three people in the last wagon of the train: Steven, Marc, and a stranger. They don’t know why the train has stopped. Steven: “This looks like the setting of a horror movie.”Marc: “What do you mean?”Steven: “We’re in a train that stopped for an unknown reason in the middle of nowhere. There are only three people in our wagon, us two and that silent stranger three rows behind you. We haven’t seen or heard anyone in the p...

9 likes

The Train (Eternity)

Taylor Ingrassia

Shortlisted for Contest #27 ⭐️

Green pierces the dim light of the room. A whistle cuts across the din. The scratch of words on the thin paper in your hand tells you your train departs abruptly at 3 a.m. and, as the whistle and lights have warned, this leaves about five minutes to board. You pass through the crowds gathered on the platform, dialogue in countless dialects drifting apart from the rest to meet you momentarily. Each spoken word is different, yet familiar. Over your endless years of traveling this route you have had plenty of time to pick up on the sounds...

9 likes

Celie Goose

Pamela Saunders

Submitted to Contest #27

Mrs Celie Goose was thinking hard.It was nowhere near Christmas – in fact it was summertime. Her goslings had grown and they were all preparing for their migration with lots of wingercising. So, all would seem to be well in the Goosey world, but it wasn't.Her friend “Red” Rhode was sick with fear for her little chicks, and so was another friend, Puck Duck, who was, or had been until they disappeared, raising his ducklings by himself since their mum, Trixie had abandoned them for Jake Drake.The ducklings had not been seen for more than a mont...

9 likes

The Nameless Man

Tanya M

Submitted to Contest #27

Very few people knew of his existence. Of those few, all but one were dead. Which is why it was such a surprise when he heard the heartbeat-quick rap on his door. Slowly, ever so slowly, the grizzled man shifted from his seated position. His joints cracked as he stood, turtle-slow, and yet the way with which he moved seemed to reflect the man he had once been, a man who could, whisper-silent, slip through the shadows. Yes, his younger self did show- reflected in a warped funhouse mirror.He paused, staring at the door with his ...

9 likes

The Train to Berlin

Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #27

Our journey by truck from Siberia to Hamburg had been murder. The cold seeped into our very souls and refused to leave no matter the clothing we wore and the coffee we consumed. The whole uncomfortable trip I worried greatly for our precious discovery, cursing my fiancé Doctor Herman Frederick as he seemingly picked every pothole he could spot along the road we traveled. We both breathed a sigh of relief as the lights of Hamburg came in to view. It gladdened my heart to be amongst civilization again; the comforts of a decent meal and a large...

8 likes

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Contest #27

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$50

Prize money

377

Entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 07, 2020 EST

Won by Natalie Frank 🏆

Title: Seaglass

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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