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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#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 – 128 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

“In Absentia” by Ann Marie Anglin

Submitted to Contest #27

In Absentiaby Ann Marie Anglin The first week I started my new job, my car developed a problem with its electrical system, forcing me to take the train to work. This automotive emergency put me in the right place at the right time for what would be one of the most telling events in my life. I’d tentatively accepted the recent promotion, but I had been having serious doubts that I possessed the assertiveness needed to succeed at my new job. From an intellectual/academic standpoint, I had more than enough experience and ...

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“The long way home” by Teresa Glowaski

Submitted to Contest #27

James had been walking for days. He was promised Land. His wife and daughter were on the wagon trail...The air was dry and dust was the prominent color of almost everything. With every step he wonders if he made the right decision.. A lot of folks was interested in obtaining land but the West was clear on the other side..It could easily take months on foot.. Some of the land had been given away if folks would just take care of the land and make it a homestead. Billy had been on horseback for days..His horse was worn and needed shoes b...

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“The Capture of Wily Jackson” by Mary T. Kowalinski

Submitted to Contest #27

“What’s wrong with me?” Sarah inwardly moaned. She bit her lip trying to hold back the tears. She had been doing so much crying recently she was really getting sick of it. She turned to look out the window of the train so no one would see when the tears came. Why couldn’t she just get over this she wondered as she gazed out the window at the endless prairie. She listened as the train whistle was given a loud, long blast. Well, here she was on this train heading for home. It was over and done with and there was nothing she could do about it a...

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“LILLY'S TRAIN RIDE” by Bobbie Wigginton

Submitted to Contest #27

LILLY’S TRAIN RIDE by Bobbie WiggintonLilly woke up before sunrise in order to beat the rush to the eating car, she jumped up and thought to herself, this wasn’t a bad idea for a trip on a train. Nothing she had expected, but a nice quiet ride along the beautiful countryside. Places you couldn’t or wouldn’t see in an ordinary day or unless you lived in the areas. She made her way to the dining car, not being particularly hungry. She ordered a cup of coffee and buttered toast to help squelch any possible rumblings in her tummy. After breakfas...

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“Train to Bibury” by Jessica Eberle

Submitted to Contest #27

Here we have a man, sitting alone at a small table, steam still rising from his porcelain cup. A silent piano is being played on his leg that nobody can hear but him. He is dressed in clothing that any wealthy gentleman would wear in public if he wanted to impress. His grey suit fits perfectly on his frame, black shoes polished, and a watch that glimmered under the lights. Michael gazes out the window as golden leaves glitter in the sun after the rainy night. Raising the cup to his lips, he sips some coffee as a satisfied...

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“Where Warriors Roam” by Lee Jackson

Submitted to Contest #27

I leap over the fallen log. It acts as the final hurdle. I know now that I can make it safely. There will be no stopping me from here. There never has been. I can hear them pounding and crashing through the foliage behind me, and behind me is where they are going to stay. I’m not quite sure who it is this time.I had just been skimming stones across the lake, the edge of the forest sitting away to my left. I had been enjoying the cool evening breeze, watching the sinking sun paint a pink hue across the sky and watching its reflection dan...

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“Novel Transit” by Meryl Sigaton

Submitted to Contest #27

Synchronized whirring and creaking of the metal and the gears in the shafts and motor down below, steam slowly fading past my window. The train was at constant speed blazing through the plush countryside, just a little past the city. “Ah, seconds and seconds more… the closer I am to my dear Rosalie. And yet time is merely a concept of the mind”, I muttered as I looked out the glass. “Why not some crisp morning air…” I said to myself, enticed by the tall green grass and fresh cerulean skies. A cool gentle breeze calms my senses and I catch a ...

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“The Train Journey” by Sudha Viswanath

Submitted to Contest #27

The Train Journey My long cherished dream of visiting India, was to be realized now. My book, ‘The Mental Trauma,’ had been selected as the best among f...

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“The Quartet” by Claire Lemieux

Submitted to Contest #27

Your day has been going poorly from the time you woke up. Or rather, didn’t wake up. You managed to somehow turn off your alarm in the night, and what finally awakened you, almost half an hour late, was your mom pounding on the door that divides your “apartment” (really just an end of a hallway with a bedroom and a bathroom - all other amenities are shared) from the rest of your parents’ suburban home. You chalk up the almost too-late wake-up call to being one of the benefits of having been forced to move home after a sticky divorce in your ...

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“New Jersey Transit (A “24” Spoof)” by Trish Tyler

Submitted to Contest #27

Henry, a preschooler and Director of Field Ops races against the clock to save his country from ultimate disaster and make it home in time for snack. He breaks the 4th wall often to speak to the audience. The author, an only child just like Henry, can confirm this is apparently a thing. 12:00 Henry looks out the dirty window of the train car and begins to speak in the style of Kiefer Sutherland. However, he has no idea who that is. We’ve been on… he pauses to sound out the sign in front of him … New Jersey Transit … he co...

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“Objectively” by Rachael Brady

Submitted to Contest #27

The commute felt standard, stagnant. Another shift of setting hot chocolate on the tables of the foreigners, to ask them if they would like their coffee with milk and sugar, to offer them sweets, and to answer their every question about their destination. The train attendant, a small, thin figure with long dark hair and skin a shade lighter walked quickly through the aisle of the train, headed towards the back, where a small girl stood. The girl to no surprise, held out her pho...

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“Ghost Train ” by June Driver

Submitted to Contest #27

Nobody really ever passes through there. No reason to. I'm not sure if anyone even lives in that town. There's a gas station, though, at the corner of the main innersection. And I've been told that sometimes there's a feller workin inside. But I never seen him. The county or some such went and put up bunch of speed bumps on the main road goin through. No reason to. No one ever really passed through. And then after they did that, I heard stories o' young punks who knew where the place was playin games of tryin to speed through, over the bumps...

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“The Criminal Inside” by Melissa M.

Submitted to Contest #27

The whistle of the train pierced Jacob's ear and steam swirled about him as he pulled himself aboard. The Madeira-Mamoré Railroad was small and inelegant, but an achievement costing many lives to build and earning it the nickname “The Devil's Railroad.” The passing scenery included the Madiera and the Mamoré rivers and several smaller tributaries. Jacob took a seat by a dark-skinned man wearing a turban.~~~ "You sat on my hand!" "I did not!" "Did too--see the mark from your button?" There was no doubting the way this trip would go. "Children...

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“"Alice"” by Ruthanne Walters

Submitted to Contest #27

I felt a cool breeze travel down the hairs that complimented my spine. Tiny goose bumps raced over my scalp and onto the surface of my arms. I curled my toes that lay hidden in my floral sneakers. I propped up my backpack up and slip my fingers between school books to find one of my favorite books, “Alice in Wonderland.” As I flip the pages, I feed my imagination endless imagery that plays a movie in my brain. I thought of the sassy caterpillar that spoke to Alice in the tree and yet how polite she remained. The poor rabbit that always seeme...

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“Lux Aeterna” by Ellen Grace

Submitted to Contest #27

“Quick! Hide!”Mr Grey scrabbled free from the table in the middle of the train cabin and squeezed himself underneath the seat while Aurelia took a photo of the cards on the table then rearranged them into a game of solitaire.Footsteps outside the cabin door grew louder, and then a figure – distorted by the frosted glass – appeared on the other side.A knock, followed by: “Tickets, please.”Aurelia grabbed her bag and pulled out her ticket: a piece of paper reading ONE TICKET (CHILD): EXETER TO GLASGOW OVERNIGHT. It had several perfectly circul...

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$50

Prize money

378

Contest 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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