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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#270: The Perfect Recipe

Writing can often feel like trying to follow the perfect recipe: with the right inciting incident, you can push your character out of their status quo or comfort zone, and if you sprinkle some challenges in there, you get character development. Then, you turn the heat up until you reach a boiling point — maybe you even toss in a third-act crisis — and just before it spills over, you add the finishing touches and plate it up.

But sometimes, no matter how carefully you stick to a recipe, things don’t turn out as planned. That’s when, like any great chef, you realize it’s better to forgo exact steps and simply season to taste.

This week’s prompts take inspiration from the world of food, so grab your aprons and preheat your ovens — let’s get cooking!

This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of a recipe.

Short Story – 82 stories

Start or end your story with two people discussing an important matter over a meal.

Dramatic – 60 stories

Write a story inspired by the saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Angst – 59 stories

Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

Short Story – 82 stories

Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.

Dramatic – 53 stories

Stories

“Unleashed” by Melissa Grillett

Submitted to Contest #270

I woke up in the living room, I had no idea how long I had been laying on the floor. It had been mid morning last I remembered. I raised my sore body to sit up, my head pounding. I put my fingers to my lip, his fist had split it, again. The house was quiet, normally if Vaugn was home there would be loud music blaring through the walls. I rose to my feet, slowly. I made my way to the front window and pulled back the curtain. His car luckily was not in the driveway. I went to the bathroom to wash my face, it flashed back to me- he ...

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“Ashes of Vengeance” by Marta Juarez

Submitted to Contest #270

Deep in the heart of the Chaco forest, in that inhospitable region in the north of the province of Salta, Argentina, populated by indigenous peoples of various ethnicities, where the sun beats down mercilessly and the white wind carries dust of bones, myths and forgotten stories, lies the place called 'Telak Mok' in the Wichí Mataco language, which means 'Grandma's Ashes'. Its name evokes uneasiness and fear, because there, under the shade of an old carob tree...

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“The Lawyer” by Anuja Mhatre

Submitted to Contest #270

(Warning: Suicide, Substance abuse) Ceci wouldn't say she likes funerals. She passes on her handkerchief to the lady sniffling beside her. Her eyes are not even wet. Misty? She would have avoided any emotional display on a regular day. But this funeral is special. And by that, it means, her biggest client. The air holds an after-rain mist that clings to her clothes. Almost 50 people bundled in black, gathered around the casket about to be buried. The Owner and Founder of G&G, the last remaining Duke Carlos Santiado. The aristocratic fell...

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“Baby its cold outside” by Amara Sinha

Submitted to Contest #270

Baby its Cold Outside.You have six months until the high school reunion and you do not need to stress about it, yet. You mark the date on the Frank Lloyd Wright calendar, a gift from the realtor who wants you to sell your house because you are divorced, childless and you don’t need much space. But you know that you still have time to lose weight, find the love of your life, get engaged, and walk into the ballroom on his arm. You sign up, again, for an online dating site. In the seven years you’ve been divorced you have had three relatio...

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“Happy Thanksgiving Darling” by Barb Brown

Submitted to Contest #270

Thanksgiving again already, I'm thinking to myself, wondering what the dinner table will look like this year, in a melancholy kind of mood. I know it will be mostly empty chairs around the table this Thanksgiving dinner - no visitors or friends, no family either, except perhaps my son. I always find this time of year sad and depressing, but this year even more so. Summer is over and it feels like someone yanked the carpet out from under me, yet when I look around outside, there is no need to be sad and depressed. The view...

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“I am not a psychopath, I promise ” by Vindya Amara-singhe

Submitted to Contest #270

Possible sensitive topics: potential crime committed by a minor, potential physical harm on others, poisoning I am not a psychopath, I promise.Do you know what the most important element in proving someone’s guilt in a crime? It is the motive. Without a motive and without direct evidence it’s impossible to prove a person’s guilt. And that’s what I plan to commit, a crime without a motive, the perfect crime. Now you may ask why I would do this. Am I a psychopath? No, I am not. I am a revenge artist. Outwardly, I am a quie...

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“Love Thy Sister” by Beka B

Submitted to Contest #270

Cameron loved having a sister. Cameron could borrow literally anything from her. Her own lunch pail too dirty to use for school? Yoink! She’d sling her sister’s lunch bag over her shoulder and head out the door. Her pencils looking a little dull? Swipe! Out of her sister’s hand and into her own, that’s the way it always was. ‘Course, she’d always return the stuff she took. She wasn’t no thief. Might not be in the same condition she borrowed it in, though. But battered, tattered, torn, or worn? Didn’t matter. Cameron would hand the item back ...

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“Live, Laugh, Loathe” by Sydney B

Submitted to Contest #270

Bethany Macintyre clenched her steering wheel as she turned into the strip mall parking lot. “Of course he can’t play without his cleats,” she snapped into her phone, which she had pinned between her ear and shoulder in the position familiar to all stay-at-home moms who haven’t found the time to figure out Bluetooth yet. “Did you look under his bed?” Her husband’s response was garbled beyond recognition. “I can’t hear you!” She resisted the urge to raise her middle finger at the station wagon that had cut in front of her to take the closest ...

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“The Details are in the Dessert ” by Bonnierae McDaniel

Submitted to Contest #270

The most complex dish in history is the recipe for creating a human. A blend of flavors from both parents— a dash of beauty from mom, an artistic pursuit from the father, and a pinch of selfishness from mommy to add a bitter note, balancing the honey-sweet loyalty from daddy. As a chef, I feel about food the way my parents must have felt about me. They crafted me from scratch, a tiny baby infused with their best and worst qualities. After nine months of marinating, I emerged as a five-star dish well worth the wait. If I had to describe...

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“Cherry Pie, 4 Women, and a Dead Man” by Hannah C. Anderson

Submitted to Contest #270

Warning: Mentions of abuse, suicide, and violence “We can’t question them tonight, Frank. Don’t you think they’ve been through enough?” I could still see the crimson red dripping off the table pooling onto the hardwood floor. “The governor of this town is dead. It has already been leaked to the public. The people are going to have questions, and it’s our job to have answers. As soon as possible I would like to add.” I could still hear the sharp crinkling of the body bag as his ghostly pale face was zipped up into a dark oblivion. “...

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“Lentil dinner” by Johannes Gustafsson

Submitted to Contest #270

“I wonder why my blood is so red.” I said.“Probably because you eat so many cherries, honey.” Dad said. I could hear his chopping. Ka. ka. ka. ka. Scraaaape. Toss. Ka. ka. ka. ka. Scraaaaape. Toss.“Then why was Nancy’s blood the same color as mine when she scraped her knee the other day?”“She is eating cherries in secret.”We worked silently for a while, waiting to say anything like when you wait for bread to bake.“Why is peeling carrots so hard?” I cried. I always cut myself peeling. Dad said it was a good thing to learn, but I knew that I w...

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“Last Morning” by Kurtis Bowling

Submitted to Contest #270

I always get excited when the first sliver of sunlight bounces off the metal sink faucet. That’s when I know it’s almost time for breakfast. My folks like to sleep in, sometimes sleep the whole day away and only come out at dark. But not me. I’ve been getting up from my naps earlier and earlier, too excited for the morning to come because I can get a little bit of that delicious food. They’d get real mad at me if they knew I’ve been doing this, but I’ve gotten pretty good at sneaking around the house. I don’t go too far though–that...

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“The Perfect Recipe” by Melody Watson

Submitted to Contest #270

“Don’t go without enough sleep, Jess. You have to be tip top tomorrow,” Bruce always gets to the point right off.“Yes, sir. I need to perfect this new sauce. I believe it will enhance Friday’s meal plan. Oh…I know what it needs,” Jessica Parker rushed off to the spice rack.The jars rattled as she searched for the spice, but it was no where to be found. Deciding to look for it around the kitchen, just in case it had been left out.She called to Bruce, “do you know where the nutmeg is? I don’t see it here.”“Sorry, no idea,” came the deep reply....

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“When You Remember Me” by Maria Gancayco

Submitted to Contest #270

“Wyatt, my love,” she said resolutely. “I want a divorce.” Today, Annabell had told him first thing in the morning. This time, Wyatt didn’t even have time to finish preparing Annabell her usual morning coffee. “Wyatt, I mean it. You never listen to me!”“Yes, I understand how you feel, my love.” This time, she had forgotten they had already gotten one. “I want to listen to you. I just wanted you to have breakfast first. I wanted you to be rested.”Usually it would take until the end of the day for Annabell to recall this point in their relatio...

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“The Heirloom Recipe” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #270

Jasmine whistled as she walked towards her grandmother’s house, hoisting her backpack a little higher on her shoulder. It had been a brutal semester, and she was ready to be spoiled for a few days. Her grandmother Peggy lived in a cul-de-sac of modest one level houses designed for the elderly. She had moved there a few months ago after being widowed, giving up the large house she had shared with Jasmine’s grandfather.“I love this small house. It takes no time to clean,” she said to Jasmine not long after moving in. “Now I can watch whatever ...

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$250

Prize money

336

Contest entries

133

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 04, 2024 EST

Won by Jay Wayne 🏆

Title: Add Vodka to Taste

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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