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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#277: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyWicked to share your stories (and potentially get featured on our social accounts)!

If you’re a musical lover like me, you’ve probably marked your calendar for the release date of the upcoming Wicked film adaptation. With gorgeous costumes, a superstar cast, and new renditions of beloved songs like “Defying Gravity,” the movie is sure to be a treat for Wicked fans around the world.

I first saw the Wicked musical in my late teens, and although more than a decade has passed since then, I’ll never forget how much it moved me. In addition to its breathtaking special effects and impressive performances, the musical also has heart. It shows the origin story of a notorious fictional character, the Wicked Witch of the West, and explores relatable, resonant themes — from identity and self-acceptance to the notion of “good” versus “evil.”

This week, let’s conjure up some stories inspired by Wicked. Set your story in a fairy tale land, write about a misunderstood, overlooked character, or do something completely unexpected with the prompts… it’s up to you!

This week's prompts

Write a story about an outsider or social outcast who will do anything to fit in.

Angst – 40 stories

Start or end your story with two friends who become enemies/rivals, or vice versa.

Dramatic – 22 stories

Write from the POV of a fairy tale character sharing their side of the story.

Short Story – 110 stories

Center your story around a character who longs for something they’ve lost.

Dramatic – 86 stories

Write a story with the word “wicked” in the title.

Short Story – 65 stories

Stories

“The big bad wolf” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Submitted to Contest #277

It is the end of November and the darkest time of the year in the Northern part of Sweden. The snow has fallen, and the trees are dressed in their white coats for the long winter. People are getting ready to celebrate Christmas and the village is alight with a pageant of pretty lights. There is a scent of gingerbread and mulled wine in the air, where people gather at the market to buy those little trinkets that end up as a gift under the tree. Towns people have been busy handcrafting wooden toys, knitting jumpers and hats, making candles and...

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“Snow White - A retelling” by N. V. The Second

Submitted to Contest #277

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall..." she began as she stared into my replica of her own emerald eyes."...Who is the fairest one of all?"I knew the answer. Should I tell her? Should I not?I maintained eye contact as I responded, "You, O Queen, are the fairest of them all."She smirked hideously and I knew that my white lie had been enough to fill her ego. She turned and strolled out of the room, her long inky black cape slithering on the stone floor behind her. How naïve, I thought as the seed of an idea planted itself in my mind. I could turn her...

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“The Birbour Cavern Creatures, Unknown Date” by Jeffery Young

Submitted to Contest #277

Orange, beady eyes stared back beneath the ripples of a murky puddle. Quizzically, they searched their reflection for any signs of the recent struggle. Those man-things were easy enough prey, but the thunder-sticks that they carried elucidated a kind of fear that predated even the beast. It had been here, in these mountains, long before the man-things first invaded. Before, when they came across the cold expanse with sharp sticks and wild dogs, they were easier and the beast’s kin much more prevalent. It was through some stroke of foolishnes...

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“Lady Jane Tremaine” by Renata Torres Cruz

Submitted to Contest #277

Marcus Tremaine was mine. I was so in love with him. And I thought he loved me. Or at least I thought he did. And then I saw him walking with little miss Rose. That little witch. She could get with any guy she wanted, and she knew it. But she didn’t care. She wanted mine. She had hated me since we were both children. Little girls. Because I competed with her for everything. She was rich, but so was I. She was smart, but so was I. She was pretty, and guess what? So was I. Everyone at school loved me. But they loved Rose too. Every guy was ask...

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“Storms and Sabres (a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid”)” by Cali Moore

Submitted to Contest #277

The golden sun rose gently above the horizon, painting the sky a brilliant shade of red. I grinned as the saltwater licked my toes, taking in the glorious sight. God couldn’t have given me a better gift for my sixteenth birthday. I walked along the beach a little while more, until the sun had completely chased away the night sky, before finally heading back to the palace. The chef had prepared an extravagant breakfast feast for my parents and me, which pleased me greatly. Upon finishing my meal, I sent the rest of the food with the servants ...

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“Fairy Tale Support Group” by Matthew Foster

Submitted to Contest #277

A woman with red lips and black hair unstacked chairs in the small room in preparation for the meeting. She sang a soft tune under her breath. Squirrels and mice responded to her song, tidying up the room. Birds flew here and there carrying refreshments. Two bluejays flew up to the wall, a banner between their teeth. “A little to the left,” she said. Fairy Tale Support Group. The Tales drifted into the small room at the back of the church. The modern world had risen up around them, but the stories still existed, as long a...

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“From the Doorstep to the Train” by Maruna Rizh'ye

Submitted to Contest #277

November 20XX, 8:36 p.m.It was a Sunday afternoon when I had sat down to read the book we were assigned for my anthropology class, right after I had come back from Church, where we had done a panahida, a remembrance mass, for those who had passed away during the Holodomor, the famine. Similar words I would see in my assigned readings, much to my surprise. A very curious coincidence. Now, all these words in italics may mean nothing to you, my dear reader, but they meant the world to me. When I began to read the assigned b...

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“To Have Loved and Lost is a Longing Forever” by Paul Tyree

Submitted to Contest #277

To have loved and then lost, to have lost that which makes one complete, then never know if that which was lost will ever return. Returning to moment it was lost is never a guarantee of the same that was lost will be the same that returns. The love that two people have, maybe not in the beginning, is a love that will never fade or be forgotten, especially if this be the first love or the first time being in love. It is indeed the hardest love to ever let go much less to be released. It can linger in one's mind and can become a long obsession...

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“The Clockmaker” by Grace Anderson

Submitted to Contest #277

The ticking of the clocks filled Henry’s workshop like a chorus of whispers, each one a reminder that time had never been on his side. His current project was torn apart, shattered into pieces across his battered wooden desk. Henry muttered madly at himself, mumbling a mess of pleas. Outside, the snow was barren and seemed endless. Not a person in sight - just Henry. His old workshop seemed out of place in the oasis of white. Distant village lights faded in and out of view with the moving fog clouds and snow storms. The moon had started...

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“After All, It's Nothing.” by Sara Rudel

Submitted to Contest #277

TW: Suicide and self-harm, sexual violence, mental health and substance abuse.14. I was 14 when he looked at me. When he eyed me down as if I was an object to devour, to indulge in. As if he had the right, as if he was deserving of regarding me. His eyes flared like a demon from hell, burning, smoldering my skin with his dirty glare. My soul tainted in disgust, ashamed to parade my body, to believe for even a second I could step out of the confines made of cotton and silk and simply be. I wonder if his wife knows. If she attests to his actio...

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“The Red Glow” by Jack Thomas

Submitted to Contest #277

Golden sands beneath him. A man in a simple brown hooded robe directs his old red horse towards the red star to the north, deep in the night sky, sprinkled around it a sea of blue and purple stars. Gleel Doth Uhl shines brightly, painting the desert in a faint red glow.I earned my place- worked harder than he ever did. He squeezes the reins and shakily brings them towards his chest, his fingernails digging into the leather. That filth. Disgusting filth. I'll kill him, I'll kill him-The old horse rears, as the man squeezes his templ...

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“The spark ” by Em Everheart

Submitted to Contest #277

Thick snowflakes fell onto my hand as I stretched my arm out of the window. I shuddered and bit my lip in a silent scream as the freezing breeze seemed to creep under my skin and grace my bones. I was so close I could feel it. Just a little more, and I would feel that spark in my fingertips that I longed for. I had been close to feeling it last Saturday when the snow layers had been even thicker than they were now. In a desperate attempt to feel that flame, I had stood up and almost bent outward, reaching for the full moon that taunted me i...

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“Something Wicked This Way Comes ” by Krysta Anderson

Submitted to Contest #277

Once there was a girl who dreamed about other life forms. She sensed that she wasn’t alone in this universe, and that there was more out there than just Earth. There had to be other life forms out there. Earth couldn’t be the only planet in the vast solar system that could maintain life forms. An odd dream came to her one day that changed her whole perspective on how she viewed the world. Marlene was in transition from eighth to ninth grade when she had the dream. Although she’d never thought of this before, this image would forever sti...

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“Wicked Is the Face” by Jonathan Baldie

Submitted to Contest #277

Twil’s muscles ached, a deep burn that spoke of days in the saddle. She shifted her weight, trying to find a more comfortable position. The leather creaked in protest.“Easy, girl,” she murmured to her mount. The chestnut mare’s ears flicked back at the sound of her voice.The forest loomed around them, ancient trees stretching their gnarled branches across the narrow path. Twil’s eyes darted from shadow to shadow, searching for any sign of movement. Her hand never strayed far from the hilt of her sword.A twig snapped somewhere to her left. Tw...

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“Wicked or Wary?” by Jordan Frye

Submitted to Contest #277

Something Wicked This Way ComesDeep within the Enchanted Forest, where ancient trees weaved a perpetual twilight, there lived a creature the villagers called the Shade. To them, it was a wicked spirit, a phantom that preyed on the lost and unwary. Travelers whispered of shadowy figures lurking at the edges of vision and accused the Shade of blighting crops, poisoning wells, and snatching children.But the Shade was no spirit. She was a girl.Myra had been abandoned in the forest as a child. Her family, sorcerers of great renown, feared her aff...

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$250

Prize money

323

Contest entries

120

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 22, 2024 EST

Won by Troy Phillips 🏆

Title: The Three Little Pigs Incident: A Building Inspector’s Report

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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