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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 – 42 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 – 88 stories

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

Short Story – 66 stories

Stories

“What's in a Name?” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #277

What’s in a Name?“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”Shakespeare; Romeo and JulietJudge Lester Larson’s Courtroom:Judge: “And you are here today to have your name legally changed?”Petitioner: “Yes, your Honor. That is correct.”Judge: “And what is your name now, sir?”Petitioner: “Bob Shits.”Judge: "Oh, my goodness, young man. How dreadful. I can certainly see why you want to change your name. You won’t need to give any testimony. Petition granted. And what would you want to change your name to?”Petitioner: “Joe Shits.”Judge: “Uh… ...

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“Dolphin Girl and Sea Cloud of the Ship Destiny's Dreams ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #277

The rogue wave grasped Marin’s legs, whirled her around, then retreated out to sea, dragging her with it.She fought with her arms and legs, helpless, against the strength of the whole ocean.Then the power of the offshore riptide current caught her and rushed, carrying her farther from shore.She heard distant screams from the people at the beach over the roar of the surf.Water flowed over her head, pressing her downward, and she gasped for air in the darker depths of the sea. Her racing heart pounded.She bobbed to the surface, and saw a glimp...

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“The Wolf and the Huntsman” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #277

Raulin’s eyes watered from an eternity of peering along the arrow’s shaft and into the Huntsman’s gaze that was locked at its base. Every blink felt like inviting death. The icy cold of a mid-winter evening dried his lenses during the long periods between the meeting of his eyelids. It would take only the slightest lapse in his attention for the savage human to grasp an opportunity to release the deadly dart. At this range, it would easily pierce a pelt as worn and grey as his. He may be a wolf of advanced years, but he had no wish to depart...

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“The Chessboard Society” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #277

The copper tang of blood lingered in the air—or perhaps it was just his imagination. Lionel's breathing came in shallow bursts, his chest rising and falling in a rhythm that betrayed his mounting dread. The blindfold pressed against his temples, its fabric rough and unforgiving, like sandpaper against his feverish skin. Beyond his darkness, the world pulsed with sound—leather boots scraping against ancient stone, brittle candle flames dancing in an unseen draft, and the low murmurs of the Chessboard Society's cloaked figures. Their voices wo...

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“The Moral of the Story” by Ian Gonzales

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #277

The guard leading me into the room gives a hard yank on the chain. Pain lances through my neck, and I snarl, baring my impressive fangs for full effect. He shies away, naked fear on his face, before remembering which of us is supposed to be the prisoner.“Watch it, mutt, or you’ll be drinking out of the toilet through a wired jaw,” he says, his tough-guy tone betrayed by the quaver in his voice and the stink of fear in his scent.I snort in contempt. “Oh, please, CO. We both know who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.”His expression hardens, mouth ...

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“The Wicked Aunt” by Rebecca Hurst

Submitted to Contest #277

It is a curious aspect of the human mind that what it chooses to remember is neither logical nor linear. This is especially true of childhood, where entire years of nursery and school are lost without trace, and our parents’ hard work, (if indeed they did work hard), is entirely forgotten, leaving only tableaus. When we scream at them as teenagers, we are working on poorly defined resentments. But Emma does have a memory, now two decades old, of her Aunt Fay: her father’s sister, childless, but so much more maternal than her o...

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“Confessions of a Wolf” by Eliza Leonel

Submitted to Contest #277

After Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were heroically freed from the wolf’s belly by a passing hunter, the wolf’s story didn’t end in a happily-ever-after. Instead, it continued in a far less glamorous setting: The Psychiatric Institution. The wolf, still suffering from a persistent stomach ache (unsurprising, given his belly had been sliced open to extract two undigested humans), spends his days chained in his enclosure, gazing through the barred window. Lonely and despondent, he howls at the moon, his mournful cry echoing throug...

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“There's an Ick in Wicked, Right Guys?” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #277

Never let it be said that I wasn’t right behind her when she landed the role of Dot. I’d celebrated too, not that anyone noticed, for having returned from signing the contract, she was so lit up that, of course, it was she who commanded all the attention. But the victory stir was as mine as well, and before the champagne could be sent for, and the fans and Paparazzi arrived, and the corks began to pop, I’d already leapt up onto the sofa and made those Tik-Tok-tastic body-rolls, throwing my arms so high and wide, it had sent the spiders scutt...

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“A Tale of the Rose” by Caroline Hope

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #277

There’s always a story before the once upon a time. Either people don’t care to hear, or they simply don’t know it exists, but what a foolish and diminutive mind they must possess to never think of what occurred before, to never ponder the flawless entanglement of events that leads to the moment where the princess becomes the heroine and the Queen is left to be the majesty of nothing. The tale I speak of is about a princess similar to the one you are acquainted with, but in actuality, they share no resemblance except for their indisputable b...

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“Shadows Over Ravensgate” by Calum Mathison

Submitted to Contest #277

CW: Strong language/Gore Ravensgate, a city filled with the shit of the world. The desperate, the crooked and the damned - they all find their way here eventually. Some come to make a quick buck, others to bury their secrets six feet deep. Most don’t leave. Not with their dignity intact, anyway. Whether it's dealing with the roving groups of goblin pickpockets or getting on the wrong side of gangs like One Eyed Tony’s crew. Everyone in this city gets what they deserve eventually. I’ve walked these streets for years, stepping over gutte...

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“All that's wicked is not gold.” by Ashlee Osborn

Submitted to Contest #277

All that's wicked is not gold. Trigger warning. Chopped off. Chapter one. Ashlee Osborn. One day a women gave birth to two identical twins. One was a boy and one was a girl. They lived in a stone made cottage it had one bedroom a dining room and a toilet. It was so cold in the winter months and in the summer, it was so hot. Their mother stayed at home while her husband butchered forest animals. He would shoot them with his bow and arrow that was passed down from his father it had been in the family for ge...

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“Run! Run! Run!” by Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #277

Mildred shuffled through the front room when she heard the bell, and then a heavy thud. Turning back the bolt, dropping the chain, and twisting the lock, she opened the big red door and saw the delivery man already halfway down the walk. “Excuse me!” she called. “Coo-ee! I think there’s been a mistake!”The delivery man stopped. He hesitated, and for a moment it seemed like he wasn’t going to turn around, but he did, taking a few halting steps back up the path. “A mistake?”“Yes,” said Mildred, beckoning him closer. “I don’t think the order is...

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“Wicked's End” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #277

Pluto left Capricorn, but this Capricorn wasn’t in a fixed place in the heavenly zodiac sky. It wasn’t moving to the next part of the divided celestial dodecagon of the universe, to land in Aquarius for the next twenty years. That was for Galileo and Bonatti to muse over. Pluto was moving for more basic earthly reasons, he had no reason to know or reflect on Astrology, the future he knew better than the universe itself, and it was for the basic of all reasons. Any living creature on earth knew this deep-seated primitive instinct, and it was ...

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“Wicked O'Reilly” by Susan O'REILLY

Submitted to Contest #277

First of all, let’s get it right, I like things said about me to be correct, let's start as I mean to go on. I’m not a dwarf or a gnome or as I’ve heard The Gingerbread Man, I mean seriously what planet are some people on. I am an elf. I will also accept leprechaun, people seem to use one or the other and they are the two labels I will accept. How hard is that to grasp? Tough for some it seems. In addition, my name is Patrick, not Paddy or Grumpy, and most definitely not Happy. I have never worn green and never will...

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“The Brief Affair” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #277

[Infidelity] Accepting friends into my circle at the age of 25 may seem odd, but let's go back 25 years. I was a brand-new teacher in British Columbia who didn't love my husband and felt hurt by the surroundings and people. The school, the students, the teachers, and the administrative staff were great. I became close with the two principals, one a resident and the other a non-resident, who followed me. I didn't realize he had a crush on me until my husband mentioned it. One night, the non-resident principal and his wife left our party...

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$250

Prize money

328

Contest entries

121

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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