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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

“A Kind Voice” by Jo Axolotl

Submitted to Contest #277

There was an art to it— to letting go— and Regina had lost her touch. She no longer enjoyed it, this luring in hearts, treating them softly and then pushing them away, leaving an ache— or sometimes a wound— as one leaves a parting gift for a childhood friend. She remembered the last one, a trickster god centuries older than she was. What a smile that one had; it still made Regina laugh to think of it. It made her laugh to remember how they used to dance among the stars, his joy coursing through Regina’s veins like fire. Regina stood up...

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“The Wicked Clown” by Anne Reed

Submitted to Contest #277

Cece Pace parked her car along the curb and shut off the engine. She loosened her thick blond hair out of its bun so she could pull her hood up all the way to keep off the rain. Climbing out of the car, she closed the door, which sounded particularly loud in the quiet neighborhood. Most of the houses were dark and empty, its inhabitants either at work or at school. Cece was satisfied that she would work without being observed. She stepped onto the sidewalk and stood for several seconds, looking at the house she had parked in front of. It wa...

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“Hard-Boiled” by Anthony Andrés

Submitted to Contest #277

Samuel Bogart wondered how many pints of ale he would need in order to forget. He knew it was more than eight. "Another one," Sam grunted to the elderly barkeep, who refused to comply unless his old eyes saw the money in advance. As Samuel reached into his pocket for the coins, his hand brushed upon a smooth, white fragment he stole from the crime scene. He knew his actions were against protocol, but he didn't care. The fragment was another reminder that life was no fairy tale.He came to Farrago Kingdom with a belief in second chances and th...

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“Wick in the Rot” by Lynn Cunningham

Submitted to Contest #277

Wick in the Rot The burn on my wrist isn’t bleeding anymore, but it still secretes a watery, golden fluid, the color of honeysuckle nectar. The color of sunlight on a winter morning. The color of codeine cough syrup before the most exquisite sleep. No stench. That’s a good sign. I redress the wound, carefully keeping the bandage beneath my gray sweater cuff. I don’t want questions or pity. There’s no story to tell, anyway. I glance at the clock on the nightstand. I have 20 minutes before bus N8 arrives. Just enough time for a coffee ...

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“BLUEBEARD'S LAST WIFE” by Coral Jordan

Submitted to Contest #277

BLUEBEARD’S LAST WIFE It is true. The beard, the prodigious wealth, bartering for a bride, the key…even the cupboard I was not to open. Na Cealla Beaga means little cells. The townspeople say it is for the monks in their beehive cells outside the walls. Others swear it is for the caves dotting the cliffs hanging above the frenetic ocean waves. Wise women ofNa Cealla Beaga know the cells are the endless rooms in the manor of ...

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“David” by Jade Elise

Submitted to Contest #277

It was the cold of the guns metal against my back that let me know things were about to go from bad to worse—if that was at all possible. The person behind me, holding me at gunpoint, had said something, but I missed it, his words drowned out by the sound of my own beating heart. “Are you deaf? Get in your car,” the voice growled again.The voice was husky and low and one that I didn’t recognise. I reached out for my cars door handle, my hands shaking. I ...

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“The Lost Children” by Grace Ann Brown

Submitted to Contest #277

The woods got lonely in the winter. The tree branches, usually dripping with greenery, were stark and black against the night sky. The life that the forest was usually teeming with was tucked away for the winter. The squirrels that liked to tap dance on my roof were in an acorn-induced food coma. Even the mice that I usually swatted away with my broom had sought shelter for the long, cold nights. It was just me, alone, in my cabin. I was making myself soup when Laura called. "Hello, dear!" I squealed into the phone. My daughter rarely call...

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“The Big Bad Wolf” by Dita Dow

Submitted to Contest #277

It’s always the same. Folks hear “wolf,” and their minds conjure fangs and fury. Big, bad, savage. No one ever asks why I do what I do. No one cares about the facts. That’s fine. Facts don’t matter to most people. But they matter to me. This is my side. ***I found the first pig in a meadow, not far from the edge of the woods. A pathetic excuse for a house sat in the clearing—a pile of straw barely held together by a breeze. I crouched in the brush, stomach growling loud enough to shame me. It had been days since my last mea...

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“The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace” by Perseus Patroclus

Submitted to Contest #277

When the prayers came to me, I wasn't fazed. I knew what had to be done. I watched as Sarah, rumored the most beautiful woman in the world, was whisked into the arms of the spiteful and cruel pharaoh. Abraham fumed silently under the ruse of her brother, wise enough to avoid confronting the king. I could see his thoughts, the deep regret of putting her in a box (a fairly stupid and misogynistic idea) and trying to get through customs with said case. No amount of money he offered could stop the security guards from opening the lid to see a st...

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“Hell Hath No Fury Like a Glaciate Scorned” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #277

“I’m home, Electra. I picked up that generator you wanted,” Agent Ellis Eaton yells. Ellis looks around the kitchen. Battered pots and pans litter the floor. The refrigerator door has been ripped off its hinges. Torn photographs are scattered like confetti. Electra’s copper bracelet lies abandoned on the kitchen table alongside a note. Ellis, Love was the energy that gave us the strength to battle against the storm seeking to drive us apart. Now, my heart, like the storm, has broken. Ellis hurriedly dials his partner's number at the ...

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“Something Wicked” by Laura Shell

Submitted to Contest #277

Standing naked in front of the mirror in her bathroom, Mary viewed all the "hickies" on her body. She hadn't been able to count them all, lost track every time she tried to reach a tally. They ranged from the tops of her feet to her freaking forehead, to the base of her neck, down to her heels. They were the size of a silver dollar, perfectly circular, dark red, and they stung a little. She had an idea of where they had come from and what had put them there. The dreams told her. Outlandish dreams. Dreams of branches. Ivy. The forest behind ...

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“The Wicked Redhead” by Keila Aartila

Submitted to Contest #277

She wasn’t really wicked, though. She just needed some understanding and a lighter touch. She was sensitive. And smart. When the wranglers came to her stall to turn her out and clean, she would always pin her ears and bare her teeth. This behavior frequently resulted in her being left alone, as well as earning a bad reputation, threatening to end in slaughter. I had grown up on this ranch, and was a pretty good hand, myself – especially with the horses. In all of my twelve years, I had never seen anything like that ornery, chestnut mare, Bel...

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“The Price” by Janet Lorimer

Submitted to Contest #277

THE PRICEBy Janet Lorimer I had no name. Sometimes I would stand in front of the mirror and stare at my image, my long straight hair the color of ripe wheat and my pale green eyes. I would softly ask the girl in the mirror, “Who are you?” Up until I was six or seven, there were only two things I wanted: To be a princess and to have a name. Sometimes I made up pretend names for myself, like Princess Rose or Princess Butterfly.&n...

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“The confession of a dark magician” by Atan Solp

Submitted to Contest #277

“I walked through the gusty wind and the bitter cold, and now I have climbed to the very top of your highest Dark Tower, so that…” A well-groomed handsome man in shining armor selflessly described his path, gesticulated, and sprayed saliva in all directions. He sometimes shook his head to remove his golden bangs from his eyes with an elegant wave. The youth squinted his huge blue eyes, pursed his swollen pink lips into a bow, and walked back and forth on the stone floor, describing all his exploits in his short life. It was funny to look at ...

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“THE WIDOW, NECROMANCER, AND A DEAD HUSBAND'S FORTUNE UNFOUND” by ROBERT E. M. Clements

Submitted to Contest #277

The bereft widow pays a small fortune to a necromancer to resurrect her recently deceased husband; not because she loves him or can’t live without his presence in her life. The stingy bastard didn’t leave her the secret location of all the gold and silver he stashed away during their twenty-year union. Not even his most trusted Estate solicitor is privy to where his fortune abides.The stingy bastard had always lived a frugal life. If she hadn’t possessed wealth of her own, she would have looked like a penniless pauper their entire married li...

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Load more stories

$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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