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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 First Thanksgiving” by Mary Richards

Submitted to Contest #277

The woman went through the motions, a half-smile hanging from her limp face. It was a holiday, after all, and she couldn’t let the family down. She needed his help. To reach the pan, high up on the tallest shelf in the garage. To haul the giant turkey from the downstairs fridge. To run to the grocery store with the list of things she'd forgotten. But he wasn’t there. He would never be there to help again. He was gone. Forever. He was dead. The thought reverberated from her head into the room and bounced off the walls of the kitchen and up th...

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“Something wicked this way comes!” by Vanitha Vaidialingam

Submitted to Contest #277

My childhood was plagued by monsters! They were everywhere. They took advantage of my helplessness and tormented me in the night. When I was left alone in the room, I tried very hard to ignore them. Mother told me that by ignoring them, I would be rid of them. But they would, relentlessly, creep out from under the bed, and from inside the closet, and stealthily move towards me. The clicks and grunts they made were terrifying.I can still see the bony fingers appear from under the bed, clutching at the sheets and dragging t...

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“Wicked Is As Wicked Does” by Gary Gallant

Submitted to Contest #277

WICKED IS AS WICKED DOESSabrina saw the terrified human up against the dead-end alley wall.She had herded him here to kill him away from curious eyes. Sheswooped down from the sky, a killer eagle on the kill. Stopping a foot above the wet, black pavement, she looked her hunted eye to dead eye.“Well, look at me defying gravity.”The soon-to-be-dead man did not respond; the terror on his face was enough.“Hell boy, that was funny; wicked is as wicked does.” She drove her teeth into the side of his neck, drinking deeply, savoring the flavor ...

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“Mike's Wicked Bet” by Vickie Kap

Submitted to Contest #277

Mike is running. His bare feet stung on the forest floor with each step, but he can't stop. He has to get out of here. He can't let the witch catch him. "Jamie, this is all your fault!" he yells at nobody in particular. It's not. He knows it’s no one's fault but his own. His foot catches on a branch, and he trips, face planting into the dirt. He feels his glasses shatter on the impact. He really doesn't have much energy left; his breathing labored from the physical activity that he's not used to. But when he hears the rustling of branches, ...

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“A WICKED, WICKED MAN” by Martin Killips

Submitted to Contest #277

As she approached, it was her black full-length coat that first alerted me, but it was her doleful countenance that confirmed my suspicions - the beautiful Anna must have just been to her grandmother's funeral. Opening my arms in welcome, we embraced. Pressing my cheek against hers, I was surprised to find her face was quite hot, for it was a cold winter's day. That's when the words initially popped into my head.In my defence, before I reveal, or rather confess, what I said to her, I should stress I was only trying to be supportive. I am not...

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“Wicked Realities and 6ft Tall Expectations ” by Sophia Aran

Submitted to Contest #277

‘Don’t take your dreams too literal’, is what I was always told. So to my surprise when I had to leave him behind … The most beautiful cat I’d ever met, long black fur that faded into a soft gray under his belly and at the tip of his tail. He had bright neon green eyes that stared at me in a way that felt familiar, but that I couldn’t quite pin. I ran into him many times on this last minute trip of mine. A small colorful town on the top of a mountain, a town whose name I can not recall. All I remember is the sunset yellow cathedral and...

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“THREE WICKED WITCHES AND ONE NOT SO WICKED WITCH” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #277

Once upon a time in the town of Ashwood Falls there lived four sisters, who's name began with the letter B. The oldest Beatrice. The second oldest Bianca. The third oldest Blake and the youngest Bella Rose. All four of the sisters are witches. Not the good kind of witches but the most-dastardly witches in all of Ashwood Falls expect for one. They play the most evil of tricks on unsuspecting people. The three oldest are the worst. Beatrice, Bianca and Blake, dark-hair beauties with the most enchanting greens, the color of Emerald and the most...

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“How the Wicked Witch Mended Her Way” by Rinanda Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #277

Every day I wake up with no one but my cauldron beside me, and every day its bubbling mixture splashes into my skin, burning me with pain to make sure I don’t fall asleep again. After I’m wide awake, I brewed the potions of the day: one that turns you into a rat, one that melts your bones, and one to catch frogs. Like any witch, I sang as I stirred–a cackling song of yore filled with curses and hexes. After I finished the mixture, I stored them in my bottomless bag and left for the forest. The forest is as old as the ever-rainy sky above; wi...

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“Bill” by Arwen Aungle

Submitted to Contest #277

This contains violence, sexual abuse and alcoholism.Bill wanted to be a Bill more than anything. Except his name wasn't actually Bill. He joined the Society of Bill's under false pretences. Bill was actually named Bhandanattaram by his mother when he was born. Bill desperately needed his name to be Bill. He believed that by being Bill, instead of being Bhandanattaram, he would somehow succeed at everything in life. He lived with this hope burning inside. His eyes shone with the fervour of it. The light didn't know him either. The light that ...

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“Listing Popularity ” by Erin Twohey

Submitted to Contest #277

It's easy to observe. I would not go so far as to call it a skill - however, it is evident that the people who always get to participate never take the time to observe.I am an observer. It is unclear whether I am an observer because I am an outsider or if I am an outsider because I am an observer. But how else would I get to be like them? Some may call is desperation, or simply just sad. They can stay on the bottom. I will never hang out with the losers. I will be popular or nothing at all. Through observation, I have learned who is pop...

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“Cob” by Justin Hughes

Submitted to Contest #277

Cob dragged his dark, stone legs over the next clump of soil and grass, grunting in exhaustion. His rugged, rocky limbs ached violently, but not nearly as much as his heart. He yearned for something—something he wasn’t sure he could ever reach. However, he’d be damned if he didn’t try.At the top of the starlit hill, he straightened his posture, standing firm and tall, and gazed up at the midnight sky. He could see everything he had ever wanted in those stars.He carefully arranged his words in a polite manner in his mind, preparing to speak h...

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“The Angry Duckling” by S. D. Vogt

Submitted to Contest #277

Once upon a time in the tumultous waters of high school, an ugly duckling longed to swim in a pond full of the most beautiful swans. Though beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, the flock had long ago decided that the duckling was too different to belong to their kind. Only eighteen years of age, her little wings had grown weary from trying to catch up to her peers. Day after day, she paddled twice as hard as the others, yet she always fell behind. This duckling was, of course, a young girl. And high school, with all its jagged e...

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“Wilfred” by Ellie F

Submitted to Contest #277

“At this point, I think Wilfred hates me,” Daniel said, kicking off his shoes in the hallway. He walked to the kitchen and placed two heavy shopping bags on the table, flexing his hands in relief. “He doesn’t hate you,” Olivia insisted, following him into the kitchen with two shopping bags of her own. “He just needs to get to know you.”“How’s he going to do that if he always leaves when I come round?” Daniel started passing Olivia the fridge items from the bags. He’d learned not to put anything away himself; Olivia had a fridge system she wa...

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“Snowman” by Ed Wooten

Submitted to Contest #277

SNOWMANED WOOTEN Hello, my name’s Burt, but my friends call me Burr. You’ve seen my image on numerous Christmas cards. You know, the one’s with glistening snow in front of a cabin with smoke coming from its chimney, a celestial sphere in the night sky, and of course, me…a snowman. That’s me to the right in this nostalgic Christmas card that you can find in most Hallmark Stores. Please pause now and “oohhh and aahhh” about the card’s picturesque image before I bust your nostalgic...

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“A Heart in Stone” by Bethany Disher

Submitted to Contest #277

The tall grasses swayed as several Aurai slipped between the slender blades, their movements barely more than whispers on the wind. The breeze they carried sent ripples over the field, undulations spreading in their wake before they vanished over a distant hill. Silence returned as the grass resumed its gentle dance beneath the darkening sky. The short-lived tranquility shattered as a cloaked figure suddenly appeared, moving quickly through the otherwise uninhabited field. The grass blades slashed at her face as she moved as if protesti...

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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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