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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#283: Seasonal Twists

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

It’s Christmas week, and if you’re celebrating, I hope you’re surrounded by everything that brings about festive cheer: twinkling lights and decorations, catchy holiday pop songs, the aroma of family recipes passed down through generations…

The familiarity of tradition grounds us in a world that’s always on the move. But as every storyteller knows, change is what makes narratives interesting. This week, let’s shake up some cozy Christmas traditions and add a little surprise to them. What will your characters do when the unexpected takes center stage?

This week's prompts

Write a story that ends with a huge twist.

Dramatic – 84 stories

Write a story about two characters who surprisingly end up spending a holiday or event together.

Short Story – 53 stories

Write a story about someone’s first Christmas after a major life change.

Short Story – 54 stories

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — except your character can’t shake the feeling that something’s off.

Short Story – 37 stories

Write a story with the line “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Dramatic – 65 stories

Stories

“Hush ” by Lyle Closs

Submitted to Contest #283

I drive a semi-truck. It’s a living. The road soars beneath you, and give or take the odd damn fool brake-checking a 40 ton leviathan doing 70 mph, you are the master of your moments, at least until you pull up and the sour warehouse guy, sad god of his pissy little domain, says he was expecting you three hours earlier. The road has its idiot newbie drivers who think the power of the semi engine equals power in the world, but they learn eventually that they are just small dead leaves blown how and where the wind wants. Power belongs to other...

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“Treasure Hunters” by Lila Evans

Submitted to Contest #283

Christmas is hard. Divorce is hard. Christmas when your parents are divorced is hard. It’s the gift no one asked for. It’s a dance no one rehearsed, but everyone is expected to know. There’s the shuffling between houses and the hurried transitions on icy driveways. Schedules have to be coordinated with precision: Mom’s on Christmas Eve until 9 AM sharp Christmas morning, Dad’s for Christmas Day, and back to Mom’s for the night—if the weather doesn’t interfere or the gatherings don’t run too long. For Ethan, this year promised to be no differ...

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“Christmas is A Time For Taking” by Lee Kendrick

Submitted to Contest #283

CHRISTMAS Is A Time For TakingBy Lee Kendrick Jacob read his morning post, a letter had arrived telling him the good news. “Brilliant! I can't believe they chose me as one of the ten graduates from Oxford and Cambridge, to be a contestant in the “Who Did It” Christmas contest at Bournville Abbey. Jacob had been looking in the Times newspaper when he spotted an advert to apply for the Christmas “Who did it!” It's a yearly event and whoever discovers who the murderer is gets £5000!” “The letter reads: Dear JacobTReilly, We fe...

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“The Highest Price of Memory” by K. L. Renaud

Submitted to Contest #283

Emily had always savored the December atmosphere in her hometown. Twinkling lights illuminated every storefront, and the faint ring of sleigh bells drifted from the old speaker system on Main Street. More than anything, she looked forward to the aromas pouring out of the local bakery: cinnamon, caramel, fresh ginger—each holiday season she found herself pausing at the large display window just to inhale. This year, however, felt different. There was no clear reason for the restlessness in her chest, no immediate explanation for her uneasy mo...

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“Nowhere to hide” by Charlotte Hall

Submitted to Contest #283

She turned the car to the right, gravel cracking under the tires, and her headlights spotlighted on her new house.‘Oh my goodness,’ she gasped.She’d never seen her uncle’s summer house before, but it certainly had an appeal in the wintertime too. The front garden was neat and tidy with a stone patio linking the driveway she finally owned to the curved black front door. She parked the car just in front of the garage door and got out, admiring the hedges lining her pathway and enclosing the house and garden to its surrounding road, stopping an...

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“I'll Be Home For Christmas” by Jerry Ackerman

Submitted to Contest #283

INT. HOME - DAY AARON BACKSON(15) drenches his bed in sweat, his sheets cling to his pale body. The fabric rubs against his skin, leaving red streaks as the young boy wrestles with his nightmares. The dark room enhances his dreams. He can’t escape. He will not escape. He twists and turns as the sheets morph into leather straps of a straitjacket. The bed creaks and whines, protesting under his weight. Aaron grips his damp sheets, his wrists straining as he pulls at the fibres. The ripping sound snaps him awake. His eyes lock on the shadowed ...

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“Christmas: The Snowstorm of Family and Truth” by Tim Wu

Submitted to Contest #283

I looked up ahead, my feet aching, my chest heaving, and a thousand thoughts racing through my mind. Still, I summoned every ounce of strength to push onward. This was my golden ticket—a matter of life or death. If they caught me, it would all end.THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS“Almost there,” I whispered as I delicately cut and shaped my beautiful clay reindeer. I carved and scooped, made delts and smoothed the coarse spots. Using my precise tools and soft hands, I was almost finished with creating the head of the animal when suddenly, thunderous ...

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“It's Not Always a Happy Ending” by Shannon Slamka

Submitted to Contest #283

Sam fought back the tears for so long her body ached. The pain came from somewhere deep inside of her, a place she couldn’t identify, her soul maybe, if such a thing actually existed. She stood beside her car and stared at the cabin. It looked like a post card, weathered logs, the pitched roof snow covered with a crisp, smooth layer of ice. The background was picturesque, the cabin surrounded by evergreen trees dripping with icicles glistening in the sunshine. This place was her sanctuary where she always found peace...

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“The Man and The Boy” by Sl1m J1m

Submitted to Contest #283

The bike glided to a stop, the slush underneath squelching under the tires. He turned the key, and the rev of the engine was replaced with the hush of the wind. The man slowly exhaled, breathing out and gazing at his own breath frosted by the night air. He stayed seated just a moment longer, then swung a leg over and stood up. Reaching across the seat, he unbuckled a small bag and hoisted it onto his shoulders. The man brushed a single snowflake from his mustache, then sloshed over to the entrance. The door was shoved, and the man was ...

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“Arabella and the Lilypad” by Jane Jennings

Submitted to Contest #283

Arabella and the Lilypad Sydney, Australia24th December 2024 “ Hi Mate, what’s happening?” Shaun said as he hit the incoming call button on his oversized RAM ute. “ It’s Christmas Eve, I have just finished my last job, there is a cold one in the fridge waiting for me and I’m feeling gooood”! “Ah, about that. You couldn’t squeeze one last job in for me could you? It will only be a quickie, and the owner will pay cash, money no object. Likely to cover the cost of those expensive bikes you got the kids for Christmas, just to one-up your ex”....

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“The End in Mind” by Lindsay Marshall

Submitted to Contest #283

It was Christmas Eve and we headed out to our yearly tradition. The one everyone dreaded, the one that made everyone cringe, the one that I hated. The one that made Mom all contemplative and weepy. Her favorite Christmas moment, my worst moment, and my dad…he was quiet about the whole experience, but went along begrudgingly. We were dressed in our green and red sweaters, wearing our jingling Santa hats. I held a tray of Christmas cookies that Mom had baked, and even they seemed to glow with her Christmas cheer. ...

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“alive, living.” by Ella Ressa

Submitted to Contest #283

**TW**Death, Grief and Mental Health Rain pours down, sagging my brother’s coat with water. As everyone knows, rain is the cloud’s tears, it only storms when someone is experiencing something so dreadful the sky has no remedy for the grief of a human. No rainbows, no sun, just drops of water falling from the sky, an unfortunate imitation of the immense sadness a human soul can contain. The clouds turn dark, mourning the heavy feelings one is carrying. Whilst it might be annoying to others, the wet weather reminds me that s...

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“Phyllis Greer Hates Christmas ” by Lisa Zeltzer

Submitted to Contest #283

Phyllis Greer hates Christmas. From her armchair, the flashing lights of her neighbors’ ostentatious Christmas display are causing the milk from her tea to curdle inside her stomach. She reaches for an antacid and notes the ache in her rheumy fingers as she makes slow work of opening the container.“It’s just you and me again, Tabatha, how we prefer it.” Her voice hints at sadness. She does not appreciate the the betrayal. Tabatha purrs and presses against her pant leg leaving a streak of orange fur. She reaches down to pat the old girl. She ...

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“Snowbound on Christmas Eve” by Ronald John MacLennan Jr

Submitted to Contest #283

I’d rented the cabin to escape the chaos of the holidays, not to entertain strangers. The storm hit hard, turning the surrounding forest into an impenetrable wall of white. I’d barely settled into the place, and my only company was the low hum of a fire and the occasional creak of the old wooden beams. That’s when I heard the pounding at the door—relentless, desperate.I opened it to find a young woman bundled in a too-thin coat, her cheeks flushed red from the cold. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes, giving her the appearance of some misplac...

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“Falling Stars” by Seyed Mosayeb Alam

Submitted to Contest #283

The train was late. Snow gathered at the edges of the platform like spilled sugar, and the cold gnawed at Claire’s fingers through her gloves. She checked her phone again—no messages. The screen’s glow felt like mockery. No missed calls. No apologies. No change.Across the platform, a man sat hunched inside a worn coat, his suitcase leaning against his leg, sagging and scuffed. His hands were raw from the cold, cracked at the knuckles, and he kept glancing down the empty tracks, as though he could summon the train by force of will.Claire shou...

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$250

Prize money

293

Contest entries

123

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 03, 2025 EST

Won by Maisie Sutton 🏆

Title: Can You See Me Now?

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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