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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

“By reason or by force” by Dan G.

Submitted to Contest #283

It came slowly, insidiously, like a fascist spider weaving its web, planting its threads from the peaks of the Andes to the beaches of the Pacific. It slipped into our lives gently, without a sound, into a dull and corrosive routine. The lines, endless and monotonous, became the daily backdrop of our existence, constantly reminding us that we had to wait. Wait for the factories to start again, for the trains to run, for the truck drivers to deliver. Wait for there to be something to buy.Our pockets were full, it was finally our turn, the tur...

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“The Christmas After” by Miriam Sararu

Submitted to Contest #283

I gasp as I'm startled awake. There is an old lady sitting across from me looking at me as if I'm crazy, which I must admit I seem like I am. A sixteen-year old all alone on a train, the day before Christmas. My dark blond hair is a shaggy mess that almost touches my shoulders, my face is covered with what is either dirt or food, and I’m clutching my bag as if it had my grandfather's ashes in it or something. She probably thinks I’m a homeless boy planning to rob her. I sigh and try to fix up my hair and wipe my face with the back of my lint...

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“The Unimaginable Christmas” by Stephanie Walsh

Submitted to Contest #283

Well, at least no one peed on me today. Gary got the mall Santa job this year because facing Christmas alone was…unimaginable. Not that it was going to help him tomorrow, but at least it got him through Christmas Eve. Or rather, Christmas Eve Day. He had thought it would be a fun distraction, and it was, at first. Most of the kids were sweet or shy or excited; to his surprise, he found that bratty parents outnumbered bratty kids 2:1. But the redundancy of must-haves, pretty-pleases, and can’t-live-withouts, coupled with the loop of tinny Chr...

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“Whispers in the snow” by Jordynn Wu

Submitted to Contest #283

Title: Whispers in the SnowI Emily pressed her forehead against the cold glass of the window, her breath leaving no trace on the surface. Outside, the village lay blanketed in snow, every rooftop twinkling with warm lights. Christmas Eve had always felt quieter since Daniel’s death, but this year the silence pressed harder against her ribs.She ran her fingers along the edges of a faded photograph. Daniel’s grin, all teeth and mischief, stared back at her. He was only seventeen. A car accident on the icy roads—at least that’s what everyone ha...

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“Christmas Party. -- ” by Victor S. Hale

Submitted to Contest #283

Christmas party"Yes, dear colleagues. The time has come. We have waited long enough. Make way for Saint Nicholas!" The man at the microphone, who was moderating the Christmas party for the company "Fantastic Plastic," bowed somewhat awkwardly.He was responsible for completely different things in the company, mainly the financial statements. He had only lost a dice game against the employees from the export department and therefore had to make all the announcements throughout the evening. Including announcements like when someone had parked i...

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“Season's Greetings.” by ANTHONY JOHN WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Submitted to Contest #283

I don't know about you, but I used to really enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards. When I was in college, I got dozens. Then at work, I always had ten or so. Now, not so much. Slowly, but steadily, over time the number dwindled to all but a handful.December 22 of this year was slightly different.I arrived home around 6, excited, and shamelessly optimistic to see who, if anyone, had me on the nice list this year.Three Charity begging letters, a card from my Dentist,one from my sister in Ohio, and one more.It was a local postmark, so I ...

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“Bars” by Nicholas Andrew Clark

Submitted to Contest #283

Some days in here go by quick. I'm always up first, before roll call starts; by the time the sunrise hits those blue bars and the birds start chirping, I'm already elbow-deep in cornmeal and heating up the gravy. The type of day that disappears into stainless steel, lost in the balafon rhythm of banging pots and pans, scraping cutlery, men's voices gone hollow by the killing of their dreams.Others are painfully slow. The run-up to the holidays especially has been grinding me down with its monotony, one frozen gray day stitched...

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“Newly baked Christmas cookies” by Christian Banna

Submitted to Contest #283

I rushed through the front door, to the smell of fir and burning candles. I almost dropped the jar of cabbage, which of course was at the top of the oh-so-eco-friendly paper bag, whose handles immediately dissolved when they came into contact with the slightest bit of hand sweat. "NIEL, I NEED A HAND." I yelled at my husband as I slammed the door behind me, with a backwards kick. Niel came out into the kitchen just in time to grab the bag before it slipped out of my arms. "I asked you if you needed my help before you ...

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“11:52” by Alyssa Salazar

Submitted to Contest #283

11:52. We’ll make it if we hurry. The movie starts at 12:30, and Mariya hates it when we miss the previews. "It’s the best part," she always says, her voice so serious, like she’s telling me some kind of universal truth. "A little taste of all the stories waiting to be told." We’ll make it. We have to. "Ma..." Why can’t I say her name? "Ma..." Focus. We have to hurry. "Maki..." Can she hear me? Of course she can. We’re here. Together. Her hand is in mine—warm, small, a little sticky from that lollipop she thought I wouldn’t notice in h...

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“SOMETHING IS AMISS” by Frances Goulart

Submitted to Contest #283

SOMETHING IS AMISSI am not tall, friend. I was never tall. I am not much higher than the seat of your Wainscot chair. But, I pray you, do not see me in your mind’s eye as some sort of court dwarf. I am not that. I am just small of stature for my age of six and ten. I assure you I, Arthur, am what I am. And what does smallness matter in the scheme of things after all? Especially at this season of the year? It is Christmastide! In the year of our Lord, 1502. So what if some call me Tom Thumb behind my back in the sculler...

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“Delayed Celebration” by Ellen Talboom

Submitted to Contest #283

A minor character falls but recovers. Kent stepped outside from his rock-built home. Clouds are rolling in. The Celebration is tomorrow. Everything is getting the final planning check. So much fun and food, and especially drinks. Eimear followed her son outside. "It will be a great Celebration. Children given to us out of love and duty. This will be you and your sister's 15th season." She hooked arms with her son, who now stood taller than her. She wondered how that happened. "It will be a day. The sacred tree is growing nicely. Th...

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“The Illusion of Now” by Rida Kidwai

Submitted to Contest #283

Every day felt like a repetition of the one before. My eyes fluttered open to the familiar hum of my alarm. I shut it off and glanced at the time. As expected, it was 6:00 am on the dot. I couldn’t shake off the peculiar fact about myself: I never felt sleepy afterward. Feeling energized, I flopped out of bed and headed straight to the restroom. Same routine – brush my teeth, use the restroom, wash my face, change my clothes. I mentally accessed my closet and chose a white shirt and jeans, which were the most comforting to me. It was as if I...

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“A Kid at Christmas” by Kirsten Bell

Submitted to Contest #283

I felt ridiculous. Five layers of fluff separated my skin from the December air, giving me the look of an unthreatening bear. One of a storybook that was clumsy and only kind. Woefully undermining her abilities. My mother watched out the window, receiving the occasional mitten-obscured thumbs up from my little sister, Bea. She wasn’t watching her over dressed bears though. She’d be watching the road. “Watch me, Betty!” the littler bear yelled my way. “Watch this move!” And with a muffled crunch, her whole body fell back into the s...

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“ I WASN'T EXPECTING THAT. I wasn't expecting that until today.” by Agnes Koltun

Submitted to Contest #283

The story takes place in ancient Egypt. Historians mistakenly assume that the Pharaoh was a despot. In reality, he took care of his people, but he also had personal ambitions. He wanted to build something grand, something that would commemorate him. However, he knew perfectly well that if he made people work hard just for his whim, they would rebel. They would form unions, elect the least competent but most media-savvy representative, and as always, they would overthrow tyranny.So, he devised a cunning plan.He hired marketing professionals w...

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“Banshee” by Laura Shell

Submitted to Contest #283

The soft cushions of the leather couch cradled Kim's sweaty body. Her vision was fuzzy and dark, like looking through smudged sunglasses. She blinked rapidly, hoping to remedy her skewed sight.Then she heard voices: male and female."Yes, I did call 911.""She needs to get better mascara.""There's no way that was mascara."Kim recognized those voices. She must be on the couch in her office. But why?"Well, what could it have been?""Never heard anyone scream like that before.""I know! It was unnatural.""She must have had some kind of seizur...

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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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