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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

“Life in Friendship” by Kristina Hopper

Submitted to Contest #283

The grass was unkept. Random piles of debris littered the driveway. Half-open cardboard boxes. Overspilled containers of dog food. Worn down cigarette butts. The mailbox was tilting to the side; the door half open and overflowing with brown envelopes. The entire house was reminiscent of any living state. Walter Totten navigated his way through the devastation and knocked on the front door. He heard a dog barking behind it. Then silence. Walter knocked again. The dog began barking once more. This time, he heard a rattle, and the door opened. ...

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“The Magazine” by Elize Van Zyl

Submitted to Contest #283

Lincoln Eldridge Lopez."What a man." Liliana sighs dreamily and her twin brother rolls his eyes in contempt. He reaches over to tug at the magazine gripped tightly between her hands and Liliana whines. She struggles for a few seconds before begrudgingly releasing it."Behave." Lorenzo eyes her pointedly and her hands lift into a sign of surrender. "We need to get to father's event before Melanie calls and chastises us." His words carry humor, but they both know how accurate his concerns are. She looks between him and the Magazine of the best ...

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“Welcome To Florida Young Man” by James Plante

Submitted to Contest #283

Welcome To Florida Young ManBy Jim Plante Lake Worth, Florida, sits just west of Boca Ratan and right next door to West Palm Beach. My cousin’s condo was about two or three miles inland from the ocean, but you could still smell the beach everywhere. It was also pretty warm there compared to New England, where I lived and just flown in from. There was hardly a job to be found in the northeast in the late 1980s. Wintertime made the job market even worse, so I decided to take up my cousin’s job offer to work with him at the construction company...

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“Double Dose of Christmas Magic ” by Molly Mcguigan

Submitted to Contest #283

**Mention of pregnancy loss** Snowflakes swirled in lazy loops, sticking to the windshield as the car heater worked overtime to keep the chill at bay. Mia sat quietly, her hands twisting the zipper on her coat. Bing Crosby’s smooth voice filled the car, singing about dreaming of a white Christmas, but it barely registered over the nervous energy humming between her and Ben.“Hey,” Ben said, his hand finding hers and squeezing gently. “It’s going to be okay.”Mia gave him a small, tight smile, but her stomach was in knots. The houses they passe...

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“Red Handed” by Debra Demars

Submitted to Contest #283

I was all alone in the apartment for the very first time. Jim was gone. He had been laid to rest just three days ago. My older sister and her husband had stayed with me the entire time. Now they were both gone.They had jobs and two small kids to return to, so they could not stay any longer. Jim's funeral had been small. Exactly the way he had wanted it. Both of us had lost our parents over the years, and all I had left was my older sister. We both came from small families to begin with. That was something that when we first met, we had in co...

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“Queen Snake” by Chuck Thompson

Submitted to Contest #283

Have you ever looked a rattlesnake in the eyes? Have you ever stood and realized the rattlesnake was upright looking you in the eye? Have you ever been so close to a rattler that you can hear it breathe? Do those images make you want to pee and flee? I live in desert country, have all my life. On hikes or walks through the land, I’ve met just about every kind of desert creature. Only one scares me every time: rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes come in a variety of colors: green, blue, brown, black with silver diamonds,...

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“The Call” by Kassie O’Brien

Submitted to Contest #283

2:13 The first ring started Luke awake, jolting up right with his heart pounding as the second ring came through. Bleary-eyed, he glanced at the clock. 2:13 AM. “Who would call at this hour?” Luke groaned under his breath as he reached for his phone that lay beside him on his nightstand charging. ”Hello?” Luke answered without checking the caller ID. The caller with no hesitation avowed, “Luke, listen carefully. This is you. From the future.” Luke blinked, swinging his legs off the side of his bed and ran his hand through h...

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“Scoops of life” by Kashish Dalal

Submitted to Contest #283

After an eight-hour-long journey, I finally arrived back in my hometown after spending my first semester in college. It had snowed here the night before, sparking the Christmas season in the town. The train station was dazzling with bright lights, and Christmas decorations dangled around the fenestrations of the building. People were coming back from all over to celebrate the holidays with their families, but for me, I knew this was going to be the worst Christmas ever. I had been thinking of several last-minute excuses in my dorm room...

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“A Savior is Born” by Riley Noel

Submitted to Contest #283

Surrounding them were decorations of all kinds. The silver-suited nutcrackers reminded Roger of his grandfather's quartet. He wished Delilah had had a chance to meet him, and hear them sing the Montana Hop. The Silver Foxes almost made it to the Barbershop Quartet Championship one year. Roger also wished he had a close knit group like his grandfather, close enough to form a quartet even. Not that he would, or that he was a very good singer.Looking across the dimly lit table Roger's eyes’ pupils dilated as they fell upon Delilah, the love of ...

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“Hope had Coffee” by John Smistad

Submitted to Contest #283

“Damn defective alarm clock. Late again.” Sasha so wants to drift back to sleep. It's raining. Hard. A seventeen block trudge to work awaits her. She has no car and can't afford to pay for a cab or an Uber. What’s worse, this month Sasha had to help her mother, Luella, seriously ill and living three states away, pay overdue medical bills. Leaving her with no money to pay the rent. It's not the first time. Threatened with eviction by a soulless landlord, she fears the inevitable. Returning to the women’s shelter. She can’t bear the...

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“A Special Christmas ” by Ray Paltoo

Submitted to Contest #283

A special Christmas ServiceByRaymond PaltooI slowly moved from the realms of sleep to the reality of my soft, warm blankets. The old alarm clock at my bedside was still ringing, and I quickly placed one hand over it to shut off the ringer lest the noise awaken my two roommates. We were college students sharing a basement apartment, the smallest and most distant bedroom from the entrance being mine. Through the haze of a too-early rising, I realized that it was Christmas morning, and there was a reason that I had set the alarm. I had planned ...

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“Christman Eve” by Frankenwayne Frankenwayne

Submitted to Contest #283

I was Christmas eve as the old man sat down in front of the fireplace. The fire was warm and cozy. Casting a yellow glow around the room. He was feeling reminiscent as he glanced at the clock over the door. His quite solitude would soon be shattered. His son and daughter's families would soon be arriving. Getting up to look out the window; it was snowing again. Probably going to be a white Christmas the year he thought to himself. Heading into the kitchen to check on a last minute desert. He had decided to make. Opening the oven an...

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“Look Where You Are Going” by Robin Zimmer

Submitted to Contest #283

Look Where You Are Going The Christmas crowd staying in the little wood cabin that the family stayed in every year had been outgrown by the amount of family arriving later December. Tim needed either a change of scenery or maybe just a quiet moment, so he decided to go for a walk. He had not hiked through these woods in years, but it was a fairly clear if not overcast day. The trees swayed slightly and all in all it seemed like a mediocre hiking day. He started looping around the yard and then decided to go deeper into t...

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“Shattered Truths” by Beta Haaf

Submitted to Contest #283

Shattered TruthsIn week 52 the little town already shimmered with the anticipation of festivies. Strings of twinkling lights adorned street corners, their glow reflected in the frosted windows of small houses. The air was somehow alive with the scent of candied almonds, cinnamon and vanilla - sweet bakeries waiting to be shared. Yet amidst this explosion of life and light, Henrik remained unmoved in his own house. Only now did he notice the splinters on the frames of the old windows. It irritated him. How could one have lived in a pla...

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“A Rose-Scented Santa Claus” by Itxy Lopez

Submitted to Contest #283

Mrs. Claus doesn’t bake cookies. She doesn’t prepare any dessert at all, for that matter. Her husband eats enough cookies to last him one year on his journey around the globe. Instead, she cracks five eggs (three for him, two for her), spreads butter on toast, tosses a bowl of fruit for them to share, and prepares her husband’s favorite: a mug of coffee with frothed reindeer milk and candy cane crumbles on top. It always gives him a nice boost before the annual Christmas Soirée, which is hosted by the elves—forever adorers (kiss-asses, anoth...

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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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