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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

“Santa’s got a problem” by Henry Ramos Acosta

Submitted to Contest #283

“I am sick of this. He’s fat, he’s lazy, he works once a year and we work every single day making all these toys. Have you ever seen a paycheck? I haven’t. When’s the last time you saw your family? For millennia we’ve been complaining about this and asking for change, but nothing ever changes. The only thing that changes is what those freaking kids ask for out there. How in the dang frick am I supposed to build this little fool an Xbox? I know, I know I say the same thing every year and you roll your eyes at me every single time, but I know ...

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“The Tiger's Gaze ” by M B

Submitted to Contest #283

Captain James Sphinx angrily jerked his leather flying helmet from his head, his sandy brown hair plastered to his skull as he grit his teeth. He and the rest of his Misfit Squadron had just landed at the Shanghai aerodrome they’d called home for the past few weeks. Climbing out of the cockpit of his P6 Hawk, the young pilot stormed away barely acknowledging the ground crew as he met up with the rest of his men. He was hating this entire infiltration game he was playing with “The Tiger,” or “Mai,” whatever her actual name was. The smug...

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“I Wasn't Expecting That: A Story of God's Faithfulness in the Unexpected” by Tina Truelove

Submitted to Contest #283

I Wasn't Expecting That Hope Bend was a small town in South Carolina that mirrored many small towns depicted in movies. It was a town where everyone knew everyone else. Men still played board games outside the general store, which was still named The General Store. Children still rode their bikes around in their neighborhoods, visiting with friends until the street lights came on, and unsupervised for the most part. One of Hope Bend's most well-known landmarks was the old country church. The church was founded in 1885. The church steeple sto...

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“Intoxicating Rivals” by Harper Mundschau

Submitted to Contest #283

I packed the arrows carefully; they needed to lay flat under my dress.Ugh, my horrid dress. Pale blue tulle with a bejeweled corset. I couldn’t wait to cover this graceful straight jacket with blood.“Are you ready Verena?” My father called to me from our disheveled kitchen.“I need more time, Father.” My voice carried across our small house. Dust fell from the rafters.My hands worked quickly as I tied the sheath of arrows around my calf.My bow was another situation entirely. It was too large to be hidden under my skirt or across my back.“You ...

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“Dougal McCoogan vs. Santa Clause” by R L Garth

Submitted to Contest #283

Dougal McCoogan had made it. Finally, after walking for weeks, through blizzards and blinding cold, he had done it. The dishevelled, skinny boy looked down on the scene below him with a definite sense of pride and smiled. The North Pole was exactly like he though it would be. No, this is not the story of a boy explorer trekking in the wilderness. That is just incidental to our tale. And the north pole Dougal was now staring at is probably not the one you have seen in pictures. I am not sure you know this, but there is in fact thr...

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“Like a Breath of Cold Air” by Elizabeta Zargi

Submitted to Contest #283

By December, Montreal was buried under a heavy coat of snow that had been piling up since late October. Grey slush lined the streets, the result of salt and traffic grinding the once-pristine snow into a dirty, icy mess. The biting cold cut through even the thickest coats and the endless scraping of shovels and snowploughs provided a constant backdrop to city life. Holiday decorations were everywhere, but their cheer felt commercial, more of a reminder to spend money than a celebration. The air smelled faintly of exhaust and wet wool, the ki...

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“Looking at the past” by Paul Hellyer

Submitted to Contest #283

Jones relished quiet Saturdays. Reclining in his armchair with a book, he let the hum of the air conditioner blend into his thoughts—until his phone broke the silence.“Hello, who is it?”‘It’s Karen! You don’t recognize my voice?’“Oh, hi Karen. How’s your weekend going?”“Jones, listen. I’m at the front of your building near the mailboxes. Come down there’s something I want to show you.’ Her voice was bubbling with an excitement Jones couldn’t quite place.“Your downstairs? And you didn’t tell me you were coming?&n...

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“Loose End” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #283

I had to get away. But you don’t do you? I consoled myself with the ghosts I’d left behind in my empty house. A house that was once a home, but now only contained spirits lamenting a series of losses that wore barbs and blades and slithered around my life to punish my blind ignorance and awaken me to the new reality of my life.Not for the first time, I considered selling that place. It would help in some respects. Diminish the power of those ghosts. But I knew that wasn’t enough. I could run all I liked, but I couldn’t hide from myself. The ...

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“It's Okay” by Aaliyah Salia

Submitted to Contest #283

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of mental health struggles, emotional distress, and graphic descriptions of violence and gore, which may be unsettling for some readers. Discretion is advised. Mike hadn’t been coming home for the past two weeks. It was strange because he would always come home with his two duffle bags and stay until New Years. Christmas holiday was all he looked forward to. It was something he and I thoroughly enjoyed. We would go out to dinner, drink hot chocolate with a splash of whiskey in it, and cuddle next t...

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“Waiting for snow” by Orthodoxia Papachartofyli

Submitted to Contest #283

14:00 pm The sky was brilliantly blue. Almost blindingly so. Mary scowled at the offensive hue. "You'd better snow soon,” she grumbled at the sky. It was only polite to issue a warning. "What was that, dear?" her mother-in-law asked her, head poking in between the potted plants adorning the kitchen island. "Nothing! All good!" she replied, rearranging her lips and jaw and teeth into an approximation of a smile. Her mother-in-law was sweet and kind and there to assist, but she was also very jumpy and every word or sound or even a sigh that c...

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“The Secrets” by Sharon Nations Toler

Submitted to Contest #283

Bang! Bang! The gavel for the court to come to session rang throughout the courtroom. Dressed in a conservative tan pantsuit, Laura sat quietly on a red cushioned bench towards the front of the courtroom. As she glanced around, she couldn’t help but think about the events that had brought her to this courthouse on this day. She lived in Newport, Rhode Island, the home of summer cottages of the Vanderbilts and other Gilded Age robber barons. The architect who had designed her own house won awards because, from the outside, it looked like a ma...

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“The Christmas Secret” by Amber McGinnis

Submitted to Contest #283

Christmas has found its way back around the 365 day calendar and my family is loosing their fucking mind. If I hear Mariah one more time, I'll become Ursula and she aint getting her voice back. It's bad enough that I'd felt uneasy since being here and decided to hide upstairs in the kids bedroom. "Courtney! Come downstairs! Don't be a Screwge!" mom yelled from the kitchen. The house is filled with relatives from both sides, which includes the ones that only come for a few conversations and 2 bags of to-go plates. The aunt that thinks she's ...

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“Toodle-oo, Mayor” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #283

Ottentail, Arizona 1875 “Painter!” The man known throughout town only by his profession rolls onto his back, letting out a phlegmy cough. Skin and bones, with one sad grey eye and the other covered by a patch and sporting a bushy brown beard and the remnants of a rumpled suit, Painter possesses immense talent. He’s created numerous portraits and landscapes, as well as the risqué painting of painted lady Queen Winona that hangs over the Wildweed Saloon’s bar, but he drinks away what money he makes. “I’m letting you out so you can enjoy Mayor...

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“Coincidence or fate?” by Sarah M.

Submitted to Contest #283

If I had to describe my love life to someone. I would probably say that it's just complicated and that love is harder than it seems. For me, it's more on the unlucky side if I could say so myself. After the last fallout that led to the "breakup" with my date, I decided that I should just take a break. A break from dates, a break from situation ships, a break from romance. My mother tried her best to convince me not to give up yet. That true love takes time and I had a special gift of attracting the wrong people ever since I got my first ever...

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“Home for the Holidays” by Faith LeMone

Submitted to Contest #283

“I’m telling Mom you’re not helping!” She shouted as she stomped her foot down and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Why do you have to act like such a little brat!’ I yelled back. “I’m not a brat!” “Well then stop acting like one and just make the damn cookies!” “I wish you never came back home!” She screamed as she stormed off. “I wanna watch The Grinch.” She protested. “We watched The Grinch last year, can’t we watch Home Alone or something?” I suggested. “You don’t get to choose the movie just because you...

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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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