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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

“Sailing without a Map” by Adlyne Agenga

Submitted to Contest #283

I wasn't expecting that. I never saw this coming. No, I never imagined I’d find myself here—adrift in a vast sea with no shore in sight. It’s almost laughable, how we draw up our plans, as if by design—a timetable to guide us, to keep us on course. Yet, at the close of each cycle, we look back and realize how empty those plans have become, how meaningless they feel. It feels like only yesterday when my sister sent me that message, asking me to show up for an interview dressed in "smart attire." But foolish me, I took the word "smart" at fac...

4 comments 4
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“Recyclable” by HC Edwards

Submitted to Contest #283

The line was moving faster than it did last year. That meant one of two things, that either efficiency was up, or the more realistic alternative being that fewer New Year’s babies were being born. The practice had become akin to shooting an albatross. No one wanted a New Year’s babe these days. I couldn’t blame them. There was a certain dread to it, that specific date looming, always counting down the days. You couldn’t shake it or ignore it, and despite the day to day activities of life, it was always present in the back of your mind. ...

1 comment 1
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“Her” by Melodie Fierro

Submitted to Contest #283

New Year’s Day, 2017 I stood in the kitchen, clad in a maroon colored dress and sipping my fourth glass of Sauvignon Blanc. There was glitter all over the floor and empty bottles littered the coffee table. Who knew that a New Year’s Eve party could cause so much upheaval? Not me. Definitely not me. Glancing at the clock, I let out a sigh of defeat. 2:00 am. Seth still wasn’t here. He’d been gone since last night. Where the hell was he? I was about to call him for the third time that night when I heard the sound of a key turning the lock and ...

3 comments 3
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“Within touching distance” by Vladimir Stefan

Submitted to Contest #283

TW - language, alcohol, crime.A few inches of snow today and you can hear the crunch made by my brand-new Chelsea boots. With each step, I enjoy this warming sunshine, something only a sunny day in winter could bring, that crisp feeling. I go to my usual coffee spot near the roundabout of the police station. That warm coffee juice on a crisp morning is to die for. “Morning Graeme. Usual?”“Usual, Solomon, thank you.”Solomon is the owner of Java Cups. A Jewish Brit who owns a few shops in West London. This was his first so he still works here...

8 comments 8
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“It Takes Two” by Summer Austin

Submitted to Contest #283

"Follow me, right this way," my friend Alan beckoned, as we passed through the booming crowd. Fifth Ave was teeming with people, the stage was set, and a singer, 'Porky' was about to get on it and do her stuff. She kind of looked like a little piglet, hence the name. Her hair was topped with a tall pink tiara with sequins and ribbons, and a hot pink body suit to match showed off her curves. Her heels were black, with ballet-style ribbons up the leg.All were cheering for her, urging her on. She reached the mic stand and stood there, blushing ...

4 comments 4
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“NO JOY, NO LOVE” by Susan Nash

Submitted to Contest #283

I could not believe what I was hearing. At this stage, the story relayed to me by my co-workers was second hand. They were, after all, writers, blessed with an imagination. The story, in all probability, could have been at this point sensationalized or even fictionalized before it reached my ears. So, I was more than certain nothing of what I was hearing could have really happened. The story relayed to me by my co-workers was that Hydra Dells, my best friend and confidant was alive and well and back with her husband. But my best friend and c...

5 comments 5
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“Out of the Blue, Embracing the New” by Deborah Sanders

Submitted to Contest #283

Trigger Warning: car accident, grief, child lossEveryone knows that Christmas can be a lonely time for some people. Claire had never considered that she might find herself to be amongst the “some people” some day. She had grown up as part of a large extended family. She was the oldest of two girls, with aunts and uncles as well as five cousins living nearby. So, in her youth, her home had always been a hive of activity, with plenty of gatherings and social happenings. Christmas had always been a time for family and traditions. Reminisci...

3 comments 3
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“The Tell-Tale Fart” by Levi Michael

Submitted to Contest #283

They’re looking at me like they can tell. I know they can’t. The only three that know are me, the fella in that deep hole, and my shovel. Still, Aunt Ida has paid me the not-so-subtle side eye all evening, and uncles Al and Sam have been exchanging cryptic comments and nods, and looking away at odd times. Christmas dinner is always weird, but this year it feels weirder. Mom and Dad have been cool, though. It was probably just me.  “How’s clown college?” My cousin Alex chewed away at something green as he raised an eyebrow in half-intere...

10 comments 10
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“Inspiration in the Park” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #283

The wooded area in the local park was my favourite place to go to when I was but a lad, living a short walk away. I spent many hours on my own there, but I did not for a second feel that I was alone. I felt welcomed there every time. The trees were my best friends, particularly the cluster of cedars. In fact it was a place that gave me confidence in myself. When I was ten years old, I felt the attraction of becoming a writer. No one knew that I had that feeling, certainly not any family members or friends. And ...

9 comments 9
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“Elaine Version 2” by Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #283

Elaine the Fair, Elaine the Lovely, the Lily Maid of Astolat had taken the opportunity to make her escape from the tragic tale of her unrequited love of Sir Lancelot du Lac.She was now choosing her own adventure as The Lady Charlotte Elaine of Shalott, entrepreneur owner of Charlotte’s Web Weaving. Elaine found that life in the studio apartment of Shalott Tower was not as she had imagined it would be.She realised that, in order to finance the upkeep of the place, she would need to weave steadily day and night, leaving her no time for so...

9 comments 9
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“Francis” by Oliver Gray

Submitted to Contest #283

Francis“The world is off again,” said the man in front of me.            The man in front of me didn’t lean forward to emphasize his point. He didn’t raise his voice, or even vary his inflection. He just stated his opinion—no, his feeling—in a very slow, even way. The way you might expect a young child to tell you how the word dog is spelled or that two plus two equals four. Just straightforward and simple.            “What do you me...

4 comments 4
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“Penguin on 34th Street” by S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #283

It was going to be hard to explain the penguin walking around their living room dressed as a pirate, but Marco decided he’d give it a shot.“It’s a Christmas miracle,” he started calmly.SQUAWK“WHAT?” She was livid, and understandably so. Cap’n Jack Sparrow, or Penguin, was currently plundering their snack pantry and making a terrible mess.“A miracle, on Christmas, a Christmas miracle.” SQUAWK“I swear if you don’t start making sense, I’m going to—” Claudia was at a loss for an appropriate threat, given the situation.“Let’s go into the oth...

7 comments 7
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“Shaping the Future. ” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #283

Yes, love makes the world go round. This was a thought Cosmic Mystic Elke told herself more than once, as she was enjoying this romantic stage of her new world. She and Big Al Grayson went on proudly defying their Christian parental influences, by continuing to have sleepovers with each other. To be sure, after Big Al had invited New Age Cosmic Elke to turn back to God in his more liberal minded church, she had accepted that in all her days, Jesus had always close at hand. That thought had stood her in good stead when Big Al's tall but rigid...

2 comments 2
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“A Home To You and Me” by Lola Palooza

Submitted to Contest #283

There was a certain delight to be found within the walls of a disreputable bar. The peanut-ridden floor, the dirty cigarette smell, the homeless regulars sleeping in the corners, all of Gregory’s bar’s charms held an unmistakable allure that pulled in the group of friends who visited the establishment regularly. Blonde Anna Louise, red-eyed Jeremy, brunette Lee, and the freckled Oliver, though just barely above the legal drinking age, had found themselves in the same cushioned booth on the same Saturday night for the past few years–yes, ille...

5 comments 5
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“The Last Letter” by Justine Van Der Linde

Submitted to Contest #283

The sun hung low in the sky as Thomas walked along the dirt road leading to the old farmhouse. He had been here many times before, but today was different. Today, he wasn’t coming back to visit his grandmother, as he had every weekend for the past ten years. Today, he was coming for the last time.Grandma Esther had passed away in her sleep two days ago, a peaceful end for a woman who had lived through so much. The house, which had always been a symbol of comfort and warmth, now felt cold, almost eerie. Thomas had been named executor of her e...

2 comments 2
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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