Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#289: Between the Lies with S. J. Watson

This week, we're running a takeover in collaboration with multimillion-copy bestselling author S. J. Watson. The winner of this contest will not only be awarded $250 — they’ll also receive a special bonus prize: personal feedback from S. J. Watson himself. Here's what he has to say about his takeover:

Hi! I’m S. J. Watson, internationally bestselling author of psychological thrillers Before I Go to Sleep, Second Life, and Final Cut. You can check out my website here and get access to some exclusive new writing from my newsletter, A Life Worth Writing, here.

Although very different, the themes of my books have tended to coalesce around memory, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world and our place in it. In my debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep, the protagonist loses her ability to make new memories and wakes up every day believing herself to be someone quite different from who she really is. In Second Life, a grieving woman negotiates an online relationship fraught with danger, and in Final Cut, a character discovers her own past is only half the story.

This week, choose one of the five prompts below and explore the nuanced themes of identity and memory…

Special Update: The Results

S.J.'s Watson's top pick for his takeover was "All I Have To Offer Is My Truth" by Dermot Lane. Here's what he had to say about the winning story: "It was difficult to choose an overall winner between the top stories, but I loved the richness of ‘All I Have to Offer Is My Truth.’ Brilliantly written — like the best short stories, it allows the reader a glimpse into a whole new world, and despite the finality of the ending, it left me wanting more. Wonderful.’"

Congratulations to contest winner Dermot Lane and the runners-up, Rebecca Hurst and Orwell King!

This week's prompts

Start your story with the lines: “The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here.”

Short Story – 108 stories

Write your story as text messages or an online conversation between two characters — and at least one of them isn’t who they say they are.

Dramatic – 29 stories

Write an open-ended story in which your character’s fate is uncertain.

Short Story – 95 stories

Write a story in which a character discovers that a truth they've believed their whole life is either false or not the whole story.

Dramatic – 73 stories

Your character is getting changed in the bathroom of a nightclub or restaurant, then emerges looking completely different. Why?

Short Story – 58 stories

Stories

“Sky full of rain” by A J Mortimer

Submitted to Contest #289

In a sky full of rain, I stand. The downpour is relentless. The shivering has stopped, the cold no longer stings. My pyjamas cling to me, my hair drips, but I barely notice. The wind howls around me, urging, calling. I came here for my eternal rest. Thunder rumbles overhead like something ancient speaking my name. It beckons me forward, whispering promises I don’t understand. I take a step closer to the edge of the building, my bare foot slipping slightly against the slick concrete. The city below is blurred with mist and water, streetlights...

Read story

“Red Car ” by Kateri Daw

Submitted to Contest #289

Do you ever notice when you mention a car color, it starts to become the only car color you see? If you’ve ever played the game “yellow car” with your siblings then you are aware of the dull ache after they spot that pesky beetle before you and you get a nice solid punch to the soft tissue in your arm. Who doesn’t love a little of violence in the name of an innocent game? That is why when I started to notice the increasing number of red cars in my school’s parking lot, I thought it would be fun to get my revenge. My knuckles tin...

Read story

“Lost Love” by Jerilyn Kolbin

Submitted to Contest #289

In Carol’s sleep, she was twirling and laughing. He had such a cute smile. Every Friday night at the town Grange, there was a contra dance. She went every week. This was Jacob's first time at this Grange, though he had been to others and knew how to do it. Jacob eyed her from across the room and asked her to dance. She explained that her “dance card” was full for the next two, but she’d put him down for the third.Jacob was adorable. He had a big black bush of curly hair, with a red bandanna around his forehead. He wore a faded, yellow Black ...

Read story

“Wednesday’s Child” by Deborah Sanders

Submitted to Contest #289

Content warning - mildly offensive languageWednesday, February 12, 2025Wednesdays! So often people complain about Wednesdays. At the beginning of the day, it is an uphill climb to the top of the week. But by evening, the middle is in the past and, with a bit of luck, the rest of the week will be a an easy slide down to the weekend.This year, I am embracing Wednesdays. My college classes end at noon on a Wednesday, and I can ride the buses back to my home, or rather the apartment building where I am staying with my uncle. ...

Read story

“The Housekeeper” by Arpita Roy

Submitted to Contest #289

The breeze whispered through the open window, brushing against Lora’s skin as she stood by the kitchen sink, washing the delicate dishes her mother had once used. Her hands moved with practiced precision, the porcelain plates gliding through her fingers like memories. The house was quiet, save for the hum of the refrigerator and the soft rhythm of her own breathing. She had been alone here for as long as she could remember, but the house was always so full—full of the warmth, the laughter, the life of her mother.Her mother.Lora couldn’t pict...

Read story

“Why am I Broken? ” by Ian Walker

Submitted to Contest #289

What does it mean to be broken? James thought to himself as he stared blankly at the shattered glass on the tile floor of his kitchen. I guess it just means that something can’t be fixed. As the sounds of the broom combined with the glass scratching over the tile, there wasn’t much going through his mind. Just making sure he got all of the damned glass off the floor. The damned glass. It just slipped between my fingers. Everything always feels like it’s slipping away, but this time, it actually is. Perspective is a hell of th...

Read story

“False Reclamation” by Daniel Coniff

Submitted to Contest #289

TW: Racism, Transphobia, Ableism, Child Abuse, Blood and Gore Screams reverberate throughout the convenience store, repurposed as a trading market, as my mind replays the gunshot over and over. I clench a matte black handgun aligned with careful precision at the blown-apart skull of a boy with tawny skin who looks my age - fourteen - give or take a year. Crimson blood and pinkish-gray chunks of brain matter ooze out of a quarter-sized borehole exposing checkered tiles through the other end. The beige walls of the bathroom are coated uneven...

Read story

“Unbelievable” by Renee Bogacz

Submitted to Contest #289

God is not real. He doesn’t exist. He’s totally made up to try to guilt all of us into being good people so we can avoid an eternal afterlife in hell. At least this is what Terra was raised to believe. From the time she was a very little girl, this concept was hammered into her head. Her parents were staunch atheists, refusing to celebrate any holiday with even a skosh of religion. That meant no Easter and no Christmas, most notably. So Terra never had the chance to feel the wonder of waking up on Christmas morning to a festively lit tree sp...

Read story

“Not Who I Thought You Were” by Christine Roddie

Submitted to Contest #289

“Kanoe? Are you ready? Got your costume?”“Yeah. Just a minute.”“We have to go. Your kumu just called and wants to know where you are.”“Okay. I'm ready., and thanks for calling her a kumu instead of a teacher."As usual, she looked gorgeous. I was proud of my Hawaiian daughter.We made it to the show in time. I walked her to the tent dressing room which was at the park where her halau was performing. The other girls were inside inspecting each other’s costumes and applying their makeup. I didn’t go in so as not to bother them. They were teenage...

Read story

“Unladylike” by Hannah Wall

Submitted to Contest #289

I hate my family. I loathe them. I might as well be Dr Jackle and Mr Hyde because of them, only I’m Lady Meridith and Miss slut-bag. “Mary, are you done yet?” My only true-blue friend, Em shouted from outside the bathroom cubicle I’m currently using as a changing room. It’s not often I have to do this, show my obligations before heading to The scene, the club we like to head up to live vicariously. Em and I or M and M as those who know us like to call us are actually Emelia Isles and Meridith Charles, two girls who grew up in wealth, neglect...

Read story

“A Night on the Town” by Lisa Climenson

Submitted to Contest #289

Anna and Jesse entered the restaurant at 8:00 pm. It was crowded, as expected, suiting their plan perfectly. Rancho Travador was located in the gaslight area of downtown San Diego. With its bright red awnings and outdoor tables with umbrellas, it appealed to people who liked to mix fine dining with a cheery atmosphere. Jesse wore designer jeans with a white polo shirt, looking like a model for GQ magazine. He’d paid more for his joggers than most Californians earned in a week. His face was tanned and ruggedly handsome, and he walked co...

Read story

“The Man in the Mirror ” by Patricia Szymanik

Submitted to Contest #289

The Man in the Mirror The accusing face in the full-length mirror decorated by an ornate gold frame mouths the words, “So you think you can do this job better job,” The words are mine; however, the face disappears like a snowflake on a warm cheek until only my reflection remains. Startled but undistracted, I make my way through the small row of lockers in the employee lounge of the Buon Appetite restaurant looking for one assigned to “special guest”. That would be me. The locker squeaks ...

Read story

“In for a Penny” by Hugh Knight

Submitted to Contest #289

Two deep breaths. I’ve done this loads of times already. Binder on the chest. Suit and tie too long for my torso. I inspect the baggie of coke, and flick it twice because that’s what I’ve seen my new friends do. I tie a long string around the door lock, and check on all fours to make sure nobody else is in the men’s. The floor stinks of bleach. I get up and exit with the string over the door. I leave my knee-length black skirt and satiny white dress shirt in the stall, along with the baggie. I close the door and give the string a tug. It loc...

Read story

“Night Moves” by Kathleen Majorsky

Submitted to Contest #289

I take a deep breath before I push open the bathroom door. I keep my head down and my long black hair shielding my face like a thick curtain of protection. These nights at places like SILK, which sits at the core of Tokyo’s club scene, can get…intense with the fans, especially after one of our concerts. As one-half of the most celebrated and popular K-pop duo in all of Asia, my privacy was sent to the sacrificial chopping block when I agreed to do this with Han 15 years ago. I had no idea how much that sacrifice would cost. I was just a 15-y...

Read story

“Shadowed In Peccancy” by Khandyse Simpson

Submitted to Contest #289

Running fast as possible she was. Mouth open turning back to grab peripherals of the path by which she'd come. The night shone no moonlight on the alley riddled with filth. Sprinkles had begun to fall amplifying odors forced up her nostrils. Panic was the catalyst propelling her. An overstuffed backpack over the right shoulder. In her left hand a small duffle interfered with her stride. Fright failed to block her conscious register that the morning forecast said nothing of rain. Why this came to mind now wasn't apparent. She was wearing a pa...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

363

Contest entries

155

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 14, 2025 EST

Won by Dermot Lane 🏆

Title: All I Have To Offer Is My Truth

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢