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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#31: The Ordinary

The very last line of the NBC sitcom The Office is spoken by former receptionist Pam Beasley. She says: "There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?"

This week's writing prompts embrace that sentiment, and challenge you to write stories that take ordinary, everyday tasks and turn them into meaningful pieces of short fiction.

This week's prompts

Write a short story about someone doing laundry.

Adults – 94 stories

Write a short story about someone tending to their garden.

Spring – 77 stories

Write a short story about someone cooking dinner.

Nonfiction – 56 stories

Write a short story about someone going to the corner store to buy an everyday item.

Nonfiction – 64 stories

Write a short story about someone heading home from work.

Nonfiction – 81 stories

Stories

“Going To The Corner Store To Buy Everyday Item” by Deborah Durkin

Submitted to Contest #31

GOING TO THE CORNER STORE TO BUY EVERYDAY ITEMSBY DEBORAH DURKIN One day my neighbor Carol and I got permission from our Mom’s to walk to the corner store. We strolled leisurely along our partly wooded, two-lane road. New homes were encroaching the woods and now lined both sides most of the way. Our pockets were heavy with pennies. I loved going to Quigley’s. It was a one-room store about two miles from my house. A straight walk to a crossroad that, if we turned left would take us to ...

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“A walk, a plan and a carton of milk ” by Sophie-Dominique Waddie

Submitted to Contest #31

“Milk, milk, milk, milk, milk.” Anthea sang quietly under her breath as she climbed over the stile, smiling as she heard her wellington boots squelch in the mud. The sun was shining, and the recent rain had left a fresh smell of spring in the air. A city girl born and bred, Anthea was unaccustomed to the countryside and was loving her new life here. She had moved from London to the middle of the Lake District with her husband of four years, Robert. His health had struggled in the city and the doctors had all recommended s...

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“V For Victory” by Stan Allen

Submitted to Contest #31

The stranger only received bills as change. He dug into his pocket for a coin and dropped the only one he had into the tip jar beside the cash register. Thieves stopped people from leaving tips on a table. Kay watched him to see if her extra efforts would pay off. They didn’t. ‘Only one small coin; cheapskate.’ She continued to wait on tables, but much of the enthusiasm had left her face. She smiled at customers, but it wasn’t a warm friendly smile. Being part of the job, she went through the motions automatically.At the end of her shift, Ka...

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“X marks my Home” by Smudge Himmel

Submitted to Contest #31

The wind was blowing. It was almost always blowing. When you were a pirate, you always wanted it to be blowing. It was just one of those things, innocuous things really, that life on the sea made you accept as normal. Of course, it was worse if the wind was blowing against you and it was awfully hard to tack when in a dinghy. I pulled on the oars. The chest was empty, at least. I had just been to the X, dropping off our last shipment of plunder. I liked calling it a 'shipment' because it was somewhat of a pun. The crew always moaned whenever...

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“Coming Home to the 5th” by Carrie Bancroft

Submitted to Contest #31

In the midst of his 111th miracle of the day – the restoration of vitality to a bird that had flown too close to an electrical wire – the archangel Zenzekial looked up suddenly, releasing the re-enlivened bird as he did so. “Good Heavens!” he said, wiping his sweatless brow (not being embodied, he didn’t actually sweat, but he enjoyed pretending). “Could it really be sundown? The day has gotten away from me!”He had a sudden misgiving. “Undo that,” he added quickly. “What I meant to say is that the sun is now setting. Just as a...

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“At the Bus Stop” by James Townsend

Submitted to Contest #31

Nancy dragged the toe of her right sneaker in the loose gravel on the edge of the curb to hear the scraping sound it would make. It was hotter out than it should have been. And the bus was always late. She lost her job today.Her foot made a trail in the dirt. She stomped her left foot and erased the trail again with her right. Drag, stomp, drag. She shuffled a bit and made a new line with her left foot. Drag, stomp, drag, shuffle, drag, stomp, drag. Repeat.Her boss had been such a funny looking man. He had thick glasses that made it hard to ...

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“Hollow Life” by Lois Beloved

Submitted to Contest #31

LENOX HILL HOSPITAL, NEW YORK CITY, THE U.S.EDNA TREMONT"I'd rather have the truth, please," I began, taking a seat and crossing my ankles. My voice sounded weary and anguished, defeated and broken, despite the beauty everyone claimed I possessed but could not see.That was what beauty was, in the end. Superficial, as all things were."Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it," quipped Nathan Parker, the head of Cardio surgery. His alert grey eyes watched me carefully, assessing my reaction boldly."They would, Doctor Parker. I...

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“Let your guard down” by Shaun Calvert

Submitted to Contest #31

There was an excellent view of the city from the top of the central watchtower. Standrew, or Stan to his friends (which only included his mother and a number of innkeepers) had spent the last hour watching the city and barking orders down the stairs. It had started as a normal shift, delightfully boring. Then things had gotten upsettingly exciting. There had been reports of shambling undead in the holy quarter, then the sun had blinked out of existence, plunging the world into darkness, which of course started riots and all manner of crime w...

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“THE UMBRELLA” by Russell Waterman

Submitted to Contest #31

THE UMBRELLABy Russell Waterman Londyn Conway brought his umbrella everywhere. His fellow clothiers likened it to a proverbial third leg—it was always with him, but rarely used. The umbrella was a family heirloom he recently inherited from his late father, Robert, a stuffy businessman who spent the majority of his time schmoozing clients and attending banquets. Londyn drooled over it as a child and dreamed of one day owning it himself. His father took it out only on special occasions to help close deals, otherwise keeping it safely tucked aw...

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“Chance Meeting” by Jessica Bell

Submitted to Contest #31

Tired from his day at work, George found himself fighting his insomnia again. He stepped out of his office and to his car, fumbling with his keys. He found himself still aggravated by his superior, who had the nerve to brag about his fancy new car. George looked at his old Pontiac and even though this car annoyed him with the oil leak, it still run and got him to work every day. "Well not everyone has extra money coming in from their rich parents. Stupid Richard. Always likes to brag about his money."George thought this to himself, grinding ...

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“SARA'S DAY AFTER WORK.” by Shaji Nilofer

Submitted to Contest #31

"Ms.Sara! Make sure to submit the reports of the students tomorrow" shouted the principal from a little distance. She turned to see his tall lean figure with spectacles and his hair perfectly combed. He's a friendly man but strict when it comes to work. Sara nodded and bowed with a tiring face."Without fail, Miss" he smiled and made his way to his car. " Yes Sir! I will. Have a nice day" she bowed again managing to put up a smile on her lips hiding her exhaustion from work. She watched her principal's car roaring through the school gate...

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“The Caffeine Bandit” by Vaibhav Sharma

Submitted to Contest #31

There was something about skating through the empty streets at two in the night in a bus that had a calming effect on Ian. Such was the nature of his work that he usually left his home just when people were tucking themselves in for a night filled with dreams. And he preferred that. The anonymity that the night offered him was quite welcome. He still remembered when he had taken his first bus ride after a night like this. Ian was then just starting out as an amateur thief. Or a stealth-artist, as he liked to believe. In the months ...

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“Field of Sunflowers” by Diana Black

Submitted to Contest #31

Finally, Friday had come and gone. The weekend was here. Even though Jonathan had to stay in the office till 9:30 at night, he was thrilled to go home. The moon was gleaming in the jet black sky. As Jonathan was walking around the quiet block to get to his house, he saw a trail of something brown or maybe even red on the floor. Upon further inspection due to his inquiring nature, Jon determined that the trail was a path of blood. He followed the dark red path that ran across the grey concrete sidewalk, allowing it to lead him into a dar...

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“Country Pod Take Me Home” by Shantesh Patil

Submitted to Contest #31

She missed the motor pools that she used to share on the way back from work, until just a decade ago. Ever since personal pods had become the preferred means of transport she wondered if she was the only one who had ever enjoyed them. She pressed her face to the fiber glass that covered her pod, to try and catch the eyes of others traveling on parallel lines. The pods however whizzed by too fast for her to make any real contact. It was at the interchanges where she had the only real chance to remember a face. As the years went by and the sys...

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“Dirty Jeans” by April Waldron

Submitted to Contest #31

“Mom, there's a stain on my jeans because Dana dropped pizza on my leg at the mall. They're my favorite jeans and I want to wear them to school tomorrow so could you wash them tonight”? At sixteen years old you would think she could learn to wash a pair of pants instead of giving me another chore on top of the five other chores I have to do before bed. It's my fault I suppose, for not teaching her to be more responsible. The truth is, it's usually just easier to do it myself than to end up in an argument that can't be won. Her older brother ...

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$50

Prize money

372

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 06, 2020 EST

Won by Ariel Kalati 🏆

Title: The Memory Garden

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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