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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

“To Laundry or not laundry, that is the question. ” by Dragon The Poet

Submitted to Contest #31

Get up, Jasmine. Do your laundry! No, I don't wanna do it. I'd rather stay in bed. Jasmine, just because you're mourning your best friend's murder, doesn't mean you get to skip out on laundry. It's been two fucking weeks, and only a week since the funeral, give me a damn break. Says the one talking to herself. "FINE I'LL DO IT!!" I yelled to no one, though I'm pretty sure my loud outburst could be heard through the thin walls of our dorm hall. I squeezed my pink Build-a-Bear, the one my best friend, Josephine had gotten for my birthday. I mi...

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“Sisterhood at the Laundromat” by Saralyn Richard

Submitted to Contest #31

Ten p.m. was no time to be doing laundry. Especially at the twenty-four-hour laundromat on the far end of town, fifteen miles from the garage apartment I’d been living in ever since fleeing from an abusive husband two states away. It had been ten weeks now, and, although I was grateful to be alive and safe, I wasn’t enjoying the perpetual tiredness that came from working at a minimum-wage job in a bustling café, and the after-hours responsibility for cleaning-washing-maintaining-bill-paying, and the isolation. &...

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“River Gossip” by Daphne Matiza

Submitted to Contest #31

“Sera’s husband has a flat behind!” Tasha whispered, albeit loudly, and the two women with her laughed.I rolled my eyes and tuned them out, focusing on my chores instead of listening to the local gossip. Even though I was curious to know just how Sera had found out that bit of information, I was racing against time. A soft sob had me lifting my head again, distracting me from the task at hand. Across the river, Hannah was quietly crying as she went about her own business.Oh Hannah, I thought.I watched my neighbor as she slowly reached for th...

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“A Summer Sunday at the Laundromat” by Davis Dunham

Submitted to Contest #31

The laundromat was full that day. Full of light, of the tumbling railroad noise of dryers, of dust-bunnies and lint balls traipsing across the linoleum tiles, of single socks dangling in the back workings of the machines, of the clinking casino noise of the change machine, and full of people.In the row of seats against the front wall, Natalie sat with a book in her hand. The light coming through the window behind her made the pages almost unreadable, but she didn’t mind – she wasn’t really reading, anyway. Her eyes hovered ove...

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“The Long Commute” by Tedi Carey

Submitted to Contest #31

It was mid August and mid afternoon. I had just finished my last training session for the week. The drive home started out just like any other commute...slow and crawling down the 101 freeway towards Gilroy, CA. I had hoped to beat the majority of the weekend travelers who thought that if they got an early start that they, too, would beat the traffic. In the end, they only added to the nightmare commute that I endured every Friday afternoon and every holiday eve. When would people realize that if they waited until after the regu...

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“Soap Suds and Bloody Palms” by Lily Elborn

Submitted to Contest #31

The rumble of the washing machine was the only thing that could drown out the noise of my guttural sobs, oh the poetic justice of it. As I took in shuddering breaths, I made myself listen to the hypnotic drone of the second cycle I’d just started. Hours had past since I’d started on my list of chores and yet the breakdown I was currently having had managed to stick around through every one of those tasks. Whoever said that doing chores was cathartic had obviously never done them in such a high-strung situation. My eyes were as drenched in wa...

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“Brighter Than Stars” by Geneva Savage

Submitted to Contest #31

Bang. My apartment door slams open. Loud voices and pounding music blast through my once silent sanctuary. Stilettos click against my cheap, imitation hardwood floors. They click – click – clicked over to the light switch. When the lights flicker on, I blink my eyes against the blinding lights. Then, the footsteps come nearer and nearer. I don't look up, though. Instead, I stay safely hidden in my little cocoon on my green, second-hand couch that feels scratchy against my skin. But, the irritating feeling was better than the person standing ...

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“A Fortuitous Meeting” by Ashley Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #31

*This story is inspired by Dr. Seuss’s story of how he experienced rejection by twenty-seven publishers. He was taking his manuscript home to burn when he took a different route instead of the usual way to his house. On that road, he ran into an old school acquaintance who happened to be in the children’s publishing industry, and he showed him his manuscript. All because of that fortuitous meeting, Dr. Seuss went on to become a bestselling children’s author.'If I'd been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I'd be in the dry-cleaning ...

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“It All Comes Out In The Wash” by Vidya Tamminidi

Submitted to Contest #31

Here’s what’s interesting about laundry: everyone has to do it , Or have it done. It is a thing that everyone has to coordinate the doing-of, somehow. So, it perfectly reveals how certain class things work. If you’re rich, you never think about it, probably. Your clothes float off your body and somehow return to your closet cleaned and pressed. The less money you have, the more work it is to do laundry, and, like so many things, the cheaper option often costs more over the long term.I’ve never been good at laundry. At some point in midd...

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“Wouldn't You Know It” by Aisha Hashmi

Submitted to Contest #31

Wouldn’t you know it. Out of milk. Again. How many times had Tom asked his wife to tell him when they needed something? Now, he would either have to go to corner store to buy some, or drink his coffee black. The thought of black coffee made him shudder. Okay then, to the store it was. Grabbing his jacket off the chair he always hung it on, he grabbed his phone. He called up the stairs, “Jean, I am going to the store across the street to get some milk. I’ll be back in a few.” Jean said, “Oh, I am so sorry. I use...

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“What Happened at the Laundromat” by Julie Squires

Submitted to Contest #31

Trigger warning: threat of sexual assault On a muggy June afternoon, a mass of black rolling clouds overtake the sky above our little town, charging in like a herd of running bulls stirring up dust. And Everett and I barely make it inside the laundromat before the downpour starts. As the washing machine does its thing, we sit silently across from one another in plastic yellow chairs. Each time the lightning casts its ghostly glare through the windows, I brace myself for the moment the splintering sound of the thunder’s booming voic...

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“The big load... ” by D Myers

Submitted to Contest #31

“Boo hoo… ” she moaned, “another big dumping of that white stuff” Shannon stuttered, as she looked outside the window of her three story home. Another big snowfall had descended upon the town of Bootie Falls, Ontario, Canada. This time the snowfall was most crippling and stopped all the busy residents in their tracks. Shanny felt a bit overwhelmed with this latest snowfall, seeing as it was at least 50 whopping inches high in all directions. Furthermore, the height of the shoveled snow mounds, were almost double the height of her bedroom “st...

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“Weeding out the Bad” by Deanna West

Submitted to Contest #31

Weeding out the BadEver since I was a young little girl I would always love to watch and help my mother in her garden. Her garden was the most beautiful and magical garden that you have ever seen. People would always stop her while she’s outside and say “I love the pink and red roses”, “You are doing such a beautiful job, I get soo excited knowing that I will pass your house every day after I get off work” We never realized just how much comfort it brings to others seeing your work come alive until one day… I was just sitting on the por...

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“Dinner for Two” by Mel Kheios

Submitted to Contest #31

The sizzling pop of meat cooking is a siren call crooning at Hanzo the moment he steps through the door, and the heady scent of beef and spices and something else ― rice? ― cracks the cold shell of apathy around him to envelope him in a cloud of mouthwatering warmth."I'm home," he calls, curiosity piqued."Welcome home!" He melts a little inside at the deep, cheerful response from the kitchen; only one person with a key to his apartment has that delicious Southern drawl, and as always, it brings a smile to his face while he toes out of his bo...

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“Her” by Emma Lin

Submitted to Contest #31

During my undergraduate years at New York University (NYU), I interned with The Three--JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup with an ambition to be with the top of the top, to be excellent.I made strong social relations with project managers, received awards and praise and invitations to luxurious gatherings. Beginning in 2012, I got laid off from my job at Goldman Sachs and it was a good-bye to my handsome six figure salary, Porsche 911, an Upper Manhattan penthouse and other materialistic possessions that money could buy. I reloc...

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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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