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!

#33: Bad Hair Day

The best stories are the ones that make us feel something; the ones that tap into some kind of universal emotion or experience. And there is one feeling that stands out as being particularly universal. More than joy, sadness, fear, or love. More than the excited nerves of a first day at school, or the sweet relief of a spring breeze after a long winter. Something that connects us all is the feeling of... a bad haircut.

This week, your challenge is to write a story that evokes the feelings of a bad hair cut. (Whether or not your story involves this actual plot is up to you!)

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who can't make up their mind about something.

Character – 64 stories

Write a story about a character who's too polite to tell someone they don't like a gift given to them.

Funny – 49 stories

Write a story about a character making a big change.

Teens – 65 stories

Write a story set in a salon or barbershop.

Fiction – 70 stories

Write a story about miscommunication.

Fiction – 48 stories

Stories

“I Love It ” by Georgia Nielsen

Submitted to Contest #33

No. I hate it. I hate her. I don’t even know what it is and I still hate it. I am normally more astute with my words, but honestly, that four letter word just about exemplifies anything I have to say about that wretched woman and whatever is in that stupid box. Jesus, how insensitive can a person be? And for what? God, I wish I could have my way with her aided by a newly sharpened meat cleaver. No. I suppose homicidal tendencies would only add to her case. God, everyone is going to think I’m some melodramatic teenage g...

Read story

“THE HAIRCUT AND THE HAT” by SUSAN REIHER

Submitted to Contest #33

Eddyth Whistlepooth’s girth didn’t assist him as he tried in vain to lower himself into the narrow park bench. He huffed crossly, wiggled a bit one way and then the other, but finally he was forced to concede that the bench was of faulty design. Eddy, as he liked to be known, had always been on the plump side and at fifty-six-years young he was quite proud of it. After all, stout Irish Gnomes from good blood-lines were well thought off by the feminine sort, especially those stout Irish Gnomes who lived reasonably high off the hog, which he d...

Read story

“childish ” by Angelina Liu

Submitted to Contest #33

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I check the time 6:30am. Grumpily, I slump my head back onto my pillow. “another five minutes” i plead. Just as i was about to fall asleep again, i suddenly remember, it’s thanksgiving! I quickly hop out of my bed and change into the most decent outfit I can find in my closet. Then I rush downstairs and quickly gulp down some cereal. In my head, I can hear my mother saying “That’s not very lady like Fiona” but I don’t care. I run up the stairs again to do my hair and makeup. I‘m pretty sure I...

Read story

“Untitled” by Fred Aiken

Submitted to Contest #33

Ryan received another wool sweater from Nanny Genevieve, or Genie as her grandchildren and children liked to refer to her because it felt uncomfortable whenever they mispronounced their grandmother’s name. Isabelle got another pair of hand-knitted mittens. Nanny Genie knew they both lived in Louisiana and would rarely need any warm clothing since the swamps did a good job of staving off any chilliness that might try to brave into the vines, mud, trenches of La Troya, Louisiana before turning right back around. Nonetheless, Ryan and Isabelle ...

Read story

“The perfect birthday” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #33

This day is going to be perfect.Should be perfect.I mean, It'll be fine if it's not..But still.My mind quickly runs over all the things i want-nope, bit assertive?- would like for this "special day".Of course, It's fine if I don't get them.A book- I have been really wanting one of those Calvin and Hobbes comic books. They appear in the newspaper and just saying, It'll be really cool to have one. My mother's not the biggest fan of them,though.A Walkman ? A cheap one, though. Don't want to be one of those bratty little entitled single children...

Read story

“Unicorns and Doves” by Ann Hunwicks

Submitted to Contest #33

The courier walked in Allie’s direction, pushing a cart full of boxes and bubble envelopes. He steered the cart with one hand and in the palm of the other balanced an elaborately wrapped box.Allie recognized the squeaking of cartwheels and looked up from her keyboard. She zeroed in on the stylishly wrapped box—same as the two previous ones delivered in the two previous months.Her body stiffened.“Nooo.” The word came out in a sudden and unexpected burst. In a Nano second, she clamped her hands over her mouth, muffing the end of her scream. No...

Read story

“A Crisis of Carbonated Chocolate” by Leigh Victoria Fisher

Submitted to Contest #33

Victoria’s greatest fear and the thing she hated most in life were one and the same. She was simultaneously terrified and filled with righteous hatred toward the idea of letting people down. It was a core pillar of her personality and she never compromised on it. This mindset applied to situations both large and small. From her hard-earned, never wavering spot on the high school honor roll to how she behaved around family, she always went in determined not to disappoint. That was why when they were on the phone one right and her grandma firs...

Read story

“Eve” by Nathan Orecchio

Submitted to Contest #33

“Wow, so you really made all of this?” I ask Him awestruck of the majesty before me. Lush green land that ruffles in the whispers of the breeze extends as far as the eye can see. In the far-right corner are matte chiseled mountains that tower over me and provide shade for the other creatures and myself. To my far left is a bleary blue haze, which He calls the ocean and is made of water like the stream behind me on my left side. Behind me to my right is a strea...

Read story

“Unicorns and Plushy Pajamas” by Kitty Lancaster

Submitted to Contest #33

It isn't a new idea for Ned Peters, sitting on the foot of his bed admiring the tight pants and white unicorn tank top. He bought the outfit three weeks ago in secret with the intention of wearing it the first day of his senior year. Fear overpowered the urge to be himself and he wore his normal baggy jeans and a Doja Cat T. He is popular and loved at school. He is the starter of the basketball team and all the girls swoon over him. Ned is the stereotypical homecoming King, yet has never had a girlfriend. He tells his boys that he finds ...

Read story

“Tina's bad hair day ” by Janki Hemani

Submitted to Contest #33

After a bad day at work, Tina came home exhausted. As soon as she entered the house, her five year old son Tony bombarded her with questions. He asked her "Why is the moon white? Why can't I come with you to office? Why do we have two legs and two hands instead of four legs? Why is the cat called a cat and not a dog?" She lost her cool and said to him "I am tired of your silly questions. Why don't you just go to your room and play? Stop irritating me." Tony was very upset. He didn't understand why his mom didn't want to play with him. He mis...

Read story

“Charming” by Maddie Snyder

Submitted to Contest #33

You are as gorgeous as a rare flower and I, I am as dark as an old haunted house. I never in a million years pictured my story would turn out like this, but you can’t predict the end no matter how hard you try, and trust me I tried. It was a Monday morning in the month of April. You were out in a field taking pictures of the flora and fauna around you. I was watching the clouds pass by and trying to make them into shapes. You will never know how I felt when I first laid my eyes on you. Your long hon...

Read story

“The Rose Box” by Abby Morris

Submitted to Contest #33

I’m not sure why I opened that first box. Maybe it was a greedy impulse or pure curiosity, even madness. Looking back now, I probably should have let it alone. Those little mahogany boxes changed the course of my life forever.I got the first box in the fall of my senior year. I had just turned eighteen and I felt as if the world was at my feet. I can now see that it was just him. I don’t know why he chose that day to give it to me. Was it coincidence or did he plan out that specific day to give it to me? It was definitely planned. He al...

Read story

“This New Life” by Gabrielle Marie

Submitted to Contest #33

The apartment stood bare before me. The vacuum lines were still visible in the carpet under visions of where new furniture would go. If only there was a moving truck downstairs, waiting filled with kitchen utensils and memories, but there wasn’t. Right now, this was all I had. An empty apartment. An angry meow pulled me from my thoughts. “Sorry Amelia!” I meowed gently back at her as I knelt down and opened the pet carrier. She normally would have shot out of that carrier like a calico bullet, to hide in a closet or perch on top of the recli...

Read story

“Killer Sloths” by Elizabeth Turner

Submitted to Contest #33

Maranda sat at her computer, blank screen. The black cursor blinking with every impatient pulse. She had to put something on this document, but what? Her boss gave her so many prompts – cursed dragons, killer sloths, enlightened geese – but she can’t seem to pick one. One was a serious adventure tale, one was a hilarious short story, and one was just a fun little story to write for some kids. But which one should she choose?! “Ok” she murmured to herself. “Just start typing. ...

Read story

“Regret of a Conquistador” by Neil Sharma

Submitted to Contest #33

Rafael spat his chewing bamboo, coughing out blood as he sat down on his chair at the army camp. His men coughed, fed up with the rampant stink of the camp, and the hot mosquitoes that infiltrated their clothes and armor. The freshwater lake spring had been spoiled by the Aztec Rebels, poisoned beyond belief. Murky as hell. Devoid of happiness. This was to be their last resting place. And somehow, Rafael felt a foreboding move towards Heaven itself. Cortes may have wiped out the Aztecs, but their diminished population put up a fierce resista...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

296

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 20, 2020 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: Pennies and Years

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 ⭢