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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#34: Staying Inside

These days, we’re all being urged to stay home as much as possible... which means you might find yourself with more time to write. So in the spirit of art imitating life, this week’s prompts all revolve around the notion of staying in!

On that note, we wanted to make a special announcement: today, Reedsy is hosting a live writing sprint on YouTube. Bite-sized writing bursts are a proven way to make progress on a project, and we figured there’s no time like the present to virtually connect and support one another.

The writing sprint will take place today at 1pm EST. You can register for the event using this link, or subscribe to our YouTube channel and simply join us at 1pm EST. We hope to see you there!

Most of all, we hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a family game night.

Fiction – 70 stories

Write a story from the perspective of a dog, thrilled to find their owner has been spending so much time at home.

Fluff – 73 stories

Write a story told entirely through text messages or emails.

Dialogue – 104 stories

Write a story about a rainy day spent indoors.

Spring – 146 stories

Write a story about someone who finds a secret passageway in their house.

Short Story – 147 stories

Stories

“The Inheritance ” by Randi W

Submitted to Contest #34

Wales The bright yellow taxi pulled to a stop in front of the large country manor, Emmy warily looked through the rain speckled window at the imposing Gothic styled manor. Reluctantly, she opened the door and stepped out, quickly opening her umbrella; she rushed to help the cab driver gather her luggage. As soon as her belongings were placed in the entry way of her new home, Emmy paid the cab driver and as she watched the yellow taxi drive away, a part of her wished she had got...

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“Treats, Walks, and Pets: 3 Days of Absolute Perfection” by Oliver Paradox

Submitted to Contest #34

Day 1: This morning was exhilarating! I woke up just before sunrise and rushed to the Treat Giver’s room. Heavy snoring sounds growled in my ears. Cautiously, I crawled onto the Bed. I was amazed. The Treat Giver was still asleep!I nudged him with my nose. He kept snoring. I barked softly. That did a little more. He Rolled Over. Hey, that was my trick! He did my trick! I bounced excitedly. That gave me an idea. I took a big breath and pounced right on him! He shot up, pushing me off.“Stella, no!” He shouted.I whined. I don’t like the word n...

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“Thank God for the Rain” by Eian Wright

Submitted to Contest #34

Johnny woke up to the sound of rain. “Oh, no,” he thought. “If it’s raining, then we can’t go down to the lake; we're not going to go fishing and swimming in it today.” Johnny had been wanting to swim in the lake on Grandpa’s farm ever since he had gotten dropped off by his parents five days ago. It still hadn’t happened. “We never get to do what I want to,” he muttered. Grandpa had said that it would probably rain today. Grandpa always knew what was going to happen. He had even proposed an indoor activit...

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“Fireflies That Don't Stop Glowing When You Catch 'em” by Hannah Tiedemann

Submitted to Contest #34

Flames lick the side of the stone fireplace and cast a tangerine glow that dances listlessly on the worn walls of the small living room. Embers float from the burning logs, bobbing this way and that, like fireflies on a warm summer's evening in the garden. I cup my hands to catch them, trying my hardest to imagine that they are, in fact, fireflies, but their glow darkens in my palm, and they quickly turn to ash. I stand on my tiptoes, grasp the windowsill tightly, and press my face against the windowpane. Dusk's purple haze envelops the old ...

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“Game Day Rules” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #34

Dan kicked his son Mark’s bed. Mark barely moved.“Come on Sluggo. Rise and shine. You know it’s four o’clock? I thought you were out.”Mark turned toward the wall and pulled his blanket over his head. “I can’t go out.”“Are you sick? Get up. The day’s wasting. Did you forget it’s game day?”Mark mumbled through the covers, “Oh boy! Video games!”“Actually, we’re going low tech tonight. Board games. Try it. You’ll like it. And clean up your room. I’ll be in my office.”A while later, Mark shuffled into the kitchen where his mother, Miriam bustled ...

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“In Good Spirits” by R Rose

Submitted to Contest #34

Outside it was April. Overcast bruise-pale skies conjured sheets of freezing rain, a strange elemental alchemy descending over the city. Inside the crumbling loft apartment of a Gothic building on Bridgewater Street, the mood was syrupy, slow and hazy; the last swallow of strong honey wine. Iris’s small living room, once a Boho fashion designer's wet dream but now left to the whims of its new occupant, was warm, familiar and dimly lit, protecting them from the harsh elements outside. White vanilla and tobacco pillar candles graced most surfa...

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“Sweet Sophie” by Meg E.

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #34

Paul tugs the duvet up and burrows closer to his wife, tucks his nose into the curtain of fiery hair resting against her neck. He breathes in deep and lets the soft patchouli scent soothe him back into a half-sleep. He stirs again when she does, when thunder cracks loud and rattles the window panes of their small cottage. The sky outside is dark, overcast and grey. Paul aches for days like this; when the storm traps them in, not the rainfall but the flooded drive leading down to the main road. Some days they'll shove their feet into pai...

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“Tunnels to Nowhere” by Alexis Klein

Submitted to Contest #34

I was looking around my new house one day when I saw something that struck me as unusual. How did this even get here? I thought to myself as I felt the seam around a door in the back of my closet. I tried to open the small, round door only to find that it was locked. "If I were a key, where would I hide..." I whispered to myself, groping in the dark abyss that was my closet. We didn't have electricity in the house yet. Suddenly a voice behind me made me jump to my feet. "Whatcha lookin' for?" "Ah! Verena, what are you doing in my...

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“Shhhh! This is a Library (L1.3)” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #34

In the bathroom of the studio apartment she’d rented for a month to work in Santiago de Compostela, Lavinia was brushing her teeth and thinking about staying longer. The location was perfect, the street was quiet, foot traffic was lively, and her main research site was only two minutes away. She was happy spending hours alone in the vast library of the Museo do Pobo Galego, the Museum of the Galician People. She also enjoyed the conversations with the head librarian, Pilar. After her teeth were brushed, she looked in the foggy mirror, but in...

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“Beneath the Stars and Rain” by Leland Day

Submitted to Contest #34

Nate watched as rain fell in torrents outside, he laid his head against the foggy window in his small upstairs bedroom. A loud crack of thunder shook the house, jolting Nate from his stupor. He drew back from the window with a sharp intake of breath. “Nate?” Nate looked away from the gray landscape outside his window and at his older sister, Anne, who was standing in the doorway. “Mom and Dad are leaving for work if you want to say goodbye.” Nate nodded, risking a quick glance back at the window then followed his sist...

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“The Roommate” by Carille Durbin

Submitted to Contest #34

The entire country was ordered to stay home. I was glad to comply. I had just bought an old musty house. The sellers claimed that it was built in the late 1800s but certainly there is at least one much older room. The ceiling in this room is five feet high and the floor is made of cracked and dirty stone. The walls are made of the same dirty stone. It's not very big, ten feet wide by 11 feet long. There are no windows because it sits in the exact middle of the house. I asked the realtor about this oddi...

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“I Know You Wanted Me Instead” by Robobby Queen

Submitted to Contest #34

Many days have passed now,spent inside my tiny tiny room. All my bottles are empty. My plants have died.I have one bag of rice remaining.I changed my sheets yesterday. and I want to know why these sheets are-Why are these sheets making me so-Why are these sheets-Why are these pink sheets- uplifting me so?Or is it the rain?The rain that pelts violently onto the air conditioner vent- But looking outside. I see that it sounds heavier than it looks.Yet it patters so loudly and so I am thinking, that maybe it will make holes throug...

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“The Couloir” by Christina Steele

Submitted to Contest #34

Luminescent, the word struck me as I watched her sleeping next to me. Sophie’s skin in the moonlight was luminescent. Lovemaking always put her to sleep and left me restless of late. I’d grown envious of the moonbeams caressing her curves as I’d done in the hour before, yet, my heart wouldn’t allow me to wake my beauty. Instead, I pulled on my pajama bottoms, and let my slipper-ed feet shuffle me down the hallway to the study.Warm light bathed the room. Drawn to the bookshelf, I ran my hand across the spines, searching for a new adventure in...

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“Jason Do. Min. Go!” by Ben K

Submitted to Contest #34

Wiggling his butt cheeks against the open breeze flowing from his ceiling fan. Jason slaps the left cheek all while making Vogue faces in his pristine white briefs. Feeling particularly sexy he purses his lips together. Got to make the duck work. Ducks are ugly creatures. But the right type of duck face just might get him lucky one of these days. With a spicy sigh. Jason drops the sexy pretenses and accepts real life.Who is he kidding? It's been years since the last time Jason brought someone home. Let alone someone who was actually interest...

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“Subtext” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #34

Fri 10 Jan, 13:06Hi Gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing you tonight. J xxxWho is this?Stop messing around! No, seriously. Your number’s just coming up as Unknown.Fran?Kate. And you are?OMG – I’m so sorry. I must have mistyped my girlfriend’s number.You mean she’s not saved in your contacts?I’ve got her number saved on my phone, but I left it at home so I borrowed someone else’s to text her. I thought I remembered the number, but obviously I was wrong.So you’re texting from someone else’s phone now?Well, yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t be texting ...

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$50

Prize money

540

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 27, 2020 EST

Won by R Kon 🏆

Title: Who Speaks to Death

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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