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!

#50: A Moment Like This

Throughout this contest, we’ve read wonderful entries that provide sweeping overviews of characters' lives (such as "The Tree"), as well as submissions that offer glimpses into distinct life-phases (like "Time Bomb"). We’ve also been captured by stories book-ended by the start and end of one particular moment in time: such as "The Price of a Nice Guy" (a woman gets a flat tire and parks on the side of the road), "Who Speaks to Death" (a story told through a single text conversation), and "To You" (a 50th birthday party).

In the spirit of those last three examples, this week's prompts challenge you to embrace the short story's ability to really dive into and explore one single scene.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a proposal.

Valentine's Day – 211 stories

Write a story about an argument that seems to be about one thing, but is actually about another.

Dialogue – 121 stories

Write a story about a person experiencing pre-performance jitters.

High School – 162 stories

Write a story told entirely through one chase scene.

Thriller and Suspense – 143 stories

Write a story about a summer afternoon spent in a treehouse.

Summer – 303 stories

Stories

“Hide and seek” by Lee Dohann

Submitted to Contest #50

Fritz realizes that his legs are starting to feel wobbly. His heart is pounding in his chest. He is breathing heavily now. He knows he cannot rest now, but the faint pain in his chest is forcing him to take a few seconds, and wait. He moves towards the green recycling bin, and kneels beside it. His frame is small enough, he knows that he will be invisible against this color. He must remain still for a few more seconds. An unexpected movement next to the garage startles him. He decides it is time to move again. He grabs the top slab of t...

Read story

“The First is Last and the Last First” by Maria Lilith

Submitted to Contest #50

O God There is a man running through the marketplace. His silhouette cartoonish in its slouch even as he runs. Time seems to operate differently for him; moving sluggishly and yet he evades his pursuers. My wearied legs battle under the weight of my heart. I have been abandoned and betrayed. My one attempt at respite has ended in torment. Woe is me. The watchmen are gaining on him. Their faces pinched and pulled in effort. Heavy with weaponry and hate. Taking on the ghostly glow of the moonlight. My spirit grows tired of me. I have f...

Read story

“Trouble for Rent” by Tim Benson

Submitted to Contest #50

Trouble for Rent Was it a coincidence or was the van that was following Wesley the same one that he’d loaded back at his rental shop? It was an old white Ford Econoline with a red driver’s side door, two men inside and following him three cars back in traffic. He was five blocks from the store and had made two turns to get on to the Loop and the van made the same moves. The late afternoon traffic was starting to thicken and keeping his eyes on the road helped him to stop imagining things. By the time he’d gotten to Jake’s house his only thou...

Read story

“The Night Pursuit” by Robert Cartier

Submitted to Contest #50

The Night Pursuit by R.S. Cartier We think we know what happens between the time we close our eyes, and the time we wake up in the morning. We couldn’t have been more wrong. It was 10:59 pm on the timeclock at Ray’s Pizza, when an exhausted Dameer Jackson stared intently at its white analog numbers, timecard in hand, wondering why in his mind, more than sixty seconds had already passed. “Go ahead,” muttered the gruff voice of his boss, who also doubled as the diner’s cook, chef hat, and all. “Plus I know your train leaves th...

Read story

“On the bus. ” by Vianney Muñoz

Submitted to Contest #50

It was a regular Saturday and my routine started early in the morning, being on the bus heading to work. Some minutes before, my alarm clock had yelled at me several times, until I clumsily turned it off and sat at the edge of my bed wishing I had more time to sleep; ultimately, it was the weekend, good heavens. Anyways, there in the bus I was, in a window seat with my bag on my lap and my lunch box next to my right foot, on the floor, already awake and alert after that cheese sandwich and hot coffee I had had for breakfast. My book in my ha...

Read story

“The New Blood” by Brian Sweeney

Submitted to Contest #50

A kiss, just one. That’s all they say I need, and then they’ll accept me. They’ll show me what it means to no longer be forlorn. I dread the thought of failure and the alienation it brings. They send me inside anyway, watching behind like a collection of ghostly shades. They offer me a promise, and these bodies are to be what will make that promise come true. I am to look around--to wait. To watch and to choose as they meander between one another, conversing about things designed to make them feel better. Safer. They told me it is how they...

Read story

“Run” by Robin Barker

Submitted to Contest #50

In a dark, lonely woodland, I stopped to catch my breath and reflect on the past. The last few months in particular. It had all started when lockdown was announced. The days would be long I imagined, but pleasant enough. I was furloughed from my restaurant job, but my husband, Brandon, was still able to do his. We couldn’t go out or see anyone, so there would be plenty of home cooked meals when he wasn’t on shift with glasses of our favourite wine and something on Netflix to accompany. His favourite show Line of Duty...

Read story

“Voices” by Bhavya Nayak

Submitted to Contest #50

Freak, Slowpoke, Fatty, Nerd, Gross, Stupid, Bespectacled Idiot… Layla ran like there was no tomorrow, and perhaps there wasn't. When you were running for your life you did not remain optimistic enough, thinking that you would be lucky enough to see the sunrise the next day. Her feet slapping the tarmac and the soft pant of her breath was the only sound she registered. The familiar small-town surroundings flew past her or to be more accurate, it was her who was zooming past. She practically hurled herself at an elderly gentleman wh...

Read story

“chase for the future” by Aurora De Boer

Submitted to Contest #50

Sprinting through the dark alley way, chest beating roughly beneath my flannelette shirt, billowing in the wind it wraps my chest tightly, feet pounding against the ground, as I dodge people and dash into the distance, bellowing voices as approaching feet carry me to run faster.“you can't run from us” they bellow suddenly a new voice occurs, “Aurora please”, I couldn’t handle it, I screamed. “you never really cared and I kept believing that you were good you killed her, you did it”, I was so confused as I kept running I couldn’t stop other w...

Read story

“Irrational” by Samantha Ho

Submitted to Contest #50

The two men stepped out onto the footpath. Their sleek grey car sped away, around the corner and out of sight. It was a Thursday evening like any other, the time when the sun had just set, and dusk deepened into night. Jonathan strolled along the main road, glancing longingly once at the bar before turning away toward his house. His wife was waiting for him back at home. Turning into a smaller street, he bowed his head against the wind, buttoned his suit and crossed his arms as he walked. A sleek grey car passed him at an amble, keeping in...

Read story

“Run For Your Life” by James Allred

Submitted to Contest #50

His foot came down in the puddle, sending up a geyser of water and mud that splashed and spattered all over his clothes. Well it was no use worrying about keeping clean now. If he paused for a moment they would catch him. His ears caught the sound of his pressures’ footfalls hastening after him. Were they gaining on him? He could not risk looking back, if he did not make it soon, it would not matter how well he had run. Now his feet pounded the pavement as his aching muscles prop...

Read story

“Heartless” by Stephanie Gull

Submitted to Contest #50

Daniel could almost feel the eyes, stabbing daggers into his back, as he walked. The old fluorescent streetlight flitted in and out, matched the frantic pounding of his heart. The hazy fingernail of the sun, lethargic in its dip below the horizon, seemed to taunt him. The street would be dark soon and Daniel would be far enough from the streetlight that he would be sheltered in suffocating darkness. But soon was not now. And as long as there was light, Daniel could be seen. If he just kept going forward he would be okay. If he just kept ge...

Read story

“Uncontrolled Substance” by Hanne Christensen

Submitted to Contest #50

Chesterfield. What the hell is he doing in Chesterfield? Bridget swallows back some bile. She has a habit of becoming nauseous whenever she's nervous. The acidity makes her eyes water so she closes them. And sees fast food wrappers scattered on the floor. Most of the food is still in them, the ingredients simply mangled and rearranged by hands that are shaking much too hard. Bridget opens her eyes. Google maps is open on her computer screen. The flashing dot that is her husband remains on Chesterfield, a town that is about 20 minutes...

Read story

“Memories” by Karen N

Submitted to Contest #50

Chase stretched out on the floor of his childhood tree house. It had been years since he’d been in the small wooden room, but he was pleased to discover that the people who’d bought his parents old house fifteen years ago had taken good care of it. They hadn’t allowed to it turn to rot and fall apart. Instead, they’d cared of it and replaced boards when they’d needed it, and had even made it bigger by adding in a second, albeit smaller, room. He’d bought the house himself just two weeks ago, and it had finally been turned over to him just tw...

Read story

“The Castle Ward's Three” by Meg'n Casey

Submitted to Contest #50

I haven’t seen this tree house in thirty years, yet it's only been weeks since I have thought of it. After thirty years I finally got down to weeks from having daily thoughts of it. A month ago my kid brother called me to tell me about some changes happening in our home town. Out of all of them the one that I cared to hear about was the Ward’s house. Some big shot developer came in and bought a bunch of properties to level and build a strip mall on. My brother didn’t ask me to come-in fact he doesn’t even know I’m in town. Knowing the...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

940

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 17, 2020 EST

Won by Emily Hemmings 🏆

Title: Life in the Trees

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 ⭢