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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#52: In Reverse

Hi, writers! My name is Caroline Leavitt, I’m a New York Times bestselling novelist and developmental editor. This week, I'm thrilled to be taking over Reedsy Prompts! Visit my Reedsy profile here to learn more about me and my work.

What I love the most in a story is when something called a reversal happens: when you are expecting one thing and something else pops up instead. I love that thrill of surprise, the thing that I never thought was going to turn up in a story. Reversals build tension and drama, and allow you to reveal new sides of your characters by placing them in unexpected situations.

Hopefully, these prompts challenge you to consider the ways in which a character’s world can suddenly turn upside down, where everything they thought they knew may be just plain wrong.

🥇 Winner

“intro to disaster preparedness” by Natalie Strawbridge

🏆 Winner of Contest #52

I don’t prepare for storms. When the newscasters start preaching doom and gloom and pointing wildly at maps of orange and red masses crawling over my tri-state area, I change the channel. When the snowplows start gathering and the trucks drop salt on the highways, I take the back roads. And when people crowd the grocery stores, line up in the aisles, empty them of toilet paper and water and matches and cans of beans, as if they would really eat plain beans out of a can, I stay home and read on the couch. I remember when I was six years ol...

148 comments 148

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Irrumator Praetor Matrem Suam” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #52

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.Things sound so much better in Latin, don’t they, Father Connolly? I guess that’s why my parents splurged on the whole two-hour deluxe wedding package. The TLM, baby! Total. Latin. Mass. I’m sure you would have been fabulous with the Gregorian chanting. Father, do you want a drink? I’m sure you have an extra glass or two in the rectory somewhere. I don’t need a glass. I’ll just drink out of the bottle. I can hide out here for a bit, right? Wait for things to calm down? ...

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“Some Folks Are Lucky” by Ryan Lieb

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #52

It came on all at once, while Nolan was driving down a dark New Jersey highway toward the woods. A feeling that wasn’t quite guilt, but adjacent to guilt. Doctors might refer to it as shock. Or maybe shock was the numbness that came before the feeling. And if that was true, maybe this feeling was the connective tissue between shock and guilt. At first, it was just a job. Go to the place, do the thing, don’t ask questions. And Nolan always did his job well. He never stopped to think about what he was doing, he just moved on to the next t...

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“The Land and the Sea” by Victoria Haneveer

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #52

"Well, that's that then," my father said, his eyes fixed on the clay earth below my open palm "he's gone. Dead."He turned and walked to the greenhouse, his head down-turned, his arms hanging limply at his sides. My fingers slowly moved toward my palms, pulling the red earth into my balling fists and pressing grit up my nails. My eyes moistened the freshly overturned soil. So Roman was dead. That was that.I believed my father wanted the best for me, so when he told me Roman had died I believed him without question. I saw pain in his eyes. The...

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This week's prompts

Twenty minutes before you are about to get married, you find your mother and your fiancé kissing passionately.

Romance – 112 stories

Every year, one person is sent to the moon. This year, though you hid in terror, it is your turn to enter the rocket.

Science Fiction – 125 stories

You thought he was dead, but there he is, right in front of you on the street, smiling at you.

Mystery – 412 stories

"Come with us,” two burly men in gray suits say, grabbing you by the arm and handcuffing you. “You know what you did.” But you have no idea.

Horror – 112 stories

You are the only one in the supermarket during a blizzard. Feeling creeped out, you decide to leave, when suddenly you find a baby abandoned on the floor.

Winter – 197 stories

Stories

“intro to disaster preparedness” by Natalie Strawbridge

🏆 Winner of Contest #52

I don’t prepare for storms. When the newscasters start preaching doom and gloom and pointing wildly at maps of orange and red masses crawling over my tri-state area, I change the channel. When the snowplows start gathering and the trucks drop salt on the highways, I take the back roads. And when people crowd the grocery stores, line up in the aisles, empty them of toilet paper and water and matches and cans of beans, as if they would really eat plain beans out of a can, I stay home and read on the couch. I remember when I was six years ol...

148 comments 148

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“Tales Of Walmart ” by Aerin Rebecca ✨🌈

Submitted to Contest #52

Walmart.Stupid, stupid Walmart.If I had just gone to Safeway, I could’ve avoided everything that had happened.But no. I went to Walmart.*****It started at noonish last Sunday. Normally, I wouldn’t even be out of bed at noon, because weekends are for sleeping in. If I go to the grocery store at all—I’m 15, so my parents do most of the shopping—it’s at midnight or so.Not this time.I had a checklist, okay? It was on PAPER. Weird, I know. Too bad—I only follow a checklist if it’s written out. What was this particular checklist about, you ask? We...

152 comments 152

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“A Very, Very Dark Green” by Deborah Angevin

Submitted to Contest #52

“Who did you meet, Babe?”“My ex.” My fiancee replies, flashing his beautiful smile, along with the lovely dimples on his cheeks.I thought Bella died? Or he had a girlfriend after Bella?As curiosity fills me, I turn my head, trying to have a peek on whomever he is talking about. Watching my action, he lets out a chuckle. “Don’t be jealous. She already died a long time ago.”So it was Bella.---Bella was a girl that I hated.Back in high school, she had shoulder-length, wavy red hair that was beautifully paired with her dark brown eyes. I remembe...

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“mia” by Batool Hussain

Submitted to Contest #52

Dead. Dead. Dead. You love babies. They're adorable. You had babies when you turned twenty-six. Twins, the nurse had told you. They were cute as a button, both of them. Unfortunately, they didn't survive. You still remember the nurse's words. How can you forget? No mother can ever forget, even if her child is long dead. "I'm sorry," she had said. "They couldn't make it. They are dead."Your eyes snap open and you see a black ceiling. Confused, you get up because you had painted yours a bright blue, just days ago. You throw away the covers and...

171 comments 171

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“Jax Off Ash (Part I)” by Aerin Rebecca ✨🌈

Submitted to Contest #52

Author’s note: Once again, this story has the same characters as my first short story, Rebel Prince. Also my third short story, A Poem By A Star (No, Literally). This isn’t Part Three, so you’ll understand it just fine on it’s own, but you might want to read Rebel Prince and A Poem By A Star (No, Literally) first to gain better understanding and enjoy this more!“What on Ash?” I stared at the thing in Arava’s hand and my mouth dropped open.“No,” she teased. “Not on Ash.”“Whaddya mean?” I scrunched my face up. “And why are you holding a skull?...

103 comments 103

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“Hello, Weirdness, My Old Friend” by Aerin Rebecca ✨🌈

Submitted to Contest #52

“Bye! Thanks for the flowers!” The bell on the door rang cheerfully as I flung myself out of the flower shop, Flower Power. But I felt anything but cheerful. I felt sad, depressed, and frankly, a bit sorry for myself. I know, I know, self-pity is never good. But here’s the thing: People die. I knew that since I was 2. 14 years of knowing people kick the bucket some time in their life. So it’s no surprise that at one point, your best friend and mom are going to die. Here’s the other thing: your mom usually dies when you’re 5...

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“Just Same Old, Same Old (-Not)” by Aerin Rebecca ✨🌈

Submitted to Contest #52

Windy Davis was just your typical 6th grader.She had wild, strawberry blond hair that fell to her waist; large, gray-blue eyes; and always wore jean shorts and tank tops. Windy Davis took karate, hated when people called her ‘Wendy’, and was bold—she was loud and spoke her mind.She hadn’t done anything wrong, as far as she knew.So it was no surprise when it was an, er, surprise to Windy when she woke up in a dimly lit room.*****Windy had been lying on a cot—the kind at a nurses office: blue-gray leather covered in a sheet of thin paper. The ...

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“Butterflies” by Heidi Hanson

Submitted to Contest #52

Nerves flutter in my stomach, butterflies trapped, trying desperately to escape. I pace in my dressing room, sister beside me, trying to touch up my hair. I hold my white strappy heels in one hand, biting the nails on my other, perfectly manicured hand. My sister slaps by hand from my mouth, giving me a look. "I know, I know," I say, trying to keep my hand at my side. "Hold still!" She snaps, trying to get the pin back in my hair. I try to, but before I know it, I'm pacing again, sister on my tail. It all happened so quickly. The prop...

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“Hope” by Phebe Emmanuel

Submitted to Contest #52

we seek for hope.but it died long long ago.so we knowthat it hasn’t just disappearedof its own accordnowe killed it.murdered it in cold blooddragged its lifeless bodyout of our livesand buried it under the mound of dirtthat we call life.but for some reasonwe still search for it. we still mount the podiums and tell the people who follow usthat there is a hope.right?as ifwe hadn’t killed it years ago.so now we run in circles.try to jump over the hurdlesthat were placed in our wayby the lies we told ourselves.attempt to...

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“All The Things We Should Have Said” by Doubra Akika

Submitted to Contest #52

The moral of the story is that you never fall for who you’re supposed to.To you, the one who took everything that was once mine, the one I’m still learning to forgive.People want to be good, but the world we live in won’t let them. You were the one who taught me that. You told me to learn to give people second chances because everyone deserved to feel loved.You called me a pathological liar once. You were right; I am but, so are you.You taught me that family is the most important thing but, I didn’t understand that until I didn’t have you gu...

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“Lilith” by Nancy Drayce

Submitted to Contest #52

Do you want me to tell you a story about a girl who was captured? I bet your first thought was that she was chained or locked in some room, but no, she was trapped inside of her own mind.She was standing still. The blood was pounding in her ears so that every sound around her was muffled. She was barefoot; she could feel gooey and tick pound of liquid beneath her feet. A sound of a siren went off. The same sound was giving her a headache while the blood pounding hasn’t stopped. The taste of metal began pinching her tongue and palates. All th...

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“Thou who seeks pie” by Samantha Davis

Submitted to Contest #52

"Come with us", two burly men in grey suits say, grabbing you painfully by the arm and handcuffing you. "You know what you did." But you have no idea. "What did I do?" you ask the men, the question only to be followed by silence. Finally, the one with the swollen black eye answers "You know." Then he motioned in the direction of the Apple pie you had just made. "It is illegal to own, sell, or use sugar outside of the white house." It was true, you thought. You had forgotten the sudden shortage of sugar. "Oh, no" you thought and quickly and s...

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“Pretty Lies” by Lata B

Submitted to Contest #52

Hear that? It's the sound of a breaking heart.I stare at my phone and my eyes burn with tears as I read his text.haha yea i was with her last night...srry bout that I don't even care anymore, right? Tears stain my cheeks and redness spreads through my face. Automatically, I get my answer. I do care.He could have been anywhere else but he chose&n...

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“Irrumator Praetor Matrem Suam” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #52

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.Things sound so much better in Latin, don’t they, Father Connolly? I guess that’s why my parents splurged on the whole two-hour deluxe wedding package. The TLM, baby! Total. Latin. Mass. I’m sure you would have been fabulous with the Gregorian chanting. Father, do you want a drink? I’m sure you have an extra glass or two in the rectory somewhere. I don’t need a glass. I’ll just drink out of the bottle. I can hide out here for a bit, right? Wait for things to calm down? ...

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“If It Weren't For Broccoli...” by Orenda .

Submitted to Contest #52

“Broccoli?” I mutter to myself, gawking at the green thing in front of me. Broccoli may not tickle my fancy, but my mom…she could have a room full of them and never get tired of eating them raw.I throw a whole bag of them in my cart, glaring at the package with personal grudge. When I was merely twelve years old, I had mocked Aunt Love for being nosy in EVERY matter. Being the female version of Santa Claus she was, she’d never take an insult to herself. Who were we even kidding; she was the Kim Kardarshian, but well, at the end of the day, i...

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$50

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Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 31, 2020 EST

Won by Natalie Strawbridge 🏆

Title: intro to disaster preparedness

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.

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