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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#55: In On a Little Secret

One of The Hobbit's most memorable scenes is when Bilbo encounters Gollum in the Misty Mountains. We know Bilbo has the ring in his pocket, and that Gollum refers to the ring as his "precious." But Gollum doesn't yet realize it's missing, and Bilbo doesn't know who the ring belongs to.

This scene utilizes dramatic irony by providing readers with key information that the characters are unaware of. It creates suspense, tension, and immediately invests readers as we anxiously await the events we know will eventually unfold.

This week's prompts all revolve around the theme of secrets. We encourage you to get creative with how and when you reveal information to characters — and readers!

This week's prompts

Write a story about a meeting of a secret society.

Mystery – 155 stories

Write a story about an old family secret surfacing generations later.

Adults – 141 stories

Write a story that either starts or ends with someone asking, “Can you keep a secret?”

Kids – 421 stories

Write a story involving a conversation that’s packed with subtext; the characters aren’t quite saying what they mean.

Dialogue – 78 stories

Write a story where the readers are in on a secret that the characters are unaware of.

Novel – 101 stories

Stories

“Witch Hunt” by 𝐋𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚

Submitted to Contest #55

Cinder awoke with a start and turned to look at the alarm clock, checking to see the day. Wednesday, April 15. Cinder then sat up in her bed and stretched her arms out wide. “Today’s going to be a good day,” she said to herself, punctuating her sentence with a short but prominent yawn. Cinder then tiredly hopped out of bed, well, fell out of bed is a better word for it, and began to leave for the bathroom to get ready, only to remember at the last second her father’s unreasonable order to make her bed each morning. Cinder’s dad was...

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“Into the Icarian Sea” by Jonathan Blaauw

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? Five simple words. This innocent question, posed as it was by a king, caused Daedalus untold grief. He had answered in the affirmative and remained true to his word, yet still King Minos had imprisoned him so that he may never speak of the monarch’s monstrous secret. The injustice of it burned Daedalus, but his true lament was reserved for his fellow captive – his son. The boy was just as innocent of wrongdoing as his father, but the imprisonment was...

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“Carry On, My Wayward Minnow” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #55

“Ah, but thou art but a wayward minnow!” “That sounds like a weird indie band.” “Silence, young fool! I have not time for your unnecessary quandaries.” “Would you stop talking like that, please, Liam? You aren’t Shakespeare. You aren’t a member of the royal English court in the 15th century. You’re a college dropout working at a Waffle House in Kentucky. So shut up.” Liam swung the dishrag to the counter and glared across the room at his coworker, Feifer. She yawned. It was late. They both wanted to go home. They couldn...

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“Can you keep a secret? (Part 1)” by Niveeidha Palani

Submitted to Contest #55

Beatrix is in the front seat of her mother's car, chewing gum and scrolling on Instagram posts.She hesitates for a moment before sinking her phone into her pocket and leaning in, "Mum, why are we going to Grandma's house?"Mrs Lemons sighs and glares at Beatrix in the side-view mirror. "I told you already Bee, I have a conference I can't cancel so you're staying over at Grandma's.""But it's going to be boring!" she moans.Mrs Lemons shrugs grimly. "You can play a board game with Grandma." she shrugs as she parks the car into Grandma's driveway...

104 comments 104

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“Pass the Potatoes on the Left-hand Side” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #55

“There he is! Come in here, big guy!” My father throws me into a headlock hug, causing me to drop a duffle bag full of filthy laundry. It's too cold out to snow and we quickly retreat inside.“Hey Mom!” I call out. “Mom?” The smells emanating from the kitchen trigger every one of my salivary glands. “Mark—?” My mother walks out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a festive Thanksgiving dish towel. She gives me a hug that may have cracked a few ribs. “Oh Mark—you’ve lost weight. In just four months? What are they feeding you at that colle...

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“Roll of Quarters” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #55

Camino Pope always imagined her first alien encounter to be in an abandoned field in Kansas, not a small outdoor mall in Delaware. She thought there would be more cows, more lights, more eyes, maybe. Though now that she was here, there were none of those things. There was a strong looking boy leaning against a clothes rack, wearing a black and white checkered coat and smoking a roll of quarters he’d borrowed from the Bank of Southern Delaware, but there were no cows. Camino wouldn’t have even known he was an alien if not for the fact that he...

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“Something_Very_Serious” by Authoring Studio

Submitted to Contest #55

Zoe solemnly opened the polished door to a creak.“Password?” she demanded. The other woman standing outside was dressed in casual clothes, but she clutched a briefcase and her face was all serious.“9-5-0-0-X-0-1” she replied. Zoe nodded and opened the door a little wider. “Come in.”The woman holding the briefcase stepped inside the meeting room where there were already two other people present. Zoe strode across to the instant coffee machine and brewed herself a cup. She turned to the newcomer. “I believe you come with information on the tar...

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“a friends secret” by B. W.

Submitted to Contest #55

i don't know whats been going on with her. Hope was my best friend, i usually knew what was up. Though every time i have been with her for the past few weeks something seemed...off. she seemed to ignore me or just avoid me when i asked her about it. does she not like me anymore? what if she doesn't wanna be friends with me anymore? we've been friends since the first grade though, I'm sure that's not it. oh but what if it is?? That's it! i have to find out whats wrong with her. luckily i Didn't have to wait that long, i was outside on the por...

112 comments 112

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“Daddy Killed a Lady” by Skyler Woods

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” My little girl whispered in my ear. Annabel had her tiny hand over her mouth. “Daddy killed a lady.”Daddy killed a lady? Why would my baby say that? Her father’s not a killer, is he? I wanted to believe my daughter. There was a killer on the loose. They called this killer, The Violator. According to the news reports, The Violator already killed seven people. The first victim was a mother of two. The police discovered the woman’s body in a pond. Some of her body parts were missing. The police also found hum...

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“Behind the red door.” by Lexi Robinson

Submitted to Contest #55

Every rich kid has that one room in their house that they aren't allowed to use. Parent's usually are strict and evasive about entering in. I was a new kid in St. Anne's, Minestone school a couple of months ago. Danielle, the popular rich girl in school befriended me. Lucky for me, I didn't have to spend lunch break sitting alone in a corner bench next to the dustbins. My mother is a nurse. Since school and rent is a bit expensive for us after my stepdad took all our belongings and hit the road, she usually works extra hours. That just mea...

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“we know, do you know?” by B. W.

Submitted to Contest #55

Everyone was hanging out at the cemetery in the town, it had only been built half a year ago but there were already many graves. They recently started to hang out there after school or during the night. "its almost 3 am!" Arrow said surprised. "oh, we should get going then, i don't want this to be like a horror story." Aria then said, trying her best to not accidentally fall asleep. She was always hanging out there with the rest of them but almost always ended up falling asleep. "well don't trip on the way out then." Hope said with a sma...

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“Law & Order a Pizza” by Rayhan Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #55

9-1-1, what’s your emergency?Hi, I’d like to order a pizza.Excuse me, ma’am? Did you say a pizza?Yes.You do realize who you’re calling, right? Yes, I know exactly who I’m calling. I’d like to order one large pizza with— If this is a prank call, ma’am, I am not amused. But if it’s not, I’m more than happy to transfer you to Papa John’s or Domino’s. No, no, don’t transfer the call.Is there an emergency, then? If not, I’m going to hang up. You are wasting precious time I could be using to save lives. A woman at your age sho...

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“A Secret” by Lilliane Wei

Submitted to Contest #55

Her heart pounded in her chest as she cut through the streets as quick as her legs could carry her, making for the forest with only the light of the setting sun as a guide. Tears streamed freely down her face as she ran, tears for her mother, father, for everyone that she had lost. Shouts sounded at her back, closing in on her with each passing minute and her breath hitched in her throat even as she pushed her legs to greater efforts. The cover of the forest was only a few blocks down, she knew that as surely as she knew her own name. And th...

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“The Absolute Faith of Asteroid Disaster Denial” by Aditya Pillai

Submitted to Contest #55

It's a lovely day in August in the town of X; the sun is shining brightly, a pleasant breeze is blowing and an asteroid 3,280 feet in diameter is hurtling towards it at a speed of 53,000 miles per hour.But this is not the story of the asteroid.This is the story of that lovely day in August in the town of X.A is sitting on a bus, sweating profusely. Not because of the heat, no—it is actually much more cooler than he expected. The cause of his unnatural perspiration is seated right next to him, C, who unbeknownst to A is suffering from the exa...

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“The City Of Gold” by Hriday Saboo

Submitted to Contest #55

Jack, Ronnie, Anne and Rose were nothing more than 16 year olds who used to hangout in their home after their college. One day they were showing the precious and ancient things that they had to each-other. Anne showed an ancient painting, Ronnie showed an ancient pen and Jack showed an ancient necklace. Rose did not show anything.“What’s the matter Rose? You aren’t showing anything?”asked Jack. “I don’t have anything to show except this old ruddy parchment.”said Rose. She handed it over to Jack who took a glimpse of it. “Oh my god!” exclaime...

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$50

Prize money

896

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 21, 2020 EST

Won by B Easton 🏆

Title: Secrets for the Living

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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