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!

#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

“My First Secret Society” by Ann Rapp

Submitted to Contest #55

My new friend at the office quickly discovered my interest in the occult and things spiritual. She was assigned to my orientation as a secretary in the tax department of Arthur Andersen’s in London, which was thriving in the nineteen-seventies but neither occult nor spiritual. We both worked for senior partners. Newly arrived in, or more accurately returned to, London after living in Australia for sixteen years, I was happy to get such a good job. Leila and her family came from South Africa and had lived in London for ten years. I was also ...

Read story

“Indoctrination to the Checking Piece Courier Service” by Joe Sweeney

Submitted to Contest #55

Jade stopped at the dilapidated door. The metal had rusted and it was barely hanging onto the frame. She peered through the dirty glass. It appeared to be an abandoned bicycle shop. She looked again at the business card in her hand. A standard sized, flat white card with a pawn embossed in black on one side. On the other side was scrawled “47, Naity Rd, Nabagram Colony.” She squinted at the faint letters on the glass of the door. She could barely make out the number 47. Except for a flickering lamp, the street was dead. It felt like a ...

Read story

“Portents Revealed” by Wendy Goerl

Submitted to Contest #55

Deep in the bowels of the mountain that housed the Order of the Sacred Blade, Prospector Dmitri stared at the surface of the obsidian anvil, its top polished to a black mirror. On the walls of the sanctum hung tools, some perfectly functional blacksmith’s gear, others, like the obsidian anvil, for the forging of far less material works. All had the patina of generations of use. He had been scrying, and now meditated on the fuzzy images revealed in the depths of the anvil. The simple circle he had cast about the scrying anvil suddenly flared,...

Read story

“Currier Hall” by Casey Gallagher

Submitted to Contest #55

Eighty-three years was a long time on this earth and Margaret knew her time would come soon, maybe even before the night was out. But right now there was still time...Time enough for something so much more pressing than death. It was time for her to ask for forgiveness for the murder of three women. Margaret, whose beloved husband Charles passed away five years before, was the youngest of five sisters. She and Charles had met and falle...

Read story

“Pandora's Box” by Maryann Donovan

Submitted to Contest #55

Today was the day to tackle cleaning out my mother’s room. Much of it had been just as it was three years ago when I had to put her into assisted living. It had been several weeks since she died at the nursing home with me at her side. I have avoided going through her personal belongings and clothes for that would be forcing myself to face the fact that she was really gone. When I opened her closet door, I grabbed a stack of sweaters off the top shelf. The blue Joseph Horne’s shirt box had been hidden there since we relocated to S...

Read story

“Relative” by Ala Arafat

Submitted to Contest #55

A new skincare center opened near my house. I could use a facial. I look at least 5 years older than I actually am. It has been a few rough months; I haven't had enough sleep or good food to eat., I’m taking this week off. I called in and booked an appointment and went in on a Tuesday morning. IKEA furniture and colorful walls. Paper flowers decorating every corner and smiling staff in white uniforms. There was something authentic about the place nevertheless, it was fresh but also real. Not Plastic. I sat in the sunny waiting room and was c...

Read story

“Ouranos” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #55

Adam had been standing for the past ten minutes just looking at the house. It had been abandoned for generations now, just left in the middle of nowhere to shelter no one. Taking a deep breath, he took his first step forward. The door opened with a push, and the inside was much of the same. It was old, dust covering every inch of the interior. Every step made the floors creak, and Adam wondered if they were strong enough to support his weight.He went up the stairs, which were also creaky, and roamed around the upper floor until he came ...

Read story

“Quest to Achieve- Knowledge” by Trishna Patnaik

Submitted to Contest #55

Knowledge Knowledge is the most irrevocable power. It is the internal voice which cannot be sidelined and it is the standalone voice which cannot be looked away from. It is the repository to make one excel. The strongest formula to make one achieve and the only way to make one concurrently shine. Knowledge if not applied effortlessly and shared effectively to diverse occurrences in life will only bring about a dull and drab outlook towards life in general. It will be the transcending of the inevitable towards the lower realms of existence. K...

Read story

“No one can ever know” by Rachel Bacon

Submitted to Contest #55

Mary Eldrige never liked her Grandpa’s mansion. The doors creaked when they opened, and the floor groaned underfoot. Throughout her childhood, any time she spent the night, she was sure she would be brutally murdered by ghosts. Now at the age of twenty-nine, Mary still had a deep unsettled feeling as she walked throughout the mansion. Her mother, Adeline Elridge, felt just the opposite. The old building warmly reminded her of her childhood and the good old days. After the passing of Mary’s grandpa Jack, the mother and daughter had been task...

Read story

“ANMOL MOTHI ( THE PRECIOUS PEARL)” by Gurumoorthy Narasimhan

Submitted to Contest #55

THE ANMOL MOTHI (THE PRECIOUS PEARL) Jaipur in India! For tourists and for the people of burning enthusiasm for historical events and archaeological grandeur, the pink city with beautiful and charming palaces and gardens is a heaven that has come down to earth. &n...

Read story

“My Great Grandfather's Father's Secret” by Fall Write

Submitted to Contest #55

"This is amazing! I always love being in here!" I said to my sister Mia, my arms spread inhaling the fresh air. "Well, what can we do around here if not fishing, swimming, boating and visiting the mermaids at the reef?" She said grimacing annoyingly. I smirks at her, "Treasure hunt! Oh my god! I remember the map at the cabin's chest at the attic!" I said, then ran off to the cabin our family owns for generations.I climb up at the ladder to the attic. I open the old dusty chest and rummage at the things inside it. I take the map that has been...

Read story

“Sugar Bowl and Creamer” by Debra Jolicoeur

Submitted to Contest #55

I have come home to the family farm due to my father’s recent knee surgery. Mother is not able to do the lifting or keep up with the maintenance on the old homestead. Coming home to the country is a nice break from living in the suburbs of a city. There is always something that needs to be done. On rainy days there are not many chores I could do outside. Inside work is always waiting for you. On today’s agenda was indoor chores due to the rain. I decided the overstuffed built in china cabinet need to be dusted and possibly...

Read story

“Mackie's House” by John Maygrove

Submitted to Contest #55

Old Mackie’s house had not changed in over two hundred years, a fact that the stubborn curmudgeon was immensely proud of. He took to change about as well a cuprolaminophobe, discarding most modern innovations as worthless pennies. On a street lined with contemporary sleek houses, his stood out through anachrony. Cost was never an issue, for the old man was wealthy beyond measure, but material goods never held much sway for him; he was quite content to wander the grounds of his crumbling estate, surveying the moss as it overtook what was once...

Read story

“My grandpa's deathbed secret:” by Anjani Mukund

Submitted to Contest #55

I had been in the middle of my exam in school, when I got the news, my grandfather was very ill and the doctors were saying that he wouldn't live through the night. I went home immediately to be with my grandfather in his last hours, little did I know that his last few hours would change my life completely. When I arrived home, my dad was sitting in a chair outside my grandfather's room, however he strangely didn't seem to look that upset. My mom was nowhere to be seen so I pushed the door open and went inside. Dad didn't react or show any i...

Read story

“Decayeth Not the Rose” by Dante Winters

Submitted to Contest #55

It was a bleak September day, and Sharon returned from an appointment with her physician in a melancholy mood. She had been vomiting after dinner most nights of the week and sometimes at work too. Stress, probably, but the couple thought it best that she be checked out as a precaution. “They did a biopsy and ran some tests.” She stared blankly at a glass of wine, “Dr. Dowell thinks it might be cancer.” Matthew said nothing, as was his way. He stood, pushing his meatloaf away, walked to her, and wrapped her head and should...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

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 ⭢