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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#59: Location, Location, Location

One of my favorite parts of writing is picking interesting settings. When used effectively, setting can establish the tone of the story (a murder mystery in a manor house vs. a big city) or even determine the stakes (a sinking ship, a house on fire, a person lost in the woods). Certain settings are perfect for their genres, but it can also be fun to use setting to establish incongruity and a sense of unease.

Additionally, your character’s reaction to the setting reveals a lot about their personality. Are they comfortable because they’re in a place they know well? Or does the familiarity make them claustrophobic?

This week, really dig into where your story takes place. What do these settings look, smell, and sound like? What does the setting offer to the plot? How do your characters feel about being there? When it comes to setting, not even the sky is the limit!

(Struggling to know how to best make use of your setting? We’ve got a video right here that will help!)

This week's prompts

Write about a couple who have just moved to a place that one person loves, and the other hates.

Romance – 135 stories

Write about a character arriving in a place unlike anywhere they’ve ever been.

Novel – 198 stories

Set your story in a place with extreme weather, but don’t use any weather-related words to describe it.

High School – 69 stories

Write a story that feels lonely, despite being set in a packed city.

Sad – 230 stories

Set your story in a small town where everyone is suspicious of newcomers.

Teens – 135 stories

Stories

“Sisterhood” by Eve Naden

Submitted to Contest #59

She told me to wait here. Here, by the train station, where people in grey coats bustle out of the revolving doors. People with dark looks, with leather briefcases. It’s as if they’re all extras plucked from some London Documentary. Except, we’re in Shrewsbury, and this train station is a few metres away from a castle, the castle around which we took a guided tour. Me and you. My sister. And Dad, of course. Dad, who is off buying you some clothes. Bright pinks skirts with frills. His favourite as well as yours. You two like to play ...

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“I Found Out Lava Won't Kill Me” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #59

An entitled-looking white woman with a Karen-haircut and a handbag that cost more than my house stared at me as I worked on the engine of a helicopter with Paradise Tours and a huge hibiscus flower painted on the side of it. “When’s my tour?” She demanded.“Sorry, Ma’am.” I wiped the sweat from my tan skin. “There’s no tours today.”Her eyes flared with anger. “Yes, there is.” She ripped a colorful schedule with Paradise Hotel and Resort—the business I work for as their only helicopter mechanic and pilot for all volcano viewing tours—written o...

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“The Stranger” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

The guards had the stranger cuffed and on the ground before he could even say “hello.”“Check him!” barked Rosewell, the lead guard of Rockford, a town hidden deep in the mountains. Rosewell had dark hair that brushed the top of his shoulders and he always seemed to wear a frown.Matthews, Rosewell’s second-in-command, patted down the stranger as another guard grabbed the stranger’s backpack and peered into it. The guard—Bennett—smiled and showed the contents to Rosewell.“Huh,” said Rosewell, staring into the bag. “Get him up.”Matthews grabbed...

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“In a Pickle” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #59

A husband and a wife had just recently moved from a big city called Fair Fort to a small town named West Creek Hill. At first, the couple had decided to move there because of the agreement that it meets all their expectations. They had dreams of starting a little garden or a farm after moving there. They didn’t enjoy the big city life anymore. Too much pollution, so much noise, litter and garbage in every little corner that you can find, and much more reasons. They wanted a different scenery. A change of environment....

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“A Family Feud ” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #59

I was walking on the street. There was nothing out of place. Everything was normal and ordinary. Everyone in town was happily going about their way. Whistling and bright smiles on their faces. Some laughing and little kids hugging each other. Our town was named the world’s happiest, but ordinary town in the world. I loved where I lived. I was born here and went to school here. The morning walks by the rivers and little streams here were very nice. Sometimes I would think that the trees were also swaying side by side ...

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“The Lass We Found In London” by Artemisia Pearl

Submitted to Contest #59

I couldn't breathe through the burlap sack over my head. It was suffocating me. My arms were tied behind my back and my legs were tied at the ankles. They had forced me to my knees and left me here. I had no way of telling what time it was.After what felt like an eternity, I heard the door open, then shut. Someone with a strong grip cut the rope on my ankles and forced me to my feet. They led me to a different part of the room, and forced me to sit in a chair. Someone took the sack off of my head and the room had one light, and was barely br...

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“Phoenix on Fire” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

The Phoenix touched down on the surface of the planet at dawn. Captain Scott Scruff slipped on his protective suit and donned his mask.“Ready, Cap,” said Charlotte, the Caption’s second-in-command.Captain Scruff looked at his crew. Charlotte and Walter saluted. Martha just gave him a shaky smile.“'Ready’ is a strong word there, Charlotte,” said Martha.“Ready or not—I need some fresh air. Get me out of here,” said Walter.The crew had traveled for 50 years.Captain Scruff unlatched the door. An orange light spilled inside, accompanied by some s...

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“Queensbrawl, Nevada” by Skyler Woods

Submitted to Contest #59

All eyes were on Naomi and her husband, Jay. Naomi Rose and her husband had just moved into a small town in Nevada called Queensbrawl. There was an unrelenting desert heat in Queensbrawl. Tumbleweeds crossed the roads more than people. There never seemed to be a cloud in the sky and the temperature remained above 90 degrees, even at night. Naomi and her husband liked the town’s quiet atmosphere at first. Everyone seemed hospitable to the couple. But after a day, Naomi and Jay felt like a couple who didn’t belong in their skin. They felt...

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“Inheritance” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #59

Lightning crackles overhead, threatening my island home. My hair stands on end from the static electricity in the air, letting me know I should seek shelter, but not until I find Toby. Five hours! Five hours, how could they not find Toby in all that time? The island is only 1284 acres, just 2 miles in width and length. We are surrounded by water and the mainland is a mile away. He couldn’t have left the island, he was too young to power a boat and he knew to stay away from the water. I never should ha...

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“Who is it? ” by Anja Z

Submitted to Contest #59

The space, a vast network of stars, are constantly looming over us, looking as to see if we are doing everything we can. Once they go to bed the ever bright sun comes to take their day shift. I on the other hand, feel no use for either the moon or the stars, as the day just comes and goes and I just stay. Stay where I am weak and afraid. The tapping of the next victims’ head being smashed into the wall over and over again, only a brief reminder that I am indeed not alone.I look again out of the vast space where the need for a roof arises, ye...

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“The Duck Pond” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted to Contest #59

We decided to flip a coin. But we didn’t have a coin, so we dug around in our pockets and bags and couch cushions and finally came up with a penny that she deemed worthy. She placed it on her thumb and forefinger and said, “Did you know there’s a national coin shortage?”And I said, “You’re stalling.”And she said, “This penny is dated 1942. Do you think it’s worth anything?”So I took the penny from her hand and I flipped it myself. It came up tails. She smirked; I stared at the penny in disbelief. I had lost, and although I knew the chances w...

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“Awaken.” by Lina Oz

Submitted to Contest #59

Sleep.Alarm.The man switches it off.Eat.Work.Eat.Sleep.Alarm.The man switches it off.Eat.Work.Eat.Sleep.Alarm. The man sighs as he switches it off.Eat. A bowl of soggy flakes. Milk that’s almost expired.Work. A programmer. The job designed to “keep humanity running,” as the city deems it. He calls it the job designed to “keep humanity on loop.”Eat. This time, rice. Vegetables. Slightly wilted. Packaged chicken. Bland.Sleep. Eight hours exactly. He sleeps in bed number 472 on floor 7 in building 11.Alarm. The man switches it off. As does ever...

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“So I Followed an Owl to a Suspicious Small Town... (Part 2)” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #59

Author's note: This is a part 2 to "So I Met an Owl in an Elevator". If you want, maybe read that story first to avoid spoilers. If you don't want to, no worries, have a recap and a wonderful day!Recap: the unnamed narrator rushes to an elevator from a hotel bar while realizing a creep from the bar drugged her. She makes it to the elevator, passes out, and wakes up to find a power outage that stopped the elevator and a mysterious talking owl with muddy red feathers and dark green eyes. He introduces himself as Howl, her Guardian Owl that cut...

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“Truth of Being Me” by Amanda Meireles

Submitted to Contest #59

Friends and family, I don't want to scare you or to make you feel guilty. I just want you to hear me one last time. I want you to understand my fear of life, my fear of the world, my fear of existing. "But what to fear?" Many would ask me. Life is the most precious thing we have, so why fear it? Why disappear? So, I ask you: Why live if you're already dead? If you don't feel you deserve to have a life? If you don't feel like you're existing? For what? I feel this way every day. I wake up wishing to disappear; to go far from this life; thi...

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“Lunar Lovers” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

Mrs. Watts settled into her desk chair and breathed in the cold air, smiling. The house was one very large room, really; her desk sat against the wall next to the couches in the living room. The kitchen was in one corner, and the bedroom in another. It all felt so cozy to her, especially with a mug of coffee in one hand, her writing pen in the other and a spectacular view of Earth spinning slowly in the window.“Perfect. Just perfect,” she murmured. She took a sip of her coffee, thankful they'd found a way to make houses with Earth's gravity....

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$50

Prize money

767

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 18, 2020 EST

Won by Louise Coley 🏆

Title: The Witch’s Daughter

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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