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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

“Lost in the Woods” by Moon Lion

Submitted to Contest #59

"Good luck. This time is one unlike any other, be very careful of the magic that lingers. And watch the time, you fool. There's no coming back if this thing isn't opened by midnight." The assassin Leonardo snorted as he remembered Ledda's final warning, and the warmth of her fingers as she pressed the portal key into his hand. A time like no other, none of them were like another. Never before had he seen such untamed and glistening natural beauty, surrounded by proud trees that caught the clouds, hearing the whispers and gossip of the fo...

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“Lonely in the Big City ” by Rebecca Lee

Submitted to Contest #59

Atlanta, Georgia has been called the ‘capital city’ of the south, and rightfully so. With a mosaic of buildings – skyscrapers, high rises, and others – lining the downtown streets, Atlanta is a busy city. It is the location of several city, county, state, and federal government facilities, sporting arenas, corporate headquarters, conference centers, and an array of tourist attractions.The downtown area – called the historic center – offers an urban atmosphere, well-known attractions and restaurants, and of course, the tourism department says...

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“The House By The Creek” by ✨𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕄✨

Submitted to Contest #59

The House on the creek was old, and run-down. For the house had been for sale four years, and it was never bought. The sellers thought it was hopeless trying to sell it, so they eventually forgot about the property, until an old couple called them and claimed that they were willing to buy the house.Of course, the sellers didn't believe it, so when they discussed about the house, they didn't mind mentioning the broken roof, or the cracked windows, or the fact that the front door couldn't lock. When they mentioned the creek, the elderly woman ...

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“White Houses” by Meggy House

Submitted to Contest #59

“Ronnie, I just don’t think I can live here anymore!” Lydia insisted to her dear daughter who so rudely interrupted and asked to only be referred to as “Veronica.” “Veronica, Mom,” she argued. “Please call me Veronica.” Ronnie’s sudden passion regarding her name confused Lydia, but she nonetheless pressed on. “The people in this town are so rude! It...

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“Got Milk?” by Bianka Nova

Submitted to Contest #59

WARNING: I know there are some younger people on this site, so for their sake I'd say this one is 15+ Wake up at 6.30, walk the dog, shower, prepare the kids’ breakfast, start packing lunches, have a coffee and a quick breakfast if you’re lucky, get the kids to school, get yourself to work, power through a day filled with office work, meetings, calls, e-mails, dissatisfied bosses, and clueless customers, punch out, pick up the kids from school, dog again, help with homework (the kids, not the dog), prepare dinner while the little ones play...

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“Weather... Or Not?” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #59

This is a place I know like I know my dead, only this city is not a cemetery of the dead but rather a cemetery of the living. A great poet wrote that line, about cemetery of the living. Therefore, I have to give her credit for it, but I agree about this place, what it is, what is here. I agree so much that the phrase is forever looping through my mind and drawing me to it, to the city, and to what it breathes and says, year after year, century after century. Don’t worry: it never gets old.I want you to know what it’s like to be in this ...

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“Gemma: A Pathetic Fallacy” by Aqsa Malik

Submitted to Contest #59

When I was seven, I requested my room be painted pink, the only valid colour to a 7 year old girl, with aspirations bigger than life itself. When I was thirteen, I decided to go with a crimson red to channel my inner scorpio and newfound ardor for astrology. When I was seventeen, I opted for a lemon yellow so I could always wake up to the sun.Now I’m twenty-two, and I’ve painted my four walls grey, so that they always reflect my mood.Today, the walls reflect the weather too. Grey clouds roll along the dull sheet of a sky, drizzle t...

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“Radiate: Part 2 (Unlocking My Magic)” by ✨𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕄✨

Submitted to Contest #59

Here's Part 2! Sorry if it feels rushed, I didn't have that much time to submit this story. If you haven't already, please read Part 1 to have some context to this story! I also changed the perspective to be Brook, since its more natural for me. I hope you enjoy! The three check our pockets. All we found were a couple of pennies, a paperclip or two, some scraps of paper, and a couple of receipts. Since we had practically nothing, we decided to head over to someone's house, but we didn't know exactly whos. "By the way, I'm Kat, and thi...

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“I Left My Heart” by Julie Ward

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #59

There’s a popular song that has made its way onto greeting cards and memes and plaques printed in the loopy calligraphy that seems to be everywhere these days. “Home is wherever I’m with you.” I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it. Because there’s one thing I know for certain. People who hang those plaques and send those cards have never been in love with a city. I fell for San Francisco gradually, over years of family vacations and trips up North. My heart beat faster the minute our car would crest the hill, catching a glimpse ...

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“Small Towns, small minds” by Rebecca Lee

Submitted to Contest #59

Willow, Texas is not unlike most small-sized communities across the United States. There are the typical sections of neighborhoods for different races, for the races to mix, for different economic classes, yadda, yadda. There is the city-run government, and since, Willow is the county seat for Wood County – the county governing offices are housed there.There is a quaint little downtown area. There are at last count at least five fast-food chicken places, a plethora of doughnut stores, a mosaic of payday loan companies, two grocery stores, a ...

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“Possible” by Grace Reardon

Submitted to Contest #59

I combed back my short hair with my fingers. It was boring and black, but had dissolved into small waves at my shoulders. I sighed as I turned to my dresser, noticing the clothes my mother had set out. As ugly as ever. I threw on the lime tank-top, and sheltered my shoulders with the puffy pink jacket. I put on the orange shorts and the blue socks that went to my knees. I stood in front of the mirror, hoping it didn’t look as bad as I felt. I saw a hideous figure stare back at me, ashamed she put her hood ...

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“Governess and the Three Bears” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #59

Lottie pulled a brush through her red-gold curls in an effort to tame them enough to be tied back. After several attempts to braid her hair, she gave up, shoving on a headband and turning to inspect her reflection in the mirror. Do I look mature enough for this? Lottie was starting a new job that very morning. She had responded to an advertisement in the local paper, and in just a few hours, she would be a governess to a delightful child named Belinda. She hadn't actually met the family yet, but she had corresponded by mail with Belinda'...

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“New York City Blues” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #59

WARNING - Suicidal Ideation August 16, 2020 I’m here!! I can’t believe it. After all the saving and scrimping to get by, I’m here in my dream city. I love this loft. It’s worth every bit of the $2000 per month. I’m finally going to be able to write. I’m finally going to be able to pen my great American novel. Well, I better get started. August 20, 2020 I wish I’d realized the fridge in this apartment was so tiny. I’ve had to go out to the markets every day this week. Food is expensive, too. But I’m managing. Writers don’t need much. Just g...

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“The Good Life” by Katina Foster

Submitted to Contest #59

*** Part 1: Vic ***Vic and Mel sat quietly as Matt, a disgraced former MIT student, gave them a rundown of the opportunity (experiment) he was offering."This is your chance to be pioneers! I know what the papers have been saying about me, but I assure you, this is completely safe. All the same, I will need you to sign this release of liability form before we begin."Vic signed the form without reading it. He was ready to get out of Boston, by hook or by crook. The city had become too crowded, too polluted and way too expensive over the last f...

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“Vanishing Point” by Juliet Martin

Submitted to Contest #59

There is something extraordinary going on in this place. Colours line up beside one another and jostle for space, creating bulges and valleys, arching in resistance, pressing tensely against each other in uneasy compromise. Space has become colour and colour is an inconsistent kind of geometry. There is no forward and backward or up and down; we are no longer subject to these habits of perception. There is just thick and thin, dark and light, and even these notions flirt with one another and with unreality. If you move your eyes too fast, ...

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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.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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