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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#63: Autumnal

It’s finally fall in the Northern Hemisphere. While the leaves are being slow to change out my window this year, the air is crisp and the pumpkin spice products are out in full force. Time to break out the sweaters!

Beyond all the colorful trappings, though, fall is by definition a season of change. So as you craft your stories this week, try to think about how the events you’re writing will change your characters' lives, whether fundamentally or just a little. After all, even a seemingly mundane afternoon can be the turning point of your entire life…

And if you want to drink some apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte while you write, more power to you!

This week's prompts

Set your story in a coffee shop that’s just introduced a new line of autumnal drinks.

Fall – 161 stories

Start your story with the line, “By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire.” (Whether this is a literal fire is up to you.)

Teens – 324 stories

Write about a character making fall decorations out of construction paper.

Kids – 45 stories

Write a story from the perspective of a bird migrating for the winter.

Winter – 128 stories

Write about two characters going apple picking.

Fall – 249 stories

Stories

“Another Day” by JaCinda Walls

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside the leaves were on fire, and I was running late. It was a beautiful site the orange and red leaves cascading down from the trees, but no time to bask in their beauty unless I wanted to be in trouble with Sierra again. Laughing at the memory of the last lunch date I missed with my best friend, I hurried down the street. Just as I reached the cafe I heard a loud screech from behind me turning around to see Sierra in her Audi waiting for me. Pulling me into a tight hug she said, " I missed you LaiLai." Smiling a...

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“MASKUS” by Olivia Kruse

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. It signals the start of Autumn on Maskus, our planet. They commence the beginning of a brand new era, a new beginning, a fresh start to life. A chance where we take the next step in our lives. Something the planet Earth simply dismisses. To them, seasons are nothing but a change in weather. I have only visited Earth once, when I was very little. I do not remember much, only that it was far different than Maskus in every way. Autumn is an especially important season for me, and for every...

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“Found You” by Chloe Torres

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. The seasons were changing and the leaves now had a reddish hue to them. “Sitting any longer at that desk of yours would have turned you into the hunchback of Notre Dame.”I had been holed up at the hotel room trying to find a way to reach the next Oriental when a knock comes to the door. It was Jun, the son of the CEO of this hotel. He comes in with a smug look on his face and examines my room.“What are you doing?” He asks and rubs his temples.“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m figur...

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“The fireguard” by Dumisan Khumalo

Submitted to Contest #63

Start. your story with the line " By the time I stepped outside,the leaves were on fire" The Fireguard By Dumisani khumalo By the time I was outside ,the leaves were on fire. There was panic and frenzy ,and it was about me, and the prospects I had were becoming dim as I looked at the fire spread so magnanimously, and who would come to my rescue when I was there alone? It started with prospects of finding out if I had green fingers at all ,with my extension trainings in agriculture,and my green beans grown in a can...

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“The walk ” by Eric Skyler

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. I let out a little silent cry to flush out the night’s dream. The sting of the dream lingered though. I walked with an uncertain gait. Well, it's been some time since I let myself ‘out’. The pavement was crowded for an early morning. The world, of course, was out there to get me! How else can it be? What other life-or-death matters do people have in their hands to not devour and laugh at my demons? I mustered more courage with each step and began to ru...

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“Among the Honey Crisps & Ginger Golds” by Scarlet A. Wolfheart

Submitted to Contest #63

Among the Honey Crisps & Ginger Golds By: Scarlet A. Wolfheart I picked Alley up on a cool crisp Autumn day. She was dressed in a big comfy sweater and leggings that fit all her curves right. She had left her hair down and flowing in the breeze. I am always so surprised by how she could take my breath away. Her beautiful auburn hair flowing down her back glistening in the early morning sunshine. Jumping out of the truck I go around and open the door for her, and she gives me one of those beautiful smiles of hers and it makes my heart f...

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“Humanwatching” by Ginger Tea

Submitted to Contest #63

This year the same pyjama and jacket on almost the same stature caught my eyes. Just to confirm I dropped a little and took lower flight. ‘Yes, he is the same boy!’ The generous boy, who kept water in the bowl in the park, spent most of his time talking with people and caring the street dogs. He looked leaner and taller, albeit.Since this was the first time I had recognized someone from my previous migration so I thought to ‘human watch’ him. I perched on the branch and started observing him. My spot on the tree branch gave me a go...

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“Light in the Darkness” by Nathan Ice

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. Smoke billowed from the tree canopy and smudged every star from the sky. Ashes fell like snow, leaving a gritty feeling and bitter taste in my mouth. The air smelled like meat roasting over a campfire. People of the forest city ran passed me screaming, their dirty, panicked faces illuminated by the roaring flames. A mother and her kid fell at my feet. I reached out to help. Fire danced in her fearful eyes as she looked up from the soot-covered ground. “Monster! Stay away!” she s...

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“The Core of My Apple Heart” by Katelynn Holden

Submitted to Contest #63

When they first met me, it was obvious I wasn't like other girls. At my age, they'd always talk about guys at school. But I was more interested in my apple trees. My passionate interest didn't last very long when one day, I saw him. It was your typical sunny afternoon on a Wednesday, where people would come to purchase my sweet, crisp apples. I liked the weekdays, when it wasn't so busy because everyone was either at school or work. I made sure the apples on display shined like diamonds, wiping each of them carefully and thoroughly. Since t...

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“Rights of a Dragonborn pt. 1” by Serendipity May

Submitted to Contest #63

The loud humming rang through the tall temple, from the airways came rushing heat and gusts of hot winds. "He shall be born!" A deep voice proclaimed. "From the fires of darkness, he will rise and come proclaim his greatness, his beauty, his wishes. He will take down fires with hot breath, destroying everything in his path. He will become one with the nature inside him controlling his tongue, to bend on his will." The loud and deep voice echoed through the silence of the tall temples. "He will be feared, he will be great, and he will rule ov...

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“That Time I Fell Out Of A Tree” by Sprite Akuma

Submitted to Contest #63

Autumn has finally arrived, and my grandpa’s apple orchard is bustling with customers clad in brown jackets, jeans, and scarves. A hundred or so people run along the dirt paths of the orchard, placing apples into bags that my grandma had sewn herself. My grandpa takes pride in the fact that his orchard has been the hotspot of the fall season for many years. I take pride in the fact that I, being related to him, get to have all the free apples I want. After struggling to find a parking spot, my friend Kai and I run up to my grandparents’ hou...

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“Changing Seasons” by Patricia Green

Submitted to Contest #63

The beautiful shell-pink sun peeked through the bony branches of the tree, it was sunrise, but being the beginning of autumn the mornings were getting ever colder and crisper, with every day. I ruffled up my feathers to stay warm while waiting for a few sun-rays to reach my roost and thaw me out. I could hear my neighbours also arising from slumber on this cold autumn morning. I had a long trip ahead of me, so I was hoping the day would warm up for my long flight up North. Autumn had arrived with a rush, in the Southern Hemisphere,...

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“Goin' South” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #63

Goin’ South It is getting cold out here. That rain yesterday didn’t help and luckily my nest was nice and warm. But, I can feel it; it is time to go south. The voyage will begin tomorrow. It is a long trek full of perils and danger. There are guns and wires and planes. There is also the chance of getting caught in bad weather. There are hurricanes and they are the worse. You can tell when one is coming because the humans go crazy. Right now, I am re...

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“Turned Away” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. Jennifer put a lighter to one to see if she could tempt the maple out of it and torched the rest. It was out of a senseless principle but it was a principle that smelled like burnt maple. Lord knew she thought this was a way to craft maple syrup but you couldn't sway her another way. I was stunned but not shocked because she first bought the lighter to burn a straw dummy of her college ex-boyfriend. “I need maple syrup and Mother Nature won't tell the leaves to lend me some,” sh...

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“The Fallen Leaves Of Autumn” by Dude Man

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside the leaves were on fire.Even though they were on fire, none of the leaves burned, instead they all rounded up in a circle, the flames making them appear to be glimmering for they were leaves of Autumn. I watched them from where I was standing, right outside the cottage, on the porch as Wind swirled through the leaves, yet the flames didn't cease, nor did they grow. They stayed just as they were the moment before, just as they will be the next moment too.The leaves kept swirling in a circle, it was unclear whethe...

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$50

Prize money

907

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 16, 2020 EST

Won by Masha Kurbatova 🏆

Title: come to atlanta!

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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