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#70: To Err Is Human

The other day I realized I’d made a pretty big mistake in the book I’m writing. This isn’t anything new. Writers of all skills levels make plenty of mistakes — if we didn’t, editors would be out of a job — but it’s still frustrating when you realize you’re going to have to throw out a few thousand words.

But writers aren’t the only ones who make mistakes, or at least we shouldn’t be. In order for your characters to grow and be interesting as people, they’re going to need to make some bad choices of their own.

This week, let’s dig deep into all the things your characters can mess up, whether it’s because of a deep-seated character flaw or just a really bad stroke of luck. The sort of thing that will haunt them for years to come, fuel their deepest regrets, and form a cornerstone of their personality going forward. It may be tough to put them through the emotional wringer, but I promise your story will be better for it.

🥇 Winner

“What you made me.” by Irene Rebello

Trigger warning: birth complications Jude was born already dead. The umbilical cord, the doctors noticed, was wrapped around her throat, long since choking her. She came out not red, but a palid, sickening blue. Her mother could not understand--her daughter had been a fighter in her womb, kicking relentlessly, not letting up for even a second. Days prior, she’d joked with her husband, “Don’t forget to bring earplugs. We’ll need it for the crying.”

114 comments 114 WINNER 🏆

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Woe To That Land” by Stafford Morgan

There came after the shot a silence so pervasive it rang like a mistake. The deaf forest recovered, first with birdsong and snowmelt, and then the wind returned and the world recalled how to breathe again.The first boy, the youngest, the one holding the gun, lifted a gloved hand to point at the prostrate figure in the snow some ten yards ahead. He choked on a word, half spun like a dog, looking about his feet as if he’d dropped something before some presence of reason took hold in his mind, and he levered the Winchester a few times...

27 comments 27 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Friends with Porcelain” by Chris D

Trigger warning: disordered eating She snaps her gum between her teeth, chomping down as if it'll curb her appetite. Her tongue pokes into the wad, stretching it thin. He remembers when her tongue used to poke other things. She's lucky if she can remember anything past that number. The one that burns into her retinas as she steps on the scale for the third time that day, because she ate an apple for lunch, and she needs to know. The scale hasn't budged. She kicks it, and hobbles at the pain ...

7 comments 7 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Room #133” by Kevin Leonard

In the White House there are an estimated 132 rooms. Of course, estimated is a bit of a misnomer. Certainly there is some precise number for which it is true to say: “That’s how many rooms are in the White House”. Officially, that number is one hundred and thirty two. Some of the rooms we know, like the Oval Office, or the Situation Room. Stately rooms. Nameworthy rooms. Another thirty five are bathrooms apparently, if y...

11 comments 11 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Knobby Knuckles” by David G.

When had his knuckles gotten so knobby?They didn’t used to be this way - his knuckles. He was sure of that. There was definitely a time when the skin was smooth and taut over the joints, the lines thin and shallow.Now the bone protruded sharply beyond the fleshy parts. An old man’s hands. Deep creases wove between pink and white splotches, winding their way to his palms where they zigged and zagged, combining in places and separating in others like tributaries in an ancient river delta. On the fourth fi...

24 comments 24 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Box People” by Piper H

Trigger warning: domestic abuse The streetlight casts a dismal halo above the slumped figure, catching sharp glints of light in the misting rain. His coat clings to thin shoulders, the collar flopped in damp resignation on his neck. The evening November rain is so fine as to be invisible, present as only a chilly mist, but soaking all the same. Home, always tinged in his mind with a slight tang of bitterness he feels guilty about, but couldn’t prevent, is a few blocks down, past the nice part of town,...

9 comments 9 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Small Acts” by Lily Joseph

Small Acts The milkman always leaves the bottles right in front of the door, right where Esther could trip over them, so I make it my job every delivery day to move them to the side of the step. I leave the house at six every Monday morning so that I can do this, sliding the basket carefully to the side so that the bottles don't clink together. Today ...

8 comments 8 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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This week's prompts

Write about someone who’s so obsessed with a goal that it leads to the destruction of their closest relationship.

Sad – 156 stories

Write about a character who everyone thinks is guilty of something terrible, but isn’t.

Thriller and Suspense – 181 stories

Write about someone trying to atone for a mistake they’ll never be able to fix.

Angst – 196 stories

Write about two people who know they’ve made a mistake, and one of them wants to tell the truth but the other wants to lie about it.

Kids – 121 stories

Write about a character who’s so afraid of making the wrong choice that their indecision ruins the very thing they were hoping to keep safe.

Sad – 85 stories

Stories

“What you made me.” by Irene Rebello

Trigger warning: birth complications Jude was born already dead. The umbilical cord, the doctors noticed, was wrapped around her throat, long since choking her. She came out not red, but a palid, sickening blue. Her mother could not understand--her daughter had been a fighter in her womb, kicking relentlessly, not letting up for even a second. Days prior, she’d joked with her husband, “Don’t forget to bring earplugs. We’ll need it for the crying.”

114 comments 114 WINNER 🏆

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“The Dollmaker (B.W.)” by Laiba M

Warning: This story includes content on OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and self-deprecating thoughts that may trigger some readers. Please avoid reading this story if you have experienced any or both of the above. Achebe. Your face crinkles, like the paper balls you would throw at her behind Rox's back. Your tears attempt to cling to your eyelashes but fail and slide off, falling o...

1289 comments 1289

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“I Like To Be Cold” by Zilla Babbitt

I like to be cold. It reminds me of you and your cold hands -- you and what you’ve done to me. You always liked winter, and now I do too. Summers are cluttered and hot, but winters are high and lonely and crystalline, like you. When we first met I did not like you. You were stubborn and sometimes cruel, but that wasn’t it. It was because I felt myself falling in l...

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“My Bad 🔪” by Ari Berri

Second part of My mistake. Feedback please!"No." I whisper. "No, no, no, no."I didn't mean to. I swear, I didn't. It was an accident. Can killing someone be an accident?I drop to the ground next to his body, but I’m too afraid to touch him.He lays facedown on the ground, the blood-soaked glass still in his stomach. He's dead, I already know that. The blood is bright against his green shirt.My stomach churns, and I back away, suddenly not wanting to be anywhere near him.Then I h...

251 comments 251

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“My Mistake 🔪” by Ari Berri

I watch his face as he talks to Brandon. Ryan never looks at me like that. And he's my best friend. He laughs at something, making Brandon smile. We both look at him the same way.I frown when I see their joined hands sitting on the table. The matching engagement rings on their fingers glisten in the bright sunlight. Brandon proposed to him yesterday, ruining any chance I might've had with him.Suddenly, Ryan turns, and looks right at me. He smiles, and waves me over. Brandon frowns."Hey, Blake." ...

118 comments 118

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“The Chains that Bind Us” by Mira Caplan

"Quiet, Sora. Please." I whispered, trying to calm my young sister. Sora was only four. She didn't know what was happening, why we had to hide, and who was searching for people like us. We were what they called "Claimed." The mortal hosts, in a way, for the Spirits and their magic. I had heard of places where they considered our curses a blessing, powers being allowed to grow, taught how to control the extremities of our magic. Our kingdom wasn't one of them. I could hear the footsteps of the officials overhead, and...

259 comments 259

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“Breaking the Kingdoms” by Nainika Gupta

“Legend has it that every time a child was born and was marked for great things by the fates, it attracted the attention of the dark fairy, Freyja. She granted the child, most often a prince or princess, but sometimes a farmer, or a merchant’s child, a gift. Maybe beautiful voices or wrinkle-free skin. Something every little boy or girl wanted. But there was always a twist. She took delight in making people desire her gifts so much that they were blinded by the thorns in the shadow of her rose. Those with beautiful voices lost their abili...

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“Unforgivable ” by B. W.

August 1st, 2039We've all been friends for about seven or so years, though Achebe and Alexis have never met each other during any of that time. Though that's going to change today, we're all going to eat at a restaurant in a few hours. I'll tell you how it goes. -RoxanneAugust 2nd, 2039I don't think that it went as well as I was wanting it to go yesterday, we all met outside of the restaurant so the two of them could formally meet. Though something seemed a little...off with Alexis.

488 comments 488

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“Murder at Kasserine Pass” by Robert Grandstaff

Murder at Kasserine Pass The Bou Chebka road, deep inside the Kasserine Pass, narrowed to little more than a camel track along a dry riverbed and steep cliffs. Rooted in the pale sand, a grove of palm trees jutted out from the ground as if thrown down and forgotten long ago. The remnants of the US 26th Regimental Combat team used the shade of the palm trees to dig their foxholes. Covered in sand and blist...

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“Bulldozer & Pushover” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

I just don’t understand what went wrong.This is his second apartment, not including his freshman college dorm. Remember when I told you how the college demanded he vacate the dorm’s premises in 24 hours? It was only his second month of college! You would think they would understand 19-year-old boys better. It’s ridiculous. Oh, the usual things. The alcohol wasn’t even his. And it was his roommate’s stash. How would my son even know where to buy drug paraphernalia?

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“hair dye and goodbye” by Amany Sayed

July 8th, 2016Goals-Get in to college-Go to college-make friends at college-get a side job-buy a car-driveWhere to?---The whole world feels weird and like I don't belong. I'm uncomfortable. Possibly just in my own skin. My whole life I’ve been waiting to do this, and now I’m just waiting more it seems. The wind outside is hot, barely even wind. When I get a car, I want it to be without a r...

205 comments 205

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“An Unfortunate Series of Events” by Writer Maniac

The opening and closing clicks of the shutters of the cameras feel like a part of me now. Lights flash, some white, some blue, some red. I’m blinded. Chester is walking behind me, his hand on my back, trying to protect me from the crowd and comfort me at the same time. My parents and Courtney got left behind, calling everyone they knew to get enough money to get me out. Microphones are shoved at my face, trying to get a word out of me.

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“Painful Deeds” by . .

I woke up in the morning, the cold stinging my bare arms. I shivered but didn't make any attempt to warm myself, to pull a blanket over me. All warmth was gone in my life, so why pretend. The water that ran above my bed flew here and there in torrents which I couldn't see, but I could feel them. My feet touched the floor, frail limbs flexing and aching, as I struggled to get to my feet. After about three more tries, I ma...

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“A Gateway to Heaven” by 💛🤍 L U N A N A 🤍💛

Trigger Warning: Suicidal mentions and death. This story could be sensitive or triggering to anyone uncomfortable with suicidal topics and or mentions of death. Authors note: Even by the trigger warning it's probably easy to guess; this one is a sad one. I've noticed that I tend to switch between sad, and fantasy. Weird combination? So I actually wrote this story a couple months ago(more like last year) ...

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“No Second Thought” by Laurentz Baker

What was Joel thinking? What he did will cost us our lives and cost this company more than ten million dollars. He’s lost it. Our retirement, our pension, gone; it's madness, is what it is. To sell company formulas and not give a damn; give no second thought to put us in danger. What the hell was he thinking? We’ve lost everything. I can’t grasp it. I could kill him, literally kill him. We’re ultimately g...

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$50

Prize money

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Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 04, 2020 EST

Won by Irene Rebello 🏆

Title: What you made me.

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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