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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#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.

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 – 154 stories

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

Thriller and Suspense – 179 stories

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

Angst – 192 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 – 120 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

“EVA” by Sunshine (:

Submitted to Contest #70

Every night, the thunder comes to haunt me. I hear it in my dreams, like crackling fire. I hear it outside every time it rains, which happens to be a lot. My sister always holds me every time it happens. My mind wants to shut down and my heart rate goes a mile a minute. I remember the night it came back. I jumped onto my bed and looked out the window. The thunder screamed with yelps of pain and begged for help with the rage of a billion fires. I covered myself with my blanket and started crying. My sister came in and woke me up. I was dreami...

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“The Sin” by Swarnabha Chandra

Submitted to Contest #70

Robert Grayson sat in his armchair in his warm and cozy house after a rather long and exhausting day at work. He leaned into the armchair and sipped his evening tea. He was about take a second sip when there came a knock on the front door. He got up and opened the door. Standing on the porch was a tall and lean man with jet black hair and a thin mustache. He was dressed in a brown overcoat that looked dirty and shabby as if he had been travelling for many days. “Good evening, Mr. Grayson. Sorry for my unexpected arrival. My name is Jas...

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“The Wait Wasn’t Worth It” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #70

My man and baby daddy Sloppy Drunk; I mean Sloppy Seconds primary and only goal in life. His main objective. His soul purpose for living. His reason of all reasons was to become a Big Time rapper like his idol “Chali 2na” who is not only named after a fish, but after a fish that's a mascot for canned tuna-in effect, a sellout rapping fish who gets paid to convince people to eat his family. For 12 long years I patiently waited for my man Harvey Bean aka Sloppy Joe; I mean Sloppy Seconds to reach the pinnacle of success to fulfilled his lifeti...

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“It Ended” by Amber Soha

Submitted to Contest #70

"Phone check," Sarah said. "Okay, here," Said Jason. "Who's this?" she asked. "She's a new coworker who's been added to the group chat," he said. "Why is she sending you so many smiley-face emojis?" "It's a group chat; they're for everyone, not just me." Jason feels himself getting irritated, though he's trying not to. His cheeks are red and burning and he's trying with all of his might to keep himself from jumping up snatching his phone out of Sarah's hands. He stands up and begins to pace around the bed. "What's the matter?" she aske...

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“Ejected” by Amalee Bowen

Submitted to Contest #70

The corridor is unnaturally quiet as I head out of the cafeteria back towards the lab for my shift, still picking out the remnants of the, frankly disappointing, sandwich from between my teeth. I hear the clank and creak of the metal floor beneath my boots and I even notice the ever present hum of the craft’s engines and electricity. It’s always there but indiscernible at most times, the way you don’t hear your heartbeat or your breathing unless something changes. I pause in the corridor, a creeping feeling crawling over me. There’s n...

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“Three Wishes” by Amalee Bowen

Submitted to Contest #70

The trees folded their hands above me, branches interlaced. There was nothing but the sound of my footfalls on the path, the snap of a twig beneath my shoe, the far off rustling of a bird amongst the leaves. The sky hung blank and aloof above me, not threatening rain but no bright vista, just a cloudy apathetic stare. Perhaps it would speckle me with mist later. Or perhaps not. It didn’t really matter. My feet walked this trail through the woods, but I wasn’t really. I was walking down another trail, down the side of a mountain in l...

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“The Potter Massacre of 1860” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #70

Trigger warning: rape One of the township’s deputies relieved his partner for the night shift at the four-cell jail. He brought along a shallow plate of lukewarm campfire beans and a single dry biscuit for the small lockup’s sole resident. Securing the keys his partner handed him to his gun belt, he slid the meager dinner through a horizontal slot in the cell door and onto a low table. The prisoner’s face remained unmoved and hidden behind his long blond bangs as he slouched against the cold stone wall on the bottom bunk. The d...

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“Red Roses Too” by Zion Hintay

Submitted to Contest #70

A jazz trumpeter is playing in the background of a smoky bar just outside the city. The tunes are low and hushed so as not to take away from the conversations happening around them.The bartender is filling a wine glass with a daiquiri for a woman wearing a slender violet dress. Her skin a beautiful bronze as she picks it up and saunters over to a table. Where a young man nurses a gin and tonic."Grocer baby, when are we going to hit the club.""In a minute, love. I'm just waiting to tell sis the big news.""Can't that wait, we have so much cele...

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“Too Late” by R L Brewer

Submitted to Contest #70

Leya Harrison glanced at the man on her computer screen. “What can I do?” “You have been dealing with this for years. What do you normally do, Ley?” “This time it is serious. I want to tell him...I need to tell him.” “What’s so serious? The boy has a commitment phobia. He’s not found someone he wants to move on with...has he?” Leya sighed. “Sit down and drink your coffee. It’s probably getting cold.” “He was talking about her the other day. You know what he is like. Talks all day about his latest, but it’s normally over with in...

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“I Couldn't Protect My Heart” by Paige Winters

Submitted to Contest #70

His locker is stuck, again. I watched him for a full minute from across the hall before strolling over to him. Without a word, I knocked my boot against the edge of his locker, simultaneously grabbing the handle and throwing it open. I leaned against the locker next to his and smiled. “Hey,” I say. Adrian shook his head. “I still can’t figure out how you do that. I can never get this stupid thing open then you waltz up and BANG.” “I have the magic touch,” I teased, waving my hands around like I was about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. “W...

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“A Truth and a Lie ” by Night Fall

Submitted to Contest #70

Mia's brown eyes opened. Cracks in the ceiling, moldy smell, stains all over the brick walls...well, home is home. She sighed, and tore herself from her thin blankets. Mia brushed the tangles out of her long dark hair. She changed into her school uniform that her mom could barely afford, and opened her door to the kitchen.Her mom was standing at the sink, that is, if you could call it a sink. It was barely large enough to set the dishes her small family used after a meal. Her mom turned around, she was a frail woman, not very tall. She had s...

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“Misogamist” by EmJ H

Submitted to Contest #70

"Don't you go anywhere near that bag, you hear me?"I let out a small huff from where I lie on the sofa, loud enough so that Mallory can hear. I do my best to ignore her completely most days, limiting any interaction to when it is totally unavoidable. I make a little more effort to be friendly to her when dads around. "Oi! I'm talking to you!" I slowly turn my head in her direction and make brief eye contact before turning back over to try and get back to sleep. I hear Mallory mumble something that sounds suspiciously like 'wa...

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“A Memory that Counts” by Benjamin Boxer

Submitted to Contest #70

The Crowe family farmhouse stood two stories high in a flat field of windswept broom grass. Ivy climbed the barbed wire fences that designated pastures for the six head o’ cattle that lowed, often, in the lower field—the one down by the creek and the parallel rows of pulp pine. A huge, largely unused barn opposed the house roughly two acres away. A single silo leaned slightly to the left—too tired to stand upright, too proud to downright lie. The farmhouse, especially after the trauma from recent events, protruded like an exposed beating hea...

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“Shattered” by Devan Benton

Submitted to Contest #70

Trigger warning: suicide Sun shown through the foggy hospital window, gently lighting Zach’s face. The beeping of the heart monitor was now background noise to Aaron. He had been pacing these hallways for days now waiting for him to open his eyes. He had been given a decision to make. The surgery could save Zach’s life, but it was also life threatening. It was too much for one person to decide. Though Zach was in a coma Aaron had hope that he wou...

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“Holy Dip” by Priyanka Choubey

Submitted to Contest #70

Trigger warning: rape River Ganga was flowing beautifully and making that spring evening cool and calm. People after taking the holy dip in the auspicious water of Ganga were ready with earthen Deepak (a lamp Indian use to offer prayer) to worship. But Nanda was sitting still at the bank of the river since morning staring the water asking to herself how all those sins can be washed away in the river Ganga? Nanda heard from her elders that whatever wrongdoings you do every bit of that flow away in the holy water of Ganga. But she was c...

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$50

Prize money

731

Contest entries

0

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.

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

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