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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

“The Goat” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #70

The hate was real, but it was also consistent. David did not mind it when they ignored him at the mall, pulled their children away from him at the park, or refused to help him in any store where he needed to shop. By this point in his life, it was normal. 'It's him, isn't it?' 'Yes. Who else could it be?' 'Can you believe it?' 'Not at all.' 'You won't believe who I saw today at...' 'People like that should be...' 'They should not be allowed to...' 'I know.' 'Shameful.' 'Disgraceful.' 'Awful.' 'Ugh...' And on and ...

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“A Lifetime of Joy, A Period of Sorrow ” by Elaina Goodnough

Submitted to Contest #70

A Lifetime of Joy Whilst A Lifetime of Sorrow Keltie sat on a rock overlooking the swirling, crashing cerulean sea. It twisted as if in a tempest, yet just the day before it was mollified cyan. She knew the cause of this, yet she would dispose of it to no one. Her almost red, not quite blonde, and nowhere near orange hair blew in the wind, it rippled as if it was a wave itself, and moved as if it was a body in itself. Her eyes were closed, but if she decided to exhibit them you would spot blue with a greenish hue. Suddenly, with a ...

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“The Plains of Namar-Sin” by Alexander Katz

Submitted to Contest #70

I did not mean to open the gate, but alas, it is too late for my misgivings. The thing is open. I alone stand at the precipice between our world and the Plains of Naram-Sin, a land of writhing darkness and many eyes. Long have the Plains waited at the doorway, never moving from the warded pillars made from bones of a creature so ancient, I shudder when pondering its flesh form. If there is a divine plan from a benevolent creator—as I spent the Sundays of my youth learning—these creatures indeed could not have been part of the script. No, I f...

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“Afeared” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #70

“King Otto Battleblade you must listen to me!” implored General Hammer MacOrcbane. The two stout figures sat across from each other in the Great Drinking Hall, a grand table between spread with maps of the Twin Peaks Pass. Scouts had reported that The White Fang goblin clan had been sighted gathering forces in the pass. “We must close the Mountain Gates and defend whom of our people have managed to reach safety,” the General continued to argue. “But what of the pony farmers here and here, further south of the pass?” the King argued back. “Th...

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“If Nobody Uses the Library, is it a Library?” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #70

Narrator’s (or maybe Author’s) note: This story has ties to others on this site. The threads that bind them are the experiences of Dr. Lavinia Rivers from the Southern University of Maine or some institution like it. She’s in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, on sabbatical. That means she has several months to conduct research on a topic which was approved by her university. If she does not complete her research as designed and approved by her academic department and Dean of her college, she will be in a whole lot of trouble. Her career mig...

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“The A.R.C ” by Leanne Spencer

Submitted to Contest #70

The night had drawn in and the ethereal summer glow of the day had turned to a cold, icy blue tone and as Olivia set upon making the evening meal, she felt a sudden unease, as if there was an unwelcome and unworldly presence.She called for Leo with a panic in her voice. However, no reply came. Where had he gone, she realised she had not seen him for over an hour and the house wasn't sprawling, so that was strange. They live close to the beach and Leo loved to spend time on the porch watching the waves. It was his calming place and with ...

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“Black and White and Red” by A. S.

Submitted to Contest #70

Dear Lena,I’ve never been very good at writing letters. Or liked writing letters. But this is the easiest way to explain.Your fingers clench and release the pencil formulating how to put the one person who was always there for you, through the inevitable pain. Shouting from high overhead bleeds through the floorboards. Angry steps rain cobwebs and dust on your head, sprinkling silver into your hair; snowing white like the ashes that covered the ground. Heaps of dirty laundry fill the corners of your room, once bright colors as pungent as the...

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“The Hitman's Hart” by Lee Kull

Submitted to Contest #70

I watched her through the scope, my elbows resting on the ninth floor window ledge. The crosshairs painted a red ex on the back of her head as she sat at her desk, working late again. My finger brushed the trigger, but then pulled back and rested lightly on the trigger guard. Now was not the time. I still had the rest of the week, I told myself. Today I’d be tracking her patterns, just like I had been doing for the past four days. Her slender fingers tapped a staccato rhythm on her desk as she poured over the papers before her. The light ov...

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“The Goon and the Fisher man.” by Tariq Saeed

Submitted to Contest #70

,Today prompt is very interesting ”Err is human. Everybody tries hard to save himself from an Err but it doesn’t mean that smart or educated being would not commit an Err.Many problems are self created. There was a fisherman. He was very poor and humble natured.Daily he caught two or three fish,this was his living. One day he was going to market to sell fish.He caught only one fish that day.On the way a goon was watching him,He suddenly snatched that fish from him and went away.The fisherman became highly perturbed and went back home.That ni...

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“Hope” by Rachel Macmorran

Submitted to Contest #70

“It’s over, now. Hush. It’s all over, they are gone,” he murmured into her hair. Epimetheus gathered her onto his lap and used the edge of his toga to wipe her tears. He gently held his fragile mortal wife as she trembled with fear and horror. Oh, poor Pandora! These human vessels could not bear so much suffering, surely? She began to shake her head convulsively, denying her own thoughts as regret and guilt washed over her. He felt wretched, himself. If only he could have saved her this pain! Her eyes were still squeezed shut tight ag...

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“The Last Hit” by Brandon Johnson

Submitted to Contest #70

We stood at the edge of the dirt mound with dirtied hands and shattered hearts; we stared at our crime for what felt an eternity before the slouched man with fierce eyes finally spoke; that man was Frank.“No one can know what happened here,” he mumbled. “Are you insane!? This isn’t like the usual job, this person was innocent. I still think we should report it!” I replied.“And tell them WHAT!?” Frank yelled. “That we ran a person over and buried them right on the spot!?I couldn’t think of anything to say back to him. Another moment of s...

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“Honesty of Purpose” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #70

I am not as young as I used to be, but I do what I can. Even with a sharpened trowel, it's sometimes still difficult to dig the holes in the hardening ground of late Autumn. But the time and effort is always worth it, because into those holes will go the flower bulbs for daffodils and tulips. And then next year, on Spring days, I will get to enjoy looking at their beautiful colors gently swaying in the breeze.I was kneeling on a small pad next to one of my flower gardens in the front yard one Saturday morning when I heard someone say my name...

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“Plead My Case” by Joe Bob

Submitted to Contest #70

A bright light shone in my eyes."All right, perp. What do you have to say?"I blinked. "Um, what's going on?""What do you mean, what's going on? You were caught red-handed at the biggest crime of the century."I was shocked. What?! I didn't do any crime! I was literally walking through the furniture store when... I'm not sure. It's fuzzy, but I think I sat down on one of the recliners and took a nap or something, but I didn't break the law."I'm sorry...what's your name?" I asked as innocently as I could."That's Sir to you!""Okay, sir, I'm sorr...

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“Boogeyman” by Ximena Chavez

Submitted to Contest #70

My vision became hazier by the second and the only thing that I could make out of it was the scary lady with a gun in her hand that stopped short in front of me. I listened to the weary sirens in the distance and the cries for help sounding somewhere far from here. I felt like I was losing myself, like I was dying. I could only faintly remember what happened before I blacked out. I remember a girl. A young one. She was about 11 years old with blue-gray eyes and long black hair. I remember her saying only one thing to me. It was a name. A nam...

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“Namesake” by Paige Leppanen

Submitted to Contest #70

It is not easy to live inside your head. Maybe I’m the only one who feels that way. How else can others so easily decide what to wear, where to go, what to say and to whom, how to act, or how to feel? Every decision must be analyzed, or so my mind thinks. Every day, every possible consequence for every possible decision must be weighed. If I make the wrong choice, something dreadful will happen. So I mustn’t make that choice. Though the second choice might result in something equally dreadful. Even the third…This is how the days go, how the ...

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$50

Prize money

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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.

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