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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#72: Shocking Developments

Have you ever heard that there are only so many types of stories in the world? Some people say seven, some say three, some six… Regardless of the number, the idea is that you can boil down any narrative into universal templates.

While it’s true that many stories do follow familiar structures (and understanding them can help you learn how to craft a compelling narrative), there’s so much variety in how those structures unfold that the best stories still feel fresh and original.

One of the ways writers manage this is by filling their stories with unexpected details — so this week, our prompts are all about characters finding themselves in situations they’d never have imagined. But to really get something unique, don’t stop there: ask yourself what would happen if your characters made each of the possible choices before them, then write the one that surprised you the most!

This week's prompts

Write a mystery where the detective realizes at the last moment that they have the wrong suspect.

Mystery – 117 stories

Write a romance where your character falls in love with the last person they expected to.

Romance – 193 stories

Write about someone getting a job offer they never would have thought to apply for.

Adults – 94 stories

Write about someone who gets an inheritance from a relative they’ve never heard of, but they’ll need to do something completely outside their comfort zone in order to collect it.

Teens – 144 stories

Write a science fiction story where all human behavior can be predicted — until your character does something the algorithm did not expect.

Science Fiction – 139 stories

Stories

“When a Door Closes” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #72

It’s Sunday evening, November 1, 2020, the last day of a short weeks’ holiday from classes and I’m just finishing a two-hour weekly English tutoring session with a teenage brother and sister that I’ve been giving lessons to for about two years (less 6 months this year during the Corona virus lock down). We’ve finished the lesson and they’re competing with each other doing the hangman game, when I get a call from the superintendent of the high school where I’ve been teaching for just two months now. As my two learners are busy I answer. ...

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“Happiness” by Alya Kaikuahine

Submitted to Contest #72

I stepped into the freezing cold. I loved the feeling of fresh snow falling from the sky, turning your cheeks and nose red as you strained to look past the bushels of snow swirling and falling from the sky. I was so happy. Everything always seemed to go my way.“Daydreaming again Kara?” My friend Remi grinned. “One day, you’ll get your head stuck in the clouds. Or the dome, I guess.” Remi agreed with me on everything. We’ve been best friends since I fell off the swings in first grade, when the Earth fell and everyone had to move to ...

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“Last Night” by John Walsh

Submitted to Contest #72

We at the Hierarchy of Morpheus would like to offer you a position as a dream sorter in our human division. The doctors with beaked masks skate on frozen Styx. There are more names for us than anything else. The red-faced children build with sheets of glass. You should think of us as spirits. The fog blows over the ebony tree. We send dreams to all creatures that dream. The wooden clown dances in the sated baby’s fists. We often use coporeals with their squishy brains to do quality control. The coconut falls int...

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“Humans” by Joane Unknown

Submitted to Contest #72

Imagine being in a world where any of your moves, thoughts, sounds, feelings, are predicted. For example, you are thinking that you are hungry and the Boss already predicted what you are going to do, or, you like a boy and The Boss already predicted that you are going to have a relationship with that boy. I am Joane and this is the world I live in. No freedom, we are controlled. Since you were born, one of his employees, insert in your brain a small thing named P.F,M , that stands for Prediction For me. You cannot take it...

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“Disowned ” by Elizabeth Rogge

Submitted to Contest #72

When my cell phone rings I hear, “Unknown caller”. Must be a telemarketer. I let it ring, unanswered. Then the phone alerts me...now there’s a voicemail. I pick up the phone and listen to the message. “This is Attorney Carl Swanson, calling for Roger Sterling. Please call me back at 7853250595...I need to talk to you...I have something important to tell you. Thank you.” I wonder what this can be about. Why am I getting a call from an attorney? Is someone suing me? I haven’t done anything wrong. There’s only one way to find out. I call t...

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“NOBODY HOME” by Doug LeBlanc

Submitted to Contest #72

NOBODY HOME We got the call from dispatch, and I sighed. “Not again,” I complained. My partner laughed. “Jack, you ALWAYS gripe about going to the Crepe Mansion,” he chuckled as he turned the car around. “It should be called the ‘Creep Mansion,’ because it gives me, and everybody else, the creeps.” He smiled.&nb...

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“My fated soul” by ABINAYA K

Submitted to Contest #72

I’m Ekanshi, When I was in 5-year-old, My parents died in a car accident and also I lost my vision. My uncle helped me to recover my eyes with surgery. But, aunty doesn’t like that. She thought like I had a beautiful face than her daughter so, She ordered me to wear the glasses so, I can’t take off that. Every day, Uncle was the one who save me from the torture of my aunty so, I had come out of the house after finished my school for uncle shake. Then I was working in the coffee shop as a full-time worker. That was a nighttime, a young boy en...

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“NYC Apartment Mail” by Nataleigh Sandberg

Submitted to Contest #72

"Mail!" Polly Harold called as she entered the small apartment. Her cheeks were pink, and her golden blond hair was dotted with snowflakes. Polly turned around and locked the door behind her, before walking into the kitchen."Mail," she repeated, tossing the envelopes onto the island. A girl in her mid-twenties, around Polly's age, peered up from behind the refrigerator door."Anything interesting?" the girl asked, closing the fridge door and taking a bite out of an apple."Nope. You got some letters... and.. oh, here's the gas bill."Polly orde...

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“Man on my mind” by DREW LANE

Submitted to Contest #72

The doors pinched her skirt as she stepped into the coach. The wrong one, of course. She pulled the frills out one by one, checking over her shoulder that nobody was watching - nobody was. Who would, anyway? One day, she would onboard the right coach, on time, like a responsible woman in her thirties. But for now, she needed a coffee. Juggling her tote bag, suitcase, coffee cup and laptop, her teeth holding tight onto her ticket, she progressed through the line of coaches. To her right, four free seats and a plug. Why bother longer...

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“ "The Wrong road"” by Tariq Saeed

Submitted to Contest #72

I was appointed Assistant Sheriff in a small sheriff office in a town.On second day ,Me and Sheriff were sitting in the office. Sheriff got stunned when he read a news of the Murder of an philanthropist Mrs Mary Jane.Mrs Mary Jane, was indeed a fine lady,working for the needy and betterment of the society. She was residing in our jurisdiction. “Oh my God,Murder took place and we are not aware”. ”The sheriff expressed concernedly.” You look after the office “and sheriff drove the jeep towards Mary James home .An old man sa...

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“What Did I Do?” by Daniel Roueche

Submitted to Contest #72

Blank. Empty. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know where I am. It’s cold. And wet. A steady throbbing, like someone continually pounding my head with a fist, makes me flinch. I try to stand, but my legs ache as though they’ve been asleep and are coming out of hibernation. I feel nauseated. Bile races its way up through my throat. I vomit. And vomit some more. The gore smacks against a brick wall. Looking around, I realize I’m in an alleyway. Blackened snow piles up along the walls. ...

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“Out of body” by Emonie Smith

Submitted to Contest #72

Out of body by Emonie SmithTrigger, transgender and death1k words It's 3AM and all I can hear is loud vibrations coming from my phone. Lazily, I swipe my arm to my nightstand to retrieve the still buzzing phone. Without looking at the caller ID, I answered. Still reliving my dreams before I heard a man's soft cry. He's crying and trying to get his voice to reach across the phone. "Hello, is this Olivia Jones?" I cringed that the Male voice is using my dead name. With a sigh, I replied yes. "This is on the beh...

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“Sing you a lullaby where you die in the end” by Arynn Diaz

Submitted to Contest #72

So this is it. I'm doing it. I'm walking up there and killing the guy I know nothing about and I won't feel guilty about it I mean, there must be a reason aunt Lacy wants him dead. Right? People don't just decide they want someone dead. Right?But hell, I'm the last person to talk about ethics and morals. Just yesterday I stole a couple of candy bars at Walmart. In my defense I was hungry as fuck and the owners of Walmart probably do not need the money as much as I do. Ask my landlord and my embarrassing bank account. So technically I am just...

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“For Love or Money” by Lucy Newman

Submitted to Contest #72

"Robert is despicable. A narcissistic pig. But, I think you already know that, don't you?" Samuel said to me, his words crisp and matter of fact.I took a sip of my coffee before sliding my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose, revealing the blackened eyes that the concealer failed to cover."Yes, Samuel. I do.""He is about to cost us this business. Something needs to be done," he stated, lacing his fingers together in contemplation.I had met Robert a year prior. He was painfully handsome and possessed a charm I had never experienced with men...

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“The Inheritance” by Em Deck

Submitted to Contest #72

“Why am I doing this?”, I asked the heavens for the hundredth time that night. I was driving along a dark stretch of road illuminated only by the headlights shining on the cracked pavement. I forgot how dark it was away from New York. This Ohio road hasn’t seen my car since I stormed out of Christmas dinner 4 years ago, which brings me to my constant questioning of the decision making that had led me to this. 4 years ago, I learned of my family's evils and made m...

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$50

Prize money

687

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 18, 2020 EST

Won by Julie Ward 🏆

Title: Currents

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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