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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

“Dream Job” by Monica Chaddick

Submitted to Contest #72

Janie knew that she would have to seek out a second job. She hated to do that, since she did have a full time job already and a family besides, but still…if she couldn’t pay the bills then she couldn’t pay the bills. She had discussed this with her husband. He didn’t want her to take a second job. Neither did her kids. Her co-workers at her full time job didn’t feel that she would have the time. All Janie knew was that, if no one else was going to step up, then...

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“Invisable to Light” by Ruth Major

Submitted to Contest #72

Nobody seems to notice me for the most part, I tend to blend in the background. Even though I think I am a pretty cute raccoon girl. I have a power that often makes me seem like I am not there, and I can walk through walls if I concentrate enough. I am pretty lonely, people just don't pay attention to me much. Then, one day I met a tanuki who seemed very kind, and we became friends. She met a guy, but still saw me. I couldn't help but to feel a bit jealous, she had what I hoped for..someone noticing her. I never said anything about it though...

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“A Mother Provides for her Child” by Elliot G

Submitted to Contest #72

CW: drug useI was broken. Hopeless. Pathetic. Desperate.I had never known my father, and my mother simply wasn’t there. Though she may have been physically present, she did not care for me and usually left me to my own devices. While as a kid I thought it was fun to be independent, that lingering yearning for affection--for love--remained very present and weighed down on me like an abandoned dog in the streets. I was fifteen when I first tried that horrendous drug; heroin. At first, like many, I had enjoyed the highs and thoug...

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“You Can't Take It With You” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #72

Xavier and his new bride, Jessica traveled down a dark, inauspicious road toward a home that they had never been to before. It belonged to an uncle that Xavier never knew he had. Xavier’s uncle, Bartholomew, had recently passed and this house was the location for the reading of his will. He was his father’s stepbrother, but Xavier could not recall any memories of the man. &nbs...

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“THE MARATHON” by Patricia Green

Submitted to Contest #72

Jenny opened the official-looking letter with shaking fingers. She was two weeks overdue on her rent so she had been expecting an eviction notice any day. The company she worked for had gone bust so she had lost her job, and she had been searching for another one for over a week now without any luck. Jenny read the first few lines of the letter which included “inherited $1,000,000.” Her hands were shaking and she suddenly felt like she might faint, as she slumped down into her lounge chair. “This can’t be right, it must be sent to the w...

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“Sunshine-Yellow” by Isaac Murphy

Submitted to Contest #72

Sunshine Yellow Isaac Murphy This day had passed by like any other day. The only factor distinguishing that Thursday from the Wednesday before it, or the Tuesday before that, was something Taylor Alexi-Walker had yet to realize. To her, it was just a Thursday. Taylor’s untied sneakers snapped twigs beneath her feet on her walk home from school. She was hunched beneath the weight of her backpack, as seventh grade teachers assigned an excess of homework nowadays, and her dark, curly hair was tied atop her head. She earned good grades at sc...

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“Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire” by Amy Jayne Conley

Submitted to Contest #72

The letter had been sitting on my coffee table unopened for five days by the time I got back from holidays. Two weeks on the beach in Spain had done me a world of good after the messiest divorce ever, and now I was ready and fighting fit to start again. My neighbour Natalie had taken my spare key and had been looking after the post. I didn’t need to see his name. I didn’t want to see his name, either. I didn’t want to remember him. Not after what he’d done. I’d gone through the usual bills, throwing away things that I’d paid off before my ho...

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“My Sicilian Roots” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #72

MY SICILIAN ROOTS By Lavinia M. Hughes I walked to my mailbox and took out the pile of mail within. As I walked back up the driveway, I flipped through the usual dreck that was delivered daily. No, I didn’t want to sell my house even if “inventory was down and property values were up” in my area. I didn’t want to buy life insurance, deeming that whole industry a scam. I DID want to take a look at the shoe catalog from England, because their shoes are very high quality, even if a bit “henny” as ...

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“Inheritance” by Kristin McAllister

Submitted to Contest #72

I sat rigidly in my chair, avoiding my mom’s sympathetic gaze and my older brother’s confused look. My dad stood in the corner, his arms crossed and his expression unreadable. My great uncle’s lawyer had just read his will. I had never heard of the guy, but apparently my mom knew him well since she and my dad were given his house, and my brother was given his workshop and an old car. My older brother looked as stunned as I felt. But there was more, another paragraph written just for me. “And to my grand-niece, Candace, I leave my little ...

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“Take A Chance” by Estelle Westley

Submitted to Contest #72

Still not comfortable with herself in this situation, Kitty looked out the window of the coach winding it's way along the beautiful coast line. The setting sun playing with colours on the water all the way to the horizon. She should have been in her element to experience this but not Kitty. This was the first time she did anything as adventurous as this. And on her own. Kitty was thankful that the seat next to her had stayed empty. At least she did not have to take part in any idle chatter with a stranger. I do hate wasting time on no...

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“What Myer Wetherbee Was Not Willing To Do For Money” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #72

I *do* believe in spooks, I *do* believe in spooks. I do, I do, I do, I *do* believe in spooks, I *do* believe in spooks, I do, I do, I do, I *do*! That’s what Myer Wetherbee whispered under his breath after reading a letter that informed him that he would be inheriting $3,900,000 from an nasty mean spirited Great Uncle Raphael G. Wetherbee in which he never knew existed. The only conditions to collect the money was that Myer had to stay one night in the 3 haunted places his Uncle specifically chose. Everyone in the small town of Bangor, Ma...

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“The List” by Aubrey Spencer

Submitted to Contest #72

December 1st, 2020 Dear Journal, (because I think Dear Diary is for 5th graders) Today is the day I renewed my reasons for why I despise Christmas. My hate for the holiday got to the point where I accidentally made Mrs. Jenkins cry last night. I hadn't meant to, but she wouldn't stop cackling Joy to the World at the top of her lungs at 11 p.m last night. It wasn't even December yet- an hour to it- and the old bat was probably already drowning her kitchen in tinsel. Last year she'd nearly burned the whole apartment complex down trying to ma...

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“Uncle Edward????” by Judith Buskohl

Submitted to Contest #72

Paula gathered her mail for the day and continued on her way to the apartment she had rented for the last two years without a second glance at what precious mail she had received that day. She was thinking about pouring a glass of wine and getting some cheese to sit down to look at the bills that had come that day. As she entered her apartment, she put the mail on her kitchen table before continuing to get comfortable, she had decide to take a shower before the old creaky hot water heater two floors down decide to hit bottom...

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“Mazy maze” by DREW LANE

Submitted to Contest #72

This story is a sequel to Come Little Girl in my Comic Strip that you can find on my page.Elle licked the manjar glued to her thumb with delectation and stole some more from her toasted bread. It had a soft and sweet texture, akin to dulce de leche summer ice creams. The toast cracking under her teeth took her back to primary school memories and she swung her feet back and forth under the table. Meanwhile, Alf was focused. His giant map of Chile didn't fit on the tiny round table of the dim and silent café. Alf was convinced the place was th...

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“Calamoney” by Zenny Melody

Submitted to Contest #72

“You. Receive. Money. Go. Find. Stone.” Those were the old voice’s last words before hanging up on Farris. He stared at the telephone in confusion for a few minutes before pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. “Who, what, why, how?” Ferris muttered to himself in rapid succession. Did he just receive a commission from an unknown individual? Is this some sort of prank call? Is he really in a dream he can’t escape out of? Throughout the day, where he had to work fixing telephone lines, throughout the evening, where he was dan...

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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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