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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

“Grandfather's legacy ” by M. M.

Submitted to Contest #72

I walked out of the lawyer's office, into the bitter cold of January, the New York city traffic zooming by, oblivious to the cars honking and hub of the crowded sidewalks. My mind was reeling, tired at the same time, as if both could be possible? "What on earth was he thinking that crazy old hoot." I said to noone, this was NY anyway, nobody cared if someone talked to themselves on a snowy day.I found a Starbucks and immediately went in, in spite of the weather there were tables left. I ordered a latte, extra whipped cream and sat down pulli...

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“What will? Who will?” by Colin Devonshire

Submitted to Contest #72

“What? Who?” Budgie asked. “Yes, Mr Um… Budgie, it is strange, but I am only passing on instructions as requested by my client,” said Mr Paulson. “Just call me Budgie, everyone does, no need for formality.” “Um, no, I suppose not. Mr Kanom told me you are the man he wanted to turn his daughter into a ‘decent’ person.” “Look boss, I don’t know why I’m here, I came because I thought you wanted me to quote on a building job.” “My letter was quite clear, I needed to speak to you about a delicate matter,” said the aged lawyer. “...

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“A Grandmother's Gift ” by John McCool

Submitted to Contest #72

“…your great uncle would’ve wanted you to have it. Please, when you get this message head to our house out in the country. We were going to give this to you when you graduated from high school, but I reckon now is as good a time as any. Grandma loves you baby. Take care of yourself.” That was the last time Blake heard a friendly voice in six long months. That voicemail played over and over in his head like a sweet song on a continuous loop. The one thing that plagued him was that he wasn't even aware he had a great uncle. He heard stori...

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“Orphan's Inheritance ” by Renika Anand

Submitted to Contest #72

The lazy sun bathed the wet grass in its golden light. It was a bright morning, with clear blue skies as far as the eyes could see. I breathed in the fresh air and stared at the sight of emptiness before me. I guess there was one good thing about being locked up alone in a huge mansion in the middle of nowhere; you had peace.Just about a week ago, I was standing at my front door in my decent apartment staring at an unfamiliar man’s face and wondering whether I should let him in or call the police.“Please Miss Emerson, I have my card and all ...

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“Unexpected” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #72

Rain pelted the windows Tuesday morning masking the purr of his sleeping wife Kelsey next to him, as Tyler slowly drifted from a deep sleep to a semi-conscious state of awake. For reasons that she was unable to understand, Tyler loved these moments. The soft whisper of her breathing was a comfort to him. Normalcy in a life that had recently had more than its fair share of upheaval. She had become his rock and he knew that he would need her strength now more than ever. Though t...

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“The Escape” by Sm. Aurosikha

Submitted to Contest #72

Everything was in chaos. People in life jackets were looking for something to hang on to and some were looking for their loved ones. Irene was a part of them. She was looking for her sister. A moment ago they had been holding hands and now she had vanished. Irene called out to her as loud as she could manage but nobody seemed to hear her. However loud she screamed nobody seemed to hear her. She kept waving and thrashing her arms forgetting that she had a life jacket on. Her wavy black stuck to her face making it pretty hard for her to see bu...

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“The Walls We Build” by Amy Sutch

Submitted to Contest #72

Sharon carefully crept up the creaky attic stairs to check the buckets. It’d been raining all afternoon, a real downpour, so she knew she’d need to empty them. The leaky roof was getting worse and needed to be replaced before the winter, but there wasn’t any money for that. Between her paycheck and Glen’s disability, there was never enough. Lugging each bucket down, Sharon dumped them in the tub a...

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“Great Uncle Jeff” by Steven Rice

Submitted to Contest #72

As Julian wakes up naked and alone in a stranger’s bed, the smell of bacon filled his nostrils. He immediately jolts out of bed in search of a toilet to puke in. After the last of last night’s shots emptied from Julian’s stomach. He crawled to find his clothes. As he was slipping on his shoes he heard, “Good morning cutie!” from the doorway. Julian froze and studied the half-naked man in front of him. He blanks of this one night stand’s name. “I have eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee ready for you”, says the boy with no name. Julian smiles and ...

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“Never Enough” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #72

Jade sipped her coffee. As she talked to Carole about her fortune—over millions of dollars inherited from some unknown relative—Jade couldn’t help but keep repeating that she felt like it came out of nowhere. Carole just shrugged and shook his head, laughing. “Well, it would’ve been if I hadn’t known it was from a relative. Maybe I can find him on Ancestory.com. A rich guy in Europe or something!” Carole took another sip of his hot chocolate, and then looked at her closely. “Can you explain to me again why this is important?” “So I pu...

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“Inheritance or not?” by Joyce Schook

Submitted to Contest #72

"Earth to Henry." Marion cut into my thoughts. She waved her hand in front of my face. I clearly was someplace else. I blinked a few times and returned to the moment. I caught the look she was giving me. "What? So I had to think, you never just do that?" She smiled at me. I smiled right back. "Sure I guess sometimes, there's never a dull moment with you. More coffee?" She inquired. "Yes, please. I think I'm going to need it today. Did you cancel my ten thirty?" Marion was already at the door, she faced me. "I took care of it already. Try and...

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“To love and to be loved ” by Neppi A

Submitted to Contest #72

When Samara recieved a letter from her recently deceased aunt May, she didn't know what to feel. She had lived twenty years believing what she was supposed to, as someone who grew up in an orphanage, and then out of nowhere she had inherited the Whitefield mansion as it's sole heir. She knew the Whitefield mansion. There was hardly anyone who hadn't heard of it. The mansion had survived countless foreign invasions, was set on fire thrice and held the ground during one of the worst hurricanes of the country's history. Everyone believed i...

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“You can't predict this” by Ruth Major

Submitted to Contest #72

Hello, I am Pac. I am not what you would call an ordinary person. In fact, I am not even one at all. I am a computer. A very sophisticated computer, and I can do something that some people call making life boring. I predict what every person on the Earth will do in a week. I am always right, too. It is helpful when it comes to dealing with crimes, since I know who will do it on exactly the day they will do it. My programmer has become a successful person due to making sure I can do this effectively. The only problem, is she become somewhat o...

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“Escape from Cyber” by Pamela Berglund

Submitted to Contest #72

It is Earth year 6000 and I have two names. My earth name is Sammi and my planetary name is Xena. I was born on the planet Cyber. I was told that a minute after my birth, I was taken away from my mother and placed in a sterile room. The doctors made a small slit in my hand and inserted a tiny chip in my wrist. That chip would be my destiny. On the planet Cyber we have our life planned by computer programs designed by high level programmers called “Olofs”. The chips are created to prevent crim...

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“Aindrea's Sibylcard” by Stephen Fitton

Submitted to Contest #72

“Sam, our schedule says to meet dad at 2:00, right? It’s 2:10 and we’re in front of the jaunt booth. He isn’t here.” Wanda seemed nervous, one of her too-long legs folded atop the other. Sam sat next to her on the ceramic bench, fiddling with their Headster. “Dude, we’ve got the same calendar.” Despite their dismissive tone, they looked up. “It isn’t really like him to be late, is it.” “No it isn’t, Sam! That’s why I’m worried! I have no idea what he’s doing right now and because he lives in Euboea we can’t even qall him!” “Dude, just qall...

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“The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” by Sienna Baker

Submitted to Contest #72

August 3rd, 2046. 12:28 am. There has been a girl at the bar, for some few nights in a row now. She sits at a stool closest to the furthest wall, drinks two gin and tonics very slowly, and talks to no-one. Exactly two hours after she arrives, she leaves as quietly as she came. She seems noticed by nobody. I have only noticed myself, having started to work the later evening shift this past week. Many more interesting faces enter the bar later at night, when they say a ‘true humanity’ is revealed in all its glory. I don’t want to succumb to...

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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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