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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

“DEJA VU” by Max Utendorf

Submitted to Contest #72

PROLOGUE A bell is rung. “Breakfast in ten!” a loud rough voice announces through an intercom. Screaming, Chris Steventon wakes up, startled and drenched in sweat. He looks around the room at his prison cell. He gets out of bed and crosses off another day on the calendar. “Another day in paradise...” he whispers hopelessly to himself. In the bunk above him, Jason wakes up. “What the hell are you doing down there?” Jason asks, half awake. “I’m counting down the days until I get out of this shit hole.” Chris replies. Chris walks over to h...

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“Can I realize my blessing” by Michelle DeVine

Submitted to Contest #72

My god...I cant sit still. Anxious need to do something. Excited major life change. Minga can i borrow Minga can you loan me....Minga Minga Minga.. I've got to go. I got to breathe. Tired These people got me confused. Stealing from me, conning me, playing me for a fool. Never mind that now I've got to get to work and make moving arraignments. Catching the sound of voices Jenosha pauses. Not seeing anyone she keeps going getting ready for the work day. Right as she walks out the door she hears them again. Wait a minute, eve...

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“The Suspect ” by Max Miller

Submitted to Contest #72

I entered the small room. The small bulb flickered as I sat down with the murderer. This case was maybe the most confusing case of my 13-year career. I looked in the man's eyes. He didn't look anything like a murderer. But looks are always deceiving. I took out a small folder of files from my jacket. He looked at me with sad eyes. I started to read the files to him. "James Kilic, age 29, Male, College student for Gateway University?" "Yes." "Owner of a handgun?" "legally I do, yes." "On&...

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“Psychopath” by Clora Green

Submitted to Contest #72

One cold and dark night, people are screaming behind the bars. But one is still calm and thinking as normal people. But he isn't the normal person. He's Ted Bundy. Theodore Robert Bundy ( Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials, before his execution in 1989 he confessed to 30 homicides that he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. T...

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“Ringmaster” by Nushrica Choudhury

Submitted to Contest #72

We had the apartment surrounded. There were officers on the roof, ready to swing through the windows. Several others, including me, were at the door. We had him. After years of searching, we had finally found him. I had finally found him. The SWAT officer in front of me breaks down the door and we all stream into the apartment, guns drawn, ready for a fight. But it doesn’t play out like that.Our suspect sits in a wooden chair in the middle of the room, his hands clasped together in his lap. At our entrance, he gazes up and tilts hi...

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“Joe Crumble 2 Case of the broken Tea Pot” by Shadow Morris

Submitted to Contest #72

Joe Crumble here once again. Your beloved famous detective of Natashafalls. You saw how I made the front page of my average newspaper? I have many case requests now. People of Natashafalls must've thought I was more than usual after my picture having Angel arrested made the news, because I am now busier than EVER! More clients than I can handle. One Lady's request was where her dentures where... (they were in her hands.) A teacher from Natashafalls holiday school called about graffiti on their school walls... (It was a student). I was men...

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“Honey Tea And A Summer Breeze.” by Emily Matthews

Submitted to Contest #72

Donna was always the quiet type. With parents who taught her to hold her tongue and sit up straight, it was no wonder she ended up that way. They always told her 'the world will never change; it favours the wicked and leaves the rest to perish'. Of course, they always placed themselves with the perished crowd, dragging Donna along with them. From the time she began school to the day of graduation, none of her classmates had much to say about her. She was bland. She blended in. When letter after letter of college acceptances landed on...

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“The Wrong Suspect” by Mickie Royce

Submitted to Contest #72

I got a call from my friend, Mark Daffy. I answered the phone and held it up to my ear. I greeted him cheerfully, but his response wasn't as pleasant. "Andy," He said, his breathing shaky and ragged. "I need you to come to the house." "What's wrong?" I asked, worried. "Is everything okay?" "Andy," He spoke again. His voice started to break. "I need you to come to the house. Please..." "Okay," I agreed. "I'll be there in twenty." Exactly twenty minutes later, I arrived at my friend's house. The door was cracked open. Strange. Who had le...

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“The Ivory Diversion” by Mathias Nobel Hadberg

Submitted to Contest #72

Boromin was sat quite at his desk with a pile of papers to look through and sign when he heard a commotion downstairs. The Ivory Court was a modern building in one of the towers between Dalan’s Refuge and Ocean View. A beautiful floor plan with a tiled-mosaic pattern was always visible from the balcony-like upper floor, where the employees could free from the oppressing sensation of the thousands and thousands of tonnes of stone magically suspended in the air around them. For those, like Boromin, who were relatively new to the city life, it ...

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“A murder in the coffee shop” by Fatima Mahmoud

Submitted to Contest #72

PS: first person narrative I was busy reading a paper work in my tiny office around 1:30 pm when sergeant Ray informed me of a murder in our local coffee shop. The only coffee shop we have at Branton township was the famous ‘coffee house’ owned by a sweet old lady called Mrs Evie Stellings. Mrs Stellings and her now recently deceased husband came to Branton township a long time ago and built the famous coffee house here. The coffee and pastry they serve are next to nothing! But now, as sergeant Ray informed me about a...

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“Soup to Nuts” by Rick Bramhall

Submitted to Contest #72

Detective Richard Pettibone stood at the head of the dining room table, looking as impeccable as usual in his black tuxedo with the satin lapels. His jet-black hair was slicked back and looking shiny. He had just gotten out of the shower when his guests started arriving and so it was still wet. Trying to hide his nervousness, he stuck his hands in his pockets, only to find that his pistol wasn't where he thought it was. What he really wanted was a stick of gum, but he knew it would hurt his appetite. He scanned his dinner guests from left t...

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“Sweet Dreams” by Vanessa Voigt

Submitted to Contest #72

“We have to be careful,” Mr. Wilson whispered into Kayleigh’s ear, as he was pushing her against the wall in the high school’s storage room. She could feel his warm, heavy breath on her neck, as he gently put his arm on her hip. Their eyes met, and Mr. Wilson leaned in for a kiss. She could feel the soft pressure of his kisses on her lips, as she let her fingers go through Mr. Wilson’s soft, curly, black hair. Entangled in their kiss, they didn’t notice how the door slowly opened. “Oh my goodne...

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“One of the Good Guys” by SA Bouteloua

Submitted to Contest #72

“We, the jury, find the defendant guilty.” “Thank you for your service. You are dismissed.” It was completed without fanfare, another routine of the daily court. Court adjourned, a date was set for sentencing, and the handful of people in attendance began to trickle to the doors. It was all mundane, but I had never felt so alive. My chest swelled with pride, and my skin tingled. This was my first case, my first conviction. I had joined the detective force at the start of the year and had first been assigned to this case. My partner Seller...

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“The Widow of Palos Verdes Drive” by Enriko Pratt

Submitted to Contest #72

For the first time in a long time, a quiet calmness swept over the town. The murder of business magnate Richard Knight had finally been solved and the townsfolk could return to the mundanity that filled their existence prior to the incident.Detective Banner left the local diner with a casual smirk. She was greeted by the usual crowd on the way out. Her fingers were bent tightly around two cups of joe, prohibiting her from waving back. It was her fault for choosing to grab her partner’s excuse for a caffeinated beverage back to the office.“Co...

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“Supernova ” by Riham Fallah

Submitted to Contest #72

I told her one day, i told her that one day i will tell her how i truly feel, and one day I will, and that day i actually did... What started out as a simple conversation turned into a real sticky situation, and me just thinking on the time that im facing makes me wanna smile, she's an insane girl, I fell for her mind, words and eyes ! I spent my time decoding her thoughts about the world, her surroundings and me, I studied her or at least I tried... She has her life written down by a very black painful ink that was engraved all over her swe...

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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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