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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

“FAMILY SECRET” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #72

My name is Saibel and I am a chartered accountant running my own firm. One morning as I started work I was surprised to see the following message from a Mr.Nash of Miles and McDougal a firm of attorneys in Texas: ‘Mr.Miguel Ramirez aged 95 passed away on 10th November 2020 in Texas. He was the head honcho of Ramirez Farms which he started. I have been his lawyer since several years and he trusted me fully. In his will, besides other bequests, he leaves $10,000 to his sister’s grandson Saibel, provided he can establish that he (Ramirez) was f...

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“The Marriage.” by Obehi Aligbe

Submitted to Contest #72

Going on without my parents was hard. We didn't have money before they died and now I had to look after myself and my younger brother. I was glad that I had been able to finish college before the unfortunate car crash happened. I only hoped I would get the job I recently applied for as an assistant for a small business firm. "John please hurry or we won't make it on time to Philips house". My 10 year old brother came stumbling into the living room. John had been just five when our parents died. He had been quiet for a long while no longer th...

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“The man in disguise” by Michael Moore

Submitted to Contest #72

One day i was in my room playing music while trying to sleep when all of a sudden my phone rings looks like someone is calling me but it says no caller id and i get scared and hang up but the same number calls again and i get even more scared. Then i answer it and it says "Hello you may not know me but i know all about you" and then i ask "who are you and stop messing with me i'm in the mood" then the man says "i know what happened and i know your getting a large inheritance i ask "how do you know" and he doesn't answer so i decided to hang ...

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“My will to drive” by Ruth Major

Submitted to Contest #72

Another morning, looking at the letters I got today. It seems I got something from someone I have no idea who it is, probably some scam. I open it up, wondering what Nigerian prince couldn't get e-mail, and saw a letter and a will. Dear Margo, You may not remember me from the family reunions, but I am your uncle. I always admired your talents in storytelling. Yes, I knew the things you were saying were not true, but something you made up. Everyone else might have been fooled about your boyfriend in Canada, but not me. I thought, when I die I...

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“Free House” by Quentin Givens

Submitted to Contest #72

"Uh..." Jeremy paused. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Bees? How many?" he wondered in light shock. He'd never even met his great aunt, Sheryl, but he was beginning to think that was somewhat of a godsend. Jeremy and his sister, Jordan, were each left with a furnished house and $17,000. None of the rest of the family were contacted. Not their older brother, not their parents, not even their grandparents, who had apparently still been in contact with her. They made her sound so nice, too, talking about how she always checked...

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“The Wordy, Will from My Dead Aunt” by Arleliax Kallmunz

Submitted to Contest #72

"E-excuse me?" I gasped. The elder gentle man, with hair slick back, his mustache more like an animal tail split into two trimmed to precision. He cleared his throat once more. "M' lady Aliter Ally has requested that you, are to have the inheritance for the company if you were to 'Let the cats out of the bag' then you would be able to know the exact location to where the vault is to the certificate.” He read the will exactly, his eyes peering over the document shifting side to side. I will leave you to discuss this amongst your other relativ...

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“Retrieval” by Saif Mohamed

Submitted to Contest #72

Sean leaned on the pickup for a second, before realizing that his midnight-blue pants were smeared with the dirt on the door. He couldn’t leave the “grocery” in there because his uncle has disappeared along with the keys. His eyes moved between the parking in front of the supermarket, and his silver Rolex, gulping the anxiety of what it tells. Behind the supermarket was a vast, dense forest, where his uncle emerged out of the shrubs. “Sorry it took so long, had to answer the call of nature.” He said as he was buttoning his jeans. “You didn’t...

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“The Good Doctor” by Patriarch Okoroafo

Submitted to Contest #72

Life hasn't been easy for Mrs. Rebecca Robinson and her son, Alexander ever since she lost her husband to the cold hands of death. It's been over a year now and Alexander had to quit vet school in his 5th year, because his mom wasn't able to raise the fees.Alexander is an odd 23 year old. He already has pinches of grey hairs with his natural black curled hair on his head. He is more fond of animals than humans, and that explains why he lacks many friends. The only friends he has, he says are exceptional and that could be a reason to love or ...

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“For a grave's son, Greyson.” by Priscilla Mepi

Submitted to Contest #72

For Andreas, getting by was proving hard each day. On his kitchen table was a bulk of water bills, telephone bills and a couple of parking tickets he had to pay. He was working two, day jobs but it still was not enough to give him the proper life he wanted. He dragged his tired bones to the kitchen to fix dinner. There weren’t any vegetables in the shelves, neither was there any cereal he had wished to gobble down with the 350ml milk he had picked from the matt on his way back to his apartment. There were three brown radishes in the fridge, ...

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“Walking the Rope” by Elliot G

Submitted to Contest #72

As I walked down the rugged pavement, suitcase in hand, I could feel unwanted memories flooding back. The airport had barely changed since that liberating day in 1962; and if you’d have asked me, I would have most likely been able to point out the very objects I had touched on my journey out--away from home. I suppose my unexpected return had been provoked a few weeks ago when a strange letter came in the mail. As soon as I had noticed it was from my home country, I had been quite intrigued and slightly uneasy. I first wondered how they...

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“The Price You Pay” by Matthew Doggett

Submitted to Contest #72

The man behind the large black desk finished talking. His crisp manner of speech had enraptured Emily from the beginning. As he stopped speaking, she felt it as an almost physical loss. He stared at her over gold-rimmed reading glasses, his pale green eyes peering out from a wrinkled and regal face. “Say that last line again, please?” Emily said. She felt out of place in this office, high in this building she’d seen from afar nearly all her life but had never been inside, until today. The man, Mr. Reffenschall, looked back down at the leath...

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“CHAPTERS NEW” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #72

What a day! She was home at last. Sonia stopped at the front gate, picked up the mail, and continued up the front path. The scent from the daphne met her nostrils, sweet and soothing. For a few moments, she breathed in and out allowing the scent to envelop her. Opening the front door, she looked with pride at the home she had purchased some years previously, and which would soon be fully paid off. One chapter of her life was closing. Uncertain of how the next chapter would begin, she did what we all do when we arrive home...

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“Up On The Hill” by Karlie Scott

Submitted to Contest #72

The cemetery was placed on a hill that overlooked a small town. Meaning you could see main street, it’s shops, and that’s about it. The most exciting view was that of the Pacific Ocean. Most days, if the wind prevailed, the waters were flat. At the moment white caps decorated the saltwater as it splashed into rocks and small crabbing boats. And if you were on main street you could also see the cemetery. Today, if you were at the post office and looked east and slightly up, you could observe a funeral taking place. Nothing quite out of the o...

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“Up Up and Away” by Debbie Teague

Submitted to Contest #72

“Discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” – Marcel Proust “Come again?” I stared in disbelief into the eyes of the attorney across from me. “Yes, the requirement is that you take aerial photographs in a hot air balloon of the animals in Kruger National Park and publish a blog about the experience. Then you will inherit the house and land in Fort Morgan, as well as a steady income from the dividends of the investments your uncle made.” That had been two weeks ago, and my stomach has been in knots ...

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“The Burning of Betty” by Kelly Meaney

Submitted to Contest #72

I could never see Betty growing up-still can’t. My little sister was convinced she was real-still is. She talks non-stop about the games they played together. Everyone thought it was cute, “Oh would you look at Seven playing with her imaginary friend” It’s different now. She turned ten last month. I don’t know many ten year olds with imaginary friends. “Marley? Help with the sheets!” Mom owns an old hotel. We live there. It’s been passed down through our family. “Seven’s been looking for you”. “I’ve been on the phone all morning”, she pa...

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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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