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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

“GUILTY, UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT” by Sheila Payne

Submitted to Contest #72

The year,1975. The place, Newton, TN. It was a cold and rainy, fall evening. Isabella was on her way to the hospital. She was expecting to deliver her twin babies at any time. Newton, was a small town. Everyone knew each other, and their business. One gas station, one pizza parlor and of course, a hospital. Isabella had to walk two blocks in the rain to get there. Her car had broken down and the repair shop was closed. Her pains started getting stronger with each step. UGH!! she thought, just a little bit further... Finally, barely ...

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“Hidden In Smoke” by JC Uys

Submitted to Contest #72

The grandfather clock had just started to chime through the silence of 3 AM, when hidden in smoke we find the source of the sound. At first glance, this appears to be the typical turn of the century clock. It’s only when we take a closer look that we can discover the true uniqueness of the object. Throughout the city, you could find similar shaped wooden grandfather clocks, carefully crafted by hand. However, the shape would be the only way in which you could compare this particular object. Through tubes of clear glass, colourful liq...

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“Clarissa Hamilton-Harvey Takes Her Leave” by Mike Burgess

Submitted to Contest #72

Shortly before she died, Clarissa Hamilton-Harvey announced, to a world which had largely forgotten, that she aimed to complete her last book before saying farewell to the life she had resigned herself to leaving. Once the darling of the tabloids, her reputation never fully recovered from that business at the turn of the millennium. And that, of course, was where I came in. Even though she was bright, charming, witty, and extremely beautiful, I disliked her a great deal when we met. Eventually, I put it down to prejudice. At the dawn of...

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“Chew On This” by Amy Sprague

Submitted to Contest #72

The phone on the desk startled Book, as he was half asleep. He usually worked long hours, but this week had been exceptionally long for Book. He had been working on a case gone cold for the last month and a half. He felt like he was so close yet so far, and a passion for this particular case drove him to tireless nights and harder days. Out of the sixteen years, he had been a Detective, no case had this much power over him. No case caught his fancy so much as this case. The gruesome details, the whodunit, the key clu...

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“guilt” by Snjeguljica 33

Submitted to Contest #72

For the third day in a row he hasn’t slept and is no longer sure what is true or is not. This case totally drove him crazy. All it started like any other murder. Two or three days of investigation, review of findings and mostly the culprit were brought to justice. This time it is total chaos, and he found himself in it by chance. The crime did not happen even in his district, but when he was on a replacement. Only, after everything started to get complicated, no one wanted to have anything to do with it. Tom drinks and he doesn't even know...

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“The Missing Curtain” by Owl Fire

Submitted to Contest #72

Eric was sitting in his office, looking at all the evidence. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His mind wandered to his wedding day. To how Emily had smiled so brightly at him, like he’d offered her the sun, and how happy he’d been. Mike had been his best man and he still remembered the slightly crude jokes he’d made…. And then his mind inevitably went to that fucking cursed day two months ago. The police had called him to help investigate a murder. It had been a gruesome scene, really. Mike’s body had been mangled and c...

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“Erased” by Honor Willow Brown

Submitted to Contest #72

Lynda Blair’s piercing screams roll through the streets. They creep into neighbouring houses. Each citizen inside their cocoons race to their windows in order to notice the screeching mahogany car scramble out of the community, hoping to disappear beneath the horizon. As Private Investigator Turnbull arrives into the grand entrance of the Blair household, the blinding white of the walls and furniture immediately overwhelms them. Each surface is impeccable. Each mirror shimmering, lacking any smudge from dirty fingerprints. There is not a toy...

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“The Pool Story” by Zomo Bean

Submitted to Contest #72

I loved reading fairy tales when I was younger, the dashing prince saves the damsel in distress. They most often begin with "Once Upon a Time", and ends with "They lived happily ever after". Of course, sandwiched between those two things would be challenges, tribulations, and eventually a happy ever after. The "happy ever after" might not come at all at first, but everything does get resolved. I do love romantic fairy tales, but it is even better when it is a real story. I always ask my mom the story of how she met my dad. She has told ...

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“Mistake” by Emma Harris

Submitted to Contest #72

Yoonki had driven to May's house without thinking about how he would be getting back home. Now he was stuck there, drunk, more depressed than usual and in his underwear.May was not nearly as drunk as Yoonki but she was drunk enough to know that she wanted him, he wanted her and she finally had the courage to admit it.* * *Yoonki woke up with the sun shining in his face. He squinted his eyes and turned his head to see May sleeping beside him. She had her petite arms wrapped around his naked torso. His head hurt and he felt dirty and...

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“paper hearts and plastic tablecloths” by Saint Hinton

Submitted to Contest #72

Clover was quite averse to speed-dating. It just seemed like a complete scam. You talked to a person for sixty seconds which was, realistically, barely enough time to meet someone, and then you just hoped they liked you enough for the two of you to get matched.It was like online dating but suckier.And yet, here she was, dressed in a cute blue sweater dress in a large, cleared out restaurant, the tables decked out with pink and red furniture, that was suffocating the room along with cutout paper hearts. Very tacky, she thought.Her mother...

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“THE MAGIC OF BEING ONE AT LAST” by MAQ RIZVON

Submitted to Contest #72

The tedium of waiting is unbearable to most people, especially when they are young. Life is so demanding. There is so little time. And there are so many things to be attended to. They are in the prime of life. And it is a constant rush, to keep pace with others of their age. They appear to be on the go always. But, to a young woman in love, the story is different. The moments of waiting, for the lover boy to arrive, become sweet too. Nigar sat still. The room around her was encased in darkness. It was lit only by the moonlight streaming in f...

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“A FOREVER LOVE” by Queen Makhosi

Submitted to Contest #72

Eyes red and swollen due to my never ending stream of tears that had been flowing for three days. I turned to face my bedside table where my phone was and as I wrapped my fingers around it, I knew instinctively that I would not find what I am hoping to find but I remained hopeful. My thumb presses hard on the side button of my phone, making the screen light up. His picture wass the first thing that greeted my eyes, making me blink a few times because I can not afford more tears though I seemed to have an abundance. A year of experiencing the...

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“Ambition” by Dani Rei

Submitted to Contest #72

It’s the guardian’s job to protect. Each person lives and dies by the dates of the Creator. Those times are hard on us, but it’s a necessary part of the job. My girl’s time is coming. I can only watch, invisible at her window, as she sits in bed with an IV in her arm, and some friends surrounding her. Claire’s become so frail that she’s trapped here in the hospital. She’s wearing a hospital gown and a pink bandana to cover the hair loss. “They still don’t have a diagnosis?” One friend asks. “No,” she responds. “They think it’ll kill me if I’...

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“The Wrong Man” by Kate Cornwell

Submitted to Contest #72

James was the most irritating man I had ever met. He knew all the answers and expected me to listen to everything he had to say. In my opinion, nothing he had to say was interesting. My father was a talker and I had long ago perfected the craft of not listening. I think part of it was the fact my father had a deep melodic voice that would almost put me to sleep. It was like a trance. I tried to tell him a few times he should go into audiobook recording or teach meditation classes, but I thin...

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“The Unexpected Lover” by Aahna Aggarwal

Submitted to Contest #72

That day, Yuri was late for her school. This has never happened before. She thought "Does god have something in story for me? This has never happened before....." while running, she bumped into a guy, very handsome,with mid-length silver hair, blue eyes. She said "I am so sorry!!!" The boy she bumped into told her "Its ok, no biggie", with a smile on his face. As she was staring at the boy in wonder, the school bell rang. she realized that she was late for her school!!!!!! She ran and entered her class. The teacher said "How come are you lat...

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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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