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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

“The Heart Wants What It Wants” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #72

May 29, 1988, was the day that my husband & I got married.We've only known each other for 6 months before we decided to get married.All it took was one conversation & we immediately fell in love.Straight after the wedding, we went to Hawaii for our honeymoon & the more we spent time with each other the more we fell in love or so I thought.I always ask myself what makes a marriage great? & what makes it worst?I know that marriage isn't meant to be perfect but why does it fall apart? Could it be that the two people who are in t...

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“Inheritance” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #72

Ligeia has just received an inheritance from a great or maybe a great-great aunt well over 100. Her great aunt Lena Bartlett had originally been from New York’s southern tier, but she had met her husband Hank, who was from North Hollywood. They had moved to the opposite coast and her life had been lived far away from the rest of the family. Aunt Lena, of whom Ligeia had seen one or two very old photos, had been very attractive, but she was little more than a memory to the family members who had remained in the east. They were a bit like...

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“Emerald Eyes on the Battlefield” by Chris Buono

Submitted to Contest #72

The battle stopped for just a moment. The world stood still. It could have been half a second or a lifetime, I couldn’t tell the difference. She was beautiful. Another soldier tackles me into a ditch right as an explosion fills the air with orange light and harsh sound. Sand cakes us. He’s yelling at me about something, but I don’t hear anything more than a hum. I want to gaze at her again. Rifle hel...

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“D 1 Night ” by Atenaga Monday

Submitted to Contest #72

Living is everyone imagination of life, from how we eat, bath, walk, laugh and even sleep matter so much to us that we forget to appreciate the one thing we should find fascinating and that’s the Moon, the Sun, the Stars the Oceans and the beautiful animals, yes I know we have been told by different religion and scientific reasons of how we got to meet all this things but believe me after a horrible heart break all what Mike got to think was how to leave this earth go to somewhere else, he wanted to stop living well you will never know what ...

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“The Gilded Pearl” by Saizen 🦜

Submitted to Contest #72

Idil waited for the approaching fleet. She closed her eyes, feeling the sea breeze."Arr!" She grinned.Rajeev winced at the sound."I can smell it! Fresh Astulan ships!""No, you can't." Rajeev deadpanned. "We all see them."Under the sunset, waves roiled gently. Massive carracks sailed towards the growing silhouette of land.It was the coming of age of Princess Mutiara. Nations flocked towards the Iron Archipelago to compete for her hand in marriage.The fleet began to traverse the Emblic Strait, breaking formation as the ships carefully navigate...

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“So Well Beloved of Caesar” by Michael Boquet

Submitted to Contest #72

I don't know what it meant, that summer with Evan. I don't know what it says about who I was or who I am now. That summer was the first time I'd felt that strongly about another person since getting my heart broken. The first time in months I'd opened myself up, allowed myself to be vulnerable. That summer with Evan was as intense as it was perplexing. As raw as it was confusing. I need to process these feelings, tell someone about my last relationship, before I embark any further into my new one.My last relationship, like so many experience...

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“The King and The Queen...Much More than a Dream.” by Lilly Blossom

Submitted to Contest #72

Jacob Peters. Jacob Peters is a man. He is tall. He is blonde. He is beautiful. But I never saw it coming. I never saw myself falling for him. This is how it happened. I felt the urge. I felt the divine, otherworldly calling to take on a task much bigger than myself. I had no way of doing it in my own human strength or power, but I believe in a Higher Power, and I believe sometimes this God will send humans, that seem more like angels, along our path to help us do what we cannot on our own. This is that story. The mission was much larger t...

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“The Wrong Witch” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

Submitted to Contest #72

If you look closely at the map, smack in the middle of the US of A, there's a small town. It's called Garrow, and it's so small, it only has 10 buildings. The main hall, the school, and eight houses, not counting Kathy Nickerson's cottage on the edge of the woods.In the house next to the main hall, there was the house of Henry Rickson. Henry Rickson was the judge. And Henry Rickson didn't trust Patty Okven and Marinda Quaine.Patty Okven and Marinda Quaine lived in a cottage at the edge of Garrow. It was a small, one-story cottage, with curta...

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“Idorean” by Bonnie Clarkson

Submitted to Contest #72

“Christopher’s Personal Idorean Device here. You will want pizza for tonight.” “Thanks for telling me. I’m ready for the recipe you picked out.” Twenty-two-years-old, away from my mother, and the P.I.D. makes the living easy. I like my hair short, but I’ll wait until the program predicts when I want it cut. I do like the new autumn colored shirt it said I would buy. It makes my brown eyes appear larger. Before starting the pizza, the doorbell rang. I sighed when I saw who it was. “I had a prediction you would be home now, Mr. O’Brian,” ...

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“How to Visit an Inmate at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility” by David G.

Submitted to Contest #72

When traffic is light, the drive to the Coxsackie Correctional Facility takes two hours and eighteen minutes. In the early spring, the view north as you pull onto the Henry Hudson Bridge can be disorienting. The grey of the city with its still-melting mounds of snow piled high in the corners of municipal parking lots and along street curbs replaced, suddenly, with a seemingly endless landscape of first-bud forests. It will look like the greenest green you have ever seen. You will follow Route 9A to the Saw Mill Parkway, which takes you past ...

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“Inheritense” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #72

Bert’s fat lips wobbled as he skimmed over the embossed font scrawled across the crisp parchment. Each letter was a rusty brown in color, the ink swirling, curly. The young man mouthed every word as he deciphered it. He could not believe his luck; from what he had been able to determine thus far Bert’s Great Uncle Donaldson had mysteriously disappeared, presumed deceased. Bert had not known of this strange benefactor, knew nothing of the man’s existence. In fact Bert had always thought his mother and father both to be only children. The over...

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“The Difference Between Us” by 𝕊𝕜𝕪 𝕊𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕖𝕣

Submitted to Contest #72

I woke up to the sound of my ear-splitting alarm clock. beep, beep, beep. "Is it Monday already?" I said sleepily. I got dressed and headed downstairs. "Good morning Honey!" My Mom said Flipping a pancake. "I made pancakes want any?" I sat down at the island. "Sure" She turned around and I saw the time "It's 8 O'clock!?!?" I said surprised. "Yes..." My mom said, confused. I shoved a piece of bacon in my mouth and ran out of the door. I was late for my first day of school. ~O~O~O~O I stood nervously in front of the school. "Hi! I'm Ella y...

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“My Devine Encounter” by Lerato Moeketsi

Submitted to Contest #72

It was the last Friday of November when Lucy was released from prison after her ten years murder sentence. The police officers dropped her off in the middle of nowhere a few kilometers from the Prison. 'Madam, we have to drop you off here. If you are lucky, someone will give you a lift home.’ 'But Sir, you can’t leave me alone, please rather take me back to the Prison and I’ll get a lift from there.’ The other Officer flung the door open and ordered Lucy to step out. Puzzled, she stood by the side of the road and watched as the pol...

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“Murder” by Emily Gray

Submitted to Contest #72

Warning! This is quite long. On google docs it was 8 pages and 1617 words long. I hope you like it though. Eleanor Gray knew who the suspect was. She was one of the best detectives in Europe, and never got a case wrong. But this one was different. Different because it was harder than her previous ones. Harder because all the suspects she had chosen could be guilty, or innocent. It could be Riley, or Olivia, but she knew it definitely wasn’t Emma. Emma was too sweet. But Eleanor had chosen Emma as one of her suspects, because she was ...

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“Got em” by Vameerah Darren

Submitted to Contest #72

“RED SUS!” “Nick you literally always say that! Just because I’m red,doesn’t mean I’m automatically sus!” I chuckled into my mic, leaning back in my office chair as the chaos unfolded in front of me. This was the third time I was crewmate since we started playing together, Nick and Jack always attacked each other with random susses that made no sense. But I mean, hey, it was funny to watch. I heard Kayla call my name. “Hey, why is Theresa so quiet?” My finger pushed down CTRL, “I’m just listening to what other people have to say.” ...

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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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