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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#77: Snow Day

It’s deep into winter where I live and here that means one thing: snow, and plenty of it.

While I’m not the biggest fan, even I will admit that it makes great writing weather. There’s just something cozy about curling up with a blanket and a cup of tea, and losing yourself in the world of your imagination as flakes drift slowly past your window.

We won’t all be writing under those conditions this week, but we can still evoke that feeling. So grab yourself a mug of something warm, snuggle up with your laptop, and dream of the bite of winter wind on your cheeks…

This week's prompts

Write about two people going sledding for the first time in many years.

Fluff – 130 stories

Start your story with someone looking out at the snow, and end it with them stepping tentatively onto a frozen surface.

Winter – 233 stories

Write about someone who gets stuck in their workplace during a blizzard and decides to explore rooms they aren’t normally allowed in.

Winter – 162 stories

Write a story set in the summer, when suddenly it starts to snow.

Summer – 159 stories

Set your story in a remote winter cabin with no electricity, internet, or phone service.

Winter – 246 stories

Stories

“Proof Positive” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #77

Deep in the wilderness of northern Alaska, a float plane descended toward a barely visible snow-covered field. It landed, leaving twin tracks behind it that were already being covered by new snow. On either side of them stood stretches of evergreen forest. Above, the dark sky was filled with stars and the green curtain of the Aurora Borealis. “Welcome to the Northern Slope,” the pilot told their two bundled-up passengers. “If you get lost,” he added, pointing upward, “that brightest star is the North Star.” “Where is the cabin?” one pass...

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“Hidden in Plain Sight” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #77

When I was 13, my parents and I spent our first winter vacation away from the Mid-Atlantic. We decided to drive north to the Adirondack's in update New York State, exchanging suburban sprawl for frozen lakes and rivers, as well as snow-covered mountains and woods.At first, I was a little nervous being out in the open, away from the hustle and bustle I'd grown up in. I think it's called agoraphobia. It took some doing, but I eventually overcame it and found myself enjoying learning new things: skiing, sledding, tobogganing, and ice skating. T...

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“Let's Sledge” by Solomon Obedi

Submitted to Contest #77

James looked at the clock. It was 4:50 pm. He let out a sigh and looked to the ceiling. A small spider hanging on its web caught his attention. He wondered what the world of spiders looked like. Did they ever feel stress? Pressure? Like they ever wanted to quit? “James?” James almost fell from his chair when he heard the voice from behind his chair. He stood up and turned to look at who was calling him. “Hi Linda, you scared me a bit there.” “Sorry” Linda smiled, a smile James never got tired of seeing. “Can I help you with somethi...

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“Locus” by Nimra Savanghan

Submitted to Contest #77

LocusI wake up in a daze, unsure where I am.My gaze meets a desktop computer with an unfinished transcript. I squint at the words and recall working on an article due tomorrow morning. My desk calender confirms it, because I have circled the 12th of December 2008 with a red marker. I yawn and stretch. I wonder if there is anyone else working late.I check my blackberry and notice several blizzard warnings. Tania who handles the weather news at Fortuity media has sent me a personal email asking me to stay safe in office because ...

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“Skeleton Crew” by H L McQuaid

Submitted to Contest #77

It started snowing at 11am. Though I have a birds-eye view of the parking lot from my second-floor window, frost coats the edges of the glass, leaving only a small porthole to peer through. I can see the snow piling up near the electric fence and slowly creeping its way across the battered pavement towards the warehouse where I'm stationed.There are no cars in the lot. Everyone was sent home months ago because of the pandemic, except for the five of us—the skeleton crew—who needed to be onsite in case anything breaks and needs fixing.Aedna a...

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“Before and After the Fall” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #77

Marilyn looked out at the pavements and the road, carpeted in morning snow. It had not come overnight, and had not yet been rutted and trampled on by car tyres and feet. In her little front garden, there was no green anymore. It had not been a heavy snowfall, but it was the ground was dry, and it had stuck. She smiled a little as she realised that though humans had not yet made their mark on the snow, birds had already hopped across the frosted lawn, and the frozen air had crystallised their light, fleeting impressions. As her eyes accustome...

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“Caresoul” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #77

Max was only three weeks into his new job at Caresoul, but had already seen and heard enough to know he did not want to stay. The irony that working for an organisation dedicated to helping people manage their mental health was causing such a detrimental effect to his own was not lost on him.“Goodbye Max! Have a careful evening!”Max jumped in his seat and quickly tried to convert the motion to an enthusiastic farewell salute to Alyssa, who flashed him a toothpaste ad smile while securing her bike helmet. Of all the staff he had been introduc...

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“No, Snow Go Away!❄” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #77

On July 23rd it was a hot summer day in Harlem New York. Girls playing patty cake & hopscotch, while the boys play basketball. Mothers watching their children play on the step, while the fathers work. The elderly watch from their windows as they fan themselves. Suddenly a little girl felt something wet fall on her shoulders as she plays. She thinks that it's sweat from her playing in the hot heat so she continues to pay it no mind. A little boy looking up in the sky while trying to catch a football that his brother threw at him...

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“There’s Something About Rome” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #77

Sweat dripped from her forehead and her white cotton shirt, soaked. Sally could have sat inside the cafe, the air con could have cooled her down. Instead, she sat outdoors because the view was better. Pavement cafes lined up on that narrow cobblestoned street. Bougainvillea vines crawled down from the second floor of the building down to the glass windows of the cafes, albeit neatly cut. Café Romana, that’s where she sat; its wooden tables topped with lacey white runners, chairs were cushioned with either pink and white or mint green and whi...

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“The Red Winters Society” by Grace McClung

Submitted to Contest #77

Ebony Winters watched fat, fluttery snowflakes mix and swirl and float down to earth. The world in and out was a blank, white static, and Ebony almost blended right in. She pressed her nose against the glass, felt the rawness of the cold and the bitterness of the silence as the snow stifled all sound. She made out the dip of a lake’s edge: a massive expanse of water now sheeted with ice. Her dark hair splayed limply and spidery on her shoulders, and when she caught sight of her dark eyes in the reflection, she shuddered. “Ebony!” a vo...

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“The frozen pond” by Kat Sencen

Submitted to Contest #77

I looked out the window and watched the falling snow drift through the air, remembering the times when I was a kid, making snowmen and having snowball fights. If only life was like that now, I thought to myself. Now I can’t do any of that. I’d like to say maturity was for fools, and that you can still be mature when doing fun stuff. But it’s not like I’m not ‘mature.’ I could go out there any time I want, but I’m just so worried about what other people would think. People say not to do that, to focus on what you find fun. Climbing trees...

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“The Bee Teller” by Clare Lowell

Submitted to Contest #77

Natalia looked out into the grey-Dr.-Zhivago dawn and squinted through the angry snow, trying to find that invisible white circle formerly known as the sun. She scanned the horizon above the frozen lake, but the frenetic flakes assaulted her eyes so furiously that she was barely able to open them. She quickly wiped them on the sleeve of the itchiest Irish fisherman sweater known to man, and ran back into the cabin, slamming the door behind her.“That good, huh?” Dean asked as he watched her stomp the snow off her boots, an involuntary sh...

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“Algorithm” by Mandy McCool

Submitted to Contest #77

The snow was still falling after I had finally finished my makeup and fixed my hair perfectly, so it just furthered my belief that this was meant to be. As soon as I pushed the front door open, a gust of freezing air blindsided me and nearly took my breath away. Lord knows that sometimes a girl has to do what she’s gotta do for the perfect winter selfie photoshoot. I couldn’t just let this sparkling winter wonderland go to waste, especially after spending over an hour and a half beating my face to the gods.My Insta page was steadily losing f...

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“Ride of a Century” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #77

Gunter threw another log on the fire and cursed every god he knew for sending the cold so deep into his bones. The fireplace brimmed with lively orange flames and the wool blankets stacked so thick over his body, that he could barely breathe under them. Yet, Gunter felt cold. He didn’t know whether that was from the freezing temperatures outside or the creeping of death. If you’re going to take me, you might as well be quick about it, he thought, tucking himself deeper in the blankets. For a man well over a hundred years old, death sure...

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“Forward, Toward You” by Holly Fister

Submitted to Contest #77

Dear Casey,As I type this, the snow is stacking up the window pane in a vertical pile of white that threatens to block out my entire view of the outside world. I’d be happy for an ant colony to take up residence there and create little tunnels so I can watch them move and work against the glass. I know that’s not going to happen, but you can see the odd places my mind has already started wandering to. I’ve cooked several meals using my freezer stash, eating leftovers on the following days. Be warned: after this deployment, I might never...

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$50

Prize money

930

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 22, 2021 EST

Won by K. Antonio 🏆

Title: Burying David

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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