Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#86: Springtime Flowers

March 21st may be considered the first day of Spring by many, but Mother Nature doesn't always agree. Depending on where you live, the daffodils could be showing their sunny faces or still hibernating under frozen soil.

For me, it’s usually a mix. Here you can be wearing shorts one day and shoveling snow the next, but one thing is consistent: as soon as the weather warms up, I’m bursting outside to gulp down that fresh air and watch the world come back to life. This week, regardless of what the weather actually holds, let’s celebrate the season of rebirth and renewal. After all, in our imaginations the sun can always be shining and the birds can always be chirping!

This week's prompts

Set your story at a park during a spring festival.

Spring – 82 stories

Write about a character coming out of a long hibernation (either literal or metaphorical).

Spring – 158 stories

Write a fairy tale about someone who can communicate with woodland creatures.

Kids – 168 stories

Start your story with one character pointing out the first sign of spring to another.

Spring – 107 stories

Write a story where flowers play a central role.

Spring – 278 stories

Stories

“Aidan of the Wood” by Christina Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #86

TW: abuse Aidan didn’t know why he was beaten. He just was. Although he did get better at dodging his uncle’s sharp blows and his aunt’s resounding slaps, they seemed to rain down on him like an Irish summer storm. Their scads of children would laugh to see such a sight, pointing at him because he was dirty or his tunic torn. Not hard to tear a tunic in the potato fields, where brambles and thorns seem to seek out his thin legs and inflame the crusty sores on his shins with malevolent intent. It was far harder not to eat the pota...

Read story

“To be Persephone” by Aj Lumague

Submitted to Contest #86

"You will know it is spring when you are blooming again, my dear." She hears her mother’s voice whisper in the winds. That is how she knows she is dreaming again. In her dream, she is imprisoned under the earth in a palace made of bones and gems. "The gates are always open for you," the King of the dead had said as he showed her to her rooms. She was not too naive to understand that her rooms and this home were a gilded cage. She is in the Underworld, all heat and smoke. Endless miles of black rock extend as far as she can s...

Read story

“The Storm Flowers” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #86

I woke up to the sound of an almighty crash on the roof above my head. It was dark in my attic bedroom, but I remember narrowing my eyes and straining my ears. There’s another loud crack. It’s a metallic impact that can only be a car. An alarm sounds down in the street. I hear two distant warning shouts. There’s a second heavy thud overhead, followed by a tsunami of explosions. I can’t hear individual impacts as they are lost in the deluge. I scramble out of bed, stumble to the window and draw back the curtains. Apple-sized hailstones a...

Read story

“Covid Hibernation” by Krys Remaley

Submitted to Contest #86

I unbuckle my seatbelt, then immediately reach for my mask. I realize suddenly that this is a habit I no longer need, but I add the mask to my purse; it eases my anxiety. I turn off my car, throw the keys in my bag as well, and head into the store, my stomach in knots. Social anxiety is never fun, but it's especially worse after you've faced a pandemic. I feel like what a bear coming out of hibernation must feel, a little disoriented and hazy. This is my first time purchasing groceries in a store since the CDC announced we'd finally beaten...

Read story

“Colors of Spring” by Meli Mangos

Submitted to Contest #86

Alana walked along the sidewalk outside Jade Park to get to the entrance between the black iron-rod fences. The noises of the day had already started. She had to park a few blocks down the road as the spots surrounding the park were already filled. Her phone buzzed in her sweatshirt pocket. At the entrance! Kiely texted to their group chat. Trying to find a place to park, ugh. Emily texted back. Alana picked up her pace and adjusted the draw-string backpack on her shoulders. She rounded the corner of the sidewalk and saw Kiely...

Read story

“Gupta” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #86

“All is one and one is all…breathe in, breathe out.”Gupta sat cross-legged on the boulder, his hands—palms up—resting in his lap, and he thought. At least, that is what he appeared to be doing, with his eyes closed. It was a very large, smooth boulder that he sat on, and Gupta looked like any ordinary boy about ten years old. However, he was not an ordinary boy, and a great sense of peace seemed to emanate from him. I don’t know how else to describe it.My role was merely to record my observations and everything he said in this little black b...

Read story

“Queen of the Wood Animals ” by Kirrtanaa Thanesh

Submitted to Contest #86

“Mom, I’m going to the woods!”“All right Molly, but take Jack as well,” Molly went to her five-year-old brother’s room. “I’m going to the woods, wanna come?”“No thanks,” replied Jack.“Okay”“I wanna come,” said Jack. Molly’s mother entered the room.“Do you want to take a picnic??”“Yes!” cried Jack.“Okay,” said her mother and went to get ready the food for Molly and Jack. &nbs...

Read story

“THE BURN” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #86

"This is the burn, Ronald."The air cracks open pushing a rush of heat and ash into the suburban basement."But, but, you're a cop, you're supposed to protect," Ronald says spitting on his stained t-shirt cowering in the corner."You sell children to the depraved, Ronald.""What about redemption? I can change."The heat intensifies until Ronald screams, convulsing as his soul splits from his body, forcibly inhaled into the abyss. The portal turbulence and flames retreat just as quickly as they began, leaving the basement quiet again. Ronald's lif...

Read story

“my red rose.” by Corvus Que

Submitted to Contest #86

My mother used to say every child was a bud, waiting to blossom, waiting for those delicate little petals to peek every so slightly through the young leaves of our youth. We all wander a world of marigold petals and mint, asphodel and the curled yellow petals of birdsfoot trefoil. We roam a garden full of the thorns that are suspicion and grief, dried white roses crinkling underfoot in a trail of everlasting sorrow. Their fallen, pale veils tell the story of happiness long gone, buried in the dirt under layers of crumbling leaves and...

Read story

“The Decade” by Nicolette R

Submitted to Contest #86

The phone rang. I roused from sleep and gave a weak "hello". It was my mother. It was always my mother. She called me constantly these days. Was she lonely or was she worried about me? "Hello! Are you there?", she shouted. I had zoned out, like I did everytime she called. In the last few years, I realized that I could not sustain the energy to continue a conversation. Especially with her. "Yes, yes I'm here. Just getting ready for work" I sighed. That was the magic word. She valued work, hard work. She valued it too much to ke...

Read story

“The White Hours” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #86

I had the dream again last night. I say last night, but it was really this morning. The time that is neither night nor morning, the time the French call Les Heures Blanches, the white hours, and although they are more often grey, even though dawn comes early at the moment, I can see why they are called that.The thing is, I no longer know, and wonder if I ever did, if it is a dream of something that was once real, or just a dream of a dream of a dream. I know some maintain no dream comes from nowhere, but that is one of those phrases that can...

Read story

“Who Are You? Who Am I?” by Colin Devonshire

Submitted to Contest #86

A gentle click and a kittenish hum accompanied Amy’s unladylike yawn. She looked around and apologised to no one, at least no one awake. “It’s six o’clock, you asked me to call you,” as a lively nurse popped her head around the door. Amy checked her watch. “Thank you, I’d better go,” Amy dabbed her eyes as she did every day. She twirled her engagement ring as she did on the hour. As she did every hour. “Miss Amy, can you hold on for a moment, the doctor wants to talk to you?” “Is there any change?” Amy asked hopefully. The nur...

Read story

“Petals” by Heera A

Submitted to Contest #86

The jianghu* is big, and there is plenty to see. Two souls seated in a passing cart whose canopies touch as the horses trot by, smile with a song known since time began, yet others grow white on their heads, with no melody shared within. What use is there in many years shared in pointless chatter when a single moment of silence can contain multitudes? We promised to make every moment count, and I think that we have.Fei Hong sits by the riverside, not caring that the hem of his emerald robes are getting soiled with not just the water but also...

Read story

“Flowers for Freddy” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #86

When Freddy Hayward was killed, everyone was deeply shocked. After all, the snatching of a young and healthy life is just something that shouldn’t happen in the order of things. But mingled in with this was a sensation that somehow, people had known he would die young. Freddy was what people sometimes called a loveable rogue, which is one of those phrases that means everything and nothing. His surname was too much of a gift and he had obtained, in some quarters, the nickname of Wayward Hayward, but it was said, at least most of the time, wit...

Read story

“The cow on the adventure” by Noah Morrow

Submitted to Contest #86

Early in 2017, I was touring Mexico enjoying everything a person could enjoy on a trip, having fun snorkeling and swimming. I had just finished going to the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary and was heading back to my hotel. On the way there, I passed by a barbed wire fence with a lot of land and 1 single cow off in the distance. I didn't think much about it but as I came closer, I heard someone say “excuse me, I wonder if I might ask a favor”. I looked at the cow and screamed and thought how is this ugly yet floppy eared cow talking to me? A ...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

797

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 26, 2021 EST

Won by Scott Skinner 🏆

Title: Flowering Walrus

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢