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!

#9: Little Women

On September 30th, 1868, the first volume of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was published. This December, 151 years later, the eighth(!) film adaptation of Little Women will be released in theatres. Suffice it to say, this book has stood the test of time and remains a favorite amongst readers.

In honor of Alcott's novel, this week's writing prompts are all themes and elements pulled from her seminal family drama. And don't worry if you haven't read the book or aren't too familiar with the March family — these themes are all universal!

This week's prompts

Write a story in which societal rituals and expectations play a key role.

Fiction – 18 stories

Write a story that focuses on the relationship between siblings.

Middle School – 57 stories

Write a story about someone whose lifestyle has changed and is learning to adjust to new circumstances.

High School – 34 stories

Write a story that uses flowers as a symbol.

Spring – 32 stories

Write a story about unrequited love.

Romance – 60 stories

Stories

“Cross the river” by Viktor Rain

Submitted to Contest #9

"Why can't I cross this river?" he mumbled, staring at the ceiling fan. Its blades spun monotonously, creaking every two seconds. He should have fixed it the day before, or probably even earlier, but getting out of bed seemed too hard of a task. 'Similarities,' his mind whispered. 'There are certain similarities, don't you think? She's known me ever since I was born and keeps saying we're different. But there are similarities.'A brown cockroach was struggling to ascend the wall to his right. He turned, and followed its path with curious eyes...

Read story

“Winterborn” by Annie James

Submitted to Contest #9

The wind whistled through the many cracks in the walls of the flimsy cabin, bringing a chill that the fire in the hearth could not keep out. Grandfather knelt down and pulled a scrapbook from the box he kept under his cot. He sat on the cot with his back to the wall and held the scrapbook in his withered blue veined hands. The cabin door opened, flooding the single room with frigid air. His grandson Alaric walked in with a load of freshly chopped wood in his arms and kicked the door shut behind him. "Put those down and drag the chair over, I...

Read story

“Thank You For Your Service” by Jasmine Shouse

Submitted to Contest #9

“Thank you for your service.” A woman’s hand reached out to me as she smiled with a look that did not seem to mirror the gratitude in her words. It took everything in me not to shudder. Instead, I gave her a terse nod and gripped her hand. “Thank you for your support.” My mouth spoke the words automatically, but I tried to convey some warmth in them. It’s the expected response, after all, and I am quite good at doing what is expected of me. Would I miss the recognition when I no longer wore the uniform? I certainly wouldn’t miss ...

Read story

“Quid Pro Quo ” by Ryan Lieb

Submitted to Contest #9

“Tell me something you’ve never told anyone before.” James had never been good at thinking on his feet, and he was completely unprepared for the question. He had been focusing most of his attention on trying not to stare at Brie’s ass as she attempted to balance on the wooden barrier lining the sidewalk, while simultaneously asking himself questions like is this a date? Should I grab her hand? When do I make the move? It occurred to him that her soliciting such personal information from him might just be the sign he needed, but when th...

Read story

“Rose” by M Storey

Submitted to Contest #9

The sun sank behind darkening mountains, finally allowing the hot earth to rest from another day of having all color baked to brown in the harsh desert. Around the shadowed peaks a white canvas was stretched where purples and pinks and oranges birthed a living painting in the clouds. For just a moment the sky gifts the desert beige with beauty impossible to capture and impossible to keep beyond the few moments where sun and cloud and chance align and hypnotize whatever eyes happen upon it until darkness encroaches and all that remains is dar...

Read story

“Schrödinger’s Cyclist” by Marte Van Der Linden

Submitted to Contest #9

A screech of tyres. A sickening crunch. A scream. My own, I think.I consider myself to be a calm sort of person who quickly adapts to new circumstances. So when I was catapulted off my bike by a car that came whizzing around the corner, it only took a couple of deep breaths for the world to stop spinning and the adrenaline to leach out of my system. I was still rather shaky as I got to my feet, but I felt that was justified in the circumstances, given the sizable dent in the bonnet of the car. I quickly patted myself down and realised that I...

Read story

“Bros” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #9

Mike awoke to the sound of the doorbell. He looked at the clock and tried to make sense of things. “What the… My God! It’s two-thirty.”Then the knocking began. He went to investigate, hoping Sarah, his wife, wasn’t disturbed.The banging was insistent. Mike peered out and saw his brother Griff standing under the porch light. “Hey Bro! Let me in! I’m cold.”Mike opened the door. “What do you want, Griff? Come back tomorrow. Everyone’s asleep.”“C’mon Mike. I’m freezing. I need a place to crash.”Mike let him in. Griff made a show of how cold he w...

Read story

“A Garden of Roses ” by Gayatri Varma

Submitted to Contest #9

When they met for the first time, he gave her a red rose. She would tell that story over and over until all fell asleep. That story for her was a way of remembering him. A week earlier, her vision started to blur, people would fade away into blankness and all she could hear were voices, some loud, some soft, some angry and some sad. She always sat on rocking armchair, feeling the wind on her face and that made her smile. He was in his late twenties, pale skin, grey eyes, with a French crop, a vandyke beard and a soft smile. It was a dare, he...

Read story

“Worse Things in Life” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #9

WORSE THINGS IN LIFELike a great many people, Hester Levine thought she had modest means and could cope with that perfectly well and without any trauma, until she really did have modest means and discovered she wasn’t coping well at all, and if trauma were perhaps a tad melodramatic,, it was no walk in the park. What she’d thought of as modest means meant the second holiday of the year being a cottage in the Lake District rather than going abroad, and the meal out being at Pizza Hut more often than the cute little Bist...

Read story

“PAIN less” by AL Paradiso

Submitted to Contest #9

My sister, Pam, had been severely depressed for too many years. When she lost her first and only child, and her ability to have more children, PPD (Post Partum Depression) imprisoned her in bed for months. Siblings, parents and friends rallied to support, feed and clean her. Despite feeling her deep depression saturate our souls, we struggled to avoid echoing it back to her. We all felt a moral obligation to keep a stiff upper lip and ween her back into the world of survivors. Her proud, staunch refusal to get professional help was a result...

Read story

“Bum Note” by Matt Strempel

Submitted to Contest #9

Coffee cup in hand, James MacFarlane took his regular seat as the morning played out before him. His bench in the north-western corner of Hyde Park afforded him a princely view of the fountain glistening in the morning sun. Surrounded by the giant guardians of the parklands, the ancient fig trees, he observed the morning rituals of those still chained to the hamster wheel from which he had long-since escaped. He smiled as they scurried hither and thither to attend a meeting they were late for, submit a report overdue, attend a review with th...

Read story

“Time of Plenty” by Jessica C

Submitted to Contest #9

A timid morning sun shows its first signs of arrival now, highlighting the blank sky with traces of gold. The stars have nearly disappeared, ready to retire, another night’s work nearly complete. This is the place where the evening meets the daylight, conversing with one another without any expectation. Soon it will be full dawn, but for now the world sleeps soundly beneath a blanket that the two skies have woven together. There is a house discreetly nestled between earth and sky. Slightly overgrown and shabby, it stands ...

Read story

“Echoes” by Kate Seger

Submitted to Contest #9

I remember the way sunlight splashed across his face when first I saw him, dappling it with shadow. We were in this very forest, amidst these same stands of fir and pine that have swathed Mount Kithairon since the first days. This vale, alas, is a cursed place. A beautiful place, but cursed all the same, for Hera stole my words and sequestered me here as punishment for my lust. Never mind that it was Zeus who forced himself upon me. I was an Oread... treacherous seduction was bred into my immortal blood. Who would believe that I was not...

Read story

“Poppy Fatigue” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #9

POPPY FATIGUE It was the kind of thing you just didn’t admit, even to yourself, but Jacky was suffering from Poppy Fatigue. She couldn’t even claim to have invented the expression, though she didn’t know who had. She always liked to think that she honoured the fallen, and to her dying day when she was in her nineties, her grandmother had spoken wistfully of her brother John who had been gassed in the trenches. He had survived, but had nightmares, and it had permanently affected his lungs. He died young. &n...

Read story

“Primetime Maria” by Agas Ramirez

Submitted to Contest #9

Fade in, focus on me.My name is Maria. What a nice name, people always tell me, Maria is a perfect name for someone so sweet. My parents say it’s because Maria is the name of the virgin, and they always remind me of this when they run out of things to say. I come from a poor family; my father is a slave in fields that are not ours, my mother is a servant in rich houses, and my older brother does nothing but stay out in the fields and talk nonsense to his carabao.I’m very beautiful, of course, I wouldn’t be the star of this tel...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

201

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 04, 2019 EST

Won by Sofia Lago 🏆

Title: What Dead Songbirds Sing

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 ⭢