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Your protagonist joins a mysterious group of readers and/or writers, and nothing is what it seems.

Posted in Dramatic on Jul 4, 2025

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✍️ 44 stories

Weeping God

Submitted to Contest #310

Content warning: Mentions of death Hauntingly, like an ever watchful ghoul, the old library loomed over, its towers rising high to the cloudy, autumn sky. It breathed fog all around its stony walls and though Gabriella had become quite familiar with its intricate designs, the library still racked a sense of eeriness through her cold bones. Gargoyle eyes guarded her every move. A particularly freezing breeze rattled her into entering the gothic building, iron gates clanging in her wake. She’d come there with a purpose and time was quickly tic...

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A gathering of some interest

Submitted to Contest #310

I've come to a realization that anybody who loves mornings must either be an angel sent from heaven or a demon sent from hell because there is no way anybody here could enjoy such torment. I've had it with all of these internet bloggers trying to pose as if they're these amazing mom's, secretaries, bodybuilders, and somehow able to stay happy. It is currently 5:30 in the morning and I was supposed to be asleep 7 and 1/2 hours ago but for me the daytime just doesn't click. Besides, what is a 22 year old college student with no life supposed t...

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Midnight Prose

Submitted to Contest #310

The gargoyle above Blackwood Manor's oak door seemed to leer at Sarah, its stone eyes glinting in the dim gaslight. She shivered on the porch of Professor Alistair Finch’s mansion. It wasn't just her creative writing professor who had suggested she join his exclusive writers’ group; it was her classmate, John. He'd spoken of its unique ability to "unlock potential," his quiet intensity making her believe him. Sarah, a freshman at Briarwood College, had struggled with her essays. But since joining Professor Finch’s group, several weeks ago, m...

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Curse of the Moon

Submitted to Contest #310

Narrative; fairytale.This diverse species includes the Dimi-god, shapeshifter-owlin, loxodon, feral-Tiefling, goblin, kobold, fairies, three-headed hell hounds, skin-walkers, lizard-folk, witches, warlocks, mythological creatures, wolf, coyote, bear-folk, triton, yuan-ti pureblood, dark elves, goblin, and human, showcasing a wide range of mythical and real-world beings. With the deepest sincerity and gratitude in my heart, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my family, whose unwavering love, unwavering support, and constant encouragemen...

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Lit from the Inside

Submitted to Contest #310

Shelf Discovery was a book club who could argue about anything. They'd had mudslinging over misery memoir, locked horns over lauded literature, and even come to blows over blistering biography. An improbable group of six, they’d begun as a meeting between friends which grew over the years. Their meetings were sporadic, their membership was eclectic, and their book choices, chaotic. But a more passionate bunch of readers you could not find anywhere. They read like their lives depended on it and argued like every word was theirs. But even the ...

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The Reading Room

Submitted to Contest #310

The flyer wasn’t flashy.No bold fonts, no Instagram handle, no QR code. Just yellow paper, sun-faded and stapled crookedly to the community board outside the library. I almost didn’t see it.But the word “book” always catches my eye.I stood there longer than I meant to, rereading the lines.THE READING ROOM A book club for those who like to lose themselves in fiction. Weekly meetings. No phones. No recordings. Thursdays at 6 p.m. Downstairs reading room, Eastern District Library. New members welcome. (We know you’ll find us.)There were no tear...

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Medusa's Lost Readers of Tomorrow

Submitted to Contest #310

The Big Top Bookstore was going out of business. The owner Cronin Riggleworth was selling the place after his grandfather opened the store in the previous century. He had returned from the war in Europe in 1919. His grandfather’s love of books was displayed throughout the store. There were some big promotions that had taken place in his store during that time, but when Cronin left for the evening, he would not be returning in the morning to open as he had for the last thirty years of his life. It was hard to compete with the electronic ...

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Ghost Writer

Submitted to Contest #310

There’s a special kind of humiliation in clawing your way out of obscurity, only to slip and feel gravity drag you down again. Kat Green knew that shame better than most. Nobody cared if you fell from a skyscraper—nobody even bothered to look up. At sixteen, she’d written her first novel in a caffeine-fueled haze of naïve bravado, and it had detonated: over a million sold, a Goodreads Fantasy nominee, HarperCollins, a rabid swarm of teenage fans. She’d convinced herself it would always be that easy. Now, at twenty-one, she was chasing shadow...

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The Elite

Submitted to Contest #310

The Elite by Lily DeVille.Raymond Beddows surveyed his fellow writers in the crowded room; his eyebrow slightly raised in a condescending expression. These people regarded themselves as authors, some published, some not. He, however, considered himself a literary genius. With eight best sellers to his name, and many articles published in a variety of quality magazines, his confidence in his career as an author was unchallenged. Being of average height and build, he was nevertheless a man who stood out in a crowd, with a shock of neatly trimm...

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Galactic Truth

Submitted to Contest #310

Who thought the latticework of Terag could hold such horror? Promenades and parades soaked with the chaotic artwork of battle, the prismatic array of neon lights dulled by splatters of blood and shattered glass. Maybe if the Home-Hold Alliance had attacked a few hours later, the streets would have had their final injection of salty, half-charcoaled vatmeat grilled over the violet flames of Stretan fuel, or the aroma of drinks spiced with Kalabar and enriched with the fruity gases of euphoric orbs. But they hadn’t. Lunch had never come and in...

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Ghost Writer

Submitted to Contest #310

I've always been a light sleeper, so even though it was three in the morning, I picked up the phone on the second ring. I was staying at my mom's house next to the diner I was running after my dad's death until I could unload it on some naive dreamer or, more likely, a new immigrant--like my parents were when they bought Chubby's back in 1968. Mom was in the next room and I didn't want her to wake up. She's always been a very light sleeper, like me. My dad could sleep through anything. "Yeah", I croaked. "Who is,,," Mom still had a rotary ph...

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Moving Symbol

Submitted to Contest #310

Jerry looked out the foggy window as he sat in his apartment, rain came down in thick sheets that covered all he could see beyond the glass. It was cold but humid, having a thick blanket draped over himself to compensate, but only to take it off after a few minutes because he’d get too hot. A lamp flickered on his desk with a sticky note on it that read, “CHANGE BULB,” it's been there for months at this point. Tall stacks of paper filled with uncompleted ideas surrounded the typewriter, like pillars, to remind Jerry of his half-cocked ideas....

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An Exclusive Club

Submitted to Contest #310

Content warning: graphic violence, gore, abuse, and mention of non-consensual medical experiments.June 17, 2020 For three long weeks, I’d been waiting for this day - the new writing club I’d been anticipating was finally meeting. My first. Having a true passion for writing, this group sounded so intriguing. For one thing, we couldn’t simply join - we had to be accepted; so not just anyone could belong to this exclusive club. I shivered with delight just thinking about my luck - I still couldn’t quite believe I’d been chosen. Our group was t...

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The Manuscript Exchange

Submitted to Contest #310

In the spring of 1897, I received a letter sealed with red wax and no return address. The parchment within was written in a meticulous hand:You are invited to participate in an experiment focused on literary realism. Your presence is requested at 17 Carfax Row, Mayfair, London, at eight o'clock sharp on the evening of March 31st. Come prepared to read, write, and understand."At first, I suspected a hoax. I had been a struggling journalist with no notable publications to my name, scraping together florid reviews of theatrical farces and sens...

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Torn Pages

Submitted to Contest #310

Every Wednesday night, they met in the backroom of Dahlia's Bookstore.The soft clink of teacups, the rustle of pages, the forced laughter—like any other neighborhood book club. But beneath the polite smiles and literary chatter, a story was dying to be told.And tonight, Elizabeth intended to read it out loud.Elizabeth White, age 42, was the founder and leader of the Thursday Pages, a book club she’d created ten years ago. They had started with Pride and Prejudice, then Beloved, then The Bell Jar, and now—perhaps fittingly—The Count of Monte ...

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