Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”

Posted in Fiction on Mar 10, 2023

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✍️ 66 stories

“The Path Less Traveled” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #189

Throughout time, man has been faced with decisions, some of which were easy, and others much more difficult. Here tells the tale of such men, faced with a difficult decision that could alter their lives drastically if not chosen wisely. Bartholomew Hornbuckle, a dwarfish man, short in stature, but strong in heart, traveled with his companions along the mountain pass. With a pack made of sinew and hide from a b...

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“A new dawn” by Marie Perederii

Submitted to Contest #189

Ranetta sat at the teetering edge of the cliff, one jump could end it all. She would be separated from her family for the rest of eternity, unless the ocean thought her worthy enough to come back through. This however was unlikely, she had dreamed of the new dawn for ages, it was beckoning to her to come to it. But…that would mean leaving her strict but kind mother, and her loving understanding father. Her awkward but hilarious older brother and her doish Miko, a half fish half dog creature with big brown cow eyes that begged for her to stay...

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“A Mexican Standoff” by Hope Linter

Submitted to Contest #189

The following story may have errors of accuracy in regards to Mexican references, where I chose vocabulary to serve the story. That said, I was inspired by the beautiful culture and language. Miguel Cartez glanced at the shipping bill of lading the policeman held out in front of him. A fly buzzed around the light bulb of his Italian luxury banker’s desk lamp. The policeman’s black cap with the México Policia Federal insignia gulped the whole of what looked to be his narrow forehead, and crystalline beads of sweat rolled down the man’...

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“LOST IN THE DARK” by Sally Jupe

Submitted to Contest #189

Belinda bent over double as the bat enveloped her with his enormous leathery wings. It was like suddenly being covered in a delicate, yet strong, elastic latex sheet, held firmly in place around her by a skeleton of thin bones that she could see inside the skin of the dark brown wings. She felt that the heavy weight of his body bearing down on her was literally sucking out all the air from her lungs. Her knees began to buckle under his weight, and her instinct was to curl up in a ball or lie down and maybe he would leave her alone, but somet...

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“Death by Coconut” by Rune Taylor

Submitted to Contest #189

Deep in the heart of a dry jungle, Dr. Hoffman crouched by a shallow green river flowing under vines dangling like cobwebs. Of the entire 1 million radius of this forest, this remained the only water present and he investigated it the best he could for the little life left there. Under the heat, this hydrologist struggled with his research with his cantins long ago emptied of clean water. Looking at the beaker of water he collected, he smacked his lips and wiped away sweat dripping into his eyes. Closely, he examined the contents to see the ...

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“Just a Little Stroll in the Woods” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #189

It started out as just a little stroll in the woods. But when it was over, my whole life had been dramatically altered. I would never see the world the way I had before. Sunsets would take on new meanings. The early morning hours would crackle with electricity I had never known before Virgil had guided through the Inferno as he had Dante Alighieri over eight hundred years ago. This metaphysical journey was hard for my finite mind to comprehend, but I am getting ahead of myself. I must start at the beginning. I m...

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“One Loopy Tale” by John Slade

Submitted to Contest #189

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood where the straight way was lost.” -Dante Alighieri’s ‘The Divine Comedy’- So there I was, lying on the ground, wings not working. I had inhaled too much of the deadly, dreadful, gaseous substance. It was like a poison of some sort. We never suspected the attack, it was a surprise or something to that extent. I thought, “Surely, I am going to die. I will be dead before I have any chance to hook up with the queen and live a long life of 100% bliss with her and make all h...

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“The Flight” by Christine Bialczak

Submitted to Contest #189

Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.” Susan knew that the time had come when she had to make a decision. Ever since her husband passed away after only one year of marriage she had been making one bad decision after another. Her sister told her she was “stupid and senseless”. Before Ron had died Susan would have come back to her sister with something quick to say but this time she had no...

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“Trista And her bag of Crystals” by Sri Vi S

Submitted to Contest #189

It was not to be It never was nor Will it ever be. Trista met with Saul but she did not know where it was. Aeons – she was lying down on sandy beach of “Zillionite”. Here there were only nights. It seemed as though the sky was showed its brilliance generously. Why so !!. The place was never had a sun. She had been transported from Earth to Zillionite for no reason. She had been unconsciously spending her time when on Earth. The more she thought of it, she was left with only questions than answers. She recalled that there w...

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“The path out of the woods” by Irene De

Submitted to Contest #189

In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost. So I took a U-turn. It was not really about going back per se. Just... sideways. Out of the woods, for one thing. I had been down this path before, I knew every wicked twist and turn, and I just not had it in me to impair my luck any further. Down the same old way, with the same old perils staring blankly into my face. I shivered a tad while my feet quietly felt out the ground, looking for the way. The earth was wet and the path ...

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“Insomnia” by Deborah Allion

Submitted to Contest #189

When Samual awoke the clock blinked 2:43 am. The pearly moon illuminated a monochromatic glow over the nineteen year olds apartment bedroom. Chinese take-out decorated his desk. Dirty laundry paved a path of where he had stripped earlier that day. Sam's body ached to fall back asleep. The cool breeze of the overhead fan only sent him further into the embrace of the silky sheets. He stretched his legs out long and bare feet poked out of the bottom of the bed. Baby blue eyes shut oh so tight. He listened for the melody of the fan to do its tri...

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“The Dark Intestine” by Alec Jack

Submitted to Contest #189

“In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.” “The straight way…” mirrored the son. His eyes were set on the fire, but his thoughts – his words – were set in echolalic stone, inherited. Words, his father passed down to him. Along with all the meanings and concepts they carried like devils on their backs. Where there was brimstone, there was also fire. When he turned his father was already watching him. “That’s right,” he said. “Long, and hard, and lea...

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“Lost My Straight” by Marsh Sterling

Submitted to Contest #189

LOST MY STRAIGHTMarsh Sterling3/17/2023 …the bells in my head were clanging… My friend Gloria and I were enjoying a beautiful warm, sunny day hanging out at her pool in her lovely backyard drinking a glass of wine. It was the best fall day ever in temperate San Diego soaking up D’s and watching the dogs NOT swim. Poodles are supposedly water dogs, but not Bernard and Hazel. Apparently, Bernard and Hazel never read the dog breed description that assigned them to the water retriever group. Hazel hates the water. Bernard sinks and wou...

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“Monochrome” by Aidan Tarpey

Submitted to Contest #189

It was the twenty-third. That was when I saw it, the thing that changed my perspective. I was out on a business trip to the countryside; the boss had coerced me into going with the new hire and his words still ring in my ears like he’s still beckoning me. It was always about what went wrong. It was usually everything, the lighting was off or the lens cap wasn’t taken off or an editor was raving about the speck of dust that made the polaroid unusable. The camera is a cruel mistress, she guides the souls of many a man into the depths of the wo...

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“Dark Wood” by Kevin Coleman

Submitted to Contest #189

Silas King cruised like a shark through a pulsing sea of bodies. One of the Glitter Bomb’s female bartenders had flagged a creep spiking women’s drinks and as the nightclub’s cooler, it was his job to eliminate the wolf among the drunken, clueless sheep. “Muscular kid,” Trish had shouted into his ear over the throbbing bass. “Tight silk shirt. White chinos. Brown leather slip-ons. GTO on his left bicep.” GTO was juking in the center of the teeming dancefloor with a blond in a pink, one-shoulder mini dress. Bare arms ...

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Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 66 stories

“The Path Less Traveled” by Greg Gillis

“A new dawn” by Marie Perederii

“A Mexican Standoff” by Hope Linter

“LOST IN THE DARK” by Sally Jupe

“Death by Coconut” by Rune Taylor

“Just a Little Stroll in the Woods” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“One Loopy Tale” by John Slade

“The Flight” by Christine Bialczak

“Trista And her bag of Crystals” by Sri Vi S

“The path out of the woods” by Irene De

“Insomnia” by Deborah Allion

“The Dark Intestine” by Alec Jack

“Lost My Straight” by Marsh Sterling

“Monochrome” by Aidan Tarpey

“Dark Wood” by Kevin Coleman

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story where a character must continue to tell their tale to a listener to avoid unsavory consequences.

Write a story about a fox spirit (a gumiho, jiǔwěihú, kitsune, or hồ ly tinh), inspired by, e.g. Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese folklore.

Write a modern version of "The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal," in which someone suffers from their own good deeds and must turn to an unlikely source for help.

Start your story with “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Match Girl”)

Contest #189

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: