Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write a story within a story within a story within a ...

Posted in Fiction on Feb 17, 2023

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 55 stories

A Hidden Story

Submitted to Contest #186

A schoolboy crouched in the alleyway, his red-rimmed eyes wild and desperate in his swollen, puffy face. He darted forward as Edmund passed, hand outstretched, fingers brushing his heavy woolen coat.Edmund recoiled, snatching his briefcase out of the boy’s grasp. “Excuse me,” he said, his voice brimming with indignation and more shock than he cared to acknowledge.“Sir, can you give—”“Most certainly not,” Edmund said, and strode on, staring resolutely at the bus stop ahead.He increased his pace, adding some distance between them, but the boy ...

31 likes 17 comments 17
Read story

Tragedy

Submitted to Contest #186

The Abbey Theater is alive. It is the season of ‘deeper thoughts and emotions’, the season of Yeats and Lady Gregory, the season of plays. And there on stage, with deeper thoughts and emotions, in welcomed applause, stands Sir Edward Forester, the playwright, the director, and the reason for the full house.The stage is set as a gentleman’s study, a library, a table, a grand fireplace, two souls. The one, old Sir Edward is a man aged in a most beneficial way, gray bearded, distinguished. He’s joined by his nephew, blood of the same ...

27 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

Return to Me

Submitted to Contest #186

The Wolfhound. Recalling the Past. Voiceless. A thick rain fell from a dark and foreboding sky when lightning tore open the night to reveal a lifeless body hanging from a noose above Mumling’s waterway. Nearby, a black, hungry wolfhound cringed. Frightened by the sudden burst of light and crack of thunder, it tucked its tail and made its way around the parameter. The dog growled at the witnesses as it wandered past. Bartram Humblefoot, the venerable Paladin of the Ancients, knelt reverently in the rain. Bartram’s soaked head was lowered in p...

25 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

The Fisherman and the Faerie

Submitted to Contest #186

As the wind blew sand across the fire, the coins embroidering her skirt gave a chime. She tightened her shawl and sat cross legged on her worn woven rug. A small group of people sat around her, wrapped in thick blankets. Some were familiar faces, locals from the nearby village, while others were strangers, passing through on their travels. As the audience settled, the gypsy storyteller began to weave her tale."A long time ago, when the world was young, there was a fisherman who lived in a small village by the sea. This fisherman was a kind a...

24 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

The Vanishing Six

Submitted to Contest #186

The Vanishing Six The man pulled the shivering woman closer to his body. All around them, large drops of water thudded obnoxiously against the hard ground. The man grunted, he was uncomfortable, and unsure if he would make it through the night. The woman coughed violently against his bare chest, spewing a sticky discharge across his body. All he could do was hold her tighter, but he knew that she was dying.  Darkness would be falling soon, meaning the cold would get worse. A sharp cracking sound, like a branch splitting in two, alarme...

22 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Real Author of This Story

Submitted to Contest #186

Our dwindling forces retreated further into a forest clearing until we encountered a sheer cliff wall. With the undead army approaching from all directions, it is here where we take our last stand. We turn to the approaching horde, I look over to my teammates, Ariana at my left, her bow at the ready. On my right, Garrack lifts his mighty hammer, preparing to bash in enemies' skulls.I look down at my blood-spattered sword, my teammates and I were trained in combat, unafraid of death, but the civilians with their makeshift weapons stood terrif...

22 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Tall Tales at Dollar Bill's Bar and Grill

Submitted to Contest #186

His drinking allowance gone, Rick sat at the bar nursing his last beer, pretending to watch the news, and wondering how to scam another. Looking around Dollar Bill's Bar and Grill, he spotted no one he knew. Other than a handful of people at two tables, the place stood empty. Most of the regulars came later, and his wife expected him home long before that. The door opened and two young men, probably professional types based on their clothing, entered and made their way to the bar. They each grabbed a stool just two down from him, and order...

22 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

Raya Bones

Submitted to Contest #186

A woman walked into the dimly lit bar, her eyes scanning the room for a place to sit. She was tall and striking, with bleached blonde hair that fell in loose waves down her back. As she approached the bar, the bartender looked up, his eyes lingering on her for a moment before he spoke. "What can I get you?" he asked, his voice low and gravelly. The woman paused for a moment, her eyes scanning the shelves behind the bar. "Scotch," she said finally. "Neat." The bartender poured her a generous measure of the amber liquid, sliding the gla...

20 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Storyteller

Submitted to Contest #186

Then there are the people watchers. I sometimes like to watch the people watchers. People watchers are easy to spot. They are sitting in a quiet spot, trying not to be conspicuous as they conspicuously indulge their voyeuristic pursuit, making back stories up for the people who catch their eye.Some people watchers are merely exercising their imaginations. Others are broken in some sad way, and they drag themselves out from the haven of their bedroom to watch others going about their business and they latch onto one after another of them...

20 likes 13 comments 13
Read story

Kayaking in Hong Kong

Submitted to Contest #186

I can’t wait for this story to end.As I sat in a hotel bar in San Francisco, my eyes are drawn to the most breathtaking woman I have ever seen. I approach and offer to buy her a drink. To my delight, she accepts, and we spend the next hour chatting and laughing. Then, she leans in and whispers in my ear, “I need to go, but if you would like to see me again.” She writes a name on a napkin and slips it into my front jacket pocket, “Meet me at this coffee shop in Milan.”“Milan, Italy?”She nods, as if that's a normal answer. My heart flutters as...

20 likes 18 comments 18
Read story

Ghosties....

Submitted to Contest #186

"Just shut up and write!" These words were resounding in Emily Hardiman's brain. By day, she was a petite 23 year old tutor, wearing bad skirts. That went with her profession, all she could afford. On Sundays, she was the mild mannered 'good girl', she taught the children at Sunday School. Yes, Emily was such a good girl. She was a trustworthy friend, placid, with a trim figure and honey-blonde hair that brushed her shoulders. Her hidden secret burning desire was to be a Gospel singer. But how? Sipping her coffee, she avoided the crispy fri...

20 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

A Modest Prophecy

Submitted to Contest #186

A Modest Prophecy‘We need to circle the wagons,’ said the CEO, clicking to a slide showing month-by-month patronage for the current and previous financial years. There was a pause to allow us to grasp the significance of the image on the Boardroom screen, but the implication of the blue bars towering over their red neighbors was obvious.‘So guys, later this week I’ll be reaching out to each of you, to discuss rightsizing measures for your departments,’ she continued.I looked round the room to see how the rest of the management team were taki...

20 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Red Dog Lane

Submitted to Contest #186

My Uncle Doolie was what everyone called, “different,” born from a bad egg, peculiar. To me he was just Doolie, my uncle on my father’s side, though I knew to keep a good walking distance behind him, out of harm’s reach you might say, that’s because Doolie had a flash fire temper, that most anything could make flare. When you last expected it, it would come at you like a cyclone and wail the life out of you.  Doolie was what was called around these parts of Virginia, as an “old bachelor.” There were few. Though some frequented Moodies,...

19 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Ring

Submitted to Contest #186

It had nothing to do with him and everything to do with him. He was a jeweler. That’s what he did, he fixed jewelry. Sometimes beautiful pieces, sometimes simple pieces. And sometimes…stolen pieces. The afternoon was hot and humid, the small air conditioner giving its last hums of life. Suddenly, a man walked in, the small bell on the door tinkling. The jeweler looked up. The man was sweating profusely. “Nervous” the jeweler thought. He’d seen his share of hold ups throughout the years.  “How can I help you, sir?” he asked. The man ha...

19 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Dream A Little Dream

Submitted to Contest #186

It’s the first day of summer. Finally, a reprieve from the hard work of high school. I’m looking forward to college. I just want to get it over with as quickly as possible so my life can begin. I can’t wait to start my career as an attorney.The beach is my favorite place to be during the summer. Palm trees are dotted along the perimeter of the sand where the concrete meets the narrow street. Cobalt fades into azure as the waters compete for dominance. White foam covers the tortilla and tawny-colored sand.  Families and couples are ...

19 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which each paragraph begins or ends (or both!) with the same sentence.

Fiction – 77 stories

Write a story of fragments. Many options here: no verbs, sentence fragments, short sections, nothing but objects, etc. The fragments should relate to one another obliquely, hesitantly, subtly, ambiguously, preposterously, marvelously.

Fiction – 54 stories

Write a story that formally utilizes a mathematical sequence; e.g., the Fibonacci sequence could determine the number of words in each paragraph, or start with a number and work backwards. Make sure the formula is made clear, either within the story, or before or after it.

Fiction – 17 stories

Write a story entirely of dialogue. Nothing but dialogue. No attributives (he said, she said, etc.). No descriptions of scenes or gestures or movements (unless these things are presented in the dialogue). Just words between quotation marks. Pure, beautiful, untainted dialogue.

Dialogue – 275 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel