Write about a family who decides to camp out in the back yard during a power outage.

Posted in Funny on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 114 stories

“Bonds That Never Break” by Jade Young

The call came at ten o’clock. The longer I stared at the name on the screen, the more memories I thought I’d forgotten--of him caring for me alongside the other two, and of him chasing me around a tent pitched in our grandmother’s yard--flooded to the surface of my mind. Just before his name could disappear, I swiped my finger across the green icon and pressed the phone against my ear.“Vera Parker speaking.”“Hey, Vee. It’s Connor.”I wanted to tell him off for using a nickname he no lon...

133 comments 133

Read story

“Splintered Like Firewood” by Maggie Deese

The arguing started early that day. As we ate our dinner—baked chicken with rosemary seasoning, homemade mashed potatoes, and fried green beans—our forks hit the plates with a sense of urgency. It was the first time in weeks that Mom had cooked a meal from scratch. Or even partially from scratch. My sister and I were getting used to the week-old McDonald's. We had been so desperately hungry that I suppose we forgot to use our manners.The silverware clanged noisily against the china, food falling out of our mouths from to...

68 comments 68 SHORTLIST ⭐️

Read story

“A Royal Camping Trip” by Sarah Freeman

“You know, Lils, it would be great if you could sew some pants into my dress…” Princess Dawn’s personal seamstress, Lily-Rose, had been measuring a length of ribbon silently. At the girl’s comment, she gave Dawn an incredulous look. “P-pants?” Lily-Rose questioned in horror. “But...you’re a princess! Pants are for princes and commoners!” Dawn rolled her eye...

168 comments 168

Read story

“Dadding” by J D Hernandez

It started to be a very tiring day filled with monotonous repetition that the days had come to hold. The small family of five was finding it hard to navigate the new at-home lifestyle that Covid-19 had forced them to adopt. The kids were entertained by the Morning school work and TV, the teen was on Instagram and the adults had been working vigorously throughout the day. The parents were just getting ready to take a brea...

5 comments 5

Read story

“That’s So Camp” by Kathleen March

My name is Leah Waters. I’m a writer for WRST News. This is my podcast. My podcast program tries to bring the audience closer to the actual making of the broadcasts that we watch on TV and the internet. For that purpose I reveal my behind-the-scenes work as a professional journalist who prepares before she leaps, so to speak, onto the screen. Here you will follow my fascinating preparations and even be able to c...

11 comments 11

Read story

“The Park Bench!” by P. Jean

(Write about a family who decides to camp out in the back yard during a power outage.)Bob and Margie looked at one another with a look of knowing panic! More than panic, horror actually! What could they possibly do? How could they corral these four kids in a dark house with no electronic tentacles to the outside world?The family had gathered around the kitchen table where one candle provided all of the ambient light. The family was Bob, the head of the clan and father to tw...

19 comments 19

Read story

“The Best Building” by Meggy House

Margarita and Al were generally compliant kids. Obviously they had their moments, but they were definitely ranking in the category of better tenants. They lived with their father, Jerry, and their mother, Dee, and though they made very little at the rubber-eraser factory a two-mile walk away they were two of those pure, generous souls that gave most of what they earned back to the less fortunate. Like the less fortunate would want a five-cent hamburger pack. But the giving ...

11 comments 11

Read story

“One in the Dark, Another in the Quiet” by Aveena Bordeaux

JuneShe rushed around the house, feet pattering on the carpeted floor while I sat on the living room couch with Bambi. She was a seeing-eye Labrador and faultless when it came to her job of guiding me but she loved lolling with us when she was off-duty – rare as I needed a working pair of eyes to go practically anywhere. She was a lasting member of our three-person family. The other was Audrey, who was now standing in front of us. I knew from a wh...

18 comments 18

Read story

“Lustering Lights” by Rudielyn Lenlen

Singing along with the melody of music in my heart is the only thing I can do during this night. It pacifies myself as it removes all the undesirable things in my surrounding. Tranquility is wrapping my body— one of the finest feelings I ever had. “Lynnea! Can’t you hear me? I said come here.” I groaned as my mother pulled out my big white headphone on ...

30 comments 30

Read story

“Schrödinger’s Parakeet” by A.Dot Ram

When the world as we know it stops, the time on the oven clock reads 4:37 before the spindly green numbers disappear with a loud warning beep, a tritone harmony of appliances announcing a power outage. My first guess is a fire, since it’s August and it’s hot, and the light out the window has taken on that familiar surreal yellow tint, the trees casting anemic lavender shadows across the lawn—a false dusk. “Where do you keep the lanterns?” Simon calls from his den. We have over three hours unti...

11 comments 11

Read story

“Crickets” by Maria Gelman

I hate crickets. Not the way they look or anything. I just hate their little chirps, especially when it comes to nighttime. I don’t remember when I started hating them, honestly. Maybe it was on that night when my boyfriend (well, ex now) and I were at the train station and he was hugging me and I giggled and commented on how loud they were. Maybe it was when I felt stuck while lying in bed on lonely s...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Unplugged” by KarLynn Erickson

Ally pulled the van up to the house and let out a disgusted breath. “Every light in that house must be on.” The craftsman style house was what she and her husband Jake had always dreamed about and worked for. They met in college. He was a business major and she was in design school. Neither of them came from money, so they spent time finding joy in things you don’t have to pay for. She loved the house and n...

13 comments 13

Read story

“The Camp Out” by Catherine Stevens

“Mom! Where are you?” Allie cried out when her room was plunged into darkness. “Mom!” At the sound of her panic her Mom rushed into the room.“Honey, it’s alright, it’s just a power outage. Your Father is getting a flashlight now.”“Why would the power go out? It’s not storming outside.”“When you live in a rural area, like we do, power outages happen. Maybe a tractor hit a pole, or they had a power surge that has knocked down the system.”&nb...

8 comments 8

Read story

“Building Bonfires and Families” by Lily Kingston

“Hey, Baby-Cakes!” Callie Baros cooed as she peeked into the bathroom of her student apartment that she shared with three other sophomores where Cake Flores was doing their hair. “Can you please not use so many electric appliances at once? Thank you~” “Hey, Callie~” Cake said in an imitation of Callie’s voice, “Can you not call me Baby-Cakes? It’s not my name, Cake is.” “Sure thing, BC. And remember ...

14 comments 14

Read story

“The Approach” by Kendall Defoe

‘So, what do we do now?’ That was my brother, the last one out of the house. My mom was still arranging things on the wooden picnic table we had outside and dad would be home later. Doug just wanted to act like an asshole because he could not play videogames until he fell asleep at the computer. Another Friday... I wanted to check my email and research some things for my homework, but that was done for th...

9 comments 9

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who purposefully causes a power outage.

Thriller and Suspense – 148 stories

Write a story where the power goes out on a spaceship or submarine.

Adventure – 87 stories

Write about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.

Thriller and Suspense – 254 stories

Write a story about someone feeling powerless.

Narrative – 289 stories

Contest #58

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Lights Out

$50

Prize money

892

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 11, 2020 EST

Won by Julie Bissell 🏆

Title: In the Dark

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Tired of MS Word?

Join the revolution and write your book in a tool designed for authors. 🙌

Includes FREE typesetting to print-ready PDF & EPUB files, track changes and collaborative editing.

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a family who decides to camp out in the back yard during a power outage.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 114 stories

“Bonds That Never Break” by Jade Young

“Splintered Like Firewood” by Maggie Deese

“A Royal Camping Trip” by Sarah Freeman

“Dadding” by J D Hernandez

“That’s So Camp” by Kathleen March

“The Park Bench!” by P. Jean

“The Best Building” by Meggy House

“One in the Dark, Another in the Quiet” by Aveena Bordeaux

“Lustering Lights” by Rudielyn Lenlen

“Schrödinger’s Parakeet” by A.Dot Ram

“Crickets” by Maria Gelman

“Unplugged” by KarLynn Erickson

“The Camp Out” by Catherine Stevens

“Building Bonfires and Families” by Lily Kingston

“The Approach” by Kendall Defoe

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who purposefully causes a power outage.

Write a story where the power goes out on a spaceship or submarine.

Write about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.

Write a story about someone feeling powerless.

Contest #58

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

892

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: