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 Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Set your story in a small town where everyone is suspicious of newcomers.

Posted in General on May 3, 2021

Submissions are closed!

Sorry, we are no longer accepting submissions. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

✍️ 143 stories

“The Witch’s Daughter” by Louise Coley

The King sat on his throne, legs swinging in the afternoon sun. The wilderness spread out before him — a boy’s paradise of twisting dirt tracks webbed with ancient tree roots, full of shady hollows and secret hideaways. Behind him, the copse thinned until it met the road that would take you back to the village, but before him was the arena of countless battles, the base camp of every perilous expedition, a land of untold adventure. And 

143 comments 143
Read story

“The Fire in Her Eyes” by Amany Sayed

She looked down at her scuffed boots and smiled. A small smile, but it was there.  Brand new neighbors. She got up slowly and brushed off her skirt. A boy her age. She walked to the window and pressed her forehead against the cool glass. Introduce him to everyone. The group was waiting, she knew that...

92 comments 92
Read story

“Faith” by 🔮ℂ𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕖 🦋 𝔄𝔨𝔞𝔱𝔰𝔲𝔨𝔦🏳️‍🌈

      “......an’ I had to tell him that he wassa beening too uptight, eh?” Jonathan smirked. “Yes, that does sound like him. Really, Alden is really uptight. Oh, that reminds me, I planned a trip to your town. I hope you don’t mind me visiting you and Agatha, old friend?” There was a pause. Then the man named Johnathan spoke. “Yeb, er, I ain’t minding ya! Me and my wife willa seeya ther!” Beep. 

69 comments 69
Read story

“Walmart's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” by Deidra Lovegren

It was Evie who wanted the kids, Orville remembers. Orville would have been content drinking coffee with his Evie in the mornings, looking out the window, watching the birds at the bird feeder, quietly listening to her go on about this and that.  “When does the school bus come, Ollie?” Evie asks. “About 3:30,” Orville replies for the third time. “I want to make some cookies for the girls. How about oatmeal raisin?” Evie suggests, her eyes look hopeful, full of purpose. Orville ...

55 comments 55
Read story

“Werewolves, Vampires, Cannibals, Oh My! ” by Rhondalise Mitza

"Werewolves."She glared out the window, eyes on the moving van ahead of her."Vampires."Her friend was eating French fries from a KFC bucket, dark blue Converse resting up on the dashboard. They were playing the game where they guessed who the newcomers were."Cannibals." She laughed and smacked her friend in the shoulder. They knew better than to play the game. If the Mayor heard them, he would surely be upset. "Definitely not. That would be a stretch, even for us." She plucked a French fry from ...

43 comments 43
Read story

“Where the Devil Hides” by Lynn Penny

I could feel their eyes on me, all the eyes of the people we walked past. Our new neighbors were weird, just watching my Mama and me. No one back home would stare at us like this. I don't think that I'm that fun to look at. I asked Mama why so many people were staring at us, but she only told me to keep my voice down."I don't like it here, Mama, when are we going back home?" I pulled on her dress while she was doing something in the kitchen."This is our home, now go feed the chickens and let Mama do her...

51 comments 51
Read story

“Please Don't Feed the Strays” by Jonathan Blaauw

Warning: The following story contains scenes of violence that may be upsetting to a younger audience. Reader discretion is advised.“Dad, are we lost?”“No, sweetie. Of course not.”“Where are we then?”“In the car.” Tom chuckled as Abby rolled her eyes at him from the backseat in a perfect imitation of her mother. Alongside him, Susan was staring straight ahead, a tiny muscle working in her jaw – a clear sig...

118 comments 118
Read story

“Jacob and Samantha (Part 1 Jacob)” by Lauren K

Part 1: JacobDay 1Hello my name is Jacob. Me and my girlfriend just moved to Colorado. I love it so much here! The only reason we moved here for Samantha’s work. I can’t tell but I think she loves it here. Tomorrow we’re going to meet her new boss. She’s so excited!  Our house is so big! The back deck looks off a cliff at Castle Peak. It’s so beautiful! I hope this is the place where we start our life with our kids if Sam is willing to have a child. She’s alw...

11 comments 11
Read story

“Among the Mango Trees” by Kristin Neubauer

When Enrique Otero was five years old, a shriveled old mango seller in Caracas told him about the heat of the Venezuelan savanna."First, the rocks begin to smoke," he said to the little boy, knife flashing through the fruit. "Then your nose begins to burn and you know you've breathed in the hottest part of the sun. It moves through your throat and lungs like a thousand burning needles."Enrique swallowed, not bothering to wipe the mango juice dribbling down his chin.

34 comments 34
Read story

“Sea of Roses” by 𝕊𝕦𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕚 🤍

“Do you understand your task?” the king asked. I bottled up my fear and bowed my head solemnly. The king nodded, his features relaxing. Even though I had worked closely with him for almost two years, he was still intimidating. Perhaps it had something to do with his cold, blue-gray eyes or his demeaning gaze. Maybe it was how he spoke slowly and softly, making one feel like a child who had broken his mother’s f...

68 comments 68
Read story

“Cyrano's Nose” by Maya Zauberman

Cyrano’s Nose A Short Story By Maya Zauberman Response to Prompt #1, Writing Contest 208 Two women stand near a French window, their noses pressed against the cold glass. Their hawk eyes trail a loaded moving van across the street, watching it stop in front of an old Tudor manor. Their noses c...

9 comments 9
Read story

“An Isolated Tribe of the Upper Peninsula” by Sebastian Ehlke

Welcome to springfield. The sign's white letters reflected the moonlight off of them and into a gleam of white light hitting my eyes as I passed. The top left corner had lost the green coating that covered the rest of the sign, instead sporting a rusted brown. Unincorporated. As if trying to hide the insignificance of the town, the word hung below the initial greeting with parts hidden behind brush. ...

9 comments 9
Read story

“A Thousand Eyes” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Moving isn’t really that fun if you think about it. Well, there was no stopping. We had to go. My family had to move across the ocean, to a place where only the population was approximately a 10,000 people. It was a very small island, according to the web. Though, they were not friendly. Always war or dividing land issues occur there because of some sort of argument all the time. I wasn’...

8 comments 8
Read story

“All in the Sword” by 🐬ᴬᴬᴹᴱᴺᴬ ᴷᴴᴬᴷᴵ🐬

“Go on, patrol the area.”“Now?!?!” Grayson exclaims.“Yes now! Come on, there's a reason that we made you the guard.”Grayson grumbles and stomps off, which is easy for him because of the bulky armor he has on."Remember your horse!"He goes to the stables, saddles up his horse, and trots past the restaurant. Hesees her. The same person Grayson sees every day. After he signals to her, she nods and runs off.Five minutes later, she’s beside him, on a horse.“So,” she says. “Today’s the day, huh?”...

7 comments 7
Read story

“Mad dog ” by Miles Gatling

"That dude's fucking crazy, dog…""I know, did you see the way he flipped that desk? I thought Jimmy was a goner. He shouldn't been talking shit… ""Haha, yeah, that motherfucker's strong as fuck. He works out at my gym.""No way… Teacher lifts, bro?""I'm telling you this guy's something else." He puffed, puffed then passed it. "One time, dude was working out minding his business when Rico, the ugliest meatbag you ever saw steps up to him and demands his weights. My man was eyeballing this cunt like it was nothing...

25 comments 25
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a couple who have just moved to a place that one person loves, and the other hates.

General – 136 stories

Write about a character arriving in a place unlike anywhere they’ve ever been.

General – 218 stories

Set your story in a place with extreme weather, but don’t use any weather-related words to describe it.

General – 74 stories

Write a story that feels lonely, despite being set in a packed city.

General – 241 stories

Contest #59

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Location, Location, Location

$50

Prize money

866

Submissions

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 18, 2020 EST

Won by Louise Coley 🏆

Title: The Witch’s Daughter

View details

Win $50 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $50!

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.

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Comedy Writing Prompts ⭢

Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

For Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

General Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢