Set your story on (or in) a winding river.

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 122 stories

“Dao Shi” by Marie McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #98

A man, his wife and his son and daughter walked to a reed boat at the edge of a winding river. The son and daughter, as per their mother and father's instruction, loaded flowers into the reed boat, while the father loaded a basket of steamed dumplings and grilled fish into the boat. The four of them pushed the boat out into the water so the current could send the boat downstream.Dozens of other people on either side of the river loaded offerings in reed boats on the river's edge and sent the boats out into the water.Red Lanterns hung from bu...

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“A Thousand Tears Flowing” by Karmissa Ariadne

Submitted to Contest #98

Be thankful for it. Worship it. On it goes, without a care in the world. Swirling and pushing through the earth itself, reflecting life and enchanting all around it. Unforgiving and endless it surpasses even my own lifetime breaking anything in its path. It is clever, though, for it is gentle in its breaking and its subtlety often goes unnoticed. It treks the mountains and grassy plains, winding around the landscape like a snake, yet in all its movement I sense it does not really move at all. For its heart does not beat like ours and it ...

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“Shadow and Blood” by Hannah B

Submitted to Contest #98

TW: graphic violence The boat meandered down the coiling river, heading towards the Vaharan camp that Lantuven was at. He had sent word that he was unable to meet them halfway as promised, and that he was busy training a new unit of recruits. There were Vaharans toiling about the deck, their amulets glittering in the dark and their feathered wings pinned against their backs as they weaved around the small deck. All were mumbling about being on the boat and not up in the skies on such a clear night—however, between each little speck of...

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“The story on a winding river ” by Anika Roy

Submitted to Contest #98

The winding river, deep and dark with crystals of light on its curves, journeys alongside of our small town. Life on the land flows to the rhythm of the river Hooghly, a silent witness of all that goes on our lives, high and low. I fondly remember those young days after I first stepped in my in-laws’ nest. Warm summer evenings on the river banks and the rising river in the rains were so close to my heart. “Why don’t you learn some special skill ? It might help you in getting a job.” My husband’s idea sounded fantastic, but was surely a proce...

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“Life, As I see It” by Martin Mururu

Submitted to Contest #98

Some people say that life is like a video game, where we are the main characters inside our own stories. Others say life is like a walk down a path that's both ugly and pretty. While others say that life is merely a play and the world a stage and us the players. Meanwhile, some folks say that life is like a tuna sandwich on top of a rainbow-colored hill, getting chewed by a sunglassed feathered viking goat that yodels. No questions, please. However, life, for me, is but a rusty boat traversing down a winding river... "Approachi...

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“A journey to find home” by Dove Hui

Submitted to Contest #98

I stole towards the door, my backpack laden with food and water to survive me for 1 month. Opening the main outer door of the house where I lived, I peered up into the night sky. It was pitch black: there was not even a star that would give me a sign that what I was about to do was correct. I sighed, then I stepped towards the bridge that crossed the river. It was a winding river that stretched far beyond our village’s view. On both ends it passed the horizons, winding its way into the dusty sunset or the early morning light. The ri...

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“Asteria Delaney strikes again...” by Maddie Smith

Submitted to Contest #98

You know, when I was a kid, breaking into small houses was actually kind of fun. I just didn’t know how far that would really bring me... “Ugh” I groaned as I waded, and the deep flows of water passed and folded around my waist. “I just got dry, come on...”. You probably don’t know me. My name is Asteria. Asteria Delaney. Yeah, all the wanted posters for the mass theft of the Ontario National Bank, the news of suspicious activity from gangs, the police ...

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“Down The Winding River” by Simply Me

Submitted to Contest #98

If I told someone that I learned one of the most important life lessons through a fever dream, they would not believe me. I mean, would you? A child, around the age of eleven, telling you that they learned about life through a dream. A dream they had on a cold winter night when their forehead burned through a fever. The dream of a winding river. And almost every time, the dream went like this. “What will become of me from now on? After a while, I stopped thinking about that. Nothing changes, in this winding river ...

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“THE BEE STING” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #98

I am a river in India and come from the snows of the Himalayas. From such a meagre start! And so the sages have rightly said three things not to be asked about: The origin of the river, the past of a saint and the background of a woman. I have flown down eternally undisturbed by thousands bathing in me, humans and beasts drinking from me, ascetics meditating on banks beside me, minstrels singing and dancing in divine ecstasy on the shore, archealogists studying my flow and sampling my water to establish my history, bandits hid...

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“Chaos spoke unto Cosmos” by Winston Smith

Submitted to Contest #98

A rabbit and a hare sit in a river boat, coasting along. “The river is mine,” says the rabbit. “See how it follows the grooves in the Earth.” &nb...

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“The River” by Fay Redecta

Submitted to Contest #98

Dad observes the trees as I kneel to retie my shoe for the hundredth time. “Are we close?” I ask. “Yep, we’re close.” A week ago at breakfast, Dad told me that it was time to see the river. He said that every child in his family goes to see it when they turn thirteen. “What’s so special about this river?” I had asked him. “It is magical.” I laughed, but Dad frowned. “This is a serious thing, Anthony. Only my family knows about it. It is a sacred trip that we take our children on, and then they will take their children.” “Did ...

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“The Serpent and The Dragon” by Cagalli Lim

Submitted to Contest #98

The river wound, twisting and turning through the shallow valley. The melancholy humm of the stream sounded out, bouncing off of the mountainside. Tall grass grew rampant, spread across the lands along with fern and flowers, and rabbits and bunnies hid amongst the shrubbery. Amidst the chaos, there was a girl. She was young, but not too young. She was in her twenties. She wore a red kimono, embellished with flowy pink ribbons and a black obijime, and her hair was held up in a neatly tied bun. She was waiting. For what, it was hard to tell. T...

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“Almost Barefoot” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

Submitted to Contest #98

1208 wordsRated PG; blood, gorePrompt: Set your story on (or in) a winding river.My shoe was gone.I was walking along the stream at noon when it fell in. I was trudging along, tired from lunch, kicking at all the stones in my path. One kept staying in front of me. I made a game of aiming it straight so that I could kick it again. My foot had been off one time. I had kicked it to the left. On either side of me, fields. Tall stalks of grass shoot out of them. If I cared to venture further, if I wanted to push the grass aside, then I might...

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“The Wolf Pack” by Robin Wiesneth

Submitted to Contest #98

Tan stood trembling on the sandy beach with her back to the river. She was still wet from swimming, and the calculating icy stares of the five wolves creeping toward her sent an unexpected chill through her. “Walk. Back. Slowly,” her dad said from the front seat of the SUV. “The inner tube is a few feet behind you. I promise they won’t follow you.” Tan did not speak. She only nodded and stepped back. Her feet felt the sand change from dry to wet. She was close. “Paddle to the middle and float down past the bridge. I’ll pick you up on the nex...

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“The River of Life” by Serena Johnston

Submitted to Contest #98

Trigger Warning: Talk of death and suicide Everett I walk along a winding river, looking into it. It’s like glass, and my entire life is on the other side. I’m a spectator, watching my life unfold through the river in real time. This is no ordinary river. This is the River of Life, a river that tells my story, from birth to death. I see many things, things I forgot about. The time I broke my leg falling off my bike. The first time my older sister Emily brought a boy home. My mother falling down the stairs and going to the hos...

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Set your story on (or in) a winding river.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 122 stories

“Dao Shi” by Marie McLaughlin

“A Thousand Tears Flowing” by Karmissa Ariadne

“Shadow and Blood” by Hannah B

“The story on a winding river ” by Anika Roy

“Life, As I see It” by Martin Mururu

“A journey to find home” by Dove Hui

“Asteria Delaney strikes again...” by Maddie Smith

“Down The Winding River” by Simply Me

“THE BEE STING” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“Chaos spoke unto Cosmos” by Winston Smith

“The River” by Fay Redecta

“The Serpent and The Dragon” by Cagalli Lim

“Almost Barefoot” by You'd Think A Writer Would Have A More Creative Name .

“The Wolf Pack” by Robin Wiesneth

“The River of Life” by Serena Johnston

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a family with a long-standing tradition, whose members all have conflicting origin stories for it.

Start your story with a character having a premonition, but no one believes them.

Write about someone who’s desperately trying to change their luck.

Write a story involving a character who cannot return home.

Contest #98

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

751

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: