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

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 122 stories

“Right and Left” by Brooke Phillips

Submitted to Contest #98

The river was a place of safety. The two old sycamore trees that hung overhead shielding them from the world with their draping branches. The lapping of the water was a calming, familiar melody. Even the single raven’s caw was reassuring to Catherine as she tried to walk to the edge of the river bank. She used to come to this clearing all the time, but it had been many months since she had last ventured to the water’s edge. Weeks had been spent contemplating how close she could get before the memories flooded her senses to the point she had...

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“The Nickel” by MJ Aria

Submitted to Contest #98

A two-faced nickel rested at the bottom of the river. It was not particularly shiny or nice and it wore the dents and nicks of a used and forgotten item. Stuck neatly between two rocks, it did not stray from its spot, despite frequent rains that swelled and swirled the waters. Once, long ago, the nickel had lived in the pocket of a boy. That boy’s name was Timmy and the nickel remembered him well with those wild red curls, that crooked-toothed grin and eyes that sparkled with joyful innocence. Timmy had been proud of the two-faced nickel ...

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“Witch on the Waters” by Sydney O Bryant

Submitted to Contest #98

Coincidentally, the day of my tenth birthday was also the day I first saw the witch. I awoke to the usual incessant droplets of water leaking from the weak ceiling and splattering onto my face, streaking across my cheeks like teardrops. I sat up. Neither my mother nor father had called me yet, which meant I had either woken too early or today was a special day. Luckily, soon I was to discover it was the latter. Moments later, my sister leapt through the doorway, her roughspun frock bouncing almost as enthusiastically as she was. She lunged t...

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“Mystical Country ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #98

Mystical Country. Hidden in the deepness of my childhood, at either end of this island continent you can be surrounded and be a person of trees – from Valley of the Giants just outside Wapole, or amid dominating tree curtains along Caves Road Yallingup, like fence posts for trolls stand Karri (Eucalyptus Diversicolor) giants. Many rivers flow to the ocean, I will deal with rivers, but I want you dear readers to stand among the trees for a short while. Once upon a time you could drive through a Tingle tree unfortunately this was destroyed ...

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“Soul of the River” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #98

It was dark and bottomless - and like a serpent twisted and turned, usually gently and calmly but when it changed, angry and unpredictable. It wound around fallen tree roots thrown into the raging water when furious storms had lifted them completely out of the earth. They continued to live and grow from the depths of the river, and were reaching for the sunlight or just trying to get away from what lay beneath. Bent limbs from the lower branches creaked gently like an old wooden door in a slight draught and dipped in and...

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“Nightless Desert” by Tina-Gene Coetzee

Submitted to Contest #98

“This winding river is much like life, only flowing in one direction, until a current strong enough comes along to pull you completely off course into a new direction; whether an adventure, or a nightmare, however, is solely up to the individual. You were that current to me, you know.” “Oh my god, would you PLEASE shut up!” Seth pursed his lips to keep himself from laughing aloud, not looking back at the other man behind him, said man hidden away in a small tent to keep out of the blazing suns beating down from above them. Elias had never...

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“Waters of Tisiyyon ” by SCOTT GEORGE

Submitted to Contest #98

Waters of Tisiyyon By Scott George Peter trudged through the thick, emerald waters of Lakhish River with a cautious and squeamish expression. Lakhish River was notorious for its putridity. The smell of its Balucium pollutant lingered throughout Tisiyyon, the odor of which was akin to that of spoiled milk. The smell was especially strong in Jackson, Tisiyyon’s capital, for there the river winded and coiled around the city’s sky-high buildings like yarn on a knitting board. Everyone had gotten used to it by now. Little did the ...

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“Rare Catch” by Ashbie Chapman

Submitted to Contest #98

Alice snoozed as she drifted down the river in her lone, donut decorated inflatable tube. She had been going down the river for the last few hours, contending with rapids and canoers and men alike. All she had was herself, her tube, and her glasses, and that was all she needed. In between her various naps in the quiet stretches of river, Alice would hum various marine tunes. She tended to favor whaler and siren songs, their haunting tunes thrilling to her. They also conveyed the right message, if the ones on the receiving end would acknowled...

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“The Color Of A Fighter” by Ava Baum

Submitted to Contest #98

TW: sexual abuse, physical abuse, institutional abuse The boat is made from wood we found behind the cross-filled cemetery, buried under yellowing furniture and carriage carcasses with no wheels and rusted pails. A graveyard for trash behind a graveyard for people. You told me there's no difference between the two. We took the wood that didn't break when I jumped on it and built a sagging boat with a sagging hull. You brought me red paint, said it would make the boat look like it belongs to me, and I had grinned. We missed Church to paint it...

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“The River, The Mine, and All of Us” by Zelda Crist

Submitted to Contest #98

CW: pandemic The water there was red. Little particles of clay were constantly swept away by the raging river, and the iron deposits made it look as though the water itself had rusted. The river itself was positively serpent-like, winding its way across the Earth in a hissing rush, as though maddened by something. The process by which that water was filtered was long. If there was a slight delay at the plant, we may have a few hours with no running water in our homes. If you were washing the dishes and suddenly your pipes ran dry, you didn’t...

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“The Square on the River” by Stevie Burges

Submitted to Contest #98

During the early 2000s not long after moving to London from Cardiff, on a rainy, dull Saturday afternoon I sneaked in through the gates of Dolphin Square and found myself in one of the most glorious gardens I had ever seen. I felt sure my friend had made a huge mistake by telling me to get a flat here. This was not for the likes of me - it was - posh. I was convinced if someone saw me in the gardens complete with tourist book in hand I would be marched out of the garden and told not to come back. However, I was persuaded by my frie...

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“Along a Winding Stream” by Narwhal Writer

Submitted to Contest #98

The sound of running water and the crisp breeze brought Marina back to her childhood. She kneeled next to the river, stuck a hand in, and examined its path as far as she could see. Based on its many curves and surface movement, she estimated where the water flowed fastest or slowest. Part of her considered resorting to her backup plan before dismissing the idea. The shallow depth didn’t allow for as much movement as she liked. Plus, she didn’t want to risk a wanderer spotting her. As she studied the river through sight and feel, memories of...

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“The Burial Celebration” by Michael Mackenzie

Submitted to Contest #98

Six empty caskets. Rusted bleachers and rusted chairs on brown grass. White chrysanthemums on a wooden table. Behind the stage, rain pounded the still waters of the river.Malcolm watched from the window. Eyes gray like the river. Hands shaking like a man facing the gallows. He punched a hole through the window. Shards of glass sprinkled into his fist.He climbed into bed. Her foot traveled over to his and she mumbled and he mumbled back. “We have to decide tomorrow,” Malcolm said.“Don’t say it like that. It’s a good thing. One of o...

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“The River ” by Grace Kelley

Submitted to Contest #98

My town was next to a river, a winding, never ending river that was wide and deep. We weren't allowed to go near it, some of the people in my town say if we were to go too close we would drown and be in pain. Maybe I should have listened because I did drown, but didn’t die. Would I be sorry for leaving to the river, maybe. I did not die, I had fallen in, I had hit the bottom of the rocky river below, it was deep and cold and the rushing water swept me away, I emerged from the water, I was nowhere near home and my bones felt stiff from the ...

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“Journey to the Unknown Story” by Elena Rouse

Submitted to Contest #98

Everyone has a story. That’s a pretty basic fact about human existence I think everyone would probably agree with.We all have somewhere we came from, people we’ve met, loved ones, or things, or moments that have been swept up into the oblivion of the past. And it’s not just memories you’ve experienced directly that create you. It’s years, maybe even decades, of history. Your history. There have been people and places far and wide interlocking, then dispersing only to interlock with someone new, somewhere else, that have all led to the moment...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 122 stories

“Right and Left” by Brooke Phillips

“The Nickel” by MJ Aria

“Witch on the Waters” by Sydney O Bryant

“Mystical Country ” by Karen Lethlean

“Soul of the River” by Valerie Preston

“Nightless Desert” by Tina-Gene Coetzee

“Waters of Tisiyyon ” by SCOTT GEORGE

“Rare Catch” by Ashbie Chapman

“The Color Of A Fighter” by Ava Baum

“The River, The Mine, and All of Us” by Zelda Crist

“The Square on the River” by Stevie Burges

“Along a Winding Stream” by Narwhal Writer

“The Burial Celebration” by Michael Mackenzie

“The River ” by Grace Kelley

“Journey to the Unknown Story” by Elena Rouse

🌟 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: