Write a story about discovering a lost manuscript. It can be from a famous (or infamous) author, or an unknown one.

Posted in Mystery on May 17, 2024

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✍️ 68 stories

“Discovery of the Lost Manuscript” by Kathy Frizzell

Submitted to Contest #251

As the storm raged outside in Cabot Cove, I found peace from a crackling sounds by the fire, savoring the witching hour and the soft raindrops on the siding.I have a personal story named “Raven-Wolf” to share with you. In it,I have long, vivid blue/green hair, fair skin, and mesmerizing purple hour-glass eyes.Through my specialization in three classes - high-elf priestess, blood-hunter, and druid - I have honed my skills in various roles.Carrying myself with grace, I radiate a cold and immortal aloofness, exhibiting an imperious attitude. My...

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“Azaleas” by Paige Harris

Submitted to Contest #251

Momma plants Azaleas. She likes the way they look around the wrap around porch. The way her southern belle friends fawn over them when they stop by for book club. She's a famous author, you see. When they're not veering off the path and reading a book by someone else, they're reading one of her books. She has about thirty of them, her books. She takes pride in them. She takes pride in being a small celebrity in our quaint southern town. They're downstairs now, her book club. Their muffled voices and laughter, drift up from the living ro...

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“The Unknown Manuscript.” by Alyce King

Submitted to Contest #251

I was rifling through the paperwork at speed whilst the rain battered the windows. Keep, maybe, throw. Keep, maybe, throw. Maybe, throw, throw, throw, keep, throw. Suddenly, I had cramp in my foot so stretched my legs out and tried not to roll around in pain and disturb my carefully piled piles of paperwork. How long had I been sitting here? Breathe in, hold, breathe out. I started to google ‘how to get rid of cramp’ when it started to subside. I had a feeling someone was watching me, you know, that sixth sense we sometimes have when it feel...

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“Obsession's Muse” by J.B. Redel

Submitted to Contest #251

“Detective! Over here!” Markus sighed into the plastic lid of his gas station coffee. He was on his third cup of the burnt liquid and was still waiting for the caffeine to kick in. He’d been at this for nearly twenty years. What did he have to show for it? A one-page resume and a ridiculous nickname. He should be considered a damn veteran at this point, but what did they call him instead? No-Luck-Chuck. The “no-luck” part made sense, but “Chuck?” His name wasn’t even Chuck! “What’s the story, Dent?” Markus asked in a way of gr...

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“lost script” by Kathleen Hair

Submitted to Contest #251

There was too much yelling, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the concepts as my fingers, wet with blood, struggled to peel open the eyelids of my left eye. Whatever shrapnel ricocheted off the wall, possibly took my left eye with it, I could live with that. The weight on my feet? Remnants of meat, blood, and bone adorning a uniform like the one I was wearing? Not sure I could live with that.The once timid man beside me was ranting about how we could have saved him, had my choice been to carry him. Never mind that half of the soldier had been b...

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“If these walls could talk” by Justin Diaz

Submitted to Contest #251

A clanking sound echoed off the plane of glass reaching the ears of two teenagers standing on the outskirts of the property of an old, abandoned house. The taller of the two held in his left hand a small collection of small pebbles of varying size, shape, and color. With the other he would pluck them from his small pile and chuck them at the house with wild abandon. “Come on man, what if someone sees us?” The other teen said as he constantly looked around them, they were in a quite part of the neighborhood where there was hardly any traffic....

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“Escape From the Garden” by Thomas E. Moore

Submitted to Contest #251

She shuffled aimlessly here and there. Her arms hung by her sides, suspended at the elbows lifelessly like a somnambulist. Her skin was umber. Her shoulders were hunched up and inward, looking resentful. I turned my back to her, busying myself with my secateurs. I crouched in a ball like a primate, pulling weeds from the cracked pavement. I glanced over my shoulder now and again to check her wellbeing. She was petting the ornamental fiberglass rooster in the raised garden bed. The decagon courtyard was full of natives, overrun by weeds, some...

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“The Philologist” by Richard Wiley

Submitted to Contest #251

Her father adored her. Just before Molly would come home for summer break she would frequently boast to her friends that no trip to Italy or studying abroad could compare with the spoiling she enjoyed when she returned home. This summer was different. A rising senior in college, Molly was in shock from the news she received only two weeks before heading home. Her father had suffered a massive heart attack and was in critical condition at the hospital. She was on her way home by train, but she was not truly on the train. Her mind wandere...

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Write a story about discovering a lost manuscript. It can be from a famous (or infamous) author, or an unknown one.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 68 stories

“Discovery of the Lost Manuscript” by Kathy Frizzell

“Azaleas” by Paige Harris

“The Unknown Manuscript.” by Alyce King

“Obsession's Muse” by J.B. Redel

“lost script” by Kathleen Hair

“If these walls could talk” by Justin Diaz

“Escape From the Garden” by Thomas E. Moore

“The Philologist” by Richard Wiley

🌟 Similar prompts

Your protagonist is a writer who discovers a new favorite author. How does their writing, or even their own personality, change as the protagonist falls under the writer’s influence?

Write a story about a future academic (or another influential person) “rediscovering” a book that, in its time, was dismissed. The book can be fictitious or real.

Dream up a secret library. Write a story about an adventurer who discovers it. What’s in the library? Why was it kept secret?

Your protagonist is a voracious reader. Lately, they’ve been noticing odd synchronicities in the books he or she is reading. What does the protagonist discover is happening?

Contest #251

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

234

Contest entries

76

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: