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?

Posted in Narrative on May 17, 2024

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✍️ 29 stories

“Star of the Stories” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #251

Speech for Harland Davenport Induction to UK Literary Society by Amanda Greenfield24 May 2024To the esteemed members of the UK Literary Society, – my fellow writers who create worlds out of words --- good evening. I would firstly like to say that I truly appreciate this opportunity to speak before you. I’m very happy to take to the podium for this momentous occasion. I’m equally ecstatic that this rather pricey bright pink silk Stella McCartney dress still fits my expanding belly.(Pause for laughs) As you all know, we are gathered here to in...

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“In Memory of Friendship” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #251

In Memory of Friendship.I hold it true, whate’er befall;I feel it when I sorrow most;‘Tis better to have loved and lostThan to never have loved at all.Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the elegy In Memoriam A.H.H in 1850 to his late friend Arthur Henry Hallam. I have often wondered if Tennyson was right. Is it really better to have experienced a friendship or is it better to protect oneself against that inevitable loss?I’m clumsy. I can be awkward, shy, reticent and self-involved. Have often put my foot wrong, stumbled and accidentally hurt others ...

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“Lunarmorphic Transformation, Weddings, and Other Such Conditions.” by Nadir Gauche

Submitted to Contest #251

—- ull out a book no bigger than a cigarette box, bound in deep navy leather with silver engraving. The front reads:LUNARMORPHIC TRANSFORMATION, WEDDINGS, AND OTHER SUCH CONDITIONSBY TSUKISHIRO TSUKISHIRO月城月白AS APPROVED BY THE FULL MOON SYNDICATEAnd on the inside, printed on the near-transparent paper:[Humans have observed the phases of the moon for thousands of generations.◌◑◯◐◌Lunarmorphs, however, do not merely observe these phases but experience them first-hand.] Indeed, the feeling of the paper– so im...

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“Spell Bound” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #251

How to begin? I lose count of the times I have faced this question. There are so many beginnings in this life of ours, and only a singular end for many of them. All the strands that we follow as we make our choices. Interwoven, however much we think we can keep them apart. I’ll begin with words. Those strange conveyances of meaning. Or not, as is often the case. We occasionally take a moment to look up the meaning of a word, but all we are looking at is a clinical definition. Meaning goes much deeper than that. Meaning goes all the way to th...

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“Francois” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #251

“Merde,” he mumbled gruffly. “You say something, hun?” Barb peered over her reading glasses at her husband. “Nothing, dear.” He looked at her and smiled. “Is that the book you found at the thrift store?” Dave gave no indication of hearing his wife’s question as he sat in his favorite recliner, tattered paperback in hand. “Hun?” Barb raised her voice vying for her husband’s attention. “Yes, dear?” “I asked if that’s your new book?” “It’s hardly new. In fact, it’s quite old. I think it might actually be worth somethin...

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“In The Dog Box” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #251

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure fiction. No dog experimentation was done before writing. This story is about me, Nancy, and my husband, George. After unpacking and settling into our new home, I ventured up the narrow stairs to the attic. We had seen it briefly before we bought the place. The room sat empty now. Glimmers of light shone through the chinks and tears in the ragged curtains. I saw and tasted the floating particles of dust. Before, items of discarded furniture, boxes, and cases had proliferated and been enshrouded in ...

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“Rebellious hope” by Rebecca Detti

Submitted to Contest #251

How do you do it? Said night.‘How do you wake and shine?’‘I keep it simple,’ said light.‘One day at a time’Lemn Sissay, from Let the light in, a collection of morning poemsMay 2024It was Saturday night, and I was sat next to my Aunty Dee in the Parkhouse Centre in Bude, Cornwall waiting for the poet Lemn Sissay to come on stage. A few months before, my aunty had mentioned his name, that he was coming to the Bude Literary Festival programme and would I like to go.‘Oh yes please, I haven't heard of him but always up for a night out.’‘What do y...

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“ The Distant View” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #251

Tanya Sutherland. I always wondered why she didn’t change her name. An author thing, I supposed, when I first discovered she wrote – and that did come as bit of a shock. I mean, first she muscled in on my boyfriend, and then my dream career path. Granted, the two were in no way linked, and it had been years since she took up with Luke. As for the likelihood of her stealing my readership, there was about as much chance of that as a drayhorse winning The National. That tagline of hers said it all. ‘Poets don’t cry, they reserve the shedding of...

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“Mimi Hynes - Mastermind” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #251

MIMI HYNES. There was something incredibly special about that name, particularly to Radnor Cliff – one of today’s many aspiring authors. He felt forgettable before he encountered her, especially since none of his books had ever taken off. Maybe it was owing to the fact he hadn’t settled on a single idea from day dot. He jumped from genre to genre, never writing anything entirely committal. He desperately needed a break from it all. The letters were wearing off his computer keyboard from prolonged and often frenetic overuse. “Damn it,” he sai...

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“One for All Time” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #251

He had almost gotten used to living in that grimy bunker of World War II vintage, grey, impenetrably damp, such as the sun never warmed or broke the musty smell of endless wetness. He had learned when the gendarmes came that he had to take his “walks” with crutches to avoid being scooped up to become the plaything of doctors and veteran’s affairs administrators.“Non, pas besoin…” he would breathe through tuberculosis-scarred lungs, clinging to what shreds of dignity remained, our food once proferred, he would wait to eat after we left. Wait ...

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“A Hidden Truth Between the Pages” by Omar Scott

Submitted to Contest #251

Carlton closed the most suspenseful, thrilling, murder mystery book he ever read. He found it just thumbing through the stacks at the local library. My Smile Hides My Evil Ways, was a book title that Carlton couldn’t resist. Reading the opening sentence hooked him. Carlton sat down in an armchair, next thing he knew eight hours passed and he had finished the book. The description of the murder, all the emotions felt so real to him. It was exactly the kind of story he always dreamed of writing. ...

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“I really enjoyed what you wrote bravo sir 😎” by Brad Sellick

Submitted to Contest #251

What are these words, these beautifully stringed epitomes constituting verses and rhythms who wrote? Where can i learn more of this writer who wrote all of the words i am going to bespoke. The author doth issue command all at once, silence erupts as he places one small toothpick into his mouth, a kind smile greets you, yes you reading this, whoever you are i am going to take you on an adventure of the mind, i want you to imagine you are the author who is thinking of these words almost gagging to be famous. Gifted in a class h...

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“The Burden” by Gen T

Submitted to Contest #251

The copy of the book showed up in a soggy cardboard box that was left on the doorstep overnight during one of the worst storms of the year. Twenty-two books and fourteen of them had excessive water damage, the five on the bottom layer water-logged being beyond saving. I wish I’d wondered why somebody had been so desperate to abandon these books like a swaddled baby on the steps of a fire station. I wish I’d noticed how the book seemed to be nestled protectively directly in the middle, protected from the soaked pavement below as well as...

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“Eugenia Graves” by Malia Kao

Submitted to Contest #251

Some seek Truth through external means: impressive words, idyllic prophets, omniscient gods. But some turn their seeking inward, delving so deeply that it nearly destroys them. Then, at the abyss, they will find Truth and transcend, enlightened.-Eugenia Graves I closed The Ascension with a snap and let out a breath. The last words in the book still hung in my mind, not quite sinking in; the aftershock hadn’t hit me yet. Did I read ramblings of a madwoman or proclamations of a genius? I placed a forefinger and middle finger at each temple, ma...

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“Fascination” by Amisha Connor

Submitted to Contest #251

[ This story contains sensitive content]. Mental health. Dark thoughts.thrillerHello, My name is Killian Mathews, I'm a writer tucked away in the quiet suburbs of Boston. And I write this passage in the dimly lit corners of my room, the ink on the page leaking through. Though I would use the phrase, writer, loosely. For years, I have woven stories of ordinary lives, starting but not quite finishing. Each one was sewed with a gentle beauty that I thought would resonate with a small but loyal audience. Despite my modest success with my only no...

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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?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 29 stories

“Star of the Stories” by Alexis Araneta

“In Memory of Friendship” by Trudy Jas

“Lunarmorphic Transformation, Weddings, and Other Such Conditions.” by Nadir Gauche

“Spell Bound” by Jed Cope

“Francois” by Hannah Lynn

“In The Dog Box” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“Rebellious hope” by Rebecca Detti

“ The Distant View” by Carol Stewart

“Mimi Hynes - Mastermind” by Keelan LaForge

“One for All Time” by Joe Smallwood

“A Hidden Truth Between the Pages” by Omar Scott

“I really enjoyed what you wrote bravo sir 😎” by Brad Sellick

“The Burden” by Gen T

“Eugenia Graves” by Malia Kao

“Fascination” by Amisha Connor

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

238

Contest entries

76

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: