Fly by the seat of your pants and write a story without a plan.

Posted in Short Story on Nov 8, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 68 stories

“A Break From Schedule” by Asa P

Submitted to Contest #170

It was a rare weeknight treat. No schedule. Her favorite pastime loomed before her. Her father made it dance in the air. He waved it around as he carried it down the hall after having plucked it from her hands without warning. She reached for it again and again, but each time he suddenly yanked it high aloft in the air and kept shuffling along unbothered. When he turned to enter the cramped living room, she automatically followed him, still reaching in vain and beginning to whine.“Papa, why? You gave the game, now you don’t let me have it! W...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Theatre and Death” by Peter Presscott

Submitted to Contest #170

“Stay with me, Sanchez!” She shook him, and Horace pulled her away. “That is probably the last thing you should be doing to an injured person,” he said, a couple of people laughed. She pushed Horace, spitting in his direction. “You don’t know anything, traitor!” she cringed as she spoke, thinking of how stupid she must sound. Horace sighed and looked at Luther’s limp body. “I know there is nothing we can do for him. I’m sorry,” she burst into tears, right on cue. The lights faded. The curtains closed. The crowd grumbled....

0 comments 0

Read story

“Forget About Jane” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #170

Siena jerked when her phone rang on the small table next to her recliner. She blinked, wiped her eyes, and picked up her phone. “Hello?” she said. “You really are sick,” Brenna said. “I thought you made it up to get out of the bachelorette party.” “Why would I make it up? Jane is my oldest friend.” Siena sniffed and looked around her den in the failing light. She snapped on the lamp next to her chair. “Was my oldest friend. I’m out of the wedding. Jane was furious when I told her I couldn’t come to the party because my doctor told me to...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Loved... and Lost” by Victoria White

Submitted to Contest #170

*December 16, 2022 - *text message received*7:52pm: “We should talk…. come over.”…………….Midnight approaches. Paralyzed in thought and reminisce, Ria’s sitting on her walnut tan, leather sofa in her living room. Her eyes begin to water as she takes a sip of wine and delicately nurses the rim of her glass whilst staring out into the slow, rippling lake and trees covered in blankets of snow beneath the starry, night sky. As a single tear trickles down her cheek, Ria abruptly closes her eyes and sharply inhales. As she lets out a lengthy breath, ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“RoadHawk” by Kristin Johnson

Submitted to Contest #170

The roadrunner always knew she wanted to fly.Since the first time her talons touched the human sky-road where the metal birds flew, she knew she wanted to fly like the metal birds. Away from the desert heat. Away from the coyotes and the bobcats, and definitely away from the snakes. And the humans.But she couldn’t fly on her own.One of the metal birds sat on the human sky-road. It looked far bigger than any bird ever grew. She wanted to fly inside the bird. Then she could soar above all the other desert predators. Including the hawks that sw...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Dallow House ” by Carissa Cherrington

Submitted to Contest #170

CW: suicide/self-harm, physical violence. Arthur Wellston came into possession of Dallow House by misfortune. The grand estate had been owned for many years by a distant cousin of the Dallow family, who then passed on rather abruptly after a bad bout of pneumonia. The cousin’s son took it upon himself to sell many of their own possessions, as their financial situation was not as stable as it had once been. The house, unlived-in for nearly a century, had once been the pride of a very proud family but had to be sold at a mere fraction o...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Where is my horizon!” by Sri Vi S

Submitted to Contest #170

I drove to the edge of the cliff LongHope in my rented camper van. This was the most unplanned journey. Prior to setting out on this sojourn, I was going through a mind-set shift and an inner turmoil, fired for a new beginning. Yes, also a sudden inner urge to get going and adventure. Seven years prior to this day, my son was young and innocent, so I had to be around him to care for and nurture him. As he was coming to 20 now, a man of his own thoughts and actions. The breaking of innocence had happened a few years before. I visua...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Wild Rose of the Canyon ” by River Horn

Submitted to Contest #170

After Maya and her girlfriends had been busy in the tea mountain for a day, they all flew out of the tea forest like butterflies and gathered. They did not rush back to the tribe village but decided to come to the canyon ridge not far from the village for nothing but to listen to the wind. There was an endless canyon, with steep cliffs on both sides and a rushing, unsurpassable torrent beneath the ten thousand feet. The opposite ridge was not far off, with rocks, trees, and wild deer visible. The sound of the wind lingered in this canyon r...

4 comments 4

Read story

“To Stand By Noah” by Drew Herron

Submitted to Contest #170

Noah and his dad, Stephen, had just taken their seats a few rows behind Cleveland’s away dugout. The game was against the Angels and had been on their schedule for nearly three months. They had gotten to their seats a little late because Stephen wanted to buy a hat, and Noah wanted a veggie burger which was only sold at one specific food stand on the second deck. It was the top of the second inning, Cleveland was down by one, and Trout was on deck. There was a smack of leather followed by a staccato yell from the umpire. “Three!” The Angels...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Second Garden” by Joseph Schowengerdt

Submitted to Contest #170

It was found that a young man and his wife had violated the policy of a very exclusive garden. The Owner was not happy and said the only reasonable option was the couple should be banned for life. The young man's wife cried bitter tears, she loved walking with her husband in the garden and she knew grapes wouldn't taste the same anywhere else. "I'm sorry my sweet," said the young man trying his best to comfort her, "We still have each other, Don't we?" "You have my companionship still, my friends." said a wolf, This story took place a ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“The Not-So Perfect Dancer - By Harini” by Harini Pradeep

Submitted to Contest #170

I had practiced so much for this audition. I was an amazing dancer but I was still quite worried. My palms were dripping with sweat and I got more anxious as my teacher walked up to announce who got in. My teacher kept calling out names but not mine. The tension got to me. As she said the last names, I was tearing up with no hope left. My life was over.This was one of the biggest auditions in my whole life. If I got in, my future would be just the way it isn’t now. Since I didn’t get in, my life was never the same. I was the best dancer and ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Glass Cliff” by Jan MacFarlane

Submitted to Contest #170

She felt a tingle of excitement, as she looked up at the sheer face of the Crag, but she did not feel intimidated. On the contrary, the thought of the climb elated her. She knew she could do it: she had brought crampons, she had brought cams, and she had done her homework. She knew the safest way to the top, knew the rocks to grasp and those she should not, knew the cervices to be avoided, the overhangs and outcrops which might offer shelter and those that would not, and most important of all, she knew there was a staircase cut into the rock...

0 comments 0

Read story

“THE WELL” by R. J. Garron

Submitted to Contest #170

A game made the rounds on the platforms, and if one had the hard-earned digital cash if their social credit permitted, one could purchase the most addictive game on the market. Marco Sanchez was instantly hooked when the name “Reptilian Reflex” graced across his hungry eyes with its font of broken up letters that oozed out the bottom. The game was complex, engaging and went on until the sun burnt out. One night, he and his friend immersed themselves in the ever-eternal realms of “Reptilian Reflex...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Mad Hope” by Lucky Ooog

Submitted to Contest #170

I sit at the edge of my seat, facing my publisher. “So what do you think? Is it ready?” She looks right back at my eager face and rubs the bridge of her nose as if she is working her way through a headache. “I mean…” she sighs. “Honestly, Moses, what the fuck?” I can’t help but feel a little taken aback. Was ‘What the fuck’ a good thing? Like ‘What the fuck, I didn’t expect something this good.’ She doesn’t look like she’s praising me though. “So, is it… bad?” I ask hesitantly. “I didn’t say that,” she answers. “So it’s good?” I ask, feeling...

1 comment 1

Read story

“the concept of happy” by Charly Woods

Submitted to Contest #170

“This is great! No, it’s perfect,” the autumn leaves on the street. And when I step on it, making this sweet crispy sound. Wonderful perfect sentences flew into my mind.“How can I do that when I have no plan? Words make no sense and sentences are confusing.”“But I don’t care. I care about the wind and the sea.” Not about living, I care about enjoying the little things. If I don’t, I might get washed away. Christmas trees and the look on your son’s face, are the little things. Yesterday I thought about that, and I cried while laughing. Emotio...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the line “I’ve got a plan”.

Dialogue – 60 stories

Write a story about a character who tries to control their life down to the most minute detail — but has to learn to let go.

Character – 25 stories

Write about a plan that goes wrong, for the better.

Middle School – 38 stories

Write a story that involves the architectural plans for a building.

Mystery – 11 stories

Contest #170

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Best Laid Plans

$250

Prize money

202

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 04, 2022 EST

Won by Camphor White 🏆

Title: Fini Flight

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Fly by the seat of your pants and write a story without a plan.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 68 stories

“A Break From Schedule” by Asa P

“Theatre and Death” by Peter Presscott

“Forget About Jane” by Sherri Moorer

“Loved... and Lost” by Victoria White

“RoadHawk” by Kristin Johnson

“Dallow House ” by Carissa Cherrington

“Where is my horizon!” by Sri Vi S

“Wild Rose of the Canyon ” by River Horn

“To Stand By Noah” by Drew Herron

“The Second Garden” by Joseph Schowengerdt

“The Not-So Perfect Dancer - By Harini” by Harini Pradeep

“The Glass Cliff” by Jan MacFarlane

“THE WELL” by R. J. Garron

“Mad Hope” by Lucky Ooog

“the concept of happy” by Charly Woods

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the line “I’ve got a plan”.

Write a story about a character who tries to control their life down to the most minute detail — but has to learn to let go.

Write about a plan that goes wrong, for the better.

Write a story that involves the architectural plans for a building.

Contest #170

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

202

Contest entries

125

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: