Write a story that experiments with tone — perhaps a difficult subject dealt with in a playful way, or an ostensibly happy scene that hints at darkness lurking beneath.

Posted in Short Story on Jun 16, 2023

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✍️ 63 stories

“The Taking” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #203

Serial #1: The Taking (This is the first of a serial written for this prompt, not published.)____“William, wake up.” Carol was jostling me. I hadn’t slept long; the room was still dark, shadows just before dawn. “What?” The alarm showed 5:12 AM. “Someone’s in the house. The living room.” Carol pulled me in tight with both hands. I could tell she felt scared. Really scared. I didn’t wait. The bedside table on my side held a small .22 revolver. The only time I’d ever fired it was in a half day lesson I took after the riots ...

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“A Note on Cleaning and Maintenance ” by Georgie Lewis

Submitted to Contest #203

A Note on Cleaning and MaintenanceBy Katherine WestermannDear New Owners, Mr. McJay, always the professional, wearing the kindly whatever-you-prefer-ma’am smile of a true salesman, dissuaded me from meeting you, or any of this home’s prospective buyers in person, so we are perfect strangers. Let me introduce myself: Elsa Frip; ninety-eight years young; never mind the cane, never mind the palsy, make no fuss about The Eye! The Eye has been a problem since 1934 when I mistook rubbing alcohol for water and cooked some brain...

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“In Counter” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #203

It was only a coffee. Could it have been any simpler? Decaf with skim milk and Stevia. They didn’t have Stevia; they only had Sweet n’ Lo. No big deal, she’d said. Fine, the waitress replied. Fine, again. Why had she had to say fine twice? Jenn wasn’t that hungry, and she told the waitress as much. The waitress asked twice, Can I get you anything else? And twice Jenn said, No thank you. Twice. The first time she said it with a smile. No thank you, I’m not hungry. &...

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“Here with me” by Racer Goddard

Submitted to Contest #203

Her dark brown curls looked as if they were intricately placed hair-by-hair onto her head. Her smile could lift the spirits of the entire room. Her eyes were the perfect shade of blue that seemingly never dulled. But her laugh, oh her sweet, sweet laugh could have guys on their knees in mere seconds. Scarlett Myers was undoubtedly hand-crafted by God himself. “Are you ever going to man up and speak to her?” a dull voice asked beside him, “Or are you going to keep staring at her like a creep?” He looked down at his twin sister, Macy, whil...

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“It Was Punch, Judy” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #203

That’s the way to do it!The kazoo voice yelled the famous line and everyone laughed and laughed and laughed until the tears came and their bodies ached.The enraptured audience sat on the floor, legs crossed, looking up intently at the stage. Bursting into laughter. Clapping delightedly and chiming in with words when required.This really was the way to do it.Only Jane didn’t feel quite right about this. Theatres ranged the audience at least at something like eye level with the stage itself, and with rising rank after rank so everyone could se...

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“Heflin Academy of Great Education ” by Sansa Childress

Submitted to Contest #203

Hello! This is my first story on Reedsy, so I’m sorry if it sucks. Also, trigger warning: mention of suicide, substance abuse, murder and physical abuse. No realistic description.I really appreciate your time. Thank you for reading!(Using the prompt choice: an ostensibly happy scene with hints of darkness lurking.)My aunt Belinda had always shut down harsh rumors concerning the well-loved and prestigious Heflin Academy of Great Education, founded by her then-twentysomething great-grandmother in 1895. An accessible boarding school in upper Ne...

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“Quilts” by Shannon C.

Submitted to Contest #203

The shop was small and quaint with red brick walls. Some visible pipes and exposed duct work gave it that industrial look. Steve bought it two years ago, after he decided he was done working for “the man”. He wanted to work for himself.He loved that he was surrounded by every color of fabric you could imagine, and that his patchouli oil diffusers didn’t piss anyone off. Damn those office bitches.He also enjoyed that he could set his own hours and have the freedom to be open or closed even while working if he didn’t want to deal with customer...

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“Don’t, Sue!” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #203

Don’t, Sue!At 11:49 a.m., Sue plowed into the back of a bus.WHUMP!And just like that, lunch was delayed for the entire office. A witness called 9-1-1. Voices… sound urgent… Something going on?… doesn’t matter… Sirens?… accident?... Let them deal with it… Drift away… and back… Sue opened one eye, just a slit. The other one didn’t want to cooperate.“There you are, back with us!”Fuzzy woman… blonde hair… no, blonde woman… fuzzy hair… but she IS fuzzy… face blurry… focus, brain…Cool hands brushed lightly around Sue’s face an...

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“Tartarussia” by BlackCat InATopHat

Submitted to Contest #203

The rain today sounded different than usual. It pelted the brick and stone exterior of the grand old place Karina had begun calling home a few weeks ago, irregular and far away and interspersed with crashes. Karina shrunk into the covers of her soft bed. These strange sounds had begun right as she moved out of her old home. Karina felt her heart begin to race as fear overtook her body. She concentrated on her bedroom; an oasis of warmth amidst the cold, chaotic night, with the fire burning steadily in its hearth and the soft yellow light fro...

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“The Atheist” by Alexander Hanna

Submitted to Contest #203

Having had its doors locked hours earlier, the parking lot of the church was empty. The night sky was clear and the moon was bright and full and lit the suburban landscape blue and white. The air was still apart from a small breeze every now and then weaving its way through the leaves of the trees. In the middle of the church parking lot, a single car sat parked. The engine softly buzzed as a young man leaned back in the driver’s seat and listened to the sound of the cool air coming out through the vents. He blankly stared out the windshield...

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“Diamond Despair, Dusty Delight” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #203

PROLOGUEIn the midst of a not-so-ordinary day, under a sky as moody as a stubborn mule, uniformed superheroes - including firefighters and police officers - converged around a boy who looked like he just emerged from an unexpected plunge in a pool. They saw a peculiar object on the pavement nearby; it looked more like a dummy than a legitimate corpse. Almost instantly, a vehicle came zipping down the road. From it popped a couple who seemed to have just stepped off a movie set, looking all dramatic and dishevelled. Likely the boy's parents, ...

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“A Woman's Role” by Beatrice Gomes

Submitted to Contest #203

It was the best day of the year for now 11-year-old Sofia: her birthday. She was surrounded by her relatives and classmates singing “happy birthday” to her. She was the centerpiece, the star of the show today. She stood at her stage at the head of the dining table with her chin almost held up high. Father stood across the room, his glazed-over eyes aimed in the general direction of the table. As the small crowd wrapped up the song, the birthday girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. Sofia cherished this moment when the world ...

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“Heart” by C. Sanders

Submitted to Contest #203

He was impossibly tall. That was the first thing that caught Missy’s attention that night at the bar. He moved through the throng of drunks like a river crashing through rocks and mountains and boulders. People had no choice but to move out of his way or be trampled. He didn’t shoulder his way through the crowd or intimidate them or anything, but who wouldn’t be? The next thing Missy noticed was his smile. Oh, it made her heart beat faster. There were deep grooves in his cheeks, with permanent smile lines that caught her eye. His eyes w...

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“Just Ripe” by Olivia Inez

Submitted to Contest #203

Things are not always as they seem. There is no definitive good or bad. There is no right or wrong, just what we make of it. Bees sting but help keep our ecosystem stay alive. Dogs are great companions, but they can bite. Food keeps us nourished and alive but can poison us and rot us from the inside out. Even Mother Earth herself shares this duality, harboring all known life in the universe while seemingly trying to destroy it all in one breath. You get what I’m trying to say. So you see, I’m not a good person. I’m not a bad one either. To l...

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“I Was Gonna Offer You a Brewski, But I see You’re Covered” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #203

Her hand shaking as she wipes the tears away from her rosy cheeks, Modesty Naylor, soda mogul Percival Warren Naylor’s shapely twenty-seven-year-old widow, leans against her mother Empress for comfort. Modesty’s babyish lisp endears her to the reporters and photographers gathered by her Olympic pool to interview her. “I wuved him. I weally did. But people wouldn’t wet me.” Embarrassed by the cutting headline he’d published the day before, (“Gorgeous Gold Digger Strikes Gold As 92-Year-Old Soda King Goes Pop!”). Eyewitness News Reporter Har...

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Write a story that experiments with tone — perhaps a difficult subject dealt with in a playful way, or an ostensibly happy scene that hints at darkness lurking beneath.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“The Taking” by Jack Kimball

“A Note on Cleaning and Maintenance ” by Georgie Lewis

“In Counter” by David Ader

“Here with me” by Racer Goddard

“It Was Punch, Judy” by Jed Cope

“Heflin Academy of Great Education ” by Sansa Childress

“Quilts” by Shannon C.

“Don’t, Sue!” by Cindy Strube

“Tartarussia” by BlackCat InATopHat

“The Atheist” by Alexander Hanna

“Diamond Despair, Dusty Delight” by Ian James

“A Woman's Role” by Beatrice Gomes

“Heart” by C. Sanders

“Just Ripe” by Olivia Inez

“I Was Gonna Offer You a Brewski, But I see You’re Covered” by Michael Jefferson

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story during which two conversations happen simultaneously.

Write about how a single event affects a seemingly unrelated area of a character’s life (their friendships, career, romantic relationships, etc.)

Write about two friends getting into a fist fight.

Start your story in the middle of the action.

Contest #203

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: