Write about someone who summons the creative muse through a convoluted ritual or method.

Posted in Short Story on Aug 30, 2024

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✍️ 58 stories

“inspirAItion” by Derrick M Domican

Submitted to Contest #266

08:50:05.000:RequestGeneratedHey Phaedra, can you give me a recipe for vegan lasagne with a rich, creamy bechamel sauce?08:50:05.005: ResponseDispatched++Certainly! For a delicious vegan lasagne, you'll need lasagne noodles, marinara sauce, vegan ricotta, and a homemade bechamel sauce. Here's the recipe and step-by-step instructions, Michael!++08:50:05.012:RequestGeneratedPhaedra, how do I fix a leaky faucet?08:50:05.020: ResponseDispatched ++Here’s a step-by-step guide to get that faucet fixed. Grab a wrench and some plumber’s tap...

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“Clarity” by Arthur Ingham

Submitted to Contest #266

Author's note: This story should be in the prompt: "Someone who wants to give up on their career right before their big break." I can't change it. New member mistake, sorry.The tunnel was pitch black, save for the faint glimmer of the enforcers’ flashlights bouncing off the damp walls. My lungs burned with each breath, the cold air of the Swiss Alps slicing through my throat like a razor blade. The train was coming. I could hear it—a low, distant rumble that echoed through the darkness, growing louder with every second. There was no room to ...

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“The Writer’s Stone” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #266

In the quiet solitude of his cluttered study, Tom sat hunched over a keyboard that seemed to groan under the pressure of unmet deadlines and unrealized potential. Beside him, a teetering tower of empty coffee mugs testified to the caffeine-fueled desperation that had consumed his life these last few weeks. Tom was a sci-fi writer—a profession that, despite its often romanticized allure, had lately felt more like a Sisyphean struggle beneath an avalanche of creative paralysis. And there it was, mocking him: the blinking cursor on the otherwis...

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“The Phantom Storyteller of the Ship Destiny's Dreams” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #266

Below the clipper ship's deck, deep in the darkness of the steerage, Ana turned up the flame on the wick of her lantern.Light shined through the blue etched glass. In the indigo glow, Ana felt the ancient stories begin to awaken within her.Characters seemed to waver and dance in the shadows. Patterns flickered on the walls from the light of the blue lantern. The ship's passengers gathered there turned toward Ana and the source of the blue light.A girl named Liliana and her younger brother called Juan crawled closer to see Ana and her blue la...

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“The Right Thing to Say” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #266

The cogs were turning, that was for sure. She’d serrated the edges of her doodled flowers and had begun to fill in the gaps in between. One great black swirl of ink after another. The words would come soon. They always did. And this time they simply had to…Trust me, trust the method…Okay, so that was a start, the kick up the butt Gertrude felt she needed scrawled diagonally across the lines of the facing page. But what next? Swirl round some more, add a spear-headed arrow…Can’t get over this… but it’s not about me… It’s Sandra who’s lost her...

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“The Picture of Daria Cray: A Professor Deshpande Mystery” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #266

The Dancer entreats the audience with a blossoming left hand, and although the blazing lights at stage’s edge render invisible the bedazzled masses, She feels the silence, the moment of transit, when observer becomes one with the Dance, believes the doors have opened to a universe of possibilities. With one inviting gesture, The Dancer has become the Conductor of Dreams…Her fingers pause. A double-tap, and a blue nail hovers over the keyboard. It descends, and all begins again…**“These mitigating circumstances,” Curtis murmured. “Whyn’t you ...

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“careful what You wish for” by KA James

Submitted to Contest #266

You, yes you, the supposed writer, illustrious creator of thrilling adventures as well as chronicler of romantic dalliances, equally capable at short story or novel length, you who are the magnanimous master of intrigue and the veritable reincarnated Vonnegut of satire; or perhaps, are you the imposter extraordinaire, lucky if you can manage to string two coherent sentences together, create a believable character who, when they speak, doesn’t sound like their dialogue came straight out of a ‘60’s TV melodrama, or even pen a decent adjec...

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“A Ritual Of Fire And Bridges” by Victor David

Submitted to Contest #266

For what it’s worth, the first time around is never the best. People say it is, but that’s a legend that grew from late night discussions back when authors could speak without permission. They’d sit around a fire in the woods with their mouths full of ideas and whiskey, and bask in the critical fluency of accolades as darkness rolled a refer.Richard Garrison knew the truth. He had been one of them, back when to summon his spirit he only had to take a swig or two, and pound his chest. The wilderness inside him savaged his temper with its howl...

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“Where to Start, Exactly?” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #266

Martin had absolutely no idea where to start.“What ya doin’?” said Clara, cheerily, as Martin started descending the stairwell to the basement, coffee in one hand, phone and notebook in the other, a scowl on his face. She knew what he was doing; it was the same thing every day.“Going down,” said Martin, making it sound like he was on a one-way trip to the underworld. His mind was on this week’s creative-writing story prompt.“Have fun writing! I’m going to the market, then visiting Trish. We’re having halibut for dinner.” ...

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“Behind Every Great Man...” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #266

I’m not the only one, but it feels like I am. Writing is a supposedly lonely occupation but you’d think you’d get a bit of support from your own bloody wife! Sometimes I feel like a burden. A deadweight. A strange loner child whiling away my life in the pursuit of a stupid, childish fantasy. She makes me feel like that. She makes me feel bad and worthless. She’s crushing my dream, even as I try to realise it. I need someone to boost my belief. Mine alone is not enough. I’m only human after all. I am frail and have moments of weakness. I some...

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“Oh, Muse. Oh, Catharsis! ” by Lonnie Russo

Submitted to Contest #266

My legs were on fire by the time they left the ground. I surged upward like a spark, stretching my arms toward the ceiling—grabbing, reaching. I landed hard on my calloused soles. Once more, then, I leapt, gaining height. The third jump took me higher still, and as I returned to the floor, catching sight of myself in the mirror, I rolled my whole body downward.I found a strange foundation there in the scuffed surface, and I allowed this discovery to take root in the depths of my stomach. It tugged me to the ground like a magnet, providing mo...

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“Finis historia” by Laura Ethington

Submitted to Contest #266

Evelyn stared at the blank page on her laptop, her head in her hands, staring at the keyboard, praying for some divine spark to ignite her creativity—or at least the first sentence. The blank page mocked her as she watched the cursor blink. The words wouldn't come, and they hadn't for days. She's done everything she normally would to inspire her next psychological thriller. Baking, drinking, numbing with casual dates on dating apps, even visiting her mind-numbingly boring sister and her 3 kids in Omaha. But nothing. She'd been suitable for t...

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“The Unrequired Summoning” by N A

Submitted to Contest #266

Life is short - you know how I know?Been twice on the cold metal table of surgeries. Been open up straight like a body for autopsy, not in Y but in a straight line, by a cold scalpel pressed down the skin, so sharp that it can cut your muscles just like a sharp knife would cut down easily a cheese. Lesson learned, you might die on table today, so please sign your Informed Consent Form before we head in to the controlled slaughterhouse.The anxiety that kicks in it's so bad that you almost faint, but not really, you're barely breathi...

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“The Muse’s Labyrinth ” by MEEGAN MEEKS

Submitted to Contest #266

**The Muse's Labyrinth** In a dimly lit room, deep within a forgotten library, sat Lila—a struggling writer whose desperation had driven her to the brink of madness. The stories that once flowed effortlessly from her mind had dried up like an abandoned well, leaving her staring at blank pages for days. She had heard whispers of a ritual, a forbidden method to summon the muse, one that had been passed down through the ages in hushed tones. And now, with nothing left to lose, she was ready to try anything. Lila’s research had led her to an anc...

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“Meadow” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #266

L’scariot stood hip deep among the colourful wild flowers, lifting the beautiful woman up, the summer breeze playing with her long dark hair, the glowing sun not as bright as her smiling face. He slowly turned, his strong musculature supporting her petite weight, holding her securely so she would not fall, letting her laughter completely fill his mind.That part of him that always questioned wondered why he did not know her name, but what did that matter when they were alone together and the sun was shining?Then, aware of stealthy approach fr...

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Write about someone who summons the creative muse through a convoluted ritual or method.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 58 stories

“inspirAItion” by Derrick M Domican

“Clarity” by Arthur Ingham

“The Writer’s Stone” by Jim LaFleur

“The Phantom Storyteller of the Ship Destiny's Dreams” by Kristi Gott

“The Right Thing to Say” by Carol Stewart

“The Picture of Daria Cray: A Professor Deshpande Mystery” by Martin Ross

“careful what You wish for” by KA James

“A Ritual Of Fire And Bridges” by Victor David

“Where to Start, Exactly?” by Luca King Greek

“Behind Every Great Man...” by Jed Cope

“Oh, Muse. Oh, Catharsis! ” by Lonnie Russo

“Finis historia” by Laura Ethington

“The Unrequired Summoning” by N A

“The Muse’s Labyrinth ” by MEEGAN MEEKS

“Meadow” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone who wants to give up on their career right before their big break.

Your protagonist discovers that everything they type comes true. What happens next?

Write from the POV of a character in a story who keeps getting re-written by their second-guessing author.

Your protagonist has the perfect day scheduled — but things don’t go according to plan.

Contest #266

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

288

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: