Set your story in the woods or on a campground.

Posted in Summer on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 83 stories

“Beneath the Soil” by Alex Sultan

Submitted to Contest #143

One, two, three, four. Auden pushed the steel poker into the soil with each count. He held his breath, waiting to hit a landmine, and found nothing. Exhale. He crawled forward—only a couple of feet—and breathed in. A red bird with viridian-tinted eyes perched on the tree above and watched. The breeze, colder than yesterday, shook the branches, whistling as it passed. One, two, three, four. Nothing. He exhaled. Crawling forward, a faraway soldier called out that he found one. Auden dropped his poker, then covered his ears with cupped hands. A...

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“Stuey” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #143

On the outskirts of Diamond City, above Evergreen Campground, a bright light exploded in the glittery sky and fell to the surrounding wilderness. The white streak was unobserved, however, because most of the younger children were glued to various board games, and the older kids were huddled together sharing spooky after-dark fairy tales. Having completed a full day of outdoor activities, a little bit of fun was a welcomed reprieve for everyone at the camp. Over the years, Evergreen had experienced a rapid decline in visitors, and a final ...

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“The Guru” by Heather Winslow

Submitted to Contest #143

The forest was the classroom. The two-and-a-half foot, mocha skin, boy version of myself who had just turned three, was my Guru. His name is Oliver Sambit. His middle name means “consciousness” in Bengali, his father’s parents’ native language. After leaving his dad the previous winter and venturing through the kingdom of single parenting, with a pandemic that seemed endless, along with a custody battle that felt equal to the battle of Iwo Jima in terms of trauma, then finding out my dad was arrested for malicious acts that I refuse to write...

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“The Woods” by ★ 𝑷𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 ★

Submitted to Contest #143

Leaves crunch under my feet and an owl hoots in the distance. A full moon is out, shining down into the forest, lighting up the trees.My favourite place has always been the woods. Everything was different here, you could forget your troubles and enjoy every moment. You could forget that this was one of your last days."I'm sorry Keira, there's nothing we can do." Cancer has taken millions of souls every year, it was only a matter of time before it took mine. In the woods, however, I didn't have to think about this. I could remember the happy ...

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“Camping for three” by Beth Whitcomb

Submitted to Contest #143

There was nothing about the site that made it welcoming. It was a dirt pit riddled with gophers who'd eaten the last shred of greenery to be found, but she rolled out her tent over their doorways with only one thing on her mind."I'll never go back." The kids, two years old and 4 months old, couldn't hear her, they were asleep in their car seats as she unpacked the car. Just as the words left her mouth she felt her butt vibrating with another text from her continuously sorry husband who didn't know why she was so mad.She started putting ...

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“Lumberjack Camp” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #143

“Welcome to Lumberjack camp!”I groaned as I hopped off the bus. I was welcomed by the hot sun beating down on my acne-covered face.“Oh! Don’t groan! The Lumberjackful activities haven't started yet. I’m Huck Bunyun, the camp director.”“Lumberjackful?” I repeated quietly.“Yes, my young lad! There's more Lumberjackful activities than you can shake a stick at!”I was surprised he heard me.“Now, put on your hardy Lumberjack smile, Young… uh…?”“Mike.”“Right. Young Mike, come with me.”Why did my parents sign me up for this camp?...

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“The Woods are Watching” by Hope Elizabeth

Submitted to Contest #143

This was supposed to be a calming trip. I guess it could have been with just a couple different decisions. Maybe one could have been going to a hotel instead of bringing my own tent, but no, I just had to camp in a forest. I don’t even know why. That was nothing like me. I haven’t been camping since I was a little girl, and after this experience I can promise, I will never do it again. If I even survive this. It didn’t start out bad. Really it started off as a quick break from people with a relaxing trip to a forest. That clearly didn’t go ...

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“Last Day in Scowle, Ohio ” by Ben Reynoso

Submitted to Contest #143

CW: non-graphic nudity, fear of deep water (thalassophobia)Marcus held his ice cream cone between the ring and middle finger of his left hand. His thumb and forefinger clutched the steering wheel. A particularly syrupy dribble of Rocky Road threatened to slip down the rim of the cone and onto his cargo shorts. I twisted the knob of the radio to my favorite station. Hip-hop blared out of the speakers and blended into the harmony of cicadas. My own ice cream, strawberry, had been reduced to a soggy nub of a cone. I clutched it fruitlessly...

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“What You Aren't Taught ” by Ateeq Rehman

Submitted to Contest #143

She met the new day's sun with tired contempt. In one heavy sigh, she fell the rain from her many limbs, scattering the birds to sky and the worms to earth and the squirrels onto her sisters and the owls briefly out of sleep and the deer out of calm and then it was quiet. Save for the screeching of some little one she thought sounded alone. She wanted to sound out to the voice. She wanted to scream with it. But she remained still and quiet and before the guilt built she turned her attention to her sisters that had forever been an arms length...

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“Life’s a mess (aka wonderful world)” by Gianluca Angelucci

Submitted to Contest #143

To think that I would end up living in a makeshift hut deep in the woods…Life’s a mess sometimes.I mean, if you follow the biological steps to make a life, you can see that life’s a mess by definition.It starts with a vicious entanglement of flesh and bodily fluids, it develops in a sack in the womb of the mother deforming and squishing her organs, and comes to the light of day in pain and anguish, in a pool of liquids, blood and let’s not think what else.Then come the cries, infancy, puberty, and at last when you reach 20 -ready to be a pro...

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“Mr Ishootdeerforfun” by Clara Cantwell

Submitted to Contest #143

“Monday mooching with the magnolias, Tuesday time spent with the tulips, Wednesday walking down to the water lilies, Thursday thinking with…” A loud bang from the door signalled the end of my free time. I quickly rolled up my weekly schedule and hid it inside the drawer in the desk. It wasn’t my desk, but I was sure the owner wasn’t going to find my paper. The owner was part of the summer camp that I attended over the holidays. There were definitely pros and cons to staying there. For one it was nice for me to be living next to the bush agai...

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“Table Mountain Pine” by Davie McGuinn

Submitted to Contest #143

(CW: Substance abuse, physical violence) Eliza sat on the outcropping and gazed at the flames leaping and dancing among the windswept wooded landscape. She made it this far, and she was not turning back. What brings destruction also brings new life and hope. The dry bones in the valley before her were resurrecting, reforming, dancing, and yearning for life. She would join the dance, but she had to be patient—no second-guessing herself. Just keep looking forward. Her eyes moved up in tandem with the rising smoke. She caught a glimpse ...

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“The Happy Trail” by Janey El Napier

Submitted to Contest #143

Content warning is written in commentsThe kid wanted water but all Ted had on him was a stick of Dentyne. The tent bag over his shoulder had started hurting around the same time Benny had asked for it, thirty minutes after they started walking. Ted’s bet had been twenty minutes. He supposed that meant the kid was defying expectations for once. Benny had taken the gum and stuffed it into that quiet mouth of his with a woebegone look. Ted doubted the kid knew what woebegone meant. Ted doubted he even knew how to hammer a tent peg into the...

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“The Boom-Boom-Caw” by Danielle Roach

Submitted to Contest #143

“Fred!” Bang, bang, bang. “Fred, you home?!” The startling noise of a ten-year-old's balled up fists beating down a friend's front door is a very impressive display. When he adds his young, impatient voice into the commotion, it would be a wonder if someone didn’t hear him. “Golly, Sam. Quiet down!” Fred hollers down from the second-floor window. “I’m coming, geesh!” He loudly shuts the window and Sam, upon hearing his friend's response, begins pacing on the porch as if he’d waited a lifetime. When Fred finally opens the ...

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“Wolverine Lake” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #143

“The trees encountered on a country stroll Reveal a lot about that country’s soul… A culture is no better than its woods.” ― W.H.Auden Katrina and I were strolling down Lake Road, licking the stubs of the tiger-stripe ice cream cones we’d bought at Green’s Grocery. We were surrounded by the flicker and buzz of an idyllic summer day, one of many we spent at the family cottage during summer vacation. The drone of a motor far out on the lake; the rustle of small creatures in the shaded forest we walked beside: we were oblivious to these noise...

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Set your story in the woods or on a campground.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 83 stories

“Beneath the Soil” by Alex Sultan

“Stuey” by Daniel R. Hayes

“The Guru” by Heather Winslow

“The Woods” by ★ 𝑷𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 ★

“Camping for three” by Beth Whitcomb

“Lumberjack Camp” by Charlie Murphy

“The Woods are Watching” by Hope Elizabeth

“Last Day in Scowle, Ohio ” by Ben Reynoso

“What You Aren't Taught ” by Ateeq Rehman

“Life’s a mess (aka wonderful world)” by Gianluca Angelucci

“Mr Ishootdeerforfun” by Clara Cantwell

“Table Mountain Pine” by Davie McGuinn

“The Happy Trail” by Janey El Napier

“The Boom-Boom-Caw” by Danielle Roach

“Wolverine Lake” by VJ Hamilton

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who loves cloud gazing.

Start or end your story with a person buying a house plant.

Write about a trip to see a natural sight that’s usually only ever seen in photos.

Write a story involving a friendship between two different species.

Contest #143

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

254

Contest entries

139

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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