Set your story in the woods or on a campground.

Posted in Summer on Oct 25, 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?

✍️ 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, ...

44 comments 44

Read story

“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 w...

24 comments 24

Read story

“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 t...

2 comments 2

Read story

“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, howev...

11 comments 11

Read story

“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...

12 comments 12

Read story

“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...

18 comments 18

Read story

“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...

2 comments 2

Read story

“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 ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“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 len...

4 comments 4

Read story

“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.The...

8 comments 8

Read story

“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 ho...

3 comments 3

Read story

“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 se...

11 comments 11

Read story

“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 tha...

14 comments 14

Read story

“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...

0 comments 0

Read story

“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 surround...

2 comments 2

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who loves cloud gazing.

Fluff – 55 stories

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

Fluff – 63 stories

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

Adventure – 9 stories

Write a story involving a friendship between two different species.

Vampire – 44 stories

Contest #143

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Beautiful World, There You Are

$250

Prize money

254

Contest entries

139

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 29, 2022 EST

Won by Zack Powell 🏆

Title: What Happens in Vegas

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

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 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: