Start your story with “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Match Girl”)

Posted in Winter on Mar 10, 2023

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✍️ 112 stories

“The Smoke of Her Burning” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #189

Part I: It was so terribly cold.It had always been cold in Denmark, especially on New Year’s Eve.The wintry winds brought a desperate chill to those unsettled and impoverished. Wars continued to ravage the land. Treaties were torn up as soon as they were signed. Industrialization poisoned Scandinavian cities and its people. The young moved west for better opportunities in warmer climes, leaving the rich, the poor, and the poor’s children on the streets of Copenhagen. The rich fared no worse—no matter how many people left the country. Wh...

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“All is Possible” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #189

Trigger warning: Physical abuse and thoughts of suicide. It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Sofia trudged on, wrapping her arms around her body to try to keep herself warm. With a light jacket and wearing jeans with holes in them, she was not prepared for this weather. But she did not care, for she had to get out of the home where she was abused by her f...

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“Jack and Hans Tell a Wintery Tale” by RJ Holmquist

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. ***Two ghostly men walked side by side, the powdery flakes passing through their luminous heads and shoulders before settling on the path. Their feet left no prints as they went. “I like the cold and snow,” one man, whose name was Jack, said to the other, “makes a good setting, but I hate the word ‘terribly.’ We’ve got to change that.”“Fine, fine Mr. London,” the other man, Hans, said with a thick Danish accent, “then what would you suggest?” ***Day had broken ...

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“On Stranger Shores” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The night before Christmas was quiet on the beach but at least there were no more explosions. I never got used to sleeping in our cellar with the noise of collapsing masonry above our heads. My mother feared for our lives every day for two years. She never slept a wink. It was hard on my father, too. He was always on his guard and watchful throughout the night. My sister and I were too young to know what was happening and father never showed his fear, but I could tell. His co...

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“Mitzee's Memoir - a Prequel” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Mitzee watched as Snow did a complicated in air twist, landing lightly on her feet like a ballerina, her thick, white coat gleaming under the streetlamp. Her breath puffed in little tendrils in the icy cold air.“Locked,” she muttered as she walked off the pain of her fall. Nothing shook her for long.“Yep, locked,” Mitzee agreed. “C’mon Snow, this area is the worst for the likes of us.”“Pickings are the best here, though.”“Not much to pick if there’s no way in.”The two incongr...

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“A Blaze of Hope” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold: I struck a match, but its tiny flame could never warm me.Snow was falling: dreaming of food and a life of plenty, I lit another match; but flame and dream spun into smoke. It was almost dark: the third match sparked, but a complete and final darkness enveloped me. I lost consciousness, gripping my final match. Four matches: four life chances, just waiting to blaze bright, however briefly. Friction made them burn, life affording me plenty of rough surfaces upon which to strike my ephemeral incandescence...

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“The White Siren” by Basil McCulloch

Submitted to Contest #189

The White SirenIIt was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The fiery light of the setting sun set the snowflakes ablaze in a swirling storm of rose colored ice. There was something so dangerously beautiful about that perilous storm; my fingers went numb, my head throbbed from the howling winds, my face bruised by the endless torrent of falling ice. How could something as elegant as snow turn into a raging beast, ready to devour me. I trudged forward, my legs aching, lungs screaming for air. When the sun finally vanish...

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“Patrenkov's Folly” by Josephine Harris

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Ivan Patrenkov laid down his bundle to rest and scan the horizon. City lights appeared and reappeared behind the distant trees and wind. The city was far, but he could not stay. The coming dark and cold would consume him. He planted the stick in the ground to propel himself forward a step. If he could repeat that motion many times, he told himself, he would arrive. The makeshift cane found purchase on the frozen ground. He moved forward, his footstep obliterated by the keenin...

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“It's a Gamble by 'She-Who-Shamelessly-Shucks-Chips'” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #189

It's a Gamble by 'She-Who-Shamelessly-Shucks-Chips'It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Typical January in the American mid-west. But I felt left out in the freezing, biting cold. And my future certainly looked dark, indelibly black, to tell the truth. I had boldly issued an ultimatum. A poorly thought out ultimatum, obviously. The hand had been dealt. I took a gamble and lost. Lost big time. Lost not only for myself but for my young family. Oh, yes, I knew gambler's grief. How had it boiled down to this bluster...

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“The Newspaper Girl” by MJ Simons

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark as she stood on the cobblestone streets at the Christmas market. The town was nestled in the heart of the mountains, and snow during the Christmas season was common and expected. The wind tore through large conifers sifting the snow as it fell. The streets were lit with lights, and the colors were bright and splendid. Sweet and spicy aromas wafted through the air as vendors sold delicious meats, candies, and hot mulled wine. Her stomach growled from bitter pains that threate...

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“My Walkman” by Penny Pepper

Submitted to Contest #189

“It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark…” Wrong station. I moved the dial on my Walkman, that can’t play cassettes, waiting for a good song to come on. No documentaries. No politics. No corny jokes. (Although they are funny) No news. Just me and my music. Finally! I turned up the volume. “Now it’s time for Joan Jett’s rock to come and give us some music.” The radio station man said. When the song ended, it was as though a good moment was taken away. “Alright, this new band of 1985, is sure to be great one day.” The ...

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“A Ghost's Story” by Diane Green

Submitted to Contest #189

A Ghost’s Story November 1967 It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Fifteen-year-old Becky Chalmers hoped the weather would be better tomorrow. She and Uncle Beasley were going on an archive adventure at the Trenton Court House. Uncle Beasley, several cousins removed, pulled up to 26 Cadwallader Court clanging and clattering in his 1949 Crosley Hotshot. They would be in search of a man named Moore Furman. &nbsp...

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“The Snow Bride” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark as Harry opened his eyes and came out of his reverie. He had always though that Jeremy, his eldest cousin, would inherit the family estate one day. However, to his great surprise, a series of unfortunate events had ensured that every one of his cousins perished before reaching the age of thirty – with the result that Harry suddenly found himself heir to Locksby Hall and to a lifestyle he had never dreamed of.He was around twenty-five at this time – a pale, dark-haired boy, good...

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“Going Home” by Mary Ann Ford

Submitted to Contest #189

[This story contains mentions of people freezing to death] It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. The chilling wind cut right through her thin shawl as she huddled against a hard brick wall. Why were people so stuck up they couldn’t open their home for one night? Dare she try one more time? What harm could it do? Slowly Priscilla Matheson stood, shivered and made her way through the snow to the icy steps of the brick house. She approached the door and hesitated. The warm yellow lights beckoned her; tore away th...

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“man against nature” by Molly Kelash

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. I had no shoes, no coat, and couldn’t remember anything before this moment, how I’d come to be in these woods, where I’d come from. Who I was. A clean slate, a near mental newborn, stranded in a frozen, impenetrable, forest primeval. Toes numb, teeth clacking, I rubbed my eyes, hoping to clear, or rather, fill my aching, empty head with understanding. My basic survival instisnct and my ability for complex thought were both intact, so one thing was clear: if...

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Start your story with “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Match Girl”)

Submissions are closed

✍️ 112 stories

“The Smoke of Her Burning” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“All is Possible” by Corey Melin

“Jack and Hans Tell a Wintery Tale” by RJ Holmquist

“On Stranger Shores” by Howard Halsall

“Mitzee's Memoir - a Prequel” by Michelle Oliver

“A Blaze of Hope” by Rebecca Miles

“The White Siren” by Basil McCulloch

“Patrenkov's Folly” by Josephine Harris

“It's a Gamble by 'She-Who-Shamelessly-Shucks-Chips'” by Mary Bendickson

“The Newspaper Girl” by MJ Simons

“My Walkman” by Penny Pepper

“A Ghost's Story” by Diane Green

“The Snow Bride” by Jane Andrews

“Going Home” by Mary Ann Ford

“man against nature” by Molly Kelash

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story where a character must continue to tell their tale to a listener to avoid unsavory consequences.

Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”

Write a story about a fox spirit (a gumiho, jiǔwěihú, kitsune, or hồ ly tinh), inspired by, e.g. Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese folklore.

Write a modern version of "The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal," in which someone suffers from their own good deeds and must turn to an unlikely source for help.

Contest #189

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: