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

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?

✍️ 112 stories

“Road to Riches” by Dakota Galloway

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. In the small villages at the edge of the kingdom, winter was always a struggle. Lacking the technology, and stability of the bigger cities, they had only what they could make or grow. This scarcity of food also reached the forests where the beasts grew more restless with hunger, making the roads more and more dangerous for traders. In the eyes of those who must survive, however, these trials were hurdles to be overcome. Rich knew this, and if he and his little brother we...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Maiden of the Mountain” by Jamie Campbell

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Soon it would be over, but in the meantime, I was treated to the strange and ponderous retelling of the story of my life. They say that your whole life flashes in front of your eyes before you die, but when you’re freezing to death at the roof of the world, it doesn’t work that way. Your life unwinds across your memory – all the heaping pile of it – but not in some colorful flash flood of sounds and images, starry and textured by the long decades of human experience. Nothin...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Old Matchstick Man” by Jaz Luna

Submitted to Contest #189

It was terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. It was New Year's Eve. While everyone else was out celebrating, Errol couldn’t recall a time when he had felt more helpless than he did on this night. Not even in his days in the Vietnam War on the front lines or his battle with cancer could he recall a time when he was more miserable than now. He had lost his wife only a month ago and now he was left in the cold without a home. He had sunk so low into his grief and couldn't care to make money to eat. He slept in shelters only if...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Just Right” by Trisha Parsons

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The temperature on her phone read -6, but the real feel was -12 with wind chill. Cora put her gloves back on and slid her phone in her pocket. She didn’t think the cold weather was necessarily a bad omen, but his tardiness felt like one. Tristan was supposed to have picked her up ten minutes ago. It was only their third date, and she didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but her toes were...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Deserter” by J. D. Watson

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The wound in the deserter’s side was still bleeding as he dragged his feet along the ground. Nearly spent, he pushed on towards a gnarled tree, dead in the winter. The man collapsed at its roots, breathing heavily. Reorienting himself, he leaned back and rested against the trunk. It had a strength and stability that the deserter could now only hope for. He pushed his heavy fur coat back and pulled up his stained and torn shirt. The stab wound was high on his side where the kn...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Boy and the Mobile” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Submitted to Contest #189

The Boy and the Mobile"It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark". It was the last evening of the year. Sergii looked up towards the sky, hoping to see a star, but there was only a thick grey blanket covering the area. Sounds of loud explosions came from somewhere far away and he knew instinctively this was not the fireworks that used to light up his town with all the colors of the rainbow to celebrate the coming of the new year. This was something different, something very bad. Missiles launched by the Russians were...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Funny How These Things Happen!” by Charles Haynes

Submitted to Contest #189

Funny How These Things Happen!ByCharles Haynes “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.” Now that she had stopped and sat down against the base of a large tree, Elsa could sense the cold attempting to take advantage of her just as Hans had! Elsa loved her brother. She loved all five of them. She had enjoyed being the youngest – the little sister. She had relished having five big brother...

0 comments 0

Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Dramatic – 41 stories

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.”

Fiction – 66 stories

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.

Fiction – 41 stories

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.

Fiction – 21 stories

Contest #189

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Remastered, Retold

$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 17, 2023 EST

Won by Fabi M 🏆

Title: Decomposition Sits with You

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

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

“Road to Riches” by Dakota Galloway

“Maiden of the Mountain” by Jamie Campbell

“The Old Matchstick Man” by Jaz Luna

“Just Right” by Trisha Parsons

“The Deserter” by J. D. Watson

“The Boy and the Mobile” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

“Funny How These Things Happen!” by Charles Haynes

🌟 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: