Welcome to the official archive of The Shortys writing prompts through the years. This collection preserves the prompts that have inspired our community of poets and short story writers. It's a place to revisit old favorites, discover the prompts you may have missed, or simply explore the creative journey we've shared together. We hope these prompts continue to spark creativity, emotion, and unforgettable words. Happy writing, The Shortys Team

This is a contest for stories that are just getting started! If your story is ongoing, this is the award for you! ALL SPOT HAVE BEEN FILLED! JUDGING NOW!

❝ ω𝖾 ω𝖾𝗋𝖾 αᥣωα𝗒𝗌 α ᥣⱺ𝗌𝗂𐓣𝗀 𝗀αꭑ𝖾 ❞ ⎼⎼⎼⎼ You see, Josephine (or Josie)⎼⎼the little sister of Henry Bowers⎼⎼used to be in a relationship with Patrick Hockstetter. Until, their relationship became too toxic and she needed to escape. Patrick was possessive, overbearing sometimes, too psychotic. She loved him, of course, but there were so many differences between them. Josephine is shy, loving, and friendly. And Patrick is a psychopath who torments others for his personal pleasure. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ © A Patrick Hockstetter FanFic by Spooky Original Characters Are Mine Cover Created on Canva 2026 ARCADE Copyright © Spookyscarygirly. 2026. All Rights Reserves ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Welcome to The Romance Bracket Awards. A fan writing contest where your romance book gets a real chance to be read, reviewed, and recognized. 100 entries. One bracket. One winner. Check the chapters inside for full rules, how to enter, and updates on each round. - hosted by Soren_Writer, author of I Won't Date You.

Alison Warner had the kind of life that was polarizing-either you'd think she was the luckiest girl in the world, or you'd want to put her out of her misery. No in between. At seventeen-two months out of high school, she's supposed to pick her future like it's a curated setlist: clean, pretty, approved. Western University means legacy. Pre-law. Her father's approval. A neat, obedient life she can perform in her sleep. New York means dance. Freedom. Distance. The kind you can pretend is reinvention until it starts eating you alive. So Alison does what she always does when life stops obeying her rules: she goes backwards. She locks her bedroom door. Checks it twice. Then drags a white box out of her closet: four padlocked diaries, one key, and four years of "being good" recorded in ink like evidence. If she can reread the girl she used to be-thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen-maybe she'll understand what she actually wants... and what she's been trained to want. Because once upon a time, she lived in a Toronto penthouse in the sky. Out of sight, out of reach, out of mind. Meals made specially for her. A town car. A private Christian all-girls school. The schedule of someone who works two full-time jobs and still moonlights as a show dog on weekends. Thirteen-year-old Alison loved living with her head in the clouds and her hands soaked in Purell. Then it rained in the kingdom, and boy did it pour. Divorce. A move. A blended family that looks wholesome on paper and feels like a war zone in practice. Stratford isn't just smaller than Toronto-it's louder, messier, and obsessed with watching who you are when you think no one's looking. And then the universe adds the punchline: Halloween night. Seven Minutes in Heaven. A barn closet. A kiss with a cocky boy who only knows her as "Ali"... right before she learns he's about to be her stepbrother. In the dark, he murmurs, "Try not to swoon, Alice."

Matthias never planned to see the next morning. Standing alone on a bridge, he was ready to let the darkness take him, until a stranger pulled him back and offered him food instead. Julian didn't ask for explanations. He didn't judge. He just stayed. What begins as a single night of unexpected kindness slowly turns into something neither of them expected, a fragile connection between two people carrying very different wounds. But healing isn't simple. Not when faith feels heavier than love. Not when family expectations suffocate. Sometimes, surviving is harder than disappearing. And sometimes, choosing to live is the bravest thing a person can do

This guide explains all the features of the 30DayChallenge and how to make your stories eligible. The 30DayChallenge motivates you to write consistently for 30 Days in a supportive and creative environment. This challenge will help you continue your story and foster good writing habits. The end goal is for you to keep up with regular posts to give your readers something to come back to. If you would like more information on this challenge, please have a look inside for more details.

It took just one discovery for humanity to fight for survival. One iceblock with a body, with a virus that went undetected, was all it took for a zombie outbreak to take place... It was a special day for Connor and his bandmates; after years of playing in local bars and an garage, they finally had their first tour, in America. Little did they know was that their gig would be a bloodbath... TW: Graphic Violence, Gore, Mutilation, Strong Language, "Cannibalism" (Zombies devouring humans), Mental Health, Body Horror