BOOKLOCKER’S 30%-OFF HALLOWEEN SALE IS IN EFFECT RIGHT NOW! Get your book published for $293 off!!! Details and the discount code are RIGHT HERE!

---

For the past six weeks, we’ve spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for WritersWeekly’s most recent 24-Hour Short Story Contest. In case you’re not familiar with our quarterly contest, this is how it works. On the date of the contest, at start-time, we send out the topic for that specific contest to all registered entrants, while also posting it on WritersWeekly.com.

Entrants must be registered before the contest begins and there is a limit of 500 participants per contest. Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories via email. The stories “must deal with the topic in some way to qualify” and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count, which is announced with the topic.

After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack.

THE FALL, 2025 TOPIC

The sagging porch faced east. Beyond the field of rotting pumpkins, a blood moon was rising. After a long day of moonshining, the two men alternated swigging from the same jug. They’d both heard the stories. They knew they had to get inside before the moon turned orange. Then, they noticed a little girl in a white dress skipping in their direction…

(Stories needed to only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

Before you continue reading, take a moment to consider where you would take that story…

CRUCIAL HINT! Whenever a contest happens during a big news event or crisis, lots of entrants insert that into their stories. Before you think about including what is all over the news right now, please know that lots of entrants are thinking the same thing. So, you might want to avoid those topics.

**WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE WRITERS MAKE?
Giving us a bad and/or boring ending!

Please give us a great ending! **WE LOVE SURPRISE ENDINGS!!**

---

Congrats to the top three winners!

1st PLACE – A Treatise on Hunting Humans by Exeter Stevens

(Exeter won $300 PLUS a free book publishing package from BookLocker.com valued at $975!)

2nd PLACE – Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On by Eric E. Wallace

(Eric won $250!)

3rd PLACE – Black Harvest by Anne Wilkins

(Anne won $200!)

100 other participants won Honorable Mentions 24 of those received Special Recognition! The most ever! This batch of stories was the best we’ve ever received!!

The top three winning stories, along with a list of the other winners, are posted RIGHT HERE.

COMMON THEMES SUBMITTED

Here are our notes about common themes that emerged with this topic:

This didn’t affect the judging but we have never seen more southern guy names in a batch of stories, ever! It was hilarious! We were entertained by Jim Bob, Billy Bob Jimmy Joe, Rufus, Buck, Bo, Jed, Virgil, Jimbo, and Boone, to name just a few.

In several stories, one of the men thinks the girl resembles his deceased daughter.

Many men argued about whether to go inside or help the girl.

Lots of drunk characters on the porch ended up being killed by the girl.

Many characters stated they weren’t afraid of the moon while the other one on the porch was.

We read several stories that were centered on the characters’ alcoholism.

Many stories mentioned “old wives’ tales.” Lots of stories also mentioned the Farmer’s Almanac, and how it’s only reliable some of the time.

Lots of girls had mothers who’d disappeared under a previous blood moon.

Many of the girls were dead relatives/friends who came back to visit.

We were cracking up at the antics of the drunk guys on the porches. Lots of stumbling on boards, falling off, and more.

There were several stories about feuding neighbors.

Many stories mentioned that the girl in white was in pristine condition after having just walked through a pumpkin patch barefoot.

There were numerous stories where we found out at the end that the girl was someone one of the men had killed in the past.

As with all contests, some common themes come back again and again, no matter what the topic is.

These include:

The reader finds out at the very end that the main character is actually dead.

The story is about a writer participating in a writing contest (groan).

We always receive countless domestic abuse stories. We also always receive numerous stories about separation, divorce, and other relationship problems.

We find out at the end that the entire story was just a movie/TV scene/play or we find out the first scene of the story (usually the topic itself) is from a movie or TV show/play, or even a book or article one of the characters is reading.

The reader finds out at the very end that the main character is actually an animal.

We always receive lots of stories featuring characters with dementia.

We find out at the end that the main character is an unborn child, telling their story from the womb. You only find out it’s a baby at the end.

The main character dies at the end, and is met by a loved one or an angel of some sort. We also see lots of dead friends/relatives telling the characters it’s their time to die, too, helping them to cross over, etc.

The story is dramatic but you find out at the end the characters are really children playing make-believe.

The main character of the story named Angela (the same name as the publisher of WritersWeekly). Some also use Angela’s family members’ names in their stories.

Despite the warning about needing to use the topic “in some way to qualify,” we always receive several stories that have absolutely nothing at all to do with the topic.

IMPORTANT: We are seeing an increasing number of stories that incorporate current events (what’s ALL over the news right now) in them. These include protests, global warming, political upheaval, heated social issues, a hated president (or hated past president), etc., etc., etc. Any topic that has received saturated coverage in the news should be avoided at all costs. We’re all drowning in it all day, ever day. Nobody reading fiction for entertainment wants to read that stuff when they’re trying to relax so it’s wise to simply avoid it.

You can increase your chances of winning one of our 24-Hour Short Story Contests by avoiding all of the common themes mentioned above.  Step outside of the box and WOW us with something completely original!

Links to the winning stories of the current contest (and all past contests) appear RIGHT HERE.

PRIZES:
1st prize: $300 + a book publishing package from BookLocker valued at $975
2nd prize: $250
3rd prize: $200
Plus 100 honorable mentions!

103 prizes total!

You can see the complete list of prizes, and sign up for the next contest, here: https://24hourshortstorycontest.com

RELATED

14 Tips To Give Yourself A Leg Up In Writing Contests!

Sign-up for the next contest!

List of ALL PAST TOPICS and WINNERS of the WritersWeekly Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest!

From WritersWeekly Short Story Contest Winner to Simon and Schuster Contract!

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!

QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments

Peek over the shoulders of highly successful freelance writers to see how they earn thousands per article! The query letter is the key!
In these pages, you'll find real query letters that landed real assignments for national magazines, websites, and corporations.

Also includes:

• Abbi Perrets' form letter that brings in $30,000-$45,000 annually
• Sample phone query from Christine Greeley
• The Six Golden Rules of Queries and Submissions...and How I Broke Them! by Bob Freiday
• Your Rights As a "Freelancer"
• and ANGELA HOY'S SECRET for finding ongoing freelance work from companies that have a stable of freelancers, yet never run ads for them!

90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Promoting your book online should be considered at least a part-time job. Highly successful authors spend more time promoting a book than they do writing it - a lot more.

We know what you're thinking. You're an author, not a marketer. Not to worry! We have more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under our belts and we're going to teach you how to promote your book effectively online...and almost all of our techniques are FREE!

Online book promotion is not only simple but, if you have a step-by-step, day-to-day marketing plan (this book!), it can also be a very artistic endeavor, which makes it fun for creative folks like you!

Yes, online book promoting can be EASY and FUN! Let us show you how, from Day 1 through Day 90...and beyond!