It was the day of WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest! It was 12:30 on a Saturday afternoon (central time) when I opened the email from Angela Hoy. The winter writing prompt had arrived! I read it with trepidation.

I enjoy the prompt challenges that Angela and her team create. I’ve entered the WritersWeekly 24-Hour Short Story Contest many times over the past few years, and I’ve won first prize in one of them! That was in June of 2024 for my short story titled Rebirth. I’ve also won an honorable mention once or twice, and the free books are worth more than the five-dollar fee.

However, to me, it doesn’t matter whether my story wins a prize, because I am always a winner when I enter the 24-Hour Short Story Contest. Paying five bucks for an excellent story idea prompt, and the chance to compete on a friendly level with my fellow writers, is a no-brainer. It’s less than a cup of coffee. The author can make that back, and more, in a heartbeat if a paying magazine later accepts the story. I know I have—many times!

WritersWeekly does not take rights away from writers so we are free to sell our stories elsewhere.

Based on past prompts, I’ve created short stories that I’ve expanded, and submitted to magazine publishers. Many of those stories are published and, from those magazines, I receive far more than the five-buck entry fee in payments. Plus, where else can you get a chance to win $300.00 plus a $975.00 book publishing package for five bucks? Nowhere.

With only 500 participants and 3 top prizes, the odds of winning one of the top three prizes are about 165-to-1. For the other 100 prize winners, the odds are only 4-to-1. I’ll take those odds any day.

While I’m about winning, I must say that, after I won back in 2024, Angela and her crew did a fantastic job publishing my autobiography. Yes, my first place prize was not only $300, but also a free book publishing package from BookLocker.

If the truth is to be told, I was a little apprehensive about handing over three years of my hard work to a stranger. Especially since I didn’t know Angela and wasn’t paying Booklocker a dime to publish it. The book is about my life, and everyone who knew me would be reading it. So, I wanted it to be perfect.

I needn’t have worried, though. As I said, Angela and her crew at Booklocker did a fantastic job. My manuscript wasn’t quite ready, but that didn’t matter. Angela said that was fine. When it was ready, I sent it to Angela’s crew, and it was smooth sailing from that point on.

Back to the prompt.

By 7 PM on Saturday, I had pumped out 860 words, and the story was complete. That night, I went to bed feeling like I had accomplished something. I wanted to revisit it again the next day. I had until noon Central Time on Sunday to submit it.

At 3 AM on Sunday, I was wide awake again. My subconscious had thought of a way to embellish the story I’d written. I tossed and turned until I couldn’t stand it anymore, then got out of bed.

By 4 AM, I was sitting at my computer, with my cat Katie keeping me company, and the words started to flow. My short story was growing, and the protagonist was getting into lots of mischief!

When 6 AM rolled around, the 860-word story had reached 2,000 words, which I had cut down from 3,000 words by removing all the fluff. So, I stopped and reread the original I was going to submit. My story couldn’t exceed the maximum word count for that particular contest. After the third revision, I submitted it to WritersWeekly at 7 AM.

Then, I got to work expanding it!

Fast forward to 5 PM, and my short story was then an 11,000-word novelette. And, as of today, it is still growing. My work in progress may turn out to be a novel after all, and I have one 60-word prompt from WritersWeekly to thank.

What was the Winter, 2026 contest prompt, you ask?

Her ankle betrayed her and she again found herself face down on the frozen pond. Two strong arms picked her up, and carried her toward the woods. Oddly, she wasn’t afraid. In a clearing ahead stood a stone house with smoke puffing from the chimney. He pushed open the door, and carried her inside, where she was shocked to see three…

(Per the rules, stories need only touch on that topic to qualify.)

RELATED

• Sign up for the next quarterly short story contest!
• Testimonials from the Contest Participants
• You and read ALL past winning stories RIGHT HERE.
• Pay to Submit…But Only If Your Skin Is a Certain Color? The Racist Practices of Some Magazines and Websites – by Antaeus, with commentary by James M. Walsh, Esq
• Your Copyrighted Work Can Be Copied—Legally! By Antaeus Balevre
• Are Non-marginalized Writers Being Marginalized? – by Antaeus Balevre

Antaeus is the author of the Charlie’s Tavern series, where the ghosts speak plainly, and the living rarely listen. You can contact him here: http://www.Antaeus-Books.com

Antaeus is an award-winning author of “The Prepared Citizen,” a situational awareness series. Raised in an inner city, Antaeus began working at age seven. He wrote his first poem at nine while cleaning toilets in a bar. Antaeus was a high school dropout at thirteen, working full-time to help support his family. At seventeen, he joined the Navy, where he finished his education. As a civilian, Antaeus spent most of his life working his butt off at a job he hated. Now comfortably retired, Antaeus volunteers his time and writes from a lakefront home in Southwest Florida.

Antaeus is also the first place winner of the WritersWeekly.com Spring, 2024 24-Hour Short Story Contest! Read his winning story here.