“Shallow Monsters” by Joseph Devon vs “Endangered” by Christina Durner Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to our next prompt. Shark! Okay, so maybe there are more circumlocutious ways to get to the prompt, but really what more do you need? These freaky fishies have captivated the public consciousness … Continue reading
“The Plane in the Woods” by Joe Prosit vs “Look Up At the Sky” by Josh Springs Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt. Is there anything that inspires a sense of adventure more than the bright blue sky stretching out overhead? Is there anything that … Continue reading
“Sol Survivor” by Tony Southcotte vs “Peter’s Denial” by Mark Bryk Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt. We at the arena have been looking over our own history for inspiration recently. While doing so, we discovered that only a few months ago we gave out … Continue reading
“Seconds Remaining” by Albert Berg vs “Suspicion” by Lu Whitley Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt. There a million different adages out there for how to hook a reader into a story, but in our minds there’s only one technique that grabs a reader’s eyeballs … Continue reading
“Withdrawal” by Joseph Devon vs “Tunda” by Michael Landry Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt, Our topic this round is both a coveted resource and a ritual for millions. It brings energy to the masses and makes for a much more civil civilization. This bitter bean has … Continue reading
“Impractical Magic” by D.M. Slate vs “Brigid, of Lightning” by Eric Petty Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to your mystery prompt. Often, here in the arena, we ask our authors to take on surreal topics. We ask them to deliver stories about mythical creatures or supernatural landscapes. But we’ve … Continue reading
“It Won’t Catch” by Tony Southcotte vs “The Persistence of Dust” by Jarrod Withers Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt. Our topic this round is one that is everywhere and spans all of time. In fact, many scholars state that civilization doesn’t really exists unless a … Continue reading
“Living Memory” by Albert Berg vs “Awaken the Mother” by Logan Noble Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to the mystery prompt. It is a strange thing to create life, to put the spark of being into what used to be mere matter. And no, we’re not talking about natural … Continue reading
“Transactional Costs” by Joseph Devon vs “Forever” by Bethan Grylls Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt. Our interest this week is in sales, or rather in salespeople. They’ve knocked on your door, spammed your phone, and tried desperately to get you to part ways with your … Continue reading
“The Man in the Maria” by Daniel Hale vs “The Moon in the Man” by Jeff Conklin Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this week’s mystery prompt. Our topic for this week is big. Really big. Like a-quarter-the-size-of-the-earth big. It is also up there on the list of the … Continue reading
