Welcome to the 2025 Q4 Story Competition!

Topic(s):
The first 500-1000 words of one of three divergences
(divergences to be decided, read below)

Word count: ~1000 words
​

This competition is going to be a little different from the others. It will be used to help motivate writers for the 2026 Main Competition #1 competition. We will be focusing on the start of the divergence and leave reviews on how to improve it. Second, each writer will have to pick between three specific divergences to write about.

To determine the three divergences, please post ideas (one per post). The three with the highest votes will be our prompts.

Deadline: Sunday, Feb 8th at 11:59PM Eastern time.​

Send your stories to @Lindsey once you're done. Authors will be kept anonymous between the two of us, and I will not know who you are until after the competition has ended. Feel free to claim credit for your story if you want it but we'll keep it confidential otherwise.

Feel free to use beta-readers but don't put your competition entry in WbA until after voting has ended. If you figure out who one of the entrants is then don't tell everyone else.

Voting Rules

• Read and review all entries, leaving at least 200 words of useful feedback.
  • Put the bulk of your review into a spoiler tag.

A guide on "how to review" in general is available here. We'd prefer that you not bias yourself by reading other reviews before making your own, but that choice is yours.

One of the rewards for authors participating in this competition is the feedback, critique, and overall useful commentary on their work. Don't dial it in. If you don't know how to leave useful feedback then comment on the plot, pacing, characters, prompt usage, and anything else that comes to mind. You'll find that 200 words flies by.

We will NOT be voting on the winner for this competition, but rather using it as a way to motivate and review others' works.

Got an idea for a future prompt? Put it in this thread!

 

Prompt idea 1: Snape dies alone and forgotten in the Shrieking Shack