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Pete Gautchier

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

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80 Stories

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A Party of Surprises!

Weekly Contest #281

Prompt: Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party-but no one knows who they are. A Party of Surprises! Wow! The Christmas party was in full swing! It was only 7:00 pm and I did not think our house could fit so many people. My task, since I was still under drinking age, was to act as watchman of the front door entry way. I also collected any car keys to avoid impaired driving and serious liability issues. I felt assured there would be no problems because everyone seemed totally absorbed in festive egg nog drinking, bois...

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Into the Deep Freeze

Weekly Contest #281

Prompt: Set your story during the coldest day of the year. Into the Deep Freeze Unquestionably, this was the coldest day I had ever experienced. I was literally chilled down to my bones.  I could not feel my hands nor my feet. Other nerves in my body, however, were actively feeling the frigid air. The cold pierced my face as though I was a pin cushion. I morphed into a human iceberg. What made matters worse, I was surrounded in darkness. Pitch black darkness. I quickly understood the meaning of th...

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Listen to My Voice

Weekly Contest #280

Prompt: Write a story that includes someone (or something) saying, “No don’t.”Listen to My Voice I was standing on the edge of the cliff when I whispered to myself “Go ahead jump. No one cares.” Then from out of nowhere I heard a voice shouting, “No don’t.”  I was shocked to hear a disembodied voice call out here in the middle of the wilderness. Why would anyone really care? My life has been a hodgepodge of shambled affairs. Why would it really matter if I jumped? My life has been filled with my own insecurities...

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Penetrating Words

Weekly Contest #280

Prompt: Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!) Penetrating WordsHere me out Violet. You live in my house; I expect you to live by my rules. Mother, stop trying to ruin my life. Just because you had an overbearing mother doesn’t mean you have to be that way with me. I need to be my own person. You can do that Violet by learning to be responsible by respecting my authority.  I set a curfew to protect you, not to stifle your lifestyle...

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A Blinding Light at the End of My Nightmare

Weekly Contest #279

Prompt: Write a story about someone confronting their worst nightmare. A Blinding Light at the End of My Nightmare“Eddie, it’s bedtime,” momma would shout at me shaking me out of my intense focus as I stared at the television set.  She would add, “I don’t know why I let you watch those shows. You only end up peeing in your bed because of your nightmares.”  Feeling embarrassed in front of my older sister, I would respond in self-defense, “You would get the heebie jeebies from Alfred Hitchcock too!  Momma, he...

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Lost in Love, Drowning in My Tears

Weekly Contest #279

Prompt: Write a story about a character who is lost. Second Prompt: Follow a character who is looking for someone or something Lost in Love, Drowning in My Tears There was a warm feeling running across my face.  When I opened my eyes, I was temporarily blinded by the sunlight poking through the tattered curtains draped across my window.  When I gained some sort of consciousness, I could not recall who or where I was. I lifted myself off the cot I had been on, fumbling across the room to the mirror that hung on...

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Gobble, Gobble Hullabaloo

Weekly Contest #278

Prompt: A family argument gets out of hand. Neither side will budge, requiring a mediator with unusual methods.Gobble, Gobble HullabalooThanksgiving has always been a special time for our extended family year after year. Both sides of the family are invited. Uncle Ralph, Aunt Clara, Uncle Joey, Aunt Betsy, and cousin Ralphie from my dad’s side would come. From my mom’s side Uncle Bert, Aunt Dotty, and Pauly would grace us with their presence. Unfortunately, my grandparents on both sides of the family were no longer with u...

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Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

Weekly Contest #277

Prompt: Write from the POV of a fairy tale character sharing their side of the story. Lost That Lovin’ Feeling People who have seen me say that wherever I walk dark clouds vanish. In their place I leave rainbows and flowers. My name is Melody.  I have one purpose. That one mission is to bring joy, peace, and love to the dark and dreary places I am assigned to visit. Usually my assignments are straightforward leaving me quite full of elation and satisfaction. But there was one town that over the years ...

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Confined Spaces

Weekly Contest #274

Prompt: Center your story around a childhood fear that-as much as you try to shake it-still resonates into adulthood.Confined Spaces“Help me! I can’t breathe! I never said I would do this! Tommy, get me out of here,” as I whimpered a cry. My panicky state resulted in an episode of hyperventilated breathing. The more I struggled in the confined space, the more anxious I became. I could barely muster a punch on the side of the cardboard wall.  Then, the tears began to flow as I felt abandoned and le...

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The Voice in My Head

Weekly Contest #272

Prompt: Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses-and they’ll either succeed or fail.The Voice in My HeadThere is an incessant voice chatting inside my head.  No matter how I try to block it out it keeps bantering falsehoods and urging me to do things I do not want to do. The more I try to ignore it, the louder and nastier it gets.  I try to keep myself preoccupied focusing on the task at hand. It actually helps, but the effort depletes me of most of my energy.  I am ...

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A Figment of Imagination, A Coincidence or Stark Reality?

Weekly Contest #271

Prompt: A character finds a clue or object linking them to a stranger. A Figment of Imagination, A Coincidence or Stark Reality? As the sun descends below the horizon, I find it to be the ideal time to take casual strolls along the beach front near my home. I would say it is not the most pristine of beaches covered in a mixture of sand, gravel, rocks, and high cliffs; nonetheless, looking out over the still ocean waters with the glowing horizon affords me much solitude and comfort as a writer. Rarely is there anyone walking t...

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A LIttle Bit of This and a Dash of That

Weekly Contest #270

Prompt: Write about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically. A Little Bit of This and a Dash of That When I was a little tyke, I used to follow my momma everywhere. Most of the time she would be in the kitchen preparing meals for the day, baking sweet goods and even canning or pickling vegetables and some fruit from our garden. My momma was loaded with energy, especially when it came to food preparation. “Yeah, I am a real dynamo,” she would sarcastically say. One day when I was literally ...

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Seventy Seven Times

Weekly Contest #268

Prompt: Write a story about someone seeking forgiveness for their past actions.Seventy Seven Times For most people, seeing the rising sun represents the warmth of a new day.  Today as the sun shines through my bathroom window, I am only feeling on my face the coldness from the bathroom floor tiles.  I awoke to discover I had lain in close proximity to the toilet. My head was still spinning and throbbing. The nausea had not subsided, and I felt the need to wretch the demons from within me again. When it was over,...

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It's Mine, but Everything has its Price

Weekly Contest #268

Prompt: Your character gets everything they ever wanted-only to realize the true cost.It’s Mine, but Everything has its Price Have you ever wanted somethings so badly that you would do anything to get it? How far would you go? How would this compulsion change you? Would it fan the flames of moral decrepitude?  Would there be any way to come back from these overwhelming urges? Listen to my words as I share my story. There was nothing startling about my childhood. I blended in with the kids on our block.&nbsp...

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Words that Hurt, Words that Mend

Weekly Contest #267

Prompt: Your character overhears something that changes their path. Words that Hurt, Words that Mend You all know the adage ‘kids can be cruel.’ It became a silent mantra I would repeatedly say to myself as I ventured through my elementary school days. I knew best to avoid conflict and to deflect the disparaging comments I overheard with a smile. It was evident at my school. I was distinct. Sort of black, with a blunt, splayed nose. I was a child from a black dad and a white mom. I was still a big guy which put ...

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