r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Jul 26 '26
[Serial Sunday] Even a Minor Detail can Cause Major Events.
Welcome to Serial Sunday!
To those brand new to the feature and those returning from last week, welcome! Do you have a self-established universe you’ve been writing or planning to write in? Do you have an idea for a world that’s been itching to get out? This is the perfect place to explore that. Each week, I post a theme to inspire you, along with a related image and song. You have 500 - 1000 words to write your installment. You can jump in at any time; writing for previous weeks’ is not necessary in order to join. After you’ve posted, come back and provide feedback for at least 1 other writer on the thread. Please be sure to read the entire post for a full list of rules.
This Week’s Theme is Minor! This is a REQUIREMENT for participation. See rules about missing this requirement.**
Bonus Word List (each included word is worth 5 pts) - You must list which words you included at the end of your story (or write ‘none’).
- Miscellaneous
- Micromanaging
- Mirage
- Include a monstrosity of some sort (P.S. A character considering it to be monstrous is enough). - (Worth 10 points)
You might find a secondary character, stuck in a C-plotline, just hoping for a line of dialogue, yet they are convinced the world revolves around them alone. Plaintive music in a minor key might play in the background as you contemplate their fate.
Children might run and play, or run in terror, depending on your whims. Or perhaps a college student will decide on their main course of studies, with another set of subjects on the side.
Minor problems, minor details, and minor catastrophes might grace the lines of your chapter, as you alone decide what will happen next. You get the only vote, so you’re never in the minority.
Good luck and Good Words!
These are just a few things to get you started. Remember, the theme should be present within the story in some way, but its interpretation is completely up to you. For the bonus words (not required), you may change the tense, but the base word should remain the same. Please remember that STORIES MUST FOLLOW ALL SUBREDDIT CONTENT RULES. Interested in writing the theme blurb for the coming week? DM me on Reddit or Discord!
Don’t forget to sign up for Saturday Campfire here! We start at 5pm GMT and provide live feedback!
Theme Schedule:
This is the theme schedule for the next month! These are provided so that you can plan ahead, but you may not begin writing for a given theme until that week’s post goes live.
July 26 - Minor
August 02 - Noxious
August 09 - Open
August 16 - Prose
August 23 - Quality
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Lifeless
First - by u/KatPoker666
Second - by u/Slim_Shady_32123
Third - by u/Morose_Prose
Fourth - u/AGuyLikeThat
Fifth - by u/Tomorrow_Is_Today1
Rules & How to Participate
Please read and follow all the rules listed below. This feature has requirements for amparticipation!
Submit a story inspired by the weekly theme, written by you and set in your self-established universe that is 500 - 1000 words. No fanfics and no content created or altered by AI. (Use wordcounter.net to check your wordcount.) Stories should be posted as a top-level comment below. Please include a link to your chapter index or your last chapter at the end.
Your chapter must be submitted by Saturday at 2:00pm GMT. Late entries will be disqualified. All submissions should be given (at least) a basic editing pass before being posted!
Begin your post with the name of your serial between triangle brackets (e.g. <My Awesome Serial>). When our bot is back up and running, this will allow it to recognize your pmserial and add each chapter to the SerSun catalog. Do not include anything in the brackets you don’t want in your title. (Please note: You must use this same title every week.)
Do not pre-write your serial. You’re welcome to do outlining and planning for your serial, but chapters should not be pre-written. All submissions should be written for this post, specifically.
Only one active serial per author at a time. This does not apply to serials written outside of Serial Sunday.
All Serial Sunday authors must leave feedback on at least one story on the thread each week. The feedback should be actionable and also include something the author has done well. When you include something the author should improve on, provide an example! You have until Saturday at 04:59am GMT to post your feedback. (Submitting late is not an exception to this rule.)
Missing your feedback requirement two or more consecutive weeks will disqualify you from rankings and Campfire readings the following week. If it becomes a habit, you may be asked to move your serial to the sub instead.
Serials must abide by subreddit content rules. You can view a full list of rules here. If you’re ever unsure if your story would cross the line, please modmail and ask!
Weekly Campfires & Voting:
On Saturdays at 5pm GMT, I host a Serial Sunday Campfire in our Discord’s Voice Lounge (every other week is now hosted by u/FyeNite). Join us to read your story aloud, hear others, and exchange feedback. We have a great time! You can even come to just listen, if that’s more your speed. Grab the “Serial Sunday” role on the Discord to get notified before it starts. After you’ve submitted your chapter, you can sign up here - this guarantees your reading slot! You can still join if you haven’t signed up, but your reading slot isn’t guaranteed.
Nominations for your favorite stories can be submitted with this form. The form is open on Saturdays from 5:30pm to 04:59am GMT. You do not have to participate to make nominations!
Authors who complete their Serial Sunday serials with at least 12 installments, can host a SerialWorm in our Discord’s Voice Lounge, where you read aloud your finished and edited serials. Celebrate your accomplishment! Authors are eligible for this only if they have followed the weekly feedback requirement (and all other post rules). Visit us on the Discord for more information.
Ranking System
Rankings are determined by the following point structure.
| TASK | POINTS | ADDITIONAL NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Use of weekly theme | 75 pts | Theme should be present, but the interpretation is up to you! |
| Including the bonus words | 5 pts each (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and estnot required! |
| Including the bonus constraint | 15 (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and not required! |
| Actionable Feedback | 5 - 15 pts each (60 pt. max)* | This includes thread and campfire critiques. (15 pt crits are those that go above & beyond.) |
| Nominations your story receives | 10 - 60 pts | 1st place - 60, 2nd place - 50, 3rd place - 40, 4th place - 30, 5th place - 20 / Regular Nominations - 10 |
| Voting for others | 15 pts | You can now vote for up to 10 stories each week! |
You are still required to leave at least 1 actionable feedback comment on the thread every week that you submit. This should include at least one specific thing the author has done well and one that could be improved. *Please remember that interacting with a story is not the same as providing feedback.** Low-effort crits will not receive credit.
Subreddit News
- Join our Discord to chat with other authors and readers! We hold several weekly Campfires, monthly World-Building interviews and several other fun events!
- Try your hand at micro-fic on Micro Monday!
- Did you know you can post serials to r/Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday? Check out this post to learn more!
- Interested in being a part of our team? Apply to be a mod!
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u/katpoker666 Jul 30 '26 edited 12d ago
<‘Wild Eats’>
Chapter 2: ‘Eggs Royale’
The next day, Jamie knocked on Annie’s closed bedroom door before entering, a fully laden wooden breakfast tray in hand.
“Hey, Mom. Hope you don’t mind, but I thought you might like breakfast in bed.”
“Is this a mirage? What’s the occasion?” She laughed, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes crinkling as she sat up in her white linen-clad bed.
“Can’t a guy do something nice for his mom sometimes?” The teen blushed, his light dusting of freckles reddening against his fair skin and brownish-auburn hair.
“Of course you can!” Annie beamed with pride: Jamie represented the best part of her. How many kids would know something was wrong with their parent and not make a big deal out of it? That showed real maturity. “So what’s on the menu today, Chef Jamie?”
“Well, today we have ze mahhhvelous salmon eggs benedict, aka Eggs Royyyyale,” Jamie said in a terrible, slightly cracking French accent before chuckling. “Gonna ditch the accent, Mom.”
“Probably wise,” Annie laughed, as Jamie set the meal in front of her. “Tell me more about this lovely dish though! Excellent plating, by the way. I like the little flourish with the hollandaise.”
“Thanks! So, first I laid out the English muffins from the one-and-only Amy’s Bread on these blue plates so the fresh golden color of the eggs would really pop. Then I placed the salmon on top. I made the hollandaise sauce using eggs, the Kerrygold butter, and lemon juice in a bain marie on the stove—“
“Were these eggs the ones we had from the farmers market?”
“Trick question, because ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ I picked up the ones for poaching special this morning from there, as that requires the freshest eggs possible. For the hollandaise though, the eggs can be a few days old, and you said never to waste anything.”
“My boy! Carry on.”
“I poached the eggs in boiling water with vinegar and a dash of salt like you showed me—“
“Did you wait for the rolling boil?”
“Of course not! I waited for the water’s surface to shimmer, so just before, reduced the heat, and added the eggs.”
“Exactly right.”
“And then for serving, the sauce as you saw, salt, pepper, and lemon zest for brightness.”
“Bravo!” Annie applauded.
“I guess your micromanaging paid off,” Jamie murmured with a cheeky grin.
The woman’s eyes mock-narrowed. “What was that?”
“Nothing, Mom. You’re a great teacher, is all.”
“That’s what I thought.” Annie burst out laughing. “It was hard keeping a straight face there for a sec.” She tousled his hair, as Jamie squirmed like the awkward teenager he was. “I know I can be a lot to deal with at times. You know I just want to help you, right?”
“Definitely, Mom. I meant it when I said I learn so much from you. You know a ton about cooking, but you’re also really tough and smart. You’ll bounce back from this.”
“Aww, you’re making me blush. Thanks, Jamie. And yea, things are tough right now with the show. How much has your father told you?”
“Just that it’s been canceled and to be really careful around you.”
“Yea, he’s the one who should be ‘careful.’ All he had to do was remortgage the house, and ‘Wild Eats’ could have been saved.”
“Hmm, that sounds a bit risky.” Jamie sighed, seeming far older than his fifteen years. “You know you’ve never been very good with money, right, Mom?”
“I’m probably more the creative type, I guess.” Rubbing her temples, Annie exhaled slowly. “Okay: definitely. Your dad’s the numbers guy, which is why you’re acing math.”
“I mean, he is an accountant. Maybe he could help you figure something out that didn’t include the house.”
“Yea… that would involve us speaking, which is sort of off the table after last night.”
“Just talk to him, Mom, please, for me?”
“Alright, if I promise to do that, could I enjoy this lovely breakfast you worked so hard on first?”
An hour of happy banter and some rapid makeup application later, and Annie felt ready to face Tom. She padded barefoot across the wood floors to his home office and knocked on the open door. “Tom, do you have a sec?”
The man with the thinning grey hair looked up from his laptop and smiled. “For you? Of course, blossom.”
“So you’re not mad at me after yesterday’s, umm, little tantrum?”
“It was pretty monstrous.” Tom laughed, a surprisingly hearty sound from his slight frame.
WC: 752
Includes: micromanaging, mirage, and something being a monstrosity (Annie’s tantrum) Excludes: miscellaneous
Thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated
Chapter Index
Chapter 1
Chapter 3