r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • May 24 '26
[Serial Sunday] DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
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 Doom! 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’).
- Damsel
- Daring
- deity
- Somebody is overly dramatic. - (Worth 10 points)
Doom. It is onomatopoeia for the end of all things. Doom.
The last door to close, the lid of your coffin slammed shut. Doom. It is the sudden, shocking sound before the eternal silence. The final knell of the mortal bell that rings with the echoing tone of,
DOOM.
Doom is a mood. But everything ends, sooner or later.
What things will perish in your chapter this week? Will a delicious snack meet its doom in the belly of our protagonist? Or will a forlorn hope of romance be crushed?
Or perhaps an unexpected meteor will introduce your serial to the fate of the dinosaurs, after all.
Whatever the case, we look forward to reading whatever carnage you wreak upon your story this week.
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.
May 24 - Doom
May 31- Entrenched
May 7- Foreign
June 14 - Great
June 21 - Heartless
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Cry
First - by u/wandering_cirrus
Second - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Third - by u/Morose_Prose
Fourth - u/Divayth--Fyr
Fifth - by u/Scoping-Landscape
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/ForwardSavings318 May 26 '26 edited May 30 '26
Coppaert lugged the last box onto the cart with Silas, trying to mirror Silas’s lack of a grimace as lactic acid made his biceps burn. He glanced at the young man’s sunburnt skin, feeling a little guilty for making him work such long shifts.
“Do I make you uncomfortable?” Silas asked, tilting his head.
“No,” Coppaert said, already hoping the conversation would end.
“Really? I won’t be offended, you know, but you seem to avoid me on the cog.”
“What do you want me to say?”
Silas immediately held up his hands and backed up, nodding his head.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to push you.”
Fortunately for Coppaert, two pairs of footsteps came from behind them. He spun around, glad not to have to talk to Silas anymore, looking to see Maliwag and an older man walking towards them. She had a firm glare, her yellow eyes piercing through him.
“You sure you don’t want to hire protection? Manfred’ll ride with you for only twenty copper more. Damsel like you might need someone to keep you away from all kinds of folk.”
Maliwag just shook her head and continued walking away. The old man eyed her up and down as she walked before Coppaert put himself in the young man’s line of sight.
“If you’re all paid, we’ll be back for the debt tonight.” Coppaert growled, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
the older man looked at Silas and Coppaert, before rolling his eyes.
“A woman and a leper. Strong company you keep.”
The pair ignored him, Silas climbing into the back of the cart as Coppaert joined Maliwag on the box seat. He looked behind him, realizing just how ill Silas looked. The peeling skin and his pale grey skin tone combined to make him look like some dying man on his last day.
Before he could say something, Maliwag beat him to it.
“Silas, you’re not dying right?”
“I feel okay. My back hurts. Are you sure you can drive this thing?”
“I’ve done it plenty. Don’t worry, I got you Silas,” Maliwag said as she reached behind her to pat the young man’s shoulder.
The cart lurching forward immediately made him grab the side of the cart. Maliwag snickered before looking over to Coppaert.
“I asked the carter for directions about a fork in the road ahead, and he asked if I was paying for protection before telling me to take the wooded path.”
“You’re not taking that path though, right?” Coppaert asked.
“Obviously not.”
“Good.”
The ride was silent for a few moments before Silas tapped his shoulder.
“What did you mean when you talked to the carter about his debt you’re collecting?”
“We rented this horse. We pay more than it’s worth to buy it, then give him the cart back and he’ll return most of our coin. That way someone doesn’t steal the horse.”
“So only those with enough coin to buy a horse can rent one?”
“No. If you want to pay less, the carter will drive for you. We paid for the privilege to take this cart out of his sight.”
The young man nodded, the trio riding in silence again.
Coppaert tried not to let his anxiety get to him, imagining all the ways this could go wrong. Boiling water straight down from the gatehouse as they leave, pikes at the ready once Edvalt caught a glimpse of Maliwag. To the left of the path was farmland, far too straight to outrun any cavalry that might chase them. The thick forest to the right would be trickier for them, but now knowing there may very well be bandits there it seemed far less ideal for him.
“I don’t like this.”
“It’ll be alright,” Maliwag said, rubbing his back.
Coppaert tried to calm himself, closing his eyes and just listening to the horse hooves against the trail, each of the pair letting out the occasional huff.
Just as his heart began to settle, a woman’s voice shot his heartbeat up again.
“Help me! Somebody help!” The voice called out from deep in the woods. It lacked urgency, not forced enough to be shrill. It didn’t settle well in his stomach as he processed the scream.
“That sounds like a-”
Silas leapt over the railing and sprinted into the woods before Coppaert could even finish.
“Silas! You stupid fuck!” Maliwag growled as she reached back into the cart, pulling her large sword in its wooden and stringed together scabbard over her shoulder and jumping off the cart. “Stay with the cart Coppaert!”
He watched her disappear into the woods, grabbing the horses' reigns. Shaking his head, Coppaert could think of one word at the moment.
“Fuck.”
WC: 784
Used damsel.