I sat silently, waiting for the computer to turn on - maybe it would happen tonight. Finally, one of my responses would shoot to that top spot. Maybe I could even find a my piece linked to /r/bestofwritingprompts! Ok, as long as I can find something good. I thought, smiling to myself.
After scanning the front page I leaned back in my chair and stared out the window, nothing, no inspiration! Every prompt was either too specific or already filled with responses. I was tired of having my beautifully crafted stories buried under a pile of amateur prose simply because they were written first!
I ventured deeper into the depths of the subreddit, moving to the new section when the second page still didn’t yield results. There, in the middle of the page was something… not much, but it was something. I could work with that.
Quickly I jumped onto google docs to start my draft. I would need to be the first to the punch. It was tough, I must admit, to write a story in the style of a herculean epic. I brought the reader on a story of a young man, plagued with social anxiety, finding his true love at a college house party.
The style was tough but the story was sound. One more look at the prompt I thought, to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. As I changed tabs I couldn’t help but refresh the page to ensure I would still have the first response - my heart sank. There, below the submission box, was a large block of text which I began to read.
Perhaps it’s just a quick response someone threw together I thought to myself. But as my eyes moved across the screen I was amazed at the style. It was truly written as a herculean epic, if only I could match that skill! The writing had certainly achieved what mine did not - fitting the prompt perfectly.
As I looked at the username I’m not sure why I was surprised. With such a beautifully written story I should have already known Luna_Lovewell was behind this. Knowing my chance of a top response was gone I upvoted Luna, submitted my story and turned off the computer. It was time for bed.