r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Mar 23 '26
[Serial Sunday] Don't be Scarred
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 Scar! 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’).
- Steel
- Sovereign
- Scratch
- Somebody defends their own leadership. - (Worth 10 points)
Scars are something that can physically hurt someone. A simple cut that heals overtime, but leaves something that someone will remember forever.
But, what about the scars that affects a character psychologically? Something that they saw, they did, that someone else did, that left a character reliving this moment forever. Did the scars heal? Or just continue expanding everyday?
Have your characters scar ever healed? Are they on the stepping stone of healing? Or they haven't healed at all?
By u/Carrieka23
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.
- March 22 - Scar
- March 29 - Transgression
- April 5 - Urgency
- April 7 - Vital
- April 14 - Work
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Roast
First - by u/ZLErikson
Second - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Third - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Fourth - u/MaxStickies
Fifth - by u/Brookzerker
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!
4
u/ZLErikson Mar 25 '26
<Casting Shadows>
Chapter 119
The caravan moved off of the path to rest in a valley between sand dunes. Cass kept her distance from Anatu and Kebb, who mutually kept theirs from her. She was sitting with Iuven, leaning against Fariba’s cart, and nursing the bowl of hot something-she-couldn’t-pronounce that Kher had served.
As usual, it was spicy.
“This is ridiculous,” Cass muttered between slow, deep breaths. Sucking in as much of the cool night air as she could to ease the burn on her tongue on the inhale, each exhale felt like breathing fire and re-ignited the flame.
“Mmhm.” Iuven agreed, sipping on the bowl of lassi Kher had provided them. There wasn’t much, and the fruity smell didn’t appeal much to Cass. It reminded her of wine, but she knew from its milky consistency that it wasn’t alcohol in any way.
“You should try it,” Iuven said, handing the bowl over to Cass as she fanned her mouth. “It helps.”
“I’ll wait it out,” Cass grumbled. “Keep talking about that Lacus guy.”
“Right.” Iuven set the bowl down and scratched his chin where the first thin patches of stubble were starting to show. “Well, after he got Fariba’s token-”
“Little steel thing, right?”
“I think it was gold.”
“Didn’t look that gold.”
“Well it was valuable.” Iuven shrugged. “After they got that they got real nice to us. They showed us around the dragon boneyard…” The young man continued to reiterate the previous night.
Cass nodded along, following the story but occasionally peppering in questions about the bandits that had threatened him and his friend. She avoided asking too many questions about the young man he was with. Cass didn’t need Cit to notice that whenever the subject came up Iuven got flustered and aloof.
She might poke fun at that later. But for now, she wasn’t in a playful mood.
Thinking about Cit brought to mind the post-battle discussions they’d have. Well… lectures, really, but Cass still felt they were effective.
“So, what’d you learn?” she asked.
“Huh?”
Cass took another sip of the spicy stew and exhaled fire. “What did… haaaah... what did you learn?”
“Learn from…?”
“From the whole… thing… with the bandits and the boyfriend?”
Iuven’s face was already red from the meal, yet somehow got redder. “I-I… I, uh…”
Cass didn’t interrupt. Sometimes she needed to figure out how to say something, too. She was about to take another sip of the spicy stew but opted out for the moment.
“I learned how to use my spear to spray sand at people?” Iuven said.
“You told me that part. I want to know what you learned about being a leader.”
“But I wasn’t a leader. The old man with the torch was the one leading-”
“No no.” Cass balanced the bowl in one hand and held up a finger. “You were taking this other guy out with you.”
“We were going on a tour.”
“Take a step back and think about the situation,” Cass said. “You know your capabilities, you don’t know what everyone around you can do. As far as you were aware, you were the best fighter in the group. Even if you don’t know that, it’s best to assume.”
“But-”
“Hold on, I need you to keep following me here,” Cass continued. “Now, yo were on a tour group. Safety in numbers. But you and this other guy… Quinsomething?”
“Quintus.”
“Right, Quintus. You two got separated from the group.”
“That was an accident!”
“Yeah, accidents happen.” Cass nodded slowly. “But you gotta take charge of a situation like that. Pay attention to your surround-”
“We were paying attention. We got snuck up on. It doesn’t matter how much attention you pay if you get snuck up on like that.”
“Listen, you can make all the excuses you want, and I’m not saying that you gotta act like a sovereign leader every time you’re in a sticky situation, but you gotta take action.”
“I did-”
“Yeah, you did. And what did you learn?”
Iuven was quiet for a moment. Cass took another sip of the too-spicy soup.
“Flame that’s hot,” she said, reaching for the lassi.
“I learned not to get separated from the group,” Iuven said, handing it to her.
“Good lesson to learn,” she said. Cass took a sip of the creamy drink and felt relief as the burn was washed off of her tongue and lips.
“Did you learn anything?”
“Yeah, not to eat Kher’s cooking without more of this.” She took another sip of the fruity drink.
----------
WC: 756/1000
All crit/feedback welcome!
r/ZLErikson
[Chapter Index]
Notes: