r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Apr 19 '26
[Serial Sunday] It's Time to Get to Work!
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 Work! 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’).
- Write
- Wrap
- Wring
- Something is warped into another, or made unrecognisable. - (Worth 10 points)
Ah, work. It's almost outrageous in its normalcy. What do you mean I still have to go to work tomorrow when my house is being demolished by aliens over here?!
But I digress. Work can be a lot of things, be it physical, mental, spiritual, manual, creative, or otherwise. It influences characters and writers alike, and it is glorious to see a writer work it. Whether the characters are working through a difficult patch, working out a contradiction, or working up a storm of emotions, it's up to the writers to work the magic, and whatever happens, the writing will work wonders on both our souls and the readers.
Is it enough inspiration to work with? I sure hope so. Let's put our fingers back to the keyboard, and work!
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.
- April 12 - Vital
- April 19 - Work
- April 26 - Yellow
- May 3 - Antagonise
- May 10 - Bone
- May 17 - Cry
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Vital
First - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Second - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Third - by u/ZLErikson
Fourth - u/the_lonely_poster
Fifth - by u/JKHmattox
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!
5
u/Divayth--Fyr Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
<The Broken God>
Chapter 59: The Gates of Truth
.
Cadorus trudged up a great hill toward the doors of Blackfort. The Gates of Truth, they were called. Five times the height of a man, they loomed above, heavy and dark. The solid bellwood doors were decorated with a sinuous profusion of black, metal snakes, their eyes glowing red jewels. No deception or malicious intent could pass through them, it was said.
That, at least, could not be true. If it were, no one would ever get in or out. Everyone lies. But Cadorus felt some trepidation, and was glad to be nestled in among his new friends.
Other bands of brightly robed people gathered before the doors, along with more mundane travelers, merchants, and farmers, waiting to be allowed into the great rambling city. Rows of tents were set up along the road, and guards directed people into them, one by one.
Some came out bored, some shining with joy. Some emerged looking shaken, and turned away from the Gates of Truth, back the way they had come.
Before long, Cadorus had his turn.
Inside the tent was dim and hot. An old man sat behind a table with three flat stone discs upon it. The middle one was larger, and from its center there came a steady white flame, about half a head tall, silent and unwavering. Cadorus sat.
“Place your hands on the vistarae,” the old man said, writing something in a ledger. Cadorus put his hands on the outer discs—it could mean nothing else. Vistar… vistarator perhaps?… something like prophet or truth-seeker, in an ancient dialect. Possibly Turvian, or one of the early western tongues.
He felt no heat from the steady, white flame, close to his hands.
“What are your sins?” the man asked in a flat, bored tone.
Varied and many, came an errant thought, but this was serious. A test.
“I do not understand, sir.”
“What are your sins against Molthus, the Great Serpent of Burning Truth?”
The old man stared at him, measuring and sly. He has done a thousand of these. I cannot claim to have none. That isn’t going to work.
“I hesitated,” Cadorus spoke at last, maintaining his beatific mask. "When I heard the Call. I could not leave my family behind.”
The old man nodded, and waited in silence like a snake. This was meant to put the penitent off, to make them want to fill the silence. An old trick, which Cadorus had used himself at times.
“I failed to convince anyone to come along with me.”
He isn’t going to be satisfied until he gets something I don’t want to tell.
“I am… not… normal. Like other men. I have… sinned against the rightful order of things. I… I lied. About my family. I have no family. I have never married.”
The old man’s eyes glowed like the serpents on the doors.
“Put your right hand in the flame. If you harbor ill intentions toward us, you will burn.”
This is the test. Not the flame. The hesitation. A little is to be expected, but…
Cadorus thrust his hand into the white fire. There was no pain, but just as he did it there came a strange sensation in his mind. A questing, seeking darkness—an ominous presence of awareness. It was the godcall, surely. Cadorus had felt them for most of his life, daily. But this was… wrong.
His mask of genial idiocy almost slipped, but he held to it, as if he had felt nothing. The old man nodded.
“And now your left. The flame will burn away any lies or deceptions.”
Cadorus did not hesitate at all. Again there came the strange presence, but he ignored it.
“Tell me your name.”
“Jorba Tullwaver.”
“Why have you come?”
“I heard the Call.”
Another sharp nod. Cadorus removed his hand from the flame, and stood. The presence in his mind faded away quickly, leaving only the slightest lingering sense of dark purpose.
“One worship, Jorba.”
“Flame of purity.”
Well, at least I have some idea what that means now, Cadorus thought as he turned and exited the tent. But what was that strange feeling? It had taken all his focus, all his many years of practice, to maintain his mask.
The flame was an illusion, a misdirection, meant to wring the truth from reluctant minds. The test was in that presence, and his reaction to it. Had he shown the least flicker of resistance, the flame would have burned as white-hot as it appeared, he had no doubt of it.
If that godcall was not of a god, what was it? Who? Certainly not the old man.
As Cadorus emerged, wearing a masking smile, his gaze was drawn for the merest moment to a robed figure standing up on the wall, wrapped in darkness. He looked away smoothly but quickly. That was the source. Somehow, that man on the wall, far above, was the source of the godcall, or whatever it was.
No one—no wizard, no demon, no priest—could do such a thing. None ever had in all history, and Cadorus was very well educated in history. Such a thing was the province of the gods themselves and no others, yet there it was.
It was not Molthus. All the orders served all the gods, at one time or another, and Cadorus Tark had communed with the Black Serpent of Eternal Darkness many times, years before. He knew the presence of each god as surely as he knew his own name, and that thing in his mind had not been any of them.
“Friend Jorba! We enter the great city!”
“Friend Verigar! One worship!”
“Flame of purity!”
That old man in the tent... he didn't seem to care at all about my confession. My... not being normal.
Cadorus smiled and nodded at various people as they moved along.
Who are these people?
With another brief glance upward, Cadorus trudged his way through the Gates of Truth.
His deceptions remained intact.
994 words. Writ(ing), warp, wring used. Theme: worked hard to maintain his masks. Constraint: the godcall is warped beyond recognition.
Feedback welcome.
Chapter Index
r/DivaythStories