WRITING PROMPTS #511: Food for Thought 🍽️

[Isabella Peralta]

Write a short story and WIN $250!

Food for Thought 🍽️ As someone who’s always been a fan of food writing (recipe stories, food journalism, restaurant reviews… you name it!), I often include scenes of cooking and eating in my own work. But what’s the deeper meaning (if any) behind this kind of writing? In her 1943 food memoir The Gastronomical Me, M. F. K. Fisher (one of my favorite food writers of all time) reflects on why she writes about food, and not more “serious” topics such as security and power. Fisher argues that we can’t consider basic needs such as food, security, and love as separate entities — and so, when she writes about hunger, she’s also writing about things like affection, and the human desire for it.  This week, let’s follow in her stride. What can you reveal about your characters through the ways in which they cook or eat? What messages are hiding inside a perfectly plated dish, and where do you think real hunger dwells? Write a story about a first or last meal. Include a scene in which someone is cooking, eating, or drinking. Write a story with the words “Cheers!” or “Bon appétit.” Start or end your story with someone making a meal, a recipe, or a cup of tea (for themself or someone else). Your character wants something they can’t (or shouldn’t) have. Compete for $250 and a spot in Prompted 💰 Reedsy challenges you to create a short story based on one of these prompts. The winner will be featured on Reedsy Prompts and receive $250 via PayPal! We’ll also consider your submission for a future issue of our lit mag, Prompted. (Grab a free digital copy of our past issues here!) The latest winner 🏆 Congrats to Rochelle Victor! Their short story, "The Official Record," is based on the prompt: "Write about a breakthrough that arrives just in time — or much too late." You can read all of the entries to the "The Big Break with London Writers Centre" edition of our contest here. The details 🔎 Here’s the fine print for Prompts: choose one of our prompts from this week's contest. Write a short story between 1,000 and 3,000 words, submit it from your Reedsy Prompts profile, and pay the $5 entry fee before 11:59 p.m. EST on July 10. See our Terms of Use and FAQ for other details. Pro tip: If you don’t want to submit to the contest, you can still post your story on your Prompts profile for free! Looking forward to reading your stories, Isabella, Prompts Lead @ Reedsy P.S. Are you interested in going behind the scenes of the Reedsy Prompts contest as a judge? Head here for more information.

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