If you look at the cover image above for this prompt, you see a peaceful road in the countryside in the fall. However, if you look closer, you see a small Do Not Enter sign in the distance. Maybe this is at the beginning of a side road that is hidden at this angle, but otherwise, the road just suddenly has a Do Not Enter sign in the middle of it. It raises questions.

It is easy to hide small, but important details in a picture or a movie since our eyes can’t always take in every detail of an image. It is harder to slip in this kind of detail into a story. The words are lined up on the page and the reader can read them at whatever pace they want. The trick is to slip in details that don’t seem significant but really are. The sort of thing that would stand out if a person read the story a second time, knowing what to look for.

Let me give a simple example. Let’s say that a character is talking on the phone at the beginning of the story and says it’s his twin brother with car trouble. Later, when someone gets murdered, the evidence seems to point to him, but he has an alibi by being at a party. We find out at the end that it was actually his twin brother at the party and he is actually guilty. His conversation with his twin at the beginning can be overlooked easily the first time, but knowing the ending, it would stand out if you read the story again.

Story Prompt: July 28, 2025

Write a story with a small detail that turns out to be very important.

I’ll admit, this might not be an easy prompt, especially if you’re writing a very short story. I’ll try to post my story for this prompt on Friday and you can see how I did.

If you write a story with this prompt, send me a link to your story on your own site, either in the comments or at info@greenwalledtreehouse.com. You can also submit your story here for a chance to have it published on the site next week.