Instructions Included Challenge Winners

For the Instructions Included challenge, we asked writers to tell a story through instructions and to trust the form to carry what could not be said outright. Across the top entries, that trust paid off in many different ways.

These pieces used manuals, rules, and procedures to explore what people learn after something has already gone wrong. Instructions appeared as acts of care, survival, responsibility, belief, and surrender, shaped by repetition and revision rather than authority alone.

The strongest entries recognized that instructions are never neutral and allowed room for the reader to sense what the form itself can’t fully express.

🏆 Winners

How to Keep the House Quiet After 11:47 PM by Steph Marie

Steph Marie opens with revision dates that immediately change how the instructions read, turning every precaution into evidence of something already gone wrong.

For the Next Girl by Cristal S.

Cristal S. lets the instructions unfold as a shared notebook, where routines are revised, questioned, and passed along from one caretaker to the next.

For When the Forest Calls by Alyssa Cherise

Alyssa Cherise guides the reader through preparation, offerings, and arrival with a voice that never rushes or resists what’s coming. By the time the instructions end, the forest feels less like a destination than a return, completed quietly and without force.

A Practical Manual for Accountability by Cadma

Cadma addresses the reader without metaphor or mercy, using the manual format to insist on accountability as sustained work rather than apology.

Instructions for the Safe Removal of Godhead from the Human Psyche by Iris Obscura

Iris Obscura uses the language of manuals and safety protocols to dismantle godhead as habit rather than doctrine.

🎖️ Runners-up

• FAIGHT Cube 3.2 User Testing Guide by John Dodge
• BEST! by Cali Loria
• Instructions for Returning to a Place That No Longer Exists by Shannon Hilson
• How To Save Your Life With A Glass of Water by Aubrey Rebecca
• Winchester Delivery Services Training Video by Stephen A. Roddewig
• The Animal Companion Corporation by Luna Jordan
• Solving the Mystery by Lamar Wiggins
• Table for One by Sam H Arnold
• How to Succeed at the Benson Directory® by S. A. Crawford
• Technician Orientation by Nicky Frankly
• How to Save Your Own Life by Faith M Adam
• Thanks Again, Greg by Ian Read
• Foxglove Public Library by M. A. Mehan
• Dearly Departed by Amy Brown
• Don't Open the Door by Tyler Clark (he/they)

🏅 Honorable Mentions

• How to Become a Werewolf by Ophelia Keane Braeden
• Rule 1: Don't Worry by Raine Neal
• The Wannabe Supermodel Rulebook by Edward Swafford
• VCK 6101 by Brier
• The Correct Way to Eat M&Ms by Judey Kalchik
• Aether-Skin Transit Bundle by Aaron Morrison
• The Human Soul Inspection Handbook by J. Otis Haas
• Incident Preparedness Guidelines: Safety Procedures for Unplanned Incidents. by River and Celia in Underland
• Fixing Dad's Shed Roof by Caroline Jane
• The Art of Caregiving by Natalie Gray

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