Set your story at a large entertainment venue, after the show has ended, amongst the discarded plastic cups and confetti.

Posted in Adults on Jun 2, 2023

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✍️ 53 stories

“After Parté” by John Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #201

It was over. The moon shone through, looking like the eye of a scared giant. There was nothing else that could be done about it. The Rabies had performed, making a case for the ultimate value of Rock and Roll. But there was something else afoot here, something that a few thousand plastic cups and loogies couldn’t change. Purple Pendergrass was alone. Of course, in a sense, we are all alone in our own ways. We come into this world alone – except for the twins - and we leave it alone. But Purple’s aloneness was something more, something diffe...

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“Curtain Call of a Statesman” by Kenneth Ohlson

Submitted to Contest #201

Under the dim lights of the deserted Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Philip Ackerman stood alone, his tall silhouette casting a long shadow across the wide stage. The once raucous and vibrant hall was now still and silent, save for the echoing remnants of the election night rally that had unfolded here just hours ago. He looked out across the vast expanse, taking in the view of discarded plastic cups, deflated balloons, torn banners and multicolored confetti scattered across the floor. Each piece was a stark reminder of the night's ...

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“And then there were two” by Madison Olczak

Submitted to Contest #201

Years and years of rigorous training couldn’t have prepared them for the sheer euphoria of after-show bliss. The girls, celebrating their year anniversary as K-pop’s newest sensation, sprinted down the stage, now littered with confetti, flowers and deflated balloons. Ji-hye, the eldest of the group, halted while the others continued to run. She took a deep breath in at the sight. Around an hour ago, this place was booming with passion and love from the fans who waited patiently to see their favorite girl group.The helium from the balloons wa...

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“Redolent ” by Sam Sak

Submitted to Contest #201

Angie curls her nose at the smell of old velvet and dust. Perhaps, also, the faint scent of cigarettes. She doesn’t think she saw anyone smoke at the show, but no one had to. The cigarette scent isn’t truly a smell—just the ghost of a bygone era when seeing the newest show at the small-town theatre was the next best thing to do. When the poorer families dressed up in their Sunday best and the wealthier boosted their prestige by proving their love of the arts. From an era before the internet and public health concerns. Where everyone from tow...

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“Maybe All This is Life” by Awen Kerr

Submitted to Contest #201

A haze still hangs in the air but my light stick has gone dark. My body is practically vibrating with excitement, and I cling tightly to it because I know in a few hours my limbs will hang like lead and my mind will replay everything that happened here tonight, already memory. Before the inevitable crash back to reality, I close my eyes and listen to muffled voices, dampened by overworked eardrums. I’m alive. Right now, I’m alive. I didn’t know that I’d find life during a late night scroll through YouTube, but that’s what happened. I’d bee...

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“Almost Famous” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #201

It was probably going to be my last day working for Green Associates. The employees in the union who worked directly for the stadium had nothing to worry about. They worked for the stadium in jobs that some of them had been doing for decades. I wasn’t one of those lucky individuals.You could tell who worked for the Mean Green and who didn’t. It was in how they moved. Garbage glided down garbage chutes for union employees with smooth enveloping strokes, a side comment or sly observation often accompanying their light loads.Mean Green dirtbags...

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“Paper Cups and Confetti Dreams” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #201

“I can still feel it rushing through me.” “Do you need the bathroom?” “No, I need my next fix.” “What was so spectacular about it?” “Everything.” “I don’t get it.” I was sitting, floored by the concert, in a sea of clutter on the sticky floor. Cups were tossed underfoot with trampled confetti, and we were the only ones still there. The place was eerily quiet after utter chaos that could only be compared to Beatlemania, and I was a front row fan. My heart was racing like I’d had an unnatural high, but it wasn’t that; it was the thrill of the ...

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“Idol Blues” by Cameron Diiorio

Submitted to Contest #201

Emmy forgets her purse, of all things. The performance that had happened that evening had been so long ago. Only the sound of reverb, of her own voice in her in-ear, remains. She cannot sleep. She closes her eyes and sees neon lights in hues of pink and white flash across her eyelids. She rolls over. “Minju,” Emmy shakes Minju awake, “Let’s go.” “Hmm,” mumbles Minju, and she pulls Emmy in close, wrapping Emmy in sticky arms and legs, “I’m tired.” “I left my purse.” “Your purse?” “In the green room.” “Emmy,” Minju says, and sighs, and t...

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“Her Biggest Fan” by Valerie Prottsman

Submitted to Contest #201

I can’t seem to walk away.The stadium is mostly empty now, save for the crew tearing down the stage and the janitors sweeping up confetti and empty plastic cups from where the audience once stood. One of them says ‘excuse me, sir,’ as his pass across the floor meets where I stand. I take a step backward, allowing him to go by, then return to my spot.She looked incredible. She sounded even better. The experience was like nothing I could have ever dreamed of. I’ve been a fan since she started singing, posting covers on YouTube; I’ve always see...

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“A Helping Hand” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #201

TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of death and suicide.If there was anything my life had taught me, it was to stand on my own two feet. Now, living is a complicated thing, and nature has a way of maintaining balance, see? Survival of the fittest. Take, for instance, those baby animals on the Discovery channel- for them, it’s sink or swim. Their mother teaches them the skills necessary to their survival, and in the end, it all comes down to them. Them. Not some good Samaritan who happens by during a time of their intense suffering. Not some paid hero ...

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“Glitter Rain ” by Arrianna Chai

Submitted to Contest #201

Now I’m twenty-five staring up at the sky in an empty field with a mouth full of glitter. It’s midnight now and it was midnight when I first arrived on this earth. Unwanted and brave. Unexpected and slight. My heart is beating through my hands, which are still welded to the metal barricade. I came here alone. I came here and got exactly what I wanted. So, why do I feel so empty? I sense a trickle like blood weaving down my leg making its own sad, little stream. It’s the only thing I can feel besides my mela...

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“A Memory” by Trinity Tatum

Submitted to Contest #201

Boom The finale, the drums beat passionately and dramatically, the euphoric feeling of the bass hitting your chest and lighting up your brain through your ears as the crowd roars and the almost perfect nostalgic feeling washes over you as you soak up these final moments of unity before everyone goes back to their normal mundane lives of being slaves to the system.In this moment, however, you are alive.In this moment, we are all one and our hearts all beat the same.The only thing is… the lights onstage went out and the moment ended about 15 m...

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“For all of us” by Britten Barker

Submitted to Contest #201

The thundering voices of the giants has begun to deafen, and the flashing lights of all hues has stopped. The giants murmur to themselves in and begin to stop away from the grass. In their wake is a holy land of sugar and new homes for the people of the land. Standing atop a blade of grass is the greatest scout of the Imperium of Ant's. They look out upon what the giants left behind, checking to see if the beasts are circling back as they sometimes do. He sees no giants and with a wave of his hand he signals the others to come from the gras...

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“The Aftermath” by Kevin Keegan

Submitted to Contest #201

Several hours had passed in the blink of an eye. The gig had been awesome, off the charts mega. Twelve encores were performed for the screaming adoring fans whose collec...

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“Let It Out” by Jennifer Glynn

Submitted to Contest #201

It’s strange how one place can transform so drastically in the space of thirty minutes. I gaze around the hall, truly seeing the venue for the empty shell it is. Gone are the thousands of sweaty bodies pressed together, their hands clawing out and faces red from the exertion of cheering. Only the echoes of their ear-shattering screams remain, the sudden silence seemingly just as deafening as I scan row upon row of empty plastic seats. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. To the blinding flashes as photographers snap away, to the searin...

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Set your story at a large entertainment venue, after the show has ended, amongst the discarded plastic cups and confetti.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 53 stories

“After Parté” by John Jenkins

“Curtain Call of a Statesman” by Kenneth Ohlson

“And then there were two” by Madison Olczak

“Redolent ” by Sam Sak

“Maybe All This is Life” by Awen Kerr

“Almost Famous” by Joe Smallwood

“Paper Cups and Confetti Dreams” by Keelan LaForge

“Idol Blues” by Cameron Diiorio

“Her Biggest Fan” by Valerie Prottsman

“A Helping Hand” by Ashley Brandt

“Glitter Rain ” by Arrianna Chai

“A Memory” by Trinity Tatum

“For all of us” by Britten Barker

“The Aftermath” by Kevin Keegan

“Let It Out” by Jennifer Glynn

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the point of view of a “sasaeng” (an obsessive fan).

Write a story about someone who has put “Blood Sweat & Tears” into getting where they are — only to question whether it was worth it.

Write a story inspired by SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong”, where someone can’t get a song out of their head no matter how hard they try.

Write about someone who has always done something as part of a group, and is now starting to set out solo, or vice versa.

Contest #201

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

170

Contest entries

94

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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