Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about someone whose job is to help people leave their old lives behind.

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 246 stories

“A New Life” by Stephen Timm

Submitted to Contest #75

At cocktail parties, I’m often asked what exactly it is I do and my response is always the same – that I help people to leave their old life behind and to start a new life. “Oh, so you’re a shrink,” some would say. “Well, I suppose in a certain way I am,” I would say. “Or are you some kind of guru or mystic, who lives in an ashram in India?” they’d ask. With a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other I’d say, “Well, let me tell you then.” And so, like that I’d begin to explain what it is I do. But first I’m always careful to look around...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Evolving to positive change” by Vivek GracaPinto

Submitted to Contest #75

Jack Knolson looks towards the expanse of his world from his balcony. Seated on a comfy cane chair he taps his fingers on the seasoned cane of his chair's armrest. The sun is about to set as his cup of tea chills in the shuttle breeze. For a child, the view could be his entire world. But for 75 year old crippled Jack, it's his dying view. His balcony hung from the second storie of his penthouse that overlooked the valley. From his seat, the streets looked like open veins that carried toy cars between the multitude of homes standing in rows l...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Longest Journey Begins with a Single Step ” by Brenda Liddy

Submitted to Contest #75

The Longest Journey Begins with a Single Step  These days the phrase ‘reinvent yourself’ is bandied about. There are endless self-help books and blogs which argue that it is possible to leave your old life behind and start a completely new one. Fiona Harrold’s book, ‘Reinvent Yourself’ sets out seven steps to reinvent yourself. You have to ask yourself, ‘who are you now, who do you want to be, be authentic, what do you want, fake it, look the part and finally, move on’. These books are very valuable and they certainly help some people...

0 comments 0
Read story

“My job is to help people leave their old lives behind” by Migel Jayasinghe

Submitted to Contest #75

My job is to help people leave their old lives behind            The Royal British Legion Industries’ Vocational Assessment Centre was established in 1996 to help the transition of ex-servicemen and women, especially those with a disability, into suitable civilian employment. The facility is situated within the Royal British Legion Village in Kent where clients are provided with meals and single accommodation during the three-day assessment period of rehabilitation. I, as the occupatio...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Dear Benny” by Brendan Goff

Submitted to Contest #75

The Copperdale Trust is one of the most prestigious financial foundations ever established. Run by the world’s greatest attorneys, bankers, and financial experts, it holds significant interests in major tech firms, banks, oil, steel, hospitality, and transportation—if there was money to be made, then The Copperdale Trust had its hands in the pot.            Martha A. Rothschild-Copperdale, and her husband, William T. Copperdale, the beneficiaries of The Copperdale Trust, cruised through ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Green Box” by T. Sipply

Submitted to Contest #75

“Tell me again Charon…"The man lights up a cigarette."…how was this city back in the days?” “Agadez was quiet. The only noises you could hear were the rumbling roars of the camels slowly walking into the city. Their owners would trade them on one of the markets. Agadez was one of the busiest gateways to the desert. You could smell the dry dustiness of the hot Sahara wind everywhere. People lived an honest life, being helpful and respectful towards each other.”“And now you have the streets filled with Toyota pickup trucks, explosive nois...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Shadow Warrior ” by Kasia Harman

Submitted to Contest #75

“New year, new you. We can help…”  Dee reached up and turned off the radio. What a load of bull, he thought. It astounded him that people actually bought into the rubbish that a date change could lead to a better life. It thought it disgusting how advertisers viewed this belief as a means to exploit people that were vulnerable and willing to spend their hard-earned cash on things that, quite obviously, were not going to change their lives for the better in any way, shape, or form.  He pulled up to the gates of the townhouse ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Emptiness and My Companion” by Chelsea Berggren

Submitted to Contest #75

                    The Emptiness and My Companion  I woke up.   I woke up, that seems important somehow, though I don’t know why. Just, I woke up.   Though where I woke up in unfamiliar. Not unfamiliar as in I never been here before, which it is, but unfamiliar as in I cannot place where I am. It is like no place I have ever been before. Everything around me seems just out of sight. Think of being stuck in a fog ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Talia Gibbons” by Roni Tong

Submitted to Contest #75

Tall, fit, muscular. The silhouette of a man stands outside the glass door. He places his hand on the handle and pauses – wagering. The clock ticks on as he wastes his precious time on the decision that has already been made for him. Jingling, the door opens. Still not recognizing the impending doom upon him, he shuffles in. White light glimpse onto his face as he takes his baseball cap off, revealing a mop of disheveled hair. A round face that hasn’t broken out of baby fat glances around at the untouched, foreign, almost alien parts. He r...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Life and Pickles” by Mia Berkstresser

Submitted to Contest #75

“Come in, Ms. Fletcher.”  I moved from behind the desk and pulled up the comfortable chair.  “Would you like something to drink?  Water, coffee, pickle wine?”  I walked to the coffee bar underneath the window.  The window made the wood-paneled office cheerier, but it tended to fog up at times because I still used one of the old manual coffee makers.  Easier to make it to your liking, in my mind. “No, thank you.”  The woman glanced around the office and sat down, not really looking at me in particular.&nbsp...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Pinot and Paints” by Carlos L. Delgado

Submitted to Contest #75

BRUNO squirmed in the driver’s seat of his bulletproof BMW as he squeezed the wrinkled tubes in his basket of supplies, warming the paints before class, as he did every Tuesday night. He was known as an artist with violence, a savant with assassinations, but he considered himself an absolute oaf with oils. However, Pinot and Paints didn’t promise to train world-class killers. Instead, Mona promised her students a “colorful and boozy respite from the spiritual assault of the day-to-day—whether you’re in HR or the mob.”  Bruno’s pager w...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Welcome Aboard: Conversation With a Mentor” by Stephen Jones

Submitted to Contest #75

The third beer is usually the one that does it.  Do you like to drink? I used to have a taste for beers...funny to think that now. I think porters were my favorite. Those or stouts. A fresh draft of an oatmeal chocolate stout. I remember a good one in that bar down by the railroad tracks back home. Maybe the best drink of my life. Maybe it was the company. I dunno. It’s been a long time since I’ve drunk for flavor. I suppose I miss tasting the carefully brewed creations - someone’s special craft.  But I drink for the alcohol ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Whatever Comes Next” by Rowan Dorian♪

Submitted to Contest #75

Death walked into the dinner on January 2nd with a dark wind on their tail. It was practically deserted, except for 2 women on either side of the table. The one behind the bar, the bartender, was tall and thin, with intelligent, blue, almond shaped eyes that were buried in thick purple eyeliner. She spied Death out of the corner of her eye and without looking up, she slid a glass bottle filled with a dark liquid towards Death. The second woman’s torso was draped dramatically across the linoleum countertop, her legs dangled off the tall s...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A normal day on the job with Mrs. Anderson” by Noir P.

Submitted to Contest #75

"Alright, Miss Anna was it? How can I help you today?" A woman sat with her legs crossed, her blouse barely fitting over her bosom, tight slacks hanging just above her ankles. Her crocodile print sandals were ugly enough to gag at, but her client paid no mind. This time things would be different. This time she would turn her life around. Mrs. Anderson adjusted her cross shoulder bag, pulling out a lip gloss from within the depths of that horrid flowery pouch, the leaking perfume scent rising out into the air, flooding Miss Anna's nostrils...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Grim James; Moving Forward” by Medgine E.

Submitted to Contest #75

Mabel; age: 25, cause of death: a car accident. Follow me, please. “Wha-what’s going on,” she cries out. I explain that she’s been involved in a hit and run and now needs to rest. She sobs as she looks towards her body, lying lifeless in the car. I block her view, “come on, follow me.” We arrive at my shop, where I counsel the souls before they depart. “What is this place anyway?” “it’s my shop,” I respond as I hand her a piece of paper. “This piece of paper is a waiver; signing it means you agree to leave your life behind and move on to the...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who has finally managed to succeed at a long-standing New Year’s resolution.

Winter – 98 stories

Start your story with one character making a vow that they never would have made the year before.

Holiday – 102 stories

Write about someone who doesn’t remember their past — and doesn’t want to.

Thriller and Suspense – 205 stories

Write about two characters who each want to change the same thing, but resolve to go about it in very different ways.

Teens – 84 stories

Contest #75

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: New Year, New You

$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 08, 2021 EST

Won by R. A. 🏆

Title: The Violinist

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢