Write about a character who isn’t nostalgic about their past at all, and show readers why.

Posted in Angst on Feb 2, 2024

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✍️ 54 stories

“What Happened to Your Arm?” by JQ Miller

Submitted to Contest #236

I take a sip of my coffee while turning to the next page of the newspaper. I overhear a senior woman saying to a friend, “My grandkids keep pushing me to get this thing called an app. But I can barely figure out how to text them since that’s the only way they will talk to me.” “I know what you mean, Beatrice. My son gave me a smartphone for Christmas, and I keep missing his phone calls because I don’t know how to turn the ringer on.” I try to tune out the conversation; it’s the same one every day, old people complaining about ...

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“Ranger and the Red Stripes” by Nick Christman

Submitted to Contest #236

Over the ashen fields, underneath an eternal gray sky, and through the rubble of the past, two young travelers trek in silence. The older keeps their head on a swivel, scanning through a complex helmet and gas mask. The mask collects airborne chemo-prints through a filtered cartridge when inhaling. When exhaling, a valve diverts the captured air through a lattice of tubes connecting to nerve-pins around the body. They carry a dilapidated pack with a recycled-carbon staff attached at its handle. The younger, half as tall, swings his ar...

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“Good Old Days ” by Grace Book

Submitted to Contest #236

I grab a carton of milk out of the fridge and slam the door shut with my hip, pouring the milk into the bowl of cereal I’m trying to balance. Only a dribble of milk spills on the stained checkered floor. I commend myself on my skills, beaming with pride at what a professional multi-tasker I’ve become. I put the carton back into the fridge and gaze for a moment at the photos stuck to it with smudged tape. Images of little girls with tiaras in her curly brown hair and smiling parents hugging her or each other. A reality that I wouldn’t know. T...

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“Slam Dunk at the Arcade” by Leah Cartlidge

Submitted to Contest #236

Thirty years had passed since I’d set foot in this hellhole. The bane of my existence hadn’t changed much since then. The sticky purple flooring was still decorated with planets and stars that had faded over the years by the tramples of teenagers. The neon lights of nostalgic icons like Pacman and Donkey Kong enticed the children to spend their parents' coins one by one like mini-gambling addicts. ‘Can I have a taste of your slushy, Auntie Claire?’ Callie said as she gleamed at my bright blue, raspberry-iced drink. She hadn’t seen me fill ...

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“A Non-Nostalgic Life” by Peter Giesbrecht

Submitted to Contest #236

I remember things in my past like everyone else that's for sure. I dont believe it's possible to live life and not remember something from your past, whether good, bad, or some of each. The majority of us will leave small pieces of our lives at different milestones of significance throughout our lifetime. Then at different times in our lives, we allow ourselves to pause or stop for a period of time, and immediately nostalgia is set in motion. So depending on circumstances, for some this is comforting, but then for others it can bring them to...

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“Night Moves” by Kristina Heiks

Submitted to Contest #236

Night Moves There is a gleam in his eye that lets me know he has found another ancient gadget of some sort to add to his collection. His house is full of days-gone-by equipment. He has a Corona typewriter, an old VCR that goes hand in hand with the old-fashioned TV that resembles a big box, set inside a wooden cabinet. “What is it now?” I ask, shaking him off. I admit, I don’t understand the allure of old, inefficient things. Oh gee… Let’s go back to the good ol’ days when we could only watch TV on 3 channels and typed our high school pa...

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“The Tragic Years” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #236

“The Tragic Years, that’s what I call ‘em,” the elderly man told Ross, his adult grandson. The old man kept slowly shaking his head back and forth. His face became flushed. “Tragic. Terrible. Affected my entire life, right up to this day. Terrible.” “Sorry, Grandad, I thought seeing this old scrapbook would bring you some fond memories. Is this a picture of you?” “Yes. That’s at my Senior Prom.” “Do you want to tell me about it?” “What’s to tell? That was my high school girlfriend. Tragic. She became my fiancée. Tragic yea...

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“Experience” by J. Hutton

Submitted to Contest #236

The clinic was blank. It felt empty wherever you looked, though John could only look at the ceiling right now. There, the tiles were white, as was the light shining down into his eyes through a hazy puddle of tears. A globe-shaped, black security camera watched him from the corner like some kind of floating pupil. Though he couldn’t remember exactly how many, he had had enough engram extractions to know that you were not supposed to move your head at this point. If he did, he recalled, he would see white walls, a white floor, the white...

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“Let's Get Something to Eat” by Stephen Laviera

Submitted to Contest #236

Silence in its powerful glory. Calms the mind's complexities. Transforming the rigorous clamor of thoughts. While easing the tumultuous current of feelings. With his palms open on his knees. Rocco sits in lotus pose. Breathing deeply only to relax on the slow exhale. On the floor in front of his desk. In the still darkness of his office. Shave and a hair knocks on the door. Manipulating the silence. Awakening Rocco from his meditation. Rising to his feet, slipping his shoes on by the door. Opening it bewildered as he straightened his j...

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Write about a character who isn’t nostalgic about their past at all, and show readers why.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“What Happened to Your Arm?” by JQ Miller

“Ranger and the Red Stripes” by Nick Christman

“Good Old Days ” by Grace Book

“Slam Dunk at the Arcade” by Leah Cartlidge

“A Non-Nostalgic Life” by Peter Giesbrecht

“Night Moves” by Kristina Heiks

“The Tragic Years” by Richard Morris

“Experience” by J. Hutton

“Let's Get Something to Eat” by Stephen Laviera

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character finding a retro piece of tech they don’t recognize.

Write a story about someone finally gaining access into their family’s very old computer.

Write a time-travel story where a character from the present finds themselves in the 80s or 90s.

Write a story about a grown-up sharing their favorite childhood video game with their child.

Contest #236

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

180

Contest entries

80

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: