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!

#102: To Kill a Mockingbird

This Sunday (July 11th) marks sixty-one years since To Kill A Mockingbird was first published. For over six decades now, Harper Lee’s groundbreaking Great American Novel has been taught in schools, stocked by the dozens in bookstores, and devoured by adults and children alike. And despite its age, many of its themes remain deeply relevant today: the damage done by judgment and discrimination, the loss of innocence as one grows up, and the vital importance of standing up for what’s right — even when everyone else is against you.

 

To commemorate this classic, this week’s prompts are inspired by its characters, plot devices, and most enduring lessons. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird is a distant English-class memory or your favorite book of all time, these prompts are sure to spark a few story ideas — one of which may even lead to your own literary masterpiece.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a metaphor about human nature.

Fiction – 109 stories

Frame your story as an adult recalling the events of their childhood.

Adults – 243 stories

Write about a character with an unassailable moral compass.

Character – 34 stories

Write a story about someone losing faith in an institution.

Angst – 119 stories

Write about a mysterious figure in one’s neighborhood.

Horror – 205 stories

Stories

“My Hill” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #102

It was surprise. My parents thinking back on that time, were struggling financially. My father’s construction job left holes in our stability; weather and economic circumstances drove the need for his ingenuity. My mother worked fashioning furs taken from the captive exploitation of animals kept for their resource, regardless of their compliance. The bicycle had been a dream I kept under my bed, as to let it out could only mean disappointment. That day changed my pessimistic realities of reality, into the supposition that...

0 comments 0
Read story

“ No mobiles!” by Anthony David M

Submitted to Contest #102

Mark paused. Now reaching his mid-sixties, grey-haired and beginning his sunset years, he was enjoying quality time with his two grandchildren. He had retired and was now enjoying his free time immensely.                                                         &nb...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Nuts” by Chris D

Submitted to Contest #102

When Chaia dies, she wants a plaque on this park bench. One of those tacky ones, where you put a quote and the person's name, in memory of. She wants it to be an interesting quote, because she wants to be an interesting person. Key word being 'wants,' because she doesn't think she has achieved it yet.  Perhaps she has. Maybe they don't tell her because they don't want to pale in comparison. Their voice boxes are polluted in envy, jealous of all the interesting things she has done. Perhaps her imagination is getting the better of her aga...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Memorial Day Memories” by Sally Wirth

Submitted to Contest #102

Memorial Day Memories by Sally Wirth            My mother’s funeral had been a couple weeks ago and as the end of the month neared, I could no longer put off cleaning out her apartment. My parent’s bedroom had always been off limits to my brother and myself and when she left the family house after my dad died, we moved the boxes she had packed without peeking and without any questions. So I had put off the task, not wanting to be caught going through her things and hear her tsk and cal...

4 comments 4
Read story

“WHOLESOME CHILDHOOD MEMORIES” by Felicia Masobe

Submitted to Contest #102

As distant as i can strikingly keep in mind, as a young girl, i was jubilant and innocent. I was raised by my struggling mother, who never deprived me of affection. I was undoubtedly the apple of my mother's eye. Taking a trip down my memory lane, there were times i would wake up and find myself on bed when i never really strolled to bed. It turned out that my dear mother would carry me to bed whenever i fell asleep on the couch while watching my favourite cartoons-my little pony. Did i mention on how i used to fantasize on meeting my pr...

3 comments 3
Read story

“When I Remember” by Metaxia Tzimouli

Submitted to Contest #102

Harry Lambert’s eyes are red. They are not usually red, but today he is afraid that if he doesn’t type 1,000 words by dinnertime something bad will happen. Something always bad is being done to Harry Lambert in his head.“Sir, someone is at the door”. He ignores the voice, and his neck shaped like a crane, inches closer to the bright screen.“Sir!” The voice persists, just like it persisted yesterday, standing on the threshold of his study, here in Grosvenor Corner, Apartment 13. Harry Lambert loves two things the most: His computer ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“My Journey” by Debashish Bhattacharya A

Submitted to Contest #102

Accept life as it is. By conveying this I do not mean to withdraw your fighting spirit. It should be there irrespective of inflicts evoke into your life. The greater the power of aggression the more the pain is! Yes, I do say this because this is the way I understood life. Reality of Universe! A clap, short but clear and distinct, pass on the virus of clapping and spread over the space around. My tear was dribbling in through my cheeks. I was standing on the podium. The emotional outburst of a longstanding culmination. The victory. Joy and t...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Star-crossed” by Maham Fatima

Submitted to Contest #102

“It is the only home of my choice.” I lost my mother when I was thirteen. I remember her reading me bedtime stories way past my bedtime. Her low and mellifluous voicing lulling me into a sound sleep. The memory of her consoling me when I lost control of my bicycle and fell flat on my face. “There, there my sweet Sylvia! It’s just a teeny tiny boo-boo scratch. Mommy will put ointment on it and it’ll vanish in a few days like it wasn’t even there.” She comforted me by taking me in her arms. When she took my face in her hands in attempt to k...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Cupboard” by Sharmila Shankarkumar

Submitted to Contest #102

Before I got second Mummy and second Daddy, I remember how first Mummy used to lock me in the cupboard. The first time it happened it was late at night, maybe nine or ten pm. I was playing with my two plastic dolls, Melissa and Sweetum. Somebody must have given them to us from abroad because they were both white-girl dolls, Melissa with long blond hair and Sweetum with short, curly-blond hair. Blond must have been the in color then. As perhaps it still is now. I don’t remember asking why the dolls had hair the color of sunshine, wh...

6 comments 6
Read story

“The Story of a Minute, then a Quarter Hour” by Helen Z

Submitted to Contest #102

*Notice/Caution - I don’t want to seem like I am spoon-feeding anything, but I want to explain my tense and dialogue choice (in case my future self reads this and cringes at me for using bad technique). Please forgive me (and brace yourselves) for the confusing shifts between past and present tense that will occur. Everything is written from a retrospective perspective, but I just wanted to experiment with the contrasting effects the past and present tense can have on a story. When she remembers seeing and interacting with the character and ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Dead to me” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #102

“Can you believe this, Shran?” Orion asked his first officer, while he looked intensely at the daily newspaper, “They’re calling protesters, traitors.” The front page was mostly a signal picture of the bloody aftermath of a simple protest turning into a massacre end in only the deaths of fifteen unarmed protesters. “Well, your world is backward and messed up, to begin with, Orion, remember who you’re talking to, now,” Shran said, gazing out of a window of a small aircraft to a world he didn’t call his own. “The mainlanders own the governmen...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Ms. Mimosa” by Harlow Jones

Submitted to Contest #102

She had finished her third mimosa of the morning when she was called upon to help get the bride dressed. As her friend stepped into the ballgown she would have never chosen to wear, she thought of her boyfriend. With lowered inhibitions, the idea of sneaking off to the groomsmen’s chamber grew more appealing. However, she had a duty to serve: to support her friend in giving up her freedom for a shared health insurance policy and ungrateful children to worsen global warming. With ten minutes before line-up, Ms. Mimosa got dressed. No one els...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Ship of Lies” by Karmissa Ariadne

Submitted to Contest #102

Deep in the never-ending void of darkness, surrounded by stars, gas clouds, planets and lights of distant realms our starship cruised on a course into the unknown. Randal and I picked up a plate of food from the cafeteria and sat down on one of the outer tables beside a window. My tray clanked against the metal surface of the table as we both sat down to eat. The graveyard shift for the engine room was always such a drag, but it was critical to the survival of all onboard. Life upon the Astro Voyager III wasn’t much different to life on Eart...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Forgotten Tale” by Purely Red

Submitted to Contest #102

Author’s Note: This is a story, inspired by the Pied Piper of Hamlin.A stone clatters as one of the children shifts, unsettled as the enchanting music ends, tiny hands reaching—for a semblance of security, garbled noises falling from its throat as it hacked water from its lungs, limbs flailing for balance like a newborn just out of its mother’s tummy.Here. Hands, scarred and burned, reached the pair of tiny hands, fingers curling over the smoothened back of the wooden pipe upon the man’s lap.The child starts, unsettled.“Would you..give a poo...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Cry, My Beloved Country” by Theresa Bhowan

Submitted to Contest #102

The law enforcement teams are unleashed on the ravaging violence that consumes our land. Everyone sits, glued to their televisions, watching the chaos unfold. In the distance, the sound of sirens wailing and gunshots pierce the air, shattering whatever mirage or sense of safety we might have, tightly locked up in our homes. We are not safe, and we know it.What started as a fight for one man’s freedom has evolved into a nations unrest. Monsters from within unfurling their bitter tongues. Tongues, made of fire, that licks at every corner and l...

0 comments 0
Read story

$50

Prize money

710

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 16, 2021 EST

Won by Shane Ransom 🏆

Title: Favorites

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to 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 ⭢

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.