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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 – 244 stories

Write about a character with an unassailable moral compass.

Character – 34 stories

Write a story about someone losing faith in an institution.

Angst – 120 stories

Write about a mysterious figure in one’s neighborhood.

Horror – 205 stories

Stories

“Chaos” by Navitha Paranavithana

Submitted to Contest #102

Human nature is generally a rat race!Sadly, that is the well known behaviour of humans or simply life. Dating back to the rise of the twenty-first century people have adopted a weird and alienated lifestyle. We live our lives with clogged to-do lists, messed up desks with memos that dated back five years ago and the desktop crammed with files that were used ages ago and we drive ourselves to work everyday, every morning at the last minute. Then while you travel what do you see? Traffic! What do we do when we see traffic? Let's get real,...

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“A Nice Person” by Kayley Dickins

Submitted to Contest #102

It was a running joke that he thought too much, the kind of running joke that becomes such a common occurrence only because it isn’t actually a joke. It was always said in a jokey tone, but it was always really meant as a warning, a reminder of the need for perspective and to take a break from the ever growing tree of thoughts he was climbing. He knew he thought too much, didn’t know what exactly they expected him to do about that, but he appreciated the reminder nonetheless, it did the job every time; shook the ground beneath his feet just ...

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“Skyboys” by Karen Kinley

Submitted to Contest #102

A selfish man protects himself; a selfless man protects himself so he can protect those he loves.The gusty wind and dizzying views found 1,100 feet above the ground would make most men nervous. But the Skyboys were used to it. To them, working with and walking on steel girders nearly a quarter mile up in the air was child’s play. In fact, the Skyboys, as they later became known, made light of the danger they were in 12 hours a day. There were no safety harnesses. There were no hard hats. There were no guarantees. All there was was the job.In...

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“Grape Soda” by Annalisa D.

Submitted to Contest #102

Annette looked like an angel sitting in a windowsill on the third floor of her sprawling gothic mansion. Her pale sickly skin, long golden hair, and glacier eyes gave her a porcelain doll appearance. I could and did watch her for hours from my hiding spot behind the pink rose bushes that fenced in her lush green yard. Often, she stared out the window in a dreamy way. Sometimes her eyes would fall in my direction and my breath would catch in my throat forming a hard lump that I could barely manage to swallo...

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“Betrayed due to selfishness” by Melody Frost

Submitted to Contest #102

TW: murder Every human in this selfish world has varied perspectives and expresses distinct emotions. Anger which is a salience member of it is one of the commonly manifested emotions. ** Rumors in the neighborhood began spreading like wildfire about Blake Romero, who remained as an enigma. Soon, the media started to flood at Winsle Falls. A corpse found inside a 3-feet barrel that was not far apart from Winsle Falls remained a mystery. It has been nearly a month since the death of Stephen Walton, a man in his thirties. His heav...

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“We Are Nature” by Pippin Took

Submitted to Contest #102

Humans are nature. We are violent and cruel, but we can also be strong, loving, and free. *** Present Day A Forest in Illinois A mourning dove sits in a tree. She glances around the forest. It is peak mating season, and she sees two males on the ground, fighting each other. She wishes she could tell them to stop, but she cannot. The dove watches them fight, and the bigger one pecks the smaller one on his neck, bloodying him. How odd, that since the males were born with testosterone and she with estrogen, that the male...

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“Battle of Wits.” by Consistently Lost

Submitted to Contest #102

Kevin sits in the principal's office. The nurse is taking care of the bleeding cuts on his arms and face. A raccoon sits in a cage placed on a table in the corner of the room. Principal Greg, a man with greying black hair, looks at the student for an extended period of time.Step 1: Create a tense atmosphere.A reset game of chess sits on his desk. All day, Greg had been racking his brains on how the chess master aka the tiny librarian beat him. He didn't know her name and it was too late to ask anyway. "So what exactly was your plan?" Gr...

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“The Radley Place” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #102

TRIGGER WARNING: injury detail, arson, suicide, murder. ‘The sign’s down at the Radley place.’ Lucy picked up the spoon the waitress had brought and dug into her tropical sundae.‘Really? Is that why your aura is so muddy? Disappointed?’ Helen followed suit, attacking her banana split in its creamy middle.‘I’d do anything for my parents to buy that place. But that For Sale sign is down. The timing couldn’t be worse. They were going to put in an offer tomorrow, the price has finally dropped low enough. We could have moved out of The Dump once ...

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“Fight Them” by Keya J.

Submitted to Contest #102

As I slowly twisted the key clockwise, it made a funny sound, similar to a fingernail dragging on the countertop, all the seven pins had been raised to the sheer line of the lock’s core. I pulled the thin hair strands behind my left ear, and carefully pulled the key out of the lock, placing it back in my purse. I blinked my eyes a couple of times to cut loose the glitters of black spots as the winged sun radiated its powerful sunshine. The wilted branches and fallen yellow cringed leaves compelled me to accept the change in the wind. Un...

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“He had her in his hands” by Rolade Berthier

Submitted to Contest #102

I was angry as a raging bull for many years because what I called sin seemed an experiment to him.I cannot remember much about my life when I was a toddler except what my parents and relatives have narrated for amusement to embarrass me. A family story is that at age two, I used to sit on a stool outside our grocery store waiting for the wife of my dad's cousin, Dekin, to pass by so that I could yell, "That's a beautiful lady". Every Saturday morning, on her way to the bakery, I followed her for several centimetres imitating the swaying...

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“Daisy Chain” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #102

Human nature is potentially aggressive and destructive and potentially orderly and constructive. ~ Margaret Mead Lara was going through some old high school and college work. She was wary of getting them out because they always created a mixture of emotions. “That was so long ago.” It was, in more ways than one. “I don’t remember writing that.” A shudder. Maybe a cringe. Memory gap. If we all could recall everything we’ve written, we’d be going around trying to find three quarters of it, so we could gather it up, then...

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“When the Bough Breaks ” by N K

Submitted to Contest #102

CW: domestic abuse, mention of self-harm I was five the first time I saw it happen. My eyes confirmed what my ears begged to deny and from then on, the assurance he was just yelling at the game was a lie I had to work harder on delivering to my brother. He was only three at the time and the few words that penetrated the barrage of thick walls and closed doors between us and our parents didn’t make their way past his skull. We had just spent the day at the Mall of America. As always, I had insisted on making a full round of all four...

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“The Great Bra Incident of 1988” by Theresa Fox Turner

Submitted to Contest #102

The Great Bra Incident of 1988My face still flushes with heat, and bubbles of "not good enough" pop in my belly when I think back to the time my eagerness to grow up was so much larger than my boobs. In 1988, bullies came at you head-on rather than hiding behind a computer screen. I'm sure other incidents molded me into a teen. Still, after the Great Bra Incident, I was always careful to never be the "first" to do something. The only laughter I encouraged happened when I set the rules and made fun of myself. That was easier than letting othe...

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“Newcomer on 4th Street” by Ruth Smith

Submitted to Contest #102

No one knew anything about him, that man that showed up last Spring. He had purchased the Mainsfield house, which had been vacant for at least 10 years. Most people in town didn't even know his name, they referred to him as “that newcomer on 4th Street.”Jack, from the Hardware Store, knew him a little better than most. Mr. Cromwell was a regular at the Store, buying various supplies and tools a person would get when fixing up a house. One week it would be paint and paintbrushes, along with a drop cloth and some painter's tape. The next week ...

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“Secret Love Song” by Amy Jayne Conley

Submitted to Contest #102

The roar of the audience faded into a gentle post-show hum as the curtain fell and stayed closed for the final time that night. The atmosphere backstage was electric as usual; the audience had been fun, the rigging had worked flawlessly, and everyone had had a great time. Two weeks into the pre-Christmas run of Hairspray, and already the vibe was good. The show was a sell-out nightly, and the rush line was always packed to bursting from three in the morning. New York approved of the show, and for good reason. It was a cheeky take on the clas...

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$50

Prize money

712

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!

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