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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#105: Gaining Perspective

Selecting which point of view to tell their story from is one of the most crucial choices an author can make. Whether you opt for the intimacy of first person (“I”), the directness of second person (“you”), or the versatility of third person (“they”), this decision is critically important in creating a story that resonates with readers. Identifying your POV characters is also of the utmost importance: a story might actually be more interesting when told not from the perspective of the action hero, but through the eyes of their overshadowed, long-suffering sidekick.

With this week’s prompts, I’d like you to consider your choice of perspective, and maybe try something new! Put yourself into the shoes of an unexpected character — or ask your character to consider another’s point of view. How meta!

Like I mentioned, we’re currently working on some big changes to Prompts. With that in mind, we’re asking again for you to submit your stories 24 hours earlier than usual, to make those changes possible. The deadline for submitting a story to this week’s contest is 11:59PM EST on Thursday, August 5th. Stay tuned!

This week's prompts

Write a story from the point of view of three different characters.

Character – 191 stories

Write about a person trying to see something from another’s point of view.

Nonfiction – 92 stories

Write your story from the perspective of a side character.

Character – 143 stories

Write a story that switches between first person and third person point of view.

Kids – 100 stories

Write about a character who can suddenly see through another person's eyes — literally.

Adventure – 131 stories

Stories

“Love Me Now, Forever” by Shinta Harini

Submitted to Contest #105

I could barely believe my eyes. There you were, standing by the gate, fully clad in elegant attire, a satin shirt, woolen breeches, a long, stately robe. I could not contain myself; I was so amazed. I drank you whole, the sight of you, to my heart's content.But then I stopped. I froze in my attempt to quench my longing for you. Almost shamefully.For I caught in your eyes – your eyes, the luminous, blue orbs – a marred soul, abysmal sorrow that went so deep no one could reach, heal, or take it away from you.I retreated. Recoiled – and backed ...

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“Pants on Fire” by Amany Sayed

Submitted to Contest #105

“From the top,” I say, clapping twice and leaning back in my chair. I imagine it’s a director’s chair, high off the ground and demanding respect. In reality, it’s a very wobbly fold-up chair, and I’m praying it won’t collapse on me. “Ok,” the boy clears his throat, “I was just-I mean, I had to stay up so late because my-my mom, she went to the hospital and-”“Stop.” He stops his blubbering and obvious fake crying. “I thought it was your dad? See, keep it going like this, and no one is going to believe your lies. It’s Boy Who Cried W...

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“Tides” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

Submitted to Contest #105

In the beginning, there was no creation… just gods. They were grouped by families. Thus, gods used to travel long distances to visit other families. They went from here to there and all the way back. There was only darkness. Gods were full of power; however, even though they were almighty, they couldn’t find ways to spread their vital energy, called life. Time, the only matter that existed, passed and gods suffered from not having a physical location to stay and to do things together. As separated families, their only shared activity w...

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“I Spy With My Little Eye...” by ☠️฿ⱤɆ₵₭ł₦ ₦ØⱤ₮ⱧⱤɄ₱😎

Submitted to Contest #105

“Briinnnngggg!” The school bell rang.I ran out of the class with my backpack (My oversized backpack) in my hands.People were being trampled and tripped over. All you could hear were the screams of everyone in my boring middle school.“Whoah!” I tripped over my own shoelace. I fell onto the hard ground and was trampled over many, many times.I tried to stand up but I couldn’t with all of the tiny little feet in the school hallway.Finally, I got up somehow, and tried to get out of the messy middle school hallway.“There's nothing that kids like m...

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“The moon, pills and other wrong things” by Kathleen `Woods

Submitted to Contest #105

There’s nothing much like being woken up in a body that is most definitely not your own. The familiar feeling of bedding you’ve never touched. A dress a might bit overfitted for sleeping.The swift timbre of a voice you only remember from your dreams.The blur of eyes that are not your own.It might’ve been a blessing to be nearly blind, if Lily hadn’t wanted to understand.It was still nothing to let go, when her body pulled her back.Whoever she was when she dreamed at night, was beautiful.But Lily knew full well what dreams were made of. ...

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“The Baby” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #105

“She’s very pretty, very small, very… much a baby. I didn’t realize how much a baby would be, you know, a baby. She can’t do anything. So tiny. I think both her hands make up, like, half my thumb.” “In her defense, you have abnormally large thumbs.” “Huh, that’s true. Do you want to hold her?” Danika shook her head and took a few steps backwards. She thought it was strange that her best friend’s parents trusted her so easily with this infant, with this new sister of hers. Rogel was a large person, as Danika had noted esp...

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“Perspectivegate” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #105

Day after day, it’s the same thing. Stand at the gate, listen to the stories, open the gate, hand out the welcome packet, and close the gate. The day God offered the job to St. Peter, he jumped at the chance, I mean, it’s a very important job and God had specifically chosen him. Who wouldn’t be honored? For the most part, St. Peter loved the job, welcoming those to the pearly gates. Everyone seemed happy to see him, and in the truest sense, he was heaven’s gatekeeper. There were some unusual days to say the least, though, and ...

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“Guilt” by Everett Silvers

Submitted to Contest #105

I stared down at their graves, my face felt blank. Emotions boiled underneath my skin as I gazed at the names carved into the stones. The ground was still freshly shovelled and wet. Steadily becoming soaked by the gray drizzle that was pouring down on me from the dark clouds above. I sniffed, wiping away a tear that was about to fall as I stared at the first grave. James Oliver Johnson, it began. Died at age 43, Husband of Anne Marie Johnson, father of Marina and Esme. He will be missed. A tear made its way down my cheek. The grave said almo...

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“The mad physicist and I” by Navitha Paranavithana

Submitted to Contest #105

Staring at the blank, white washed wall, all I saw was an unlimited amount of little, white paint dots. Nothing exciting. At this point in my life I felt very bored, tired and thought that physics was too big for a chap like me. After sitting on the couch like a total slump, I grabbed my plump, seven inch textbook and started reading every chapter like a mad maniac. I was taught that rereading the textbook won’t skyrocket my grades until I actively engage in my studying. I turned the pages of the book looking at all these complex lessons and...

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“Rosaline's Love Servant” by Johana Htwe

Submitted to Contest #105

Rosaline lays on her bed, her pink Pooch blanket covers her neck to her toes leaving her face only, dark circles discernible under her tightly closed eyes. After getting exhausted from overthinking, she lets herself fall into a deep sleep again. A pile of clothes lies near the foot of her bed, a heap of trashes fills her garbage can, dishes are left unwashed on her dining table, all those things decorate Rosaline’s cute, blue room awfully. Rosaline is not always like that; this version of Rosaline was formed a week ago.“Poor Rosaline,” I say...

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“Letting the cat out of the bag” by James Pendleton

Submitted to Contest #105

Special Agent Report to the High Commission dated 30th July 2021.This is my verbal report recorded on my Canaphone 27 device to the high commission. This report details my study of the female black British short haired cat, Midnight, and the female tabby cat, Autumn, who reside at 19 Kingswood Drive, Attica Falls, Isle of Man. As you are aware I have been tasked with studying the feline language over the last five years. To most others, cats do not appear to communicate. However, with each subtle twitch of their whiskers and e...

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“It Was Her” by Keya J.

Submitted to Contest #105

Writer's note: I would recommend reading my other story 'Gimme the mike!' first as there might be instances regarding the above mentioned.-----Those blue eyes, that melody filled smile, those beautiful curls in her hair, every memory is embedded like a pillar in my heart. The first day, I ever saw Noa, as I sipped the miscellaneous coffee with chunks of sugar still teasing my mouth. The blurred colours swirled in the sky pouring its shades to the July evening. She was partly sitting, her hips shallowly placed on the cold outer ring by w...

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“The Syndicated Man” by Lonnie Russo

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #105

“Oh, I swear to God, if you don’t start spinning this goddamn instant, I’m gonna smash your glass in and make the toaster watch.” Gripping the edges of my microwave, tightly enough to feel its corners digging into my palms, I growled and gave it a hearty shake. This animalistic roar echoed off my kitchen’s green floors, and another mighty peal of thunder sounded outside. A flash of lightning painted the room a strange shade of white-olive, the tile catching the glint, and all at once, I felt as though I were the god of storms, speaking my ...

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“Original Sin” by Jon R. Miller

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #105

11.07.2489science-vessel/Danaos[Day 378 of the Chrysalis terra-formation endeavor, pre-oxygenation phase]We're statues sculpted by apprehension and hope while we sit in the command center and wait. The planter-drones sent to the surface should be reporting in any minute now.Some of us stare down our terminals as if to bore holes in them. Other eyes fixate on the front wall-monitor where the planet's amber curvature hazily looms against the backdrop of space. The silence is well nigh sepulchral, making even the susurration of filtered air an...

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“Family Tree” by Elli Lewis

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #105

Present Day: LolaWe see our lives as solid. Structures we have built, brick by brick. But I know they are shoddy constructions, not fit for purpose. It’s the illusion of normalcy that is dependable. Just look at my living room, unchanged even as my world crumbles. Only the officers in their uniforms spoil the otherwise familiar scene. And even they will be gone soon.Over the past week, as it all unfolded, I kept thinking about the time Grayson broke his arm. Just a normal Saturday afternoon at the park. A train on a track it had traversed co...

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$50

Prize money

662

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 05, 2021 EST

Won by Vi Bisky 🏆

Title: The Next Good Day

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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