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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

“Unequilateral Triangle” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #105

You gaze at the man lying next to you – the perfect husband; the father of your children – and suddenly you realise that you don’t know him at all. She wasn’t prying when she discovered the email. He’d left his laptop lying open again and she went to shut it, before the kids could touch something and delete an important work file – and that’s when she saw it. It’s so hard not having you here all the time. When you come round, I think this is what life is supposed to be like, and then you hurry away at the end of the evening and I’m all alo...

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“I Dream of Jeannie” by Natalia Ballestero

Submitted to Contest #105

Trigger: Adult language featured in this story.“I get it, you’re excited, but know this,” Tatiana paused as she considered how to relay her thoughts sans scorn, “no woman owes you a fantasy.”Dan hadn’t fucked anyone for at least two years and in his mind separating from his wife was the equivalent of graduating from high school and holding out the summer before starting college. The agony of waiting for his divorce to come through felt endless, but the promise of moving away from home to embark on a sybaritic quest of poon and partying kept...

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“Your Beautiful Blue Eyes” by Muffin Hill

Submitted to Contest #105

I always like your clear blue eyes. When you were looking at me and I was looking at you, I thought I could only see through your pupils to the innermost part of your brain, but then I found a lot of something that are sophisticated and complex reflecting your ingenious mind and thoughts. In your eyes, there is no signs of wearies from daily chores, duties, and responsibilities. There is never anything about sadness and sorrows, but confidence and determinations. There is always happiness and forgiveness, and mercies and generosity. F...

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“Be Kind” by Iam Danger

Submitted to Contest #105

On the seventh day, Trudy considered her work and rested. She sat down gently on her flower-patterned antique couch, beautifully enshrined in plastic to preserve its perfection. One sat gently because to plop would be un-ladylike and incorrect, but also because it would make a noise that imitated flatulence. She had spent the prior six days painting the canvas sign, with the large calligraphy of the simple two-word command, “Be kind.” Trudy considered Mel, dead two years and one week. Mel plopped. One never knew if it was an imita...

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“Extinction, No More” by Marcus N

Submitted to Contest #105

FACT: We are in a sixth mass extinction, an entirely human-caused one, where 75% of species are projected by scientists to go extinct in the next five centuries. While this story may be fictional, this crisis and the call to action it brings is very real.****************** I have to know. For humanity’s sake.Vincenzo Alba sat at his desk in the largest private climate research facility in Europe, his heart racing, his mouse hovering over a file in his computer.It has all come to this...

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“The Accident” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #105

The accident was sure to make the news considering all of the after events. There were squealing tires and a very loud crash that made everyone jump. There were three vehicles involved and it tied up traffic on the busiest corner in town. It created a lot of chaos and people ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. The police were dispatched right away and showed up trying to untangle the mess. One of the drivers was Jane Tyne, the manager of the town’s water system. The other driver was Michelle Henderson...

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“The story of a heartbroken boy, who killed his sister. ” by Snehalata Malati Baisakh

Submitted to Contest #105

That night was picture perfect like someone decorated the velvety sky beautifully with the glowing stars. The snow, which was whiter and smoother than form, covered the whole town, Whitebridge. The moon sat peacefully over Whitebridge, but then suddenly a young girl’s warm, fierce blood filled the whole cold street. Someone threw her from her sixth-floor apartment.The golden sun peeked through the clouds. Everyone got to know about the goosebumps giving murder of Kiara Lancaster. She lived alone in an apartment on the sixth floor of Solaris ...

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“Doctoring the Truth” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #105

Snip! Snip! Snip! My long, dark tresses fall to the floor. My mother continues until my hair is shorn as short as any boy’s. “Put your brother’s old clothes on now,” she says, handing over a shirt and breeches. I look at my mother. We both know this is the only way for a woman to train as a doctor in 1809, but I am twenty years old and not flat-chested enough to pass scrutiny as a man. “I’ll bandage your breasts,” my mother says hurriedly. By the time we have finished, Margaret Ann Bulkley has been transformed into James Miranda Barry, an i...

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“The Reckoning ” by Tom Vandel

Submitted to Contest #105

The Reckoning I was told in high school by my English teacher, Mrs. Eliason, that writing helps you think. Helps clarify things in your mind. Especially during hard times. Jus...

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“One Night” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #105

Bright lights and the buzz of the city nightlife, she loved it, not to be a part of it but simply to watch. She had a keen eye for detail and from the view on her apartment balcony high above the city she always had a lot to take in. The fun part was filling in all the unknowns. She didn’t know who she was watching or the relationships of those around them. She made it up, just for fun, no one will know. There was always so much street noise and the conversations were near impossible to pick up. She read most of what she saw from body langua...

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“The view from here - take the long road don’t go home” by Chacha Jaramillo

Submitted to Contest #105

As I sat in front of my computer pen in my mouth and glasses on, I noticed there was a bunch of emails coming in. Maybe time to get into business - I thought. The long weekend was approaching, and my need for drive far to a magical place was taking form. Gary and I, both enjoyed traveling down south to explore the West Coast of California, take the dogs for a walk, Gary wind surfing. I always loved to take with me a sketch book and some art supplies for quick sketching of the beautiful scenery this side of the world had. It has been a ...

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“Commit a Crime, We'll Always Know” by Melford Maderazo

Submitted to Contest #105

The hologram screen displays complex interconnections of thin green lines. The lines represent the lively streets of Lypee City, the only city in the world that has the lowest crime rate in five months. A yellow dot emerges on one horizontal line bordering the city. It continuously blinks in rhythm to an alarm sounding through the operator’s earphones. The operator touches the blinking yellow dot on the hologram screen. The blinking and alarm suddenly stops. She pinches the yellow dot to magnify the location. She pinches again and now sees a...

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“I'm okay being a side character” by J D Hernandez

Submitted to Contest #105

In life do you ever feel like the side character, like your siblings and parents are more important? I often used to that was until last summer when i realized I'm okay with it. They are so worth it. It started like any other family trip, we left in the dark of the night just to make it to Yosemite during the day. It was just after seven in the morning in Yosemite national park when we drove through the gates. We had been driving for eight in a half hours straight. Dad refused to stop. We were forced to hold it in biting out cheeks. In a mad...

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“Unrequited” by Triniti Brown

Submitted to Contest #105

Thursday, April 21, 1:05 p.m.Throughout our whole friendship, Bella has always wanted to be an actress. Every Saturday she made me be her love interest and run lines for plays she wasn’t even going to audition for. So watching her on that stage right now auditioning for the lead in “Romeo and Juliet” is making me the proudest best friend in all of South Carolina. All of her hard work is paying off at this moment, whether she gets the part or not.In my position in the auditorium, I can’t hear the lines she is reading but from the faces of the...

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“Through The Eyes of a Stranger” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #105

William had been driving home from a friend’s cottage after celebrating his twenty-first birthday weekend. The whole weekend had been filled with drinking, dancing, and more drinking. His blue eyes were surrounded by red veins. He was still inebriated when he got behind the wheel on Sunday evening, but insisted to his friends that he was fine to drive. He wasn’t. William was heading along a winding path on Hende...

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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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