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!

#11: Childhood Meets Adulthood

Hello, writers! My name is Aja Pollock, and I’m a developmental editor and copy editor. If you’ve ever wondered what Neil Gaiman, Bruce Springsteen, Isabel Allende, and Ron Burgundy have in common, the answer is: me!

You can check out my Reedsy profile here.

My theme for this week is "childhood meets adulthood." Childhood often seems to me like a puzzle that could unlock your understanding of yourself — if only you could solve it. Whether it’s truly possible to solve that puzzle is an open question, but whenever we can fit a piece into place, there’s potential for big insights. Hopefully, these prompts will inspire you to explore what childhood can tell us about adulthood. Happy writing!

This week's prompts

Write about how a person’s perspective on an event from their childhood shifted in their adulthood.

Adults – 31 stories

Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.

Adults – 83 stories

Write about an adult event or gathering from the point of view of a child.

Kids – 15 stories

Write about a parent who sees pieces of a family member’s (or their own) personality in their child — whether that brings them comfort, terror, or something in between.

Adults – 20 stories

Write about the moment a child (of any age) first comes to view a parent as a three-dimensional human being, and not just a parental figure.

Teens – 23 stories

Stories

“Beneath bruised hills” by Matthew B

Submitted to Contest #11

The grey clouds darkened the dead landscape beneath. Chartreuse hills, a husk of their former lush selves, rolled into the country side and beyond; their gashed and bruised fields evident as far as the eye could see. Secluded in the tall grass and ruins of homes, hid a frail park. Breaking the unchanging sky above, a soldier hobbled over the horizon into the fields below. He ran as fast as he could despite his limp, never stopping to look back. Never stopping to look back at the sky which was now lighting up with distant gunfire...

Read story

“What's On The Island?” by Catherine Burford

Submitted to Contest #11

When I was twelve years old, my parents called it quits. My mom chose her new family over us, leaving my dad no choice but to take me to the small town of Christy, North Carolina. He left me in the care of some relatives while he ran off to ask an old friend of his for a new job. Once he could get hired and settled, he would send for me. “Don’t worry, Kelly,” he told me as he dropped me off. “Everything is going to be fine sooner or later.” &n...

Read story

“First Day of School” by Anna Mayer

Submitted to Contest #11

I take a deep breath as I park the car. The drive was easy. Every curve in the road was familiar, and I flew by the fields with my windows down, music blaring, laughing as if I was a high school senior again. This time though, I drive into the staff parking lot of my high school, not the student one. I roll the window back up, turn down the music, and fix my wind-blown hair. This is my first day of school. I’m the teacher; I can’t make a bad impression. My legs shake beneath me as I smooth out my skirt. I don’t think I was this nervous on my...

Read story

“CLIMBING ROSES” by Athina Antoniou

Submitted to Contest #11

The sun was just rising in the sky, promising another scorching day as they stood in the line, joining the other people waiting patiently. Some spoke animatedly, excited about the prospect of the place they were about to visit. Others stood silently, contemplatively, lost in their own memories. The queue moved forward slowly, each step taking them closer to whatever each of them expected to find. Ever so slow, they started going up some steps on the left hand side. The right-hand side had been cordoned off for those returning, or for those f...

Read story

“The Wedding” by Beatriz Relvas

Submitted to Contest #11

“By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride. “ And just like the priest said, Uncle John leans over and kisses Aunt Ellie. Everyone cheers, stands up and claps. Suddenly I feel something hurt my left leg making me shout “Ouch!” which in turn causes my parents to give me an angry look, “What? She hurt me!” I explain, upset that I’m in trouble because of what my older sister did. “She just kicked my leg for no reason!” My mom crouches and faces me and my sister, switching her focus on each of us e...

Read story

“Courageously Her” by Millie Kuss

Submitted to Contest #11

Skye and her daughter, Moriah, pulled up to the school as the bell rang. It had been a difficult morning. Her daughter had been taking much longer than usual to get her uniform and school books together. As an eleven year old, Moriah was expected to have more of a handle on these things, which is what had irritated her mother. Skye wore it well, refusing to raise her voice at the child and knowing that it would not help. Moriah being on the spectrum as well, meant she was sensitive to conflict and excessive noise only escalated the drama. Wh...

Read story

“Apple Of My Eye for you to reedsy whole thing” by Matthew Harris

Submitted to Contest #11

Shana Aubrey Harris (youngest of deux darling daughters), whose existence begat by this dada and da mama. Aye revel in your bursting at figurative seams! viz maturation, and discern by communicating courtesy private line telepathically, your aura, charisma, karma credit... finds me blinking back tear ducts ready to loose water works i.e. cry. Why? I feel ecstatic, magic, rhapsodic... how fate gifted this papa. Mine existence would be devoid without you, and forsaken without purposefulness, should cruel, horrible punishment undermined existen...

Read story

“A Fine Creation” by SJ Hunter

Submitted to Contest #11

That October would mark seventeen years since his passing. Marie could always remember the exact day he’d died because it fell on the 30th, the day before Halloween. CVS and Home Bargain had been ransacked of their multi-buy bags of fun sized Smarties, Mars and KitKats. Momentum, the gym that faced Morningside Park was advertising ‘Spooktacular savings’ for new members, and the smoothie bar the backed onto it had joined in with ‘Stake through the heart’ blood orange shakes and ‘You give blood a bad name’ Virgin Daquiris. Paper ghouls had bee...

Read story

“The Home We Built” by Leanne Huang

Submitted to Contest #11

Note: This is an excerpt from a book that I am currently writing. Hope it makes the cut!February, present day Hello, love. It’s me. Your Adam. And today, darling, is my birthday. I know you know. That’s why I’m trying not to be too melancholy. But I miss you more than ever. I sigh to ease the heaviness in my chest as memories threaten to overwhelm me. My hand unconsciously closes upon the book that has given me the strength to last after you left me, one unforgettable Saturday evening. I lift my eyes towards the h...

Read story

“The Devil's Seed” by S Clare

Submitted to Contest #11

It started with the eyes. He was so sweet as he played on the floor with his blocks and his wooden airplane and his toy guitar, babbling all the way. Ba ba ba ba ba. I watched him from the bay window as I sipped my morning tea. The sun spilled in in warm, thick billows and I relished the peace of that morning. It wasn’t a particularly rare morning or a morning that I had reason to think wouldn’t happen again but it will cling to me for the rest of my days, swimming in my blood and hiding behind my heart. I thought I was imagining thing...

Read story

“Closer than Home” by Gabrielle Sullivan

Submitted to Contest #11

Laying there contemplative of everything I've ever thought about, I'm Jessica my son's name is Garrick, he's 16. Garrick is a special boy but I see the terror in his heart. It confuses me how Garrick can hold so much destruction in his thoughts. I mean, I know how his dad used to be and all but I thought he was going to grow up and be a normal boy, it seems like I thought wrong. His dad, my husband had to leave us when he was 3 it's been 13 years but without knowing how to control his power isn't even going to be the most difficult task reg...

Read story

“Generations of the Soul” by Susann Brewer

Submitted to Contest #11

I am an addict in recovery who mothered three children I love very much. I have two daughters, ages nine and five, and one son, age eight. My children are being adopted as a decision I made to give us all the life GOD intended for us to have. Prior to this decision, I could see the characteristics I possessed being heavily displayed in my children frequently. These characteristics include but are not limited to anger, sadness, and intelligence. Terror overwhelmed when the anger reared it's ugly head in my children. All three of my children...

Read story

“Jackal” by Cate Howell

Submitted to Contest #11

Family curses are inescapable. When Gordon came knockin’ on my door, I knew it was trouble. He wasn’t keen to come to this side of town, only to clean up messes. They didn’t call him Gordon the Greyhound for nothin’.“Hedgie, it’s Jacky,” he sighed, sinking into my old armchair. “Rachel came to me last night. He’s tryin’ to stiff her. She asked me to shake him down.”Ah, Rachel. The sweet girl who’d shacked up with Little Jacky quicker than a speeding ticket. She was so full of eagerness to please that she couldn’t resist that boy’s quick...

Read story

“Pebble” by Ellysia Mason

Submitted to Contest #11

I have always been a Daddy’s girl. An only child, I received plenty of attention from my parents, but my father especially doted on me. His big hairy bear arms never scared me, and I would scream and screech as he threw me into swimming pools or swung me through the air- somehow never doubting his hold on me. He was known as a stoic man, but I found solace in his dark brown eyes and his rough husky voice- the same voice that would read me to sleep each night. My favourite memory was of him and I on a stony beach, squatting between the ...

Read story

“The Spies ” by Madelyn Morrison

Submitted to Contest #11

It’s like someone died. Even my breathing breaks the dead silence filling the ominous room. The darkness suffocates me. It’s not just a dark room. I look around and and see empty expressions and sad eyes. Their clothes are all black. Like spies. They act like spies too, blending in with scarlet walls, barely whispering to each other. They exchange quick glances, avoiding eye contact for more than a second. It’s like they're all in on a secret mission. I’m trying to be a spy too, but I don’t know the mission. That makes me sad. &nbs...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

172

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 18, 2019 EST

Won by Lee Witkowski 🏆

Title: The Tree

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!

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 ⭢