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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

“Blue's Park” by Matthew Weber

Submitted to Contest #11

It had been fifteen years since Blue had been in Sander’s Park. Back then she thought it was just a playground and a parking lot, but she now knew the trees surrounding the playground, the hills on the other side of the parking lot, and the creek at the bottom of the hills were a part of it too. As a child she thought the trees were a thick forest where children would get lost and wolves would prowl at night. But now she realized she could see through them, and on the other side, barely thirty yards from the edge, was the back of a Walmart. ...

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“Rory's Here” by Annie Couch

Submitted to Contest #11

Eileen was waiting outside in the dark and the snow when headlights flashed in her eyes. A car pulled into the apartment complex parking lot and she watched as it slowly made a loop and pulled up by the curb where she was standing. Rory got out of the car. He was tall, stooped, but not in an embarrassed way, more like in a way that conveyed his ability to listen to people who were a lot shorter than him. As he carried Eileen’s bags carefully to the trunk of their dad’s Volkswagen, Eileen watched, willing time to slow itself down and trying f...

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“The Boy” by Steven Pittaro

Submitted to Contest #11

A boy sits inside his home watching a cartoon on television. He is eleven. His father comes in the front door, having picked up barbeque food. To the boy and his two brothers, the father says,“Help yourself guys. I’ve got the runs.”The father goes upstairs into the bathroom while the boys eat dinner together. Afterwards, they each go on their separate paths. The oldest, Jimmy, invites his girlfriend over and they go to the basement to “watch TV”. The middle child, Danny, goes upstairs onto the computer and plays some game. The youngest, the ...

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“On the Streets of “Suburban” Philadelphia ” by Donny Fritz

Submitted to Contest #11

“You’re shorter than I’d thought you’d be,” said Dan with a smirk. The 90 mile trek from New York City had not been kind to my joints and in the past process, my foot had managed to fall asleep. My limp was noticeable. “It‘s good to see you,” I said as we somewhat awkwardly embraced. It had been nearly 24 years since we last saw each other. A dear childhood friend, Dan had reached out to me on Facebook to see if I would be interested in helping him with a project for his Master’s degree. The assignment was simple enough; interview old acqua...

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“My Childhood Room” by Katelyn Sherwood

Submitted to Contest #11

I remember it like it was yesterday. The over-imagination of a child filling in the gaps of a broken reality with a glittery world and sparkly people who wanted nothing more in life than to be your friend. It was behind the brown couch in the front room, etched into the wall. I found it when my parents first started fighting during the day. It was also the same time when my dad first started drinking during the day. I crawled behind that big ugly thing searching for comfort and silence, but found something wonderful.A hole, small enough just...

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“House party” by Jill Siegler

Submitted to Contest #11

I'm nine years old. Usually I escaped the madness of these gatherings by babysitting but tonight I unfortunately was free to "entertain" the guests.I don't like the parties. Adults are messy, noisy individuals who hover and complain. And they always invite ( I guess from work) the one person who I try to avoid but can't. This was one of those times. Mom and dad were getting dressed so I went into the living room and set up the "bar". A mishmash I gather of glasses, spoons, ice bucket full of ice, and a generally decent flower arrangement fo...

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“Home of the Brave” by Diane Martin

Submitted to Contest #11

Home of the Brave It is 1955. My mother, 25 years-old with long, swept back chestnut curls, deep dimples and pearly teeth, is wearing an apron over her tightly-waisted, flared skirt falling just below the knee, and cap-sleeved cotton blouse, all hand-made and carefully ironed. I am two and a half years-old and the...

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“Jurassic Car” by Kelle AJ

Submitted to Contest #11

He remembered trying to show mommy his new dinosaur toy. It was new. He’d just gotten it from one of Daddy’s lady friends. Another eager to make him happy because Daddy likes them more when they can make him happy. It was big and green and if he pressed the button on the back it roared. The first time he did it, it scared him. But in the good way. He tried to tell all of this to Mommy, but she was busy, on the phone with Daddy, while trying to get his younger brother to sit still in his car seat so she could make all the buttons click. His b...

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“Smoke, Strangers and Strobe Lights” by Micaela David

Submitted to Contest #11

Papa forgot to tuck me in bed tonight again. Usually Mama does it, but she told me that she will be working during my bedtime. I miss it when she would read Goodnight, Dear Child every night and gives me a kiss on the forehead. Papa just turns off the lights and slams the door shut. “Don’t go outside,” he says coldly. I nod and say “goodnight” in exchange, before the door closes. The loud pang is followed by a welcome of silence and solitude. Normally I shut my eyes and can’t wait to wake up from Mama’s warmth, but I hear laughter outside of...

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“The Kid Who Dreamed” by Cheza Vidal

Submitted to Contest #11

I could not possibly bring myself up that stage. Not now. Not when Jaime is standing right next to a tall woman whose eyes have been colored with fury beneath her glasses. “Whose son is this?” she asked, her thin lips curled downwards. An ideal dad would have stepped up on that stage, declared that the boy was his son, and took the fall of the consequences of the boy’s actions, but I wasn’t an ideal dad. I bent my head so low that all I ended up seeing were my leather shoes, polished to neatness despite it being four years old. Again, the wo...

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“Breach of Protocol” by Chris Morgan

Submitted to Contest #11

Breach of Protocol Chris Morgan Besmelt reached the crest of the ridge, stopped, and surveyed the next valley. These Solstice hunts were always a time of reflection for him. He thought over things that his grandfather had told him, especially about the world that no longer was. What did he know about it? Well, th...

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“Jonah ” by Adam Scopp

Submitted to Contest #11

The day my daughter was born was probably the happiest day of my life. Hearing the sound of those shrill, petrified cries for the first time was enough to make my heart throb in my chest. My entire being itched to hold my child close and never let her out of my sight. She was beautiful. Sporadic little tufts of raven hair were dotted around her head, and I let out a small laugh as her frail hand latched onto my finger with a surprising grip. She was a strong girl; I’d always known she would be a strong girl. “Jenny.” The word fell ...

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“Criminally Good” by Minttu Naukkarinen

Submitted to Contest #11

For as long as he could remember, Augustus Fletcher had had a very vivid image regarding his future — the kind that he was asked to present in front of class, at a job interview, at family gatherings. People loved to wonder about his dream career, his aspirations, his five-year plan, and without fail, the ambitious man always included three things: adventure, music and starting a family of his own. With his friends being of the rowdy sort, and a piano set up in his bedroom no matter how old he was or where he lived, the first two had been mo...

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“The Way the Apple Falls” by Kim Trojel

Submitted to Contest #11

"Mommy, why are we here?” she asked again. She had asked that question so many times that I lost count a long time ago, but this time she added something new. “I miss Daddy.” I knew, she was too young to understand, yet my heart still shattered into what felt like a million pieces. All I could do was reach out and take her in my arms as warm tears started rolling down my cheeks. It was at that point that her older brother walked into the room, putting on a sweater to ward off the cold in the old apartment. “Stop talking about him, Lulu,” he ...

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“From a Daughter to her Mother” by Sophie Heather

Submitted to Contest #11

Rhonda, age 62 from Sydney, passed away on Saturday, December 15th, 2002. She was born to the late Catherine and Andrew Collins on January 15, 1940.Rhonda lived a simple life at first. She lived at home with her parents and their dog Bow. She attended Caroline Public school, where she became the school captain in her final year. The reason: most likely her secret candy business, were she was selling the candy that her mother would get her and sell it for a dollar to all of the kids who were willing to pay for it, and trust me, so many d...

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$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!

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