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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#130: What's in a Name?

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about names: our names, and the names we give to stories, and the way they shape people’s expectations. So I’ve decided to try something new: as you’ll see, two of this week’s prompts let you play around with our Title Generator and Character Name Generator to spark ideas — and the rest explore what the implications of titles and names can be. Have fun!

This week's prompts

Create a title with our Title Generator, then write a story inspired by it.

Teens – 97 stories

Write about a character whose name you got from our Character Name Generator.

Character – 46 stories

Start your story with someone finding an object labeled with their name.

Horror – 37 stories

Set your story in a nameless world.

Kids – 27 stories

Write a story titled ‘The Locked Door.’

Dark – 77 stories

Stories

“To Get a Name Again” by Harlow Jones

Submitted to Contest #130

I'd love to make friends, but I'm not allowed to. None of us are. We’re all the same now. First, it was the clothes and then the hair. If it wasn’t for physical differences and DNA, then we’d be a homogenous mixture. Soon enough we’ll be “as strong as steel.” But I’ve got plans. It’s illegal to have a best friend. Regardless, mine’s the one with the freckles. I met them before the skin bleaching. I’d be whipped if someone in blue found out I called them Freckles. Names are illegal too. I never say their name out loud. I’m smart. I used to ...

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“Abyss of Light” by Cindy Calder

Submitted to Contest #130

The owl always came at night, when the moon filled the endlessness that floated in on the breeze and rippled through the trees. Its feathers white except for the streaks of amber, it perched on the branch beside her bedroom window and shrieked its eerie call, beckoning her from the solitude of her bed. Thus each night, Luna rose and tread on bare feet to the open window, searching the barn owl’s golden eyes, as if therein lay some deep-seated omen that would bring fulfillment of desires for which she did yearn.Tonight was no different; the o...

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“Magic names” by Wayne Steele

Submitted to Contest #130

Content warning: contains blood.“I wonder what’s my purpose in life,” I thought to myself pacing the living room window. The sun was just beginning to wake up, and the birds were singing their beautiful songs. “Would I ever find it? How would I even realize it’s my purpose or, where to find it?” I walked to the window. My reflection showed the deep scowl of an unhappy boy. My hair was in a mess, my blue eyes were bloodshot, with deep bags under my eyes. “Who am I?” I pondered. A voice rang out from the kitchen. “Son food’s almost ready....

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“The lonesome wheelbarrow ” by Isabella Hennington

Submitted to Contest #130

The lonesome wheelbarrow Smaller than the others, less worthy he is told; told by his mind. A vibrant explosion of emotion in a room full of greys. He tells himself that his walk and talk don’t compare to the other wheelbarrows. A story; that’s what he describes his life as. A fictive device used to fool and entertain those around him. His color illuminates the glum greys in the room and they praise him for it. But no one will ever truly know him. His interests, his background, nothing. It remains a secret. The mask he wears acts li...

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“The Locked Door ” by Stefanie Grace

Submitted to Contest #130

The Locked Door There once was a curious little boy who was an absolute delight to be in the company of. Eyes so bright they outshine the sky and a smile so wide and contagious it’d make grumpy Uncle Bob crack a grin. Young in age and young in spirit, he sought out adventure as any other kid would. He was always determined to uncover mysteries of this beautiful house he called home. In this peaceful home lived an elegant mum of a giddy little boy and his name was Thomas. His toes spread out across the cold wooden floor as he stretche...

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“The Secret of the Charred Widow ” by Louise Muller

Submitted to Contest #130

"Promise me you'll keep on living, Mia," he whispered through strained breaths. His lips had lost their color. His eyes still shone bright with love but shared immense sadness and guilt. He felt guilty for leaving us behind. Even on his deathbed, Evan was selfless. I smiled through my tears and took a deep breath, hoping to breathe him in and keep him with me for longer. Evan passed on a Wednesday. The weeks that followed were excruciating. People faffed, oh, how they faffed. Meals, hugs, phone calls, and flowers came with love but m...

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“2105: Babylon” by Jordan Williams

Submitted to Contest #130

2105: Babylon, Capital of Luna, formerly the Colony of New Jamestown Babylon was a city, in the sense that anything could be like a city while not being on Earth. There were perhaps 10,000 people on the busiest day, when Cosmonauts from the Asteroid belt returned with Icebergs and detailed surveys of the rich resources hidden in the solar system. It was a city in the way that only a city could be so loud and so hot, cramped even though it was a tiny fraction of the size of the massive megacity of Tokyo, Japan. It had bars, it was dir...

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“Life takes my breath away ” by Theressa Cobb

Submitted to Contest #130

I was getting ready for my skating party my bestie on the line asking if I wanted to wear her soft pretty sweater I wasn’t aware she felt like we had a sharing bound which she lent me her most important favorite items so I knew from them on I can trust that people choose you not the other way around so as the day turned to night my bestie suggested we call our ride to pick us up from her house she never said to me oh girl I got you a blind date I’ve never met anyone by first sight. So my heart was pounding with excitement and fear but what t...

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“Not my box” by Jan Robertson

Submitted to Contest #130

“Amanda Meyer.” It’s carved in primitive chunks on the underside of the box. My name. Not my box. It’s one of those ornately carved boxes you’d get for 50 cents at the gift shops in Chinatown, smelling of linseed oil and jasmine, or maybe rosewood? I examine all six sides. Petals radiate out on the top with unmatched mother-of-pearl chips embedded in the centre as the flower’s pistil and stamen. The sides are almost Celtic in their design: a ribbon of vine on either side of a continuous line of layered petals, each box corner decorated wi...

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“ The Locked Door” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #130

My younger sister penny can be described as an introvert and timid. She doesn’t have any known friends as she matures into a young lady of . Some of her known friends had either been married and relocated or travelled abroad. She has turned into what I considers quasi-maid living with our aging mother. She foresees for the cleaning of the house and cooking for other 6 members of the family has relocated with their families to other states. The family house in the city was left in tact because, at times usually two years intervals d...

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“The Locked Door” by Tiffany Morse

Submitted to Contest #130

The Locked Door “No!” Kelly screamed as she kicked her attacker in the face, bloodying his mouth. He had been lying in wait for her and attacked her from the backseat of her car as she got in the driver’s seat. He has jammed a syringe full of something into her neck before she had opened the door and stumbled out of the car. Stay awake, even if you have to crawl. Keep fighting. She kept telling herself. You know what is happening, but why? Is this him? Is it the stalker or this the key killer you have been chasing for months or is ...

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“The Nomads” by Cadine Vernon

Submitted to Contest #130

No one alive remembered the ‘Great Burn’, it was ancient history now that morphed and lost its truths as it moved from tongue to tongue. The one thing that remained constant in its tellings was that the event was frightful and countless many died, without leaving so much as bones behind. That day everything burned, with ferocious flames, with intense heat, and without prejudice. It must have been a hundred years ago, maybe two hundred years ago, but it shaped and altered what was left behind. And it had left very little behind; just a few lo...

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“The mysterious Mr. Strange.” by SJ Anastasi

Submitted to Contest #130

‘Celia,’ she said, taking my arm, ‘Come with me darling, there is someone you just must meet.’The party was in full swing. Men in dinner suits, ladies all glam; this was an expensive gathering. My silver-blue dress clung to my lines and I felt self-assured as we approached a ring of people. Curiously, as we approached, one and then another looked over to Penny and I. There appeared to be an electric atmosphere here. A shared something, to which I was not party.I should have guessed that I walked into a trap. I k...

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“On the window ledge.” by Jessamie R.

Submitted to Contest #130

Vibrant daffodils sway gently on the spring breeze. Mirthful laughter rises from the courtyard nearby. I sit on a sculpted bench, knees pulled to my chest, bare toes curling around the cold stone. The sun warms my pale skin, I haven’t felt this warmth in so long. I should be happy. But I don’t remember how. Fluffy clouds dance carelessly across the clear azure sky. The breeze, soft and delicate like the etiquette of fine ladies, tugs at my golden hair. I grimace, swiping at the strands caught on my lip in annoyance. “43!” I hear a v...

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“Death of the Stuffed Shih Tzu” by Shauna Fields

Submitted to Contest #130

I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. Yes, I’m a “nosy kiddo,” as my Opa likes to say, but it’s more complicated than that. Now, I’ve got detention but only I know what really happened. The whole thing started a couple of weeks ago during our seventh-grade biology class. Our teacher is named Mr. Wurtz and he always has at least two scarves on. That seems dangerous to me, with all the bunsen burners around. Like a superhero with a cape. Same as every other day, I was sitting next to my best friend Jonah at one of the long, black tables with...

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$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

179

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 28, 2022 EST

Won by Allie Erickson 🏆

Title: A Man's Man

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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