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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#140: Down Memory Lane

It’s no secret that many writers draw inspiration for their writing from real life, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, when you’re searching for things to write about, taking a memory of your own and altering it is a reliable way to get out of a bout of writer’s block.

Memory is an important concept when writing fiction, as it helps connect the past to the present — so this week, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

This week's prompts

Start your story with the narrator or a character saying “I remember…”

Angst – 102 stories

Write about a character with an unreliable memory.

Character – 46 stories

End your story with total oblivion.

Horror – 24 stories

Write a story that involves a flashback.

Fiction – 71 stories

Write a story inspired by a memory of yours.

Nonfiction – 90 stories

Stories

“I Remember” by Hannah Brooks

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember the cold, damp ground. I remember the red liquid oozing from my near lifeless body. How the grass felt, how the wind felt, my limbs unable to move. I remember feeling like I was watching my body from above, dissociated, cold and waiting. It had been a day like any other Wednesday, I’d taken the bus to work in a small independent coffee shop. Not a bad job, good colleagues, good customers. Like any day, I’d got in, served the regulars, made small talk, put on a nice smile. After I’d finished I said bye to everyone and walke...

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“Bitter Tea” by Robin Davidson

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember the first day Gram let us pick out our own cups. Nennie and I twirled through the tearoom, giggling as we brushed our tiny fingers along the display. Fifty years’ worth of teacups lined the walls—every color, every pattern. Nennie chose a pale-yellow cup with purple pansies and matching saucer. I picked out a squat, blue one. "Oh, Nennie,” Gram cooed at my sister, “That's very grown-up teacup. You have wonderful taste!” Gram turned to me. “I forgot I had that one, Deborah. Your grandfather gave that to me years ago.” She scrun...

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“Ted” by Cathleen Callahan

Submitted to Contest #140

Cathleen McNamara Callahan bcallah@optonline.net 631-804-2348 Prompt: Someone with An Unreliable Memory Ted Ted had half-lost his once brilliant memory when we first met. His daughter Ann, who I knew from local tennis, had told me she was putting her dad in an assisted living home. He had been diagnosed with dementia. Upset at having just started a new job that didn’t give her flexible hours, Ann wasn’t sure how she was going to juggle everything. “I’d be happy to visit your dad once a week...

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“The Manacrypts Memory” by Brian Stanton

Submitted to Contest #140

A Manacrypt’s Memory His storm clouds gathered overhead, becoming darker every hour, but it didn’t rain. They would be stronger this time, they needed to be. He wouldn’t waste a drop. “I don’t understand the beads,” The boy said, “why do you have so many of them?” Vyncis pretended not to notice the boy’s staring. He was used to it by now, and none of the caravanners he traveled with, not even the adults, were used to seeing manacrypts. Wizards, sure, but not manacrypts. “They’re crypsis stones.” He said. “Uh huh,” The boy cocked ...

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“Brown” by Venus Valily

Submitted to Contest #140

Warning: This story handles themes of self-harm, mental illness, and suicide. I was scared of hallways. I was scared of hallways, doors, corners and the tiny boxes pretty girls lived in. I was scared of being so afraid that in my pain I would want to hurt. It's a comfortability of mine. When you live with so many rooms, stairwells and end credit scenes you learn the best way to cope with your pain is through more pain. While I've heard the fabled tales of girls with razors, and boys with bulimia, I found it quite pleasing to hurt mys...

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“Nadir” by Emanuela Dumitru

Submitted to Contest #140

"Time is the soul of this world." -Pythagoras-He thinks he might have been human, once.He might have had a name, a life, a mortal body. He might have lived for a while, as something else. He’s been here for too long- long enough to know how dark is the dark above the atmosphere, and how long the newborn stars will live. He knows the eerie sound of planets, like they’re mourning, like they’re calling. He hates that sound. It feels ...

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“All Gone Wrong” by Lady Senie

Submitted to Contest #140

There are times when making love would definitely be the better part of valor. My partner, Jeffrey, often jokes that ‘screwing for my country’ is in my job description. Why couldn’t this have been like my other assignments? You know; action-packed, but ultimately predictable and boring after fifteen years of service? Setting the question aside, I took a goon down with a spin kick, then buried a handy crowbar in his skull to make sure he stayed down. Such messy contractors… I’ll have to remember to send t...

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“Ex-Requited” by Andrew Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #140

“Don’t even fucking think about sending that.” I thought you were happy…I’m sorry. It was only the start of a long paragraph of text. I sat mesmerized by the cursor popping in and out on the screen in an endless rhythm, reading over the words I had spent the past hour constructing. I had never intended it to come out this long, but rambling was hardly something new in our conversations together. “Peter!” My eyes snapped back to the present as I looked up to see my annoyed friend ever-so-slightly breaching my comfort zone in a desperate effor...

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“When To Die ” by Olivia Grover

Submitted to Contest #140

When to Die This was the fourth time he had died this year. The first occurrence only lasted a few minutes before he was resuscitated. Each seemed to last a little bit longer than the previous experience. Every time Lucas felt pain all the way down to his toes until he died, but coming back was even worse. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, but he still couldn’t breathe. He could feel the frigid fingers that wrapped around his organs slowly, painfully, retreat. By now, he had begun to get a sense of when he was approaching ...

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“It’s all its quacked up to be” by Jennifer Shrum

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember the duck pond, it was my reward, escape, and serenity. Watching the ducks was oddly calming; believe it or not they have their own little personalities and dramas. The one with the emerald green head was always chasing the brown and black speckled one with the furious honk. Teamwork was the deal of the day when someone put seed out – each wobbling up onto the bank and eating from the communal table. This was how people were supposed to get along- not kicking, screaming, fighting and terrified. --- &nbsp...

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“The last day.” by Mark Atkinson

Submitted to Contest #140

Arthur knew in some sense that these were his final hours on earth. The morning light pushing through the slatted blinds told him the sun was rising on his final day. The crisp white sheets stretched tight over his withered body, the small window slightly open, letting in the distant drifting sounds of gulls on the wind, the apple green walls with the tasteful prints of seascapes all told him he was witnessing his final day in a place unfamiliar to the life he had once led. Fragmented aspects of his life would on occasion push up through the...

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“The 20 & Back” by R. Sadeh

Submitted to Contest #140

The 20 & Back It started when I was five. A man in a grey suit came to take me away. I can’t quite remember his face. Every time I try to do that it just slips from the corners of my mind like a fish out of water. It bugs me. Because he’s the one who started it all. Or so I thought at the time. I remember the soft texture of his hand as he took mine in his. It was warm and I felt safe. Safe enough to walk out of the play area, where I spent so many hours every day, and leave with him. That wasn’t the first time I saw him. He used to sh...

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“The Walking Wizard” by Jessica Jones

Submitted to Contest #140

"What is time?" The voice of the cloaked figure sounded like the rumbling of thunder, deep and wizened. "Time is the silent ruler of our lives, pushing and pulling us in and against a current, we can do nothing about." The eyes of fellow travelers looked on in wonder, mystified by the newest arrival to their fire. "It is strange to live in a world where time is so important and impartial in how it affects our lives. So, imagine the cruel irony in living as a creature where time truly holds no sway." Three claws rose to draw back the traveler...

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“When We Survive ” by Hannah-Grace Botkin

Submitted to Contest #140

My nostrils are burning. The fumes radiating off the Tarmac are making my eyes water. I’m under my bird pre-flighting the nose gear—my shoulder blades pressed into a plastic creeper. I can’t rub my eyes again without coating them in grease. Someone runs by me, nearly tripping over my foot. I try to roll out from under the bird and hit my head. Before I can stand, Ray grabs my arm and yells something. I can see his mouth moving, but my ears are ringing. More people are running now. The first fuel pit explodes shortly after I secure my flak a...

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“Mary's Journey” by David Blackburn

Submitted to Contest #140

Mary’s Journey by David Blackburn &nbsp...

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$250

Prize money

333

Contest entries

170

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 08, 2022 EST

Won by Cecilia Maddison 🏆

Title: Old Soul

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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