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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

“The Blue Chair” by Lorraine Cobcroft

Submitted to Contest #140

A little fabric tear, that’s all it was. Yet it changed the appearance of the chair, and it changed me. Changed how I dealt with the loss of her. Such a seemingly insignificant little thing. Many would have thought my reaction odd... extreme, perhaps. Excessively emotional. But that chair was special. For thirty-five years, I had loved it as I loved no other treasure I had ever possessed. It spoke to me with words my mother could never say... words every daughter needs to hear. It was an old cane chair. I bought it for one dollar at a seco...

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“Reflections From a Skyline” by Karen Kerekes

Submitted to Contest #140

Reflections From a Skyline Every once in a while, I take that trek back to my old neighbourhood. To come home, to my first home. The place where I was born and raised for twenty-three years. Where I first experienced the fragrant scent of lilacs and discovered beauty amid purple irises, weeping willows and a towering white birch tree. Where I first learned how to throw a baseball and skipped and played in the days of innocence when there lived a Santa Claus, and where I wept at my awakening to life’s harsh realities and unexpe...

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“Moments ” by Emma Smith

Submitted to Contest #140

“Sit down in there!” I can still hear her voice when I look back on my adolescent years. Those words will forever ring in my ear when I think of Aunt Minnie yelling at me, my brother, and two sisters as we peeked around the corner while she prepared bowls of ice cream. We laughed hard as we tried to guess which one of us would get “the spoon” that neither of us wanted. Aunt Minnie had what was known as a sugar spoon. It was round with a tarnished gold color and looked like no other spoon we’d ever seen. I’m not sure why it tickled us so, but...

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“Sushila Auntie” by Chander Dhingra

Submitted to Contest #140

SUSHILA AUNTY She had no relationship with our family but we called her auntie, Sushila Auntie. Our father was a dear elder brother to her. She once said to me, ‘what your father has done for me, only a true elder brother would do to his sister...he is my dear Bhai Jee.' Sushila Auntie was a victim of India's partition and creation of Islamic Pakistan. She was from a town, known as a ‘city of wrestlers’ and famous for its food. She had built a one-room apartment in Himalayan town and named it ' Sushila Nivas'. It had on...

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“The Baseball Card” by Troy Lowman

Submitted to Contest #140

Thanksgiving dinner was coming to a close. Near the kitchen sink were recently demolished plates of turkey, mash potatoes, and stringbean salad in the home of one Mary Leeton. Mary, the matriarch of two grown children and four grandchildren was getting help from the oldest of the grandkids in rinsing and shuttling her good dishware neatly into the dishwasher. Happy to have the help but even happier to spend a few quality moments with them, Mrs. Leeton is in her glory. As this transpires in the kitchen, her two adult children, Trey and Taylo...

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“Fate and Coincidences ” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #140

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it only takes only one small twist of fate to change your future. But in the story, I’m about to tell you, there were countless. It started on January 1974. My name is Howard and I had just turned nineteen years old. I was six-feet one-inch tall, one-hundred-sixty-fives pounds, and being an excellent bicyclist, I had the body of an athlete. Yes, I was physically fit, but inevitably, I bore an invisible flaw. Since I could remember, I had been blind in my right eye. Years ago, the doctors determined ...

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“Parallels ” by Julius Howard

Submitted to Contest #140

In my office where I work there is a lot of gossip between staff. I happened to overhear a coworker telling another worker to grow up. “I thought to my self how rude”, but it made me remember my upbringing when I was verbally abused by my mother’s boyfriend. Grow up Allen, there is a time and place to be childish and when to be a grown up, as my mother’s boyfriend yelled those words to me. It stopped me in my tracks and made me think he could be right maybe I do need to grow up. I took it more of as a scolding because what else woul...

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“Dine Out Dates ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #140

Dine out Dates This happened back in the days when dating someone happened face to face, you found special places to be together, ventured far from the maddening crowds. Sat quietly and partook of wine and food, exchanged small talk across a table. Before on-line-ville, drug addled dance parties, dating sites and being told to …get a room. Not so long ago I decide to ask the man I’d been part of this scene with, several decade ago, what he remembered. I tried to see his point of view, invade his thoughts. He did assist by volunteering n...

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“Grass Stains, Ghosts, and a Missing Chicken ” by Kirsty A

Submitted to Contest #140

"Come onnnnn, let's goooooo," Olivia called down the hallway. Her blonde head poked around the corner towards her brother's closed bedroom door. Without warning, David flew from his room and tore down the hallway past Olivia, through the kitchen and out the back door. Olivia squealed and ran after the boy-shaped tornado. A game! And it's only just after sunrise! "Bye, Mum!" David called. Standing at the kitchen sink, their mother stuck her head out the kitchen window as David and Olivia ran under the sill. Their attention fo...

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“The Boulder” by Magdalena Brynard

Submitted to Contest #140

The Boulder By Magdalena Brynard The sky churned from golden hues, to amber and drawing to a close in a deep crimson. A steaming mug of coffee sat beside me on the table. I was fond of watching the sun set and rise over the ridge surrounding our ranch. My fingers absentmindedly searched my face as I stared ahead; they stumbled over a small rift in the curve of my chin. A sudden flash of light engulfed my senses as my mind awoke to a smooth white field surrounding me. Ice cold spittle shot me in the face initiating a riot of sensations...

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“Memories of Vodka, Clouds and A Caribbean Vacation” by Katherine Garrison

Submitted to Contest #140

*hic hic* There was a soured taste lingering on my palette, the kind which only the over consumption of cheap vodka can leave behind. Why hadn’t I brushed my teeth last night? Or maybe I had… as I rolled over the cool touch of what turned out to be an empty bottle of vodka sent a shiver down my spine. Slivers of too bright light crept in through the gaps in the blackout curtains. Bless that woman I call my partner, she left the blinds down. “Breakfast is ready dear,” she whispered through the closed door of our cabin. Right, I remembered th...

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“THE WIDOW” by Liliana Nealon

Submitted to Contest #140

She remembers nothing and yet she remembers everything. It was mid-March and light snow was falling, staining the pavement with a layer of almost white. She was a passenger in the brand new 4 Runner he would never get to drive. As the car slushed through the familiar streets of the small town where they lived, her thoughts too were familiar, random. She was on a deserted beach in Puerto Rico, where they made love by the light of the moon. On the airplane where they met and she had not recognized him until he smiled. The moment when their bab...

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“Memories” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember like it was yesterday. The memories of that horrible day does not fade with each passing day, the memories get stronger. I maybe old, but my memory is youthful. I can still hear the planes. I can still smell the smoke. I can still hear the explosions. I can still hear the screams of the dying. Things like that never fade. Memories like those never fade. Yes, there are times when I wish to forget, but every time I see or hear a plane flying, I am reminded of that day. Remembering and honoring those who lost their lives is eas...

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“Electronic Relics” by Andrew Audibert

Submitted to Contest #140

“I remember this thing.” Jim chuckled, cradling the Gameboy with both hands. It was smaller than he remembered. As a kid he could barely stretch his thumbs far enough to reach the buttons; now it seemed to fit just right. He flipped it over and saw no game inside. That seemed odd. He couldn’t remember a time when it was empty, even if he hadn’t played it in a while. Had he done that? He flipped open the battery cover and found no batteries inside. Somebody had packed this up, he just couldn’t remember who or why. It was probably his mother. ...

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“It Tasted Sweet” by Hayden Morrison

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember the first time I tried to cook. In high school, I was really into this girl- a super smart, super funny girl that was only a little bit condescending (just the perfect amount! Huh? You have no idea what I mean? Hm, maybe that’s more of a personal thing). Anyway, I was really into this girl, and she was talking about not having any dinner plans one weekend, so I was like, “Hey, my parents aren’t home on Saturday! Maybe you can come over and I can whip something up for you!” Big mistake. Now, you might be thinking, “Well, did you a...

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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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