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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 Bridge” by Amanda Tessneer

Submitted to Contest #140

The Bridge It was the first warm day of spring, the kind of day you look forward to all winter long. I was so tired of the cold, the snow – finally, the sun was shining. I could feel its warmth for the first time in months. The snow was melting, and the water droplets sparkled like diamonds. I knew winter wasn’t over yet, of course – there was always at least one more snowstorm in early April – but I could feel the promise of spring in the air, and for now, that was enough. That’s all I needed. Spring meant hope.&n...

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“Mince and Tatties” by Deborah Mackie

Submitted to Contest #140

Mince and Tatties (Word Count: 2332) Words from the past; just three of them. It was a shock to see them on the blackboard menu, white scrawls looping around memories, tugging at her taste buds, wafting and dancing as they tried to harness fleeting aromas and flickering images. Obviously, it wouldn’t be the same, not here in this remote village in the Scottish Highlands. Not here in this cozy wood paneled bar where logs blazed in the stone fireplace, the local muso strummed his guitar and the two barmen sang along with soulful tunes. It...

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“A Virtual Life” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #140

We all have regrets. Coulda, woulda, shoulda…fill in the blank. It drives some people into insanity. Or into therapy. Or worse. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Shoulda is the worst of the trio. I should have done this, but I did that and look where it got me. Where is not the preferred place or you wouldn’t have asked the question in the first place. The ideal was a life well-lived, no regrets, and a long look in the m...

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“Cool Beans” by Stephanie Leinbach

Submitted to Contest #140

Annie exited the interstate at the old State Street exit that would take her to her hometown of Summersville. She hadn’t been back in years, but as executrix of her grandfather’s will, she was required to go to the First National Bank of Summersville to log the contents of his safe deposit box and close it out. Her grandfather had moved to an assisted living facility near her when his health started to decline, and she was still adjusting to the idea that he was no longer alive. He was her only close family member, as she’d lost her parents ...

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“What's So Funny? A Love Story” by Linda Boroff

Submitted to Contest #140

Part I My mother stands in my bedroom, a can of canary yellow paint overturned atop her head, its bright, creamy contents cascading down her face and red bouffant hairdo. Seeking the center of the earth, the paint plunges on past her shoulders, chest and arms until it encounters the hardwood floor, rebounding in a mighty splash. Obedient to the laws of physics, it disperses outward in waves that appear chaotic but are really not. The paint finally subsides into rivulets at her feet and forms a sort of coastline, whose configuration, if...

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“Station 1 / Ladder 3” by Jennifer Fisher

Submitted to Contest #140

I heard the sirens before I saw the trucks. The wailing, melancholy pitch like the mermaid's song of doom. Standing on the busy street corner, I squeezed my eyes shut tight and prepared for the approach. Loud clanging accosted my senses with the force of gale winds. The monotony of whining, like that of a neglected baby in her crib, sad and defeated from being unattended for far too long. A shiver went down my spine. The cacophony of noise-polluted music stirred up a familiar sweet sickening melody I hated to love. As...

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“It Was For Us” by ᴡʀᴇɴ ᴏʀᴛᴇɢᴀ

Submitted to Contest #140

I’ve never found joy getting all dressed up, drinking alcohol, and flooding the school gym to dance the night away. I would rather stay in bed all day with a good book than be surrounded by one hundred seniors dry humping each other. But this isn’t any other dance, this is my first date since Stephan. It had been over a year since things ended between us and I’m ready to get back into the dating world. “Why are you all dressed up,” Abigail asks, standing at the door. “Well, minus the converse.” I look down at my white dress shirt and bla...

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“Pepi, Our Angel in Brown Fur” by Debbie Norwitz

Submitted to Contest #140

If there is such a thing as perfection in a dog, it would describe our beloved “Pepi.” She had been abandoned by some unknown people; left alone and scared in a huge abandoned lot. She was rescued by a friend of a friend, who couldn’t keep her. My friend Ben couldn’t keep her either as he already had two dogs. Ben called us that fateful Christmas day and asked if we wanted a dog, I immediately and emphatically said, “No!” Ben ignored me and brought us this thin and malnourished “Angel in Brown Fur,” to our Christmas dinner, ...

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“ A Trip Down Westleigh Drive” by Lisa Quinn

Submitted to Contest #140

Picture being a carefree young girl who no matter what was going on in her life, there was always a smile on her face, a spark in her eye, and a twinkle of wonder around her. Many including her family never seemed to get her, she was in her world is what she would hear from many of them, and no matter how much they criticized her, she was still fancy-free and did as she pleased. She learned at the young age of three that she was born different than the rest of her family, that was until she turned four and was blessed to become a...

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“At Center Stage” by Andrew Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #140

Come on, just shake it off. Shake it off. I can hear a loud clanking somewhere in the distance just as a line of overhead spotlights come to life, illuminating the entire stage around me. Suddenly the room feels as though the temperature has increased to an uncomfortable degree, and my heart sinks as I stare into the blinding suns above and realize there would be no hiding from my audience. Based on the terrified expressions painting the faces of my fellow bandmates patrolling the stage around me, I’m far from alone in this realization. Do...

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“Living A Long Life” by Peter Doyle

Submitted to Contest #140

April 1st, was my mother’s birthday. She passed away at the age of ninety-nine. I miss her every day. She was born in 1918 during World War 1, lived through the Great Depression, was a nurse in London during World War 2. In the 1950’s she became an avid fan of Elvis Presley, then in the 1960’s The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Above all she loved watching boxing, her favorite boxer was Floyd Patterson. She lived through the sexual revolution, she watched the moon landing, traveled through Europe and the US. Every day s...

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“Horseshoe Island” by Greacian Goeke

Submitted to Contest #140

She remembered the long afternoon, the last day they were at Woman Lake. The lake next to Little Boy Lake and Man Lake. Lakes really did have names like this in northern Minnesota. She imagined the days when the lakes were fields of wild rice harvested by the Ojibway Indians. They beat the stalk heads so the grains would fall into their canoes. That was the way the social studies book described it. This image came to her again now that she really was in wild rice country. But she hadn’t seen any of it growing along the shores of the bi...

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“Fish Out of Water” by Angel Butts

Submitted to Contest #140

I drank my first beer on a barstool at a crowded dive in the East Village called Downtown Beirut in the late fall of 1992. I hated beer—still do—but my roommate and I had pooled our cash and bought a pitcher of their cheapest draught when we discovered that was all we had enough money for. As I nursed from my pint glass, I ran a cost/benefit analysis of suffering the lukewarm piss vs. not getting a buzz. Conclusion: I was way too uncomfortable to sit there stone sober, and I was way too stubborn to leave. Bottoms up. I’d chosen a college in...

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“Tate & Ava” by Abbie Pedrotte

Submitted to Contest #140

Tw: Contains mentions of intimate partner violence and alcohol abuse.AvaI fell in love when I was in the third grade. I was a loner, opting to walk the perimeter of the playground instead of playing with my classmates. What was the point? I’d just end up getting teased. So around and around I walked, taking off my scuffed white sneakers so I could feel the lush grass between my toes. As I neared a small grassy mound at the back of the playground, far removed from the other children, I saw a boy sitting with his back to me. He was pickin...

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“The Woman Who Never Wore Slippers” by Christina Z.

Submitted to Contest #140

She never wears slippers, not anymore anyway. Not since her time in the mental institution. The sound of feet in slippers shuffling along the cool tile outside the hospital room triggers her. "Shut that door!" she screams. I obey. I want to tell her, in fact I came to tell her. I toss my coffee cup in the trash and walk back to sit beside her and cross my arms. “So what did the doctor say?” I ask in a flat tone. Besides the frown lines that had been permanently etched into the corners of her mouth, she looked the exac...

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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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