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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#151: Back to the Reboot

This past week we’ve been inspired by Lightyear, Top Gun: Maverick, and all the prequels, sequels, and reboots hitting our screens lately. For many of us, reboots inspire a sense of nostalgia, or déjà vu. But how do you interpret them? Do you welcome new creatives and their reimaginings of the past, or do you crave something fresh in its own right? 


Of course, repetition can be creepy — and it can even become boring — but it can also open the doorway to improvement and growth. However you feel about the ever-rebirthing media cycle surrounding us, we hope you’ll find inspiration in these week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who wakes up in their past life, or as a future reincarnation of themself.

Fantasy – 54 stories

Write about somebody breaking a cycle.

Narrative – 42 stories

Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Sad – 40 stories

Repeat the same line of dialogue, from the same character, three separate times.

Middle School – 58 stories

Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Kids – 38 stories

Stories

“Resurfaced” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #151

I found myself waking from an accidental nap in the first-class diner at what I would’ve assumed to be, from the darkness shown through the window, quite late into the night. Although I knew I should’ve transferred myself to the comfort of my suite, I no longer felt any desire to sleep, so I stood up and walked placidly out the room. I wondered why no staff had bothered to ask me to leave, and also why the doors hadn’t been locked, however hardly cared to investigate. It felt as if the night were simply calling me – to explore the parts of t...

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“Modern Warfare” by Emilie D

Submitted to Contest #151

The campaign had been underway for four weeks already although tonight was the eve of their first battle. They had sailed across the sea with triremes full of battle ready soldiers but an illness had traveled with them and they had lost more than a battalion of men. Gaius had anticipated they wouldn’t reach Hispania’s shores with the same army that had sailed from Rome, he had seen enough of war to know that their Germanic enemies weren’t the only killer. Gaius felt the familiar pre-battle energy in the air. Their camp volume had dimmed a...

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“A Song For Someone” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #151

 A Song For SomeoneGinny awoke with The Voice strong in her head.It had broken into her imagination and freely taken whatever It wanted. She was fine with this, for after all, she’d given this Force full permission to do so.She began her day with a prayer. Having woken knowing that a new day had begun, her brain began to percolate.It told her of all the things she had to do, all the tasks done, those left behind, those that still needed to be done.This devious organ went to the many ways it could distract her…both naughty and nice....

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“The Medic” by Douglas J. Veverka

Submitted to Contest #151

She dreamt of this day since she wore pigtails and jelly shoes on her way to elementary school.  The rolling fields of soybean, wheat, and corn passed by outside the yellow bus, as she tucked into the brown seat, leafing through a tattered book titled The Ocean.  Turning the pages slowly, her eyes glued to the photos and words inside, she arrived at her favorite page with quiet excitement.  Her delicate finger traced the shape of a large fin emerging from the water. She lifted her head from the image and stared out the window,...

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“She Rather Likes it in Hell” by Dawn Locklear

Submitted to Contest #151

She Rather Likes it in Hell Madison is a scared, wimpy, grown woman that lives with a beautiful, enlightened little girl in her body. Being middle-aged, Madison is damned happy to be unhappy. She rather likes it in hell because it’s easier than being happy. Complaining about everything, everyone and especially not being young anymore.   Oh sure, she tried to make a good show of developing joy, actually faking it so The Little Girl could be happy. But truly, living in the chaos of complaints and processing mixed-m...

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“The Old, Evil Songs” by Julia Kinderknecht

Submitted to Contest #151

Die alten bösen Lieder… Drew couldn’t shake the growling, painful slog of Robert Schumman’s song out of his head. Maybe that was a gift; he needed to learn it for his recital, after all. Though he would sing it in German, the English translation he had studied always seemed to float beside the song like a faint shadow. The old, evil songs, the wicked, depraved dreams, let us bury them now; fetch a large coffin. Drew had always been an emotionally delicate person, though he tried to conceal it with what he hoped was a reasonable dose of...

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“A Flip of The Coin” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #151

Dr. Jordan Hart and Ensign Asher Cartwright shake their heads as they look down at an unconscious Montgomery “Moose” Albertson.            Short, with black-rimmed glasses, affable Ensign Cartwright hopes to have his own command someday. A twenty-five-year Navy veteran, Dr. Hart’s ever-present frown and grumpy countenance fail to hide his concern for others.            “He’s the most knocked out man I’ve ever seen,” Ensign Cartwrigh...

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“The Smelly Old Man” by Carmen Ella

Submitted to Contest #151

There once was a Reverend. When I was little, my dad met a man by the name of Reverend Jim. Reverend Jim loved God, Jesus, Church and everything religious. Reverend Jim believed himself a preacher of truth. Reverend Jim became my dad's best friend. In reality, Reverend Jim was a liar, a cheat, a charlatan and a shyster. My dad believed everything that Reverend Jim ever told him, including the lies. Reverend Jim demanded much out of the friendship that he had with my dad. He insisted that his way was the only way. Reverend Jim took hold t...

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“Prodigal” by Kelita Sim

Submitted to Contest #151

The car is covered in plastic but the driver doesn’t address my masklessness. He reapplies his own, cordially, and through the rear-view mirror, asks me with smiling eyes where I want to go.I try to recall the address but the familiar sights of the oak-lined avenues and feeling of stiffness after a four-hour journey generate an automated answer.“Home,” I say.“Ah,” his brightness is muted by his facemask. He glances at my luggage contaminating his plastic sheets with dried mud and probably the COVID virus; must be nice to be back?“Hmm,” I rep...

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“Lawrence Lockyear's Calling” by Penelope Naym

Submitted to Contest #151

By the hour Lawrence Lockyear had reached the glittering granite base of Half Dome, the sun that once hung so lofty over the peaks of the Sierras had just begun to dip beneath an encroaching cloud bank – a surprising sight indeed to those solely familiar with the California mountain range by way of the sun-bathed and saturated photography from the latest outdoorsy Instagram influencer, or, to those most locally acquainted, an expected and welcome annual visitor. Lawrence was of the former variety, and upon seeing that cloud bank, he felt an ...

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“Today is the Day” by James Lynch

Submitted to Contest #151

The next morning, he stood straight and crossed his arms across his chest, not worrying that the knot of his tie was slightly askew. “Today is the day,” he informed his reflection, reinforcing his determination with a sharp nod before he left. The next morning, he wore a light sweater over his shirt, buttoned and unbuttoned his blazer relentlessly, always frowning at the result. “Today is the day,” he gritted at his reflection. He stomped out, abandoning the blazer on the doorknob as he went. The next morning, he checked to make su...

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“The Wild Things” by Gregory Wright

Submitted to Contest #151

In my youth, we seldom saw my father’s side of the family. When I was old enough, I would ask about them: where they lived, what they did, if there were any pictures of them. His response was they were farmers and had a small plot far out in the country. He was an architect, which seemed somewhat at odds with the history he presented, but it sated my curiosity and as I grew older, I began to envision acres of corn and a yard full of tractors and seeders and plows. Chickens and cows and livestock in abundance and feral cats that had assumed t...

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“Bird-Friends” by Ali Kar

Submitted to Contest #151

Pat, an adult of no specific distinction and Noorindersky, another adult of nondescript characteristics walk uncomfortably close to each other. Step by step they mosey through a beautiful parkette, which is like a park, only smaller with less to offer the general public other than a sample of green space in an otherwise concrete jungle.  The parkette or pocket park, if you will, is filled with an unnatural amount of birdsong. Noorindersky looks up and around at the noise, wondering if they should be pleased or concerned with the sound...

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“Wheel of Punishment” by Luke Schumacher

Submitted to Contest #151

CW: Brief descriptions of violence, death This seat is too rough. You think if they have a nice assembly room, the best thing they can do is give us chairs that don’t feel like splinters. I guess when you’re in this place, you can’t ask for anything. My eyes immediately drift to the lights. They seem to be fading, almost, a little too broken. They’ll probably make a new labor station for lightbulb repairs. Maybe I’ll get put in it. The walls look shiny as can be, though. I’m not surprised by that. Painting is one of the easiest “jobs” th...

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“Birthday Blunder” by Shanna Heath

Submitted to Contest #151

Guys, listen up: Having a girl for your best friend is awesome until she’s not your best friend anymore.I’m in her room, playing nurse for my former best friend because Evie’s parents don’t know about our fallout and assumed I’d be thrilled to care for to my own personal Judas Iscariot. I’d like to think of her tonsillitis as the universe sending her a message, one that said, “You ignored your best friend’s biggest moment and so, BAM, let’s chop your tonsils out and call it even.” I’ve got some time to kill while my patient rests, so I make ...

5 comments 5
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$250

Prize money

232

Contest entries

108

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 24, 2022 EST

Won by Kelsey H 🏆

Title: The Lake

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.