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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#161: Digging Deep

Released to much critical acclaim, Jennette McCurdy’s recent memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died is one of the most talked-about books of the summer (and potentially the year), not least because of its provocative title. But behind the clickbait-y headline, the book is a masterclass in memoir writing — digging deep into McCurdy’s life and deftly handling sensitive material, including her time as a child actress and an abusive childhood.

This week’s prompts are inspired by some of the themes in McCurdy’s memoir — the pressure of stardom at a young age, finally speaking one's truth, and starting a process of healing — encouraging you to explore the complex and often gritty nature of human relationships and emotions.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone sharing a secret that has a big impact on everyone.

High School – 39 stories

Write a story where someone finds comfort in an unexpected event, place, or person.

Adults – 56 stories

Write about a character who lives a seemingly charmed life.

Teens – 25 stories

Write a story where a character has to take on heavy responsibilities (perhaps beyond their age).

Kids – 48 stories

Write about someone who needs to face their past in order to move forward.

Adults – 73 stories

Stories

“Spin cycle ” by H L McQuaid

Submitted to Contest #161

[CW: emotional abuse, implied physical abuse]. .The lingering slap echoes in my ears, stings my cheek. The bathroom mirror reflects a pink flush, a tender swelling, but nothing noticeable, nothing I can see.She’s in the kitchen, assaulting cupboards, derailing drawers, slamming pots on the stove.“MARY PAT KUDE!” she screams.That’s me. The last name rhymes with moody.Though we have the same last name, she’s not my mother. My birth mother that is. She is married to my Dad. That’s him, relaxing in the orange-and-brown lazy-boy chair, chest hair...

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“Nerves” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #161

Three couples sat in the Kanister’s living room. It was a relatively small party, but for the Kanisters, having more than one or two close friends over felt like a big deal. Mrs. Kanister, who had dissolved her nerves with several pre-party cocktails, was putting the finishing touches, a bowl of mixed roasted nuts, onto a charcuterie board while her husband was entertaining their guests in the living room.“I gotta get something off my chest,” said James Stuart.“Spill it,” Carl Mutton shot back quickly.“I never thought I’d end up at one of th...

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“Take Me Home” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #161

CW : Reference to suicide, violenceThe mofussil bus threw a cloud of dust and smoke on Lokesh’s face before he could turn away after getting down. The peepal tree stood at the same place, he noted; and the platform around it. Only the wastrels and old men who sat under it, a few chewing betel nuts meditatively, and others gossiping and observing who came to the village and who left it, seemed to have changed. Fifteen years would have sent a few to their graves and others back to their homes.He hoisted his light backpack on his right shoulder...

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“Purgatory ” by Mary Sheehan

Submitted to Contest #161

Warning: loss of a child The papers laid out on the coffee table are yellow with old news. He jiggles the stiff window latch open; it needs a little oil. The lively commotion from the street below fills the silence that hangs in Helen's empty home.He wipes down the mantelpiece, dusting a photo of the five of them at his son’s wedding in 2009. He and Val have their arms around each other, looking proudly at their boy, while Helen and her sister laugh with their little brother.He lifts Helen's ashtray, a cheap trinket from a holiday to Tenerif...

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“Cellared” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #161

At Granny Marge’s request, and expense, the black limo, that matched her dress and her mood, had waited. It drove the Gates family back to Bridge House. Solemn wipers flicked water from the windscreen as it reflected skeletal trees.The crooked, half-timbered building looked the same from the outside. But once they shuffled in through the heavy oak door, the floors creaked more loudly, the clock ticked more slowly, and the living room fire refused to light.“It feels different somehow.” Granny Marge lifted her silver-rimmed glasses and wiped a...

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“A Series of Unfortunate Accidents” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #161

TW: Swearing, mention of murder and various improbable injuries.“You really think all of these are accidents?” I asked the Chief of Police, Alan Morcom. “Of course, what else would they be, Inspector Cole?” He asked, taking a sip of coffee from a mug labelled, World’s Best Grandad. “Ridiculous? Impossible?” I said. “What’s so imposs...

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“The Duke Of Plaza-Tourette Syndrome” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #161

Since he was ten years old, Justin Weatherly always felt different from everyone else. He couldn’t explain his urges to anyone, convinced he would be ostracised from his school friends, his family, and society in general. Forced to hide his shame away in his bedroom closet, or isolated in the tool shed at the bottom of his garden, he clandestinely hid his affliction from prying eyes and ears, indulging his secret fetish until it ran its course. Afterwards, Justin would feel completely exhausted, almost embarrassed at the recollection of his ...

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“If What You Say Is True” by Robert Gilgoff

Submitted to Contest #161

I am lucky I have any friends.Well, a few anyway.I am lucky I have a lovely wife and great adult children. My role model as a child was a father who never said please, or thank you. Who would come home from work in a foul mood and think nothing of filling every room with bright, flashing caution lights: Do Not Touch. Do Not Say The Wrong Thing.Please let me be different, keep my dark moods to myself and not spread them like dust in the wind. How dare you believe you had the right to impose your fury on us.It was an...

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“A Fugitive Doubts” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #161

‘How could he? After everything…’ Before dawn, the fugitive known as Thomas sat in a dark room, alone. He waited with his friends in their hidden place. He smelled cooking and heard low voices. ‘How is this even possible? After all his promises… It shouldn’t be like this. Our great future is forever receding. He allowed it to fall apart. The Master failed us. We were to be princes, not cowering dogs. Now he’s dead. Death freed him. But we will pay.’ Commotion in the outer room drew his attention. Stifled shouts. Urgent words exchanged. Two ...

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“A Perceived Life” by Lucy Starr

Submitted to Contest #161

As she walks down the school hallway, people can't help but stare. She walks next to her friends, but still smiles and says hello to others. They feel validation from her and they can't help but think that by knowing her, they become more seen. She is kind, popular, intelligent. Her beauty is compelling, drawing the gazes of others towards her like a magnet. Some people look at her with a burning jealousy, however most look at her in complete admiration. They ask themselves, "How can I become just like that girl?" The morning school b...

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“J-Wocking” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #161

TW:Swearing, hunting, and references of a pop-cultural nature. “That’s why you never go outside? Because you were bitten?” Esmerelda asked Merl, her ghillie. He shrugged. “Four more dawns and I’d be a monster for the rest of my life. Staying down here doesn’t seem so bad compared to that.” He chugged whiskey from the bottle. Darren looked away from Merl’s gnarled face. Esme’s son looked up to the g...

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“The True Divine Comedy” by Beck Rafter

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #161

Amid the shrieking wails of the damned and the crackle and pop of fire fuelled by sinners, a low chime alerted Office 101 to the arrival of a newcomer. The demon at the desk took its feet down from where they had been propped up against the bloodstained wood and folded up the equally dripping newspaper into a neat square. Blood-covered things were an unavoidable by-product of Hell. It just seemed to get everywhere with no logical explanation. Kind of like smudges on a freshly cleaned window. The new arrival jerked up from the ground with a ...

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“Danny's Big Day” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #161

This is a list of all the things that I am going to have to do this week and I want to make sure that I have this as a copy on the fridge. My brother is going to have to read this one day and I hope he can do this when he is my age. 6:00: Wake up. It is going to be the first day of school, so I have to make sure that I have all my clothes and things ready for it (my bag is going to be full of notebooks, pencils, pens, clothes for the gym and maybe my Mom’s cell number). I always make sure that the bed is made and that everything is in place...

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“The Farm” by L. E. Scott

Submitted to Contest #161

That high pitched whine rang out letting me know that Momma’s coffee was just about ready. That meant she’d be in shortly to wake me up. I’d get dressed and feed the animals and collect the eggs, but right now, with the quilts piled on me, I was too comfy to get out of bed ahead of Momma’s insistence. Out there, the chill of the drafty house could be felt. I only wished I could dress under the covers, but Momma doesn’t like that. Says it makes me look sloppy, as if the animals don’t mess me up themselves. It’s not like I’m goin’ to church. Y...

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“The runaway secret” by Julia Vines

Submitted to Contest #161

So I had went to school one day and everyone was whispering when i had entered the classroom. I just thought someone asked someone out or someone online did something, but there was a secret going around that i didn't know about but everyone that day was scared, sad or either depressed and i hadn't known why. The truth was that someone had died recently and i wasn't aware that it was my best friend Sydney she had died in a motorcycle accident. I had just come back from vacation and I thought she was still on vacation but after a 2 month pe...

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$250

Prize money

241

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 02, 2022 EST

Won by Marty B 🏆

Title: Long Distance Phone Call

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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