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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

“His Past” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #161

(This story deals with domestic squabbles - words are harsh, violent, and threatening.)The depression is cloying. Every fiber of my being aches. I wish it were last year or even the year before. Everything was better back then. Or was it? 2002 was not a glorious year. We lost everything when my hubby lost his job. The house, the furniture, and everything else. I kept telling myself that as long as we kept the family together, then none of the rest mattered. But the children grew up. She graduated in 2003 and left for the milit...

4 comments 4
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“Fake Friend” by Yazmine Bennett

Submitted to Contest #161

“What do you mean, you’re dead?” “Well, I mean, I wanted to tell you, it’s just we got along so well and then it just got weirder and weirder to tell you” “I but…like I can see you and I can hug you” “Yeah, I’m not going to lie not sure how the hugging thing works, because I can walk through walls, and I can’t really touch anything.” “I swear I have seen you eat before” “I mean did you though or did you just think you did?” “I guess I didn’t pay attention. Wait does that mean I just walk around looking like I’m talking to air?” ...

18 comments 18
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“The Gift” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #161

The Gift“Remember, Tommy, thumbs together. You catch with your hands, not your body.”Legacy. It’s only natural. Kids often follow in the footsteps of their parents, from Bushes in the White House to Sanford and Son in the junk yard. Maybe it’s the planting of seeds of interest, or readily available instruction, or perhaps a desire to please. Sometimes it might just be a good shove.“You should probably get yourself up to the field to run some stairs in the bleachers this afternoon. Building up your calves will help with that first step off th...

8 comments 8
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“Wishing for sunsets” by Ian Barrett

Submitted to Contest #161

I can still remember the first time I saw my mom shoot up.  I must have been 4 or 5. I hardly remember anything about that age but I remember the candle burning on the coffee table, the lights were low in the apartment and the thing I remember most is the smell as she put the spoon underneath the flame. It was pungent, vinegar with a hint of smoke. To this day I can’t stomach anything with vinegar.  Being that young I was just sucked into the image as the flame engulfed the bottom of the spoon. It just hit it and mov...

2 comments 2
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“Deserving” by Michaela Gallien

Submitted to Contest #161

“Mum,” I paused and checked the time, “Mum?” Another pause, “Listen, I would really love to keep chatting, but I have to go.” The voice on the other end kept going on and on about the weather for the weekend and her garden. “That’s great mum, but I’m going to go now. I love you.” Before she could respond I hung up the phone as the front door swung open. I quickly dropped the phone face down on the couch and pretended to be focused on the television. A news broadcaster discussed new evidence in a case against a man accused of murdering his ...

0 comments 0
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“Life's Journey ” by Ruby Pix

Submitted to Contest #161

Writing a story doesn't take experience, or guts, and while those things do come into play much later in one's life, it isn't as important as just writing is. To make something, you have to take the steps to actually start it. Ashley Folder, is an upcoming writer in highschool. She writes novels as a hobby and often wins in small contests. Her ginger hair is long and wavy, and compliments her turquoise eyes. She usually wears a black hoodie and rouge colored sweatpants. As a writer, Ashley enjoys the comfort of a quiet and peaceful atmospher...

2 comments 2
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“Baroness Belle” by Holly Gilbert

Submitted to Contest #161

Baroness Belle stood on the stage as everyone applauded. She wore a red silk mermaid dress and a set of pearls.“Thank you! You are all too kind!” She replied as the applause faded.  She raised a glass of rose water.“I want to thank all of you for coming to my beloved home. In honor of my father, and his father, and everyone who has owned this mansion, I welcome all of you to dance the night away under the watch of his portrait. He had always loved dancing.” she spoke.  The applause rose again. Music played. The Baroness w...

2 comments 2
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“Thicker Than Blood” by Sky S

Submitted to Contest #161

T.W. Violence, gore, self harmIt's the third funeral this month. It's getting annoying, having to go to all of my sibling's receptions. Mourning for someone who stole my daddy's love from me. The men and women who disappeared and then showed up dead a few days later.I stand next to my remaining three siblings in the front pew as the pastor goes on and on about how Grayson is at home and at peace with God up in the great clouds above and all that fake bullshit. My family eats it up as they mop their tears with the back of their hands or black...

2 comments 2
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“Ten” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #161

I was ten when I knew for sure. I was ten when the world opened up to me and I saw it for what it was. That was a frightening moment. I can still feel that fear when I cast my mind back. This was one of those big moments in a person’s history which has a subtitle in large capitals… YOU CANNOT TAKE IT BACK Ten years old and I understood that I was on my own, and worse than on my own. That my life was my responsibility and mine alone. I suppose that’s a liberating moment in a life. There is a freedom in it and a sense of control comes to...

2 comments 2
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“A Fallen Kingdom & The Secret Truth” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #161

WRITER NOTE: This is a retrospective to one of my characters, Joseph Tavf, through his eyes in Chapters 36 and 37 of The Blacksmith's Nephew when he is confronted of his past. ***CAUTION***There are major spoilers ahead! If you don't want anything spolied of the main story, I would suggest skipping this and reading the book first.Otherwise, please enjoy.'Okay, here we go,' I said to myself nervously in thought as my nephew Terrance led the way as we went through the six-foot-tall grassy field. Up ahead was where the Southern Kingdom and...

0 comments 0
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“Never Tear Us Apart” by Patrick Samuel

Submitted to Contest #161

Daniel folds his clothes carefully, putting them one by one in the backpack so they won’t crease on the trip back. It’s the mirror image of the ritual he did exactly one year ago, he reflects, when he had been preparing to leave home.“One year from now, it will be over,” he had thought then, aware he didn’t know exactly what “it” would entail. His younger, more innocent self thought that at worst “it” would mean twelve months of drudgery and annoying nonsense, to be put behind and forgotten as soon as they were done.But there is no way to kn...

10 comments 10
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“Moving On” by Paula Young

Submitted to Contest #161

Moving On By Paula Young 1198 words As Sarah walked up the wooded hill, the full weight of the events in her life caused her to fall to the ground. She held her breath until she was away from the house and Amy, and now let it all go. She’d never felt so low. Everything she held dear was slipping through her fingers like sand on a beach. She wailed.   Once spent, Sarah sniffed. “What a cliché my life has become,” she thought. She sat up in the weeds, breaking twigs with her fingers. “Tom has hooked up with Donna—s...

2 comments 2
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“Return Tour” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #161

It took him over thirty years, but on his return tour he would not be carrying thirty pounds of U.S. Army gear, an M-16 and twenty plus pound lead flak vest.  He was just twenty year old when he came on his first tour.  He was over fifty years old as he flew into Ho Chi Minh City.  It was Saigon the first time he came, but there had been a lot of changes since that time.  He had also been through three painful divorces since he returned home as it seemed the dragon of his past was always raising its ugly head.  Afte...

2 comments 2
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“The Royal” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #161

          I brace myself as we pull up to the banquet hall, a white stucco monstrosity flaunting French windows echoed by excessive arches. As expected, a crowd packs the sidewalk before it: reporters readying microphones and cameramen hoisting their equipment on their shoulders; photographers, bulky cameras clicking and flashing (they can’t see us through our limousine’s tinted windows, but, apparently, they see a public demand for pictures of the vehicle); others here simply because idolize...

4 comments 4
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“Burden Of Command” by M B

Submitted to Contest #161

Lieutenant Davic Sphinx had forgotten how uncomfortable his service dress uniform was as he made his way through the huge star cruiser to the captain’s office. It was a uniform only for looking nice in and for anal higher ups to nitpick: Dark blue, brass buttons, too-shiny shoes and, to top it all off, a white wheel cap carried beneath his left arm. Over his left breast pocket were the ribbons he had earned and over his right, his surname: Sphinx.  He wondered why the ship's captain had called him to his office. Through the winding ...

6 comments 6
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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