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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#167: Mind Yourself

Do you sometimes feel like you spend a lot of your time in a fictional reality that has little to do with the real world? From cooking up imaginary scenarios about what we could, should, or would have said,’ to overthinking the smallest of incidents that happened years ago, our minds can make us feel incredibly powerful one minute, and equally helpless the next. These tricks our minds play can change our perceptions of both ourselves and the people around us.

This week’s prompts are inspired by the creativity of the mind — and the worlds we construct in our own heads (with both positive and negative consequences).

This week's prompts

Start your story with a daydream sequence, before snapping back to reality.

High School – 63 stories

Write a story about someone who overthinks every single thing, blowing the tiniest incidents out of proportion.

High School – 16 stories

Set your story inside a character’s mind, literally.

Fantasy – 58 stories

Write a story about someone who thinks their life is a romcom and they’re the protagonist.

High School – 15 stories

Write a story about a character who can’t tell what’s real and what’s not.

Horror – 80 stories

Stories

“In the Dark” by Hilary Johnson

Submitted to Contest #167

Please be forewarned of sensitive content regarding mental health and violence that some may find triggering. In the DarkONEBlack. “...yyyyyyyy.” It buzzed inside me. “...nyyyyyy.” Darkness began to give way. “...nyyyyyy,” the noise reverberated within the expanse. And in that moment, between the hum of my name being called and the hazy depths from which I surfaced, everything changed. My eyes opened wide and instantly I tried to lift my head. I blinked deliberately as though, if my eyes might fo...

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“Dissociated Reality” by Amilia Wiley

Submitted to Contest #167

“Margot. Margot!” said my mom. I snapped out of my safe space and into the great unknown. With what felt like word vomit, I uttered, “yes - I’m sorry - what did you say?” I made eye contact with the woman behind the counter, swallowed, and felt my stomach drop as the next words came out of her mouth. “They’re ready for you whenever you are!” she said with a smile; a grin that was somewhere in between sincere and deceiving. “Through those double doors you’ll head into the lunch room where they’ll have daily inspection.” Again wi...

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“The Snowstorm” by Avo Reid

Submitted to Contest #167

The snow started at 7:20 in the morning, when the nine-to-fivers were just waking up and the joggers who had gone early to beat the midday heat were coming home. People in the streets stopped and looked up at the sky, first at the clouds which came from nowhere and covered the sun in a great hurry and then at the snowflakes which floated down on the breeze, big fat ones you could catch on your tongue and chew with your molars. The storm accumulated quickly and by 10:00 had covered some twenty-five blocks, from Bleeker to Twenty-Third. ...

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“Lights, Camera, Action” by Stevie Burges

Submitted to Contest #167

Lights, Camera, Action She fell into the pub, her pub. She loved this pub, her second home. But tonight, standing behind the bar, was a new staff member. She hated it when it was someone new, and a scowl immediately appeared on her face. At the best of times, new staff never seemed to know where things were and, much more importantly, often failed to recognise the important customers. But tonight, this was unreservedly the wrong bar staff; they’d hired a woman! Who the hell would employ a female to work b...

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“How Was The Drive?” by Rebecca Shoulders

Submitted to Contest #167

Six am sounds early to start a journey. I expected darkness, quiet, that feeling when you get up for primary school in November and the street lights are on. I forgot, however, that it was May. The sun was up and ready whilst I scrambled around with toast and unwashed hair. The quiet was certainly there, though. The fuel station was empty and the roads clear. Traffic slowly built along the way. Not traffic in the sense of delays, just more and more cars. Drivers are much calmer in the morning, by the way. It could be to do with the extra sp...

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“The shower gel reads Feel alive” by Louis Woolsey

Submitted to Contest #167

The shower gel reads Feel Alive I’m dreaming. I’m walking on a sidewalk the sky is grey, and the air around me is bitterly cold. The pavement and the monolithic skyscrapers are all grey. Even my coat and clothes. I’m standing behind myself quietly observing and pondering the difference between existence and life. Is there one? More and more I find myself simply watching my existence play out before me. I have no more control over it than a couch potato watching their favourite sitcom. My consciousness has somehow faded out from the shell I...

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“Forget Me Not ” by Mitchell Awisus

Submitted to Contest #167

Blue flowers grow in my windowsill. They stretch like antennas toward sunlight on the other side of the glass pane. When the window is open, the summer air delivers hints of rich soil, peach, and mandarin along with a memory I can’t entirely piece together. I don’t remember where the flowers came from, but I do know they bring me a feeling of rare nostalgia and joy, especially when I see them dancing in the breeze. “Do you know where these flowers came from?” The woman turns and stares at me for a moment. She’s middle-aged, has bro...

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“Fireflies” by Saša Celinščak

Submitted to Contest #167

They came in a crumpled sheet of printed paper, that looked like a page from one of those supermarket junk mail catalogues. Patrick laid them down on top of the coffee table and then pulled out a chair so he could sit and observe them for a while. They looked smaller than what he expected and most of them were quite damaged and bruised. He took one of them by the stem to examine it up close. The brown cap had a sad appearance of a half-closed umbrella and the stem itself seemed to be fragile, so he handled it with care, making sure he didn't...

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“Magic M” by J.D. Mcgillicuddy

Submitted to Contest #167

“Do you believe in magic?” she asked, flaunting the wild smile that had bewitched Sean since he met her, earlier that evening. She held out a closed hand toward him, palm up. On her wrist, peeking out from her coat sleeve, Sean saw part of a crucifix tattoo. He didn’t know what she was holding, but he knew that, in her hand and in her eyes, she held the answers to all the questions he didn’t want to ask. Thirteen years later, almost to the day, as the cancer in his bones consumed him, Sean McKinney was to remember that evening he met t...

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“The Old Woman” by Christopher Galvan

Submitted to Contest #167

The Old Woman By Christopher Galvan “Why did I agree to come in today?” she thought to herself. Meredith was starting to rethink her decision to cover Denice. If she did not need the extra money, she wouldn’t have. Then again, being a waitress in a sleepy little town wasn’t so bad. Everyone knew each other and most of the regulars tipped well. Besides, she wasn’t covering the lunch rush, so she could take it easy. This afternoon had been slow. Not a lot of customers had come in. All the busy work was finished, so most of the staff were just ...

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“The Ghost of Red” by Olivia Ray

Submitted to Contest #167

The sirens. The screams. The flashing fire truck lights fronting a flaming background of red-orange heat. Unbearable heat. My mother is still in there. I’ve got to save her. I feel the tightness in my throat as panic claws at the back of my neck. “Ma’am, please come with me.” I turn my head to a very concerned firefighter holding out his hand to me. Ray. The embroidery on his coat ruffled with his movements. His sandy blonde hair clung to his damp, tan forehead. He looked so young. Too young. I want to take it, his hand, and follow him t...

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“Dreams and Guilt” by Amber Speer

Submitted to Contest #167

Sometimes, in the chill of a young autumn evening, Bridgette could smell bonfires in the distance. It was funny, she knew, that she lived here in the city suburbs. Growing up in such a small town, she’d never imagined herself surrounded by so many people. But she could picture it now with her sweet husband and little baby at her side.On Sundays, they sat together as a family. When Emma got older, they would have game nights (Bri had decided this long ago, when her own parents implimented game night, and she quickly realized just how importan...

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“Frozen in the Record Books” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #167

Frozen in the Record Books For many years the alarm clock sounding at 4 am and the cold wind blowing through his bedroom window had brought an exhilarating rush of blood into every pore of Jim Lombolardo’s body. He couldn’t wait to get out on the frozen isolation of Lake Placid and put skates to the polished surface preparing for the routine that he felt would lead him to the fulfillment, fame and fortune that only achieving his lifelong goal would bring. In fact, he had slowly chipped away on his path to greatness in every performance he...

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“The Commute” by Kyle Quande

Submitted to Contest #167

Gloria sat, engulfed in the darkness. The calm, quiet emptiness of the void made an easy backdrop for her to clear her mind. She slowly, steadily breathed in and out, relieving her mind of the endless traffic of her anxious thoughts. In the darkness of her cleared mind, the silence of the void was broken simply by the sound of footsteps. It was like watching an old movie where the sound of every step is audible, every click of every heel connecting to the ground beneath. Somewhere in the void of her consciousness, a stranger walked. It sound...

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“To kill a monster” by D A

Submitted to Contest #167

I was staring at the red splatter on my palms, mesmerized. Some of it were tiny red beads, droplets on my skin that gleamed in the sunlight like diamonds; others have quickly turned into dark stains soaking my leather band. The screams were a distant, muffled sound, as if coming through dirty earbuds. But the voice in my head was loud and clear. "Finish him! He deserves to lose all the red drops." I closed my eyes, remembering, and a wave of hot fury washed over me. "Hello, I am Sarah", she said in a shaky voice. She held out her hand and sm...

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$250

Prize money

232

Contest entries

96

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 14, 2022 EST

Won by Lucy Joyce 🏆

Title: Adelaide's Cemetery

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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