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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#179: Levelling Up

New Year's Eve is a time for celebration, but it also marks a watershed. If there's something you've been wanting to achieve, but haven't quite found the time (or willpower) to make happen, the start of a new year can be the perfect moment to turn over a new leaf.

This week's prompts are all in the spirit of progress. Whether your characters are starting an entirely new life, or are making a tiny shift in the pursuit of happiness, it's time for change. And if your New Year's resolution involves getting back into your writing routine after the holiday haze, we hope they'll provide ample inspiration to jumpstart your creativity. We'll see you in 2023!

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone making a vision board.

Adults – 17 stories

Write a story in the form of a list of New Year's resolutions.

Holiday – 38 stories

Your character always makes the same promise; to change. Will they finally make it happen this time?

Angst – 44 stories

Write a story about someone scrambling on New Year's Eve to fulfil their resolutions for the entire year before the clock strikes twelve.

Funny – 28 stories

End your story with a kiss at midnight.

Romance – 73 stories

Stories

“Next year I just want to stay alive” by Virginia Smith

Submitted to Contest #179

Next year I just want to stay alive. This is my resolution. This is my battle. And my mantra is “If I can do this, I can do anything”. This year can go to hell. Well, it did go to hell when I found out that little thump I get in my chest now and then, is actually my heart trying to overcompensate for a main aortic valve which is rapidly failing, blocked, refluxy and threatening to kill me. No pain, hardly any symptoms, just a little thumpiness. So this new year’s eve, I think to hell with it, drink champagne if you can stay awake that long, ...

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“Lucy's Resolutions ” by LC Munro

Submitted to Contest #179

Lucy’s New Year's Resolutions1) Eat Healthily: I’ve really let myself go since breaking up with Marcus. Eighteen years, we’d been together and splitting up has been hard. Didn’t help my self-esteem that he’d left me for his blonde-bimbo of a twenty-something secretary. I’m only thirty eight!Somehow, local takeaways recognise me just by the sound of my voice. And they know what I’m going to order. When did that happen? I’ve got a loyalty card off two of them for Christmas, too. I’ve saved Just-Eat and ...

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“Happy New Year's to Me” by Os Cole

Submitted to Contest #179

December 31st. My New Year’s resolution: To get in shape. A classic. What better way to start the new year than by taking life by the horns and improving oneself? I’m going to put on a tight pair of shorts and a t-shirt from a 5K I ran a decade ago and charge into the gym like a firefighter arriving at the scene of a fire. I can imagine it now. A bunch of sweaty meatheads grunting while they stand around on those rubbery floor mats. A half dozen or so new year’s resolutionists like me trying to look like we know what we are doing a...

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“Shakespeare's Second Act” by Kyle A. Massa

Submitted to Contest #179

Shakespeare’s Second Act Hark! I hath risen. The year is but young: Two thousand the twenty-third, by modern count, and aye, I am living in it. Verily you ask how this transpired, so anon I’ll bid thee listen. In a word: witchcraft. I am familiar with such (toil and trouble, yea), yet never outside the realm of theater. Dead for centuries, until I heareth a voice calling me backeth. The voice of Jan. Jan is a witch—though only by night. By day, the lady tells me, she worketh at the “DMV,” though she shan’t tell me the nature of it. Jan...

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“Never Again” by Hannah Reed

Submitted to Contest #179

Never AgainPurple crescent moons hung under my tired eyes. Scarlet blood vessels trailed across the whites. Deafening ringing rattled inside my head and I was certain my brain would explode at any given moment. Knuckles bloody and white, gripping the porcelain sink. Beads of sweat formed on my ice cold forehead, letting me know that the withdrawals were about to start. The sweat would trickle into a fever, which would proceed an evening of nausea and involuntary retching. The agony was like a slow tune, building ...

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“The Width of a Corridor ” by Owen Bennett

Submitted to Contest #179

Philippa lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a few minutes, the textured Artex began to swirl in front of her eyes, making her feel that at least something was moving in the flat, even if it was an imitation of life. Her hands lay across her chest, clasped together, but not in prayer. The only noise came from revellers in the square five storeys down. A few shouts, some singing, punctuated with a blast from a police car siren. Philippa took in a long deep breath through her nose and then exhaled slowly. She focuse...

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“An Epiphany at Slugs'” by Joe Gatto

Submitted to Contest #179

JANUARY 2, 1971 — BROOKLYN, NEW YORK“Good morning Don DiLoretto. You wanted to see me?,” I said."Remember that guy you killed 6 months ago at the park?," said Don DiLoretto."Yes, I do.""He didn't die.""What?""That's right. In 22 years of stabbing guys the same way, no one has ever lived to identify you. Until now.""Mario Flore,” I said, although I couldn’t believe it."That's the guy. He woke from a dream after months of recovery, and wrote on his pad that he thinks he knows who it was.""I'm surprised that retard can write.”"The cops had a sk...

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“The Lamp Lighter of Cape Woolamai” by Sam Porter

Submitted to Contest #179

It was a balmy, summer night on the island. A chorus of insects chirped loudly underneath a cloudless, starry sky. The prospect of a new year had brought an air of excitement and nervousness into the house. In a warm room lively with laughter, William poured three more glasses of wine.“Willy, not another!”Abby, his wife, hugged him from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed her, spilling wine onto the table as he did so.“It’s a celebration, honey. A tribute to a new year as parents.”He set the bottle on the table, ...

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“"Little" Suzy's Resolve” by Mary Miller

Submitted to Contest #179

“Little” Suzy’s Resolve "New Year’s comes but once a year," so the song her daddy sings says. But for “Little” Suzy Conner, once a year is one time too many. Last year, she promised herself she would fulfill her list of resolutions and it never happened. The holidays snuck up on her and by the time the neighbor’s New Year's Eve party came, she was done for. But not this time! This time “Little” Suzy had a plan. This time “Little” Suzy Conner w...

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“Lester v. the Statue of Limitations” by J. Nicholas

Submitted to Contest #179

(Warning: Contains profanity and tobacco use.) “I thought you were getting ready.” Melinda rolled up the cuffs on her Christmas sweater, a classy one, and lightweight, too, since it’d been almost sixty today. The only other option in North Carolina this time of year was ice. You never knew what you were getting. “I am ready,” said Lester without taking his eyes off Heat, the scene with the big shootout after the bank robbery. It was one of doz...

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“Resolute Manifestation ” by Walter Wright

Submitted to Contest #179

“Do you have any idea what two raccoons fucking sounds like?” “No, I cannot say.” “It’s like a mix of the crinkling noise when the vacuum hits the right spot and raw, primal passion. Shit, one was bleeding last time." Rob tried to cover his judging smile with a yawn, nodding along, “Oh really! That-that sounds like something….” “Robo if I gotta give any advice: Never fall asleep with the window open and a half-eaten peanut butter sandwich left out. That shit is like caviar to them.” “Wait so that’s how they got in your room?”...

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“A Race Against Midnight” by Sonia Ferrigno

Submitted to Contest #179

7:23 a.m. My loft is a mess— so is my life. Twelve hours before the first guests were due for the New Year’s party. I had yet to turn my loft into a decent living area, finish editing my article, and send it off to my agent, Abby. Abby; that was one unturned stone I had stepped over too many times. Why have I let myself be coaxed into this end-of-year party? It was hard enough to keep track of my own life. I had withdrawn into my delusive world since the beginning of the year after the breakup … if it could be defined as...

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“Midnight Tongue Action” by Rachel Livingston

Submitted to Contest #179

A light tap, tap-tap, tap bounces against my front door. I recognize my sister’s knocking pattern from anywhere, but my dog, Lola, warns the stranger behind the door that she’s big. However, if a real stranger were on the other side, she’d pee on the entry rug and run to my office to hide under the desk. “Coming!” I shout. One look in the mirror and I’m a tad peeved. Half of my makeup isn’t blended, and I’ve only styled the bottom section of hair. Lydia has a key, for Christ’s sake. I slip on my ratty slippers. From the top of the sta...

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“Orders Are Orders” by Karin Cavanagh

Submitted to Contest #179

Dwelling on past events has never served any purpose. Better to learn from the situation and move on, otherwise, all that is gained is worry, stress and sleepless nights. I don’t usually allow things to bother me, but my heated discussion with Susie last night has left me a little troubled. Living with Susie has been a pleasure. I enjoy our regular conversations about her work, the arts, life, and all things in between, finding her point of view insightful and inspiring. She is a strong, determined, and intelligent woman, with a beautiful...

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“Death to This Year” by Kaila Janae

Submitted to Contest #179

At 9 PM on December 31st, four separate alarms rang out. The owners of each respective device silenced the sounds and stepped outside of their homes. Within a few minutes, a black SUV sped down the highway, swung around street corners, and made four stops at four houses. Once they had settled into their seats, the girls in the SUV let out primal shrieks. It was a cry that grated vocal cords, one that had been building since the first day of the year. It had festered deep within their spirits and was now set free into the world: a cry of pain...

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$250

Prize money

200

Contest entries

103

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 06, 2023 EST

Won by Saeda Rose 🏆

Title: Resolute

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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