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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#190: Eras

To quote Brooklyn 99, Taylor Swift “makes all of us feel things.” With her honest and reflective accounts of growing up and searching for yourself and your place in the world, she’s managed to trace her remarkable coming-of-age arc in a way that millions of people can still relate to.

This week, let’s remember what growing up feels like, or take inspiration from Taylor Swift’s master storytelling to come up with a new story. But remember — using lyrics isn’t allowed!

This week's prompts

Start a story that begins with a character saying “Speak now.”

Dialogue – 86 stories

Write about someone who decides to make their own version of something old.

Character – 36 stories

Set your story in New York, where someone’s been waiting for your character.

Adventure – 39 stories

Write a story about a fandom

Funny – 27 stories

Start your story with someone vowing to take revenge.

Dark – 62 stories

Stories

“First Time Misadventures” by Tracey Mack

Submitted to Contest #190

"Speak now." Angela Wilcox didn't show any emotion as she uttered those words but the tone clearly showed her anger. She didn't care what her friend - well, her ex-friend at this point - had to say. She already knew the truth and Titan was too late to say anything else. "Okay, never speak to me again, Titan," she growled.Deshawn Harris, or "Titan" as most of his friends called him, sat uncomfortably in his chair. He was six feet four and muscular, yet he trembled under Angela's glare. She was almost a foot shorter than him, yet he felt weak ...

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“Trench town” by Robert Barr

Submitted to Contest #190

Trench Town I am sitting in a circle of five Rastafarian Jamaican men. I felt no threat. Wow! So much has happened to me in the last six months. As I sat there, I became the participant/observer I had read about in many journals. I watched everything intensely. The men were expressing strong positive non-verbal's. In Trench town, there were the smells in the gutter, the cooking stoves, the sounds of someone making love in the next room, the cries of children, reggae blaring from the corner boom box radio, and the occasional gunfire...

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“Pompadour ” by Maurice Jones

Submitted to Contest #190

The whole thing begins when I step out of the shower and stare at myself. Through the steam and fog on the mirror I can see it, my hair. It’s long and curly. I haven’t worn it this long since I was about twelve years old. I’m currently in my early forties, so this look was a long time ago for me. Then the memories start, both the good and the bad. When I was a child, I spent countless time watching my dad comb his hair in the mirror. My father wasn’t a vain man, but he cared about how he looked. He liked to be groomed, and he liked...

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“REMNANTS OF MEMORIES” by Catherine Erwin

Submitted to Contest #190

What’s that in the corner? Dusty and scarred, the chest fit right in with the rest of this horrible, messy, and disgusting job. As I looked around the dingy basement and still saw piles and piles of yellowed papers, rusted tools, plastic bins, never opened bargain store knickknacks, broken pottery, and rodent droppings, this was a welcome distraction. My sister Connie and I had moved my Mom out of this old house as it was a physical challenge for her to remain. Hoarding tendencies and years of dog hair buildup were now ca...

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“Searching” by Claire Ibarra

Submitted to Contest #190

Kiko’s Deli was usually crowded, though Margaret now felt the noise and bustle turned up a notch. She counted eleven people in the line in front of her. A biker couple wearing black leather and knee-high boots stood next to her, and a motley batch of people surrounded her. A few read the chalkboard menu as they inched along in the line, while most thumb-tapped like mad on cell phones. Kiko made the best café con leche in the neighborhood, and Margaret’s habit was to endure the ...

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“A touch of YaYa” by Rya Johnson

Submitted to Contest #190

‘Damnit! He’s already at Lilia’s waiting on me!’ Darbi squeals as she reads Brian’s text on her iPhone. ‘Just a couple more pins.’ Blake murmurs softly as her brow wrinkles in concentration- her nimble fingers putting the finishing touches on Darbi’s soft romantic hairstyle. ‘There!’ Blake announces as she backs away from her station- a proud smile gracing her face. ‘It’s perfect! Oh Thank you Blake!’ Darbi gushes as she admires her reflection. ‘Shit! I have g...

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“If I can make it there” by Isobel Tynan

Submitted to Contest #190

People talk about getting that harrowing call from home. A gravely ill parent, a tragic accident. The adrenalin-fuelled charge to the airport. Touch-and-go whether you’d make it back in time. My version of gut-wrenching dread, the one that keeps me up at night, is different. It’s rounding a corner or strolling into a coffee shop. For just a moment, my thoughts are elsewhere, and my guard is down. Then, slap-bag. I bump into someone from home. Perhaps there’s an initial half-smile. A hazy acknowledgment. But this is no meet...

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“A Newfound Fan” by Benjamin McIntyre

Submitted to Contest #190

I walked through the heavy wooden doors of the dimly lit tavern, the cool night air giving way to the warmth and scent of ale and roasting meats. The walls were adorned with familiar faded tapestries that depicted mythical beasts and heroic battles, a fire gently crackled in the centre of the large room, and the rough-hewn planks of the floor creaked loudly underfoot. Arlen, the Elvish barman, nodded to me from behind the bar, and I gave him a small wave. The sound of dice landing on a table filled the room for a moment. Momentarily distrac...

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“Nine Lives Electronics” by Dylan Patrick

Submitted to Contest #190

TW: the occasional no-no word To all our loyal customers… After four decades of serving Third Street, we’ve lost the good fight. To all the D&Ders, the Smashaholics, the Arcadians, the Mangaphiles, the Funkolites that kept us alive during our times of service, thank you. Meeting you is truly what’s made our time worthwhile. We’ve been everything from a safe space for geek culture to a tourist spot featured on AV4N News to finally a time capsule for memories nobody can uproot. If we know you all like we think we do, you’ll find ...

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“How it All Fanned Out” by Katy Dream

Submitted to Contest #190

I really didn’t think it was possible to fall asleep with a phone to my ear, but I truly did. Either that or I was in a constant state of daydreaming with elevator music playing. I had tried all week to obtain the prized and coveted back-stage pass and front row ticket to my favorite singer, Tanner Mitch. Ooh he’s so dreamy!! I AM his biggest fan. I have ALL his music. He just doesn’t know it, lol. Last dial for the day, then I’m going to get a life. Yeah right. I hear a click.&nbs...

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“The man at the Peak” by Mk Fed

Submitted to Contest #190

I'll do it. Thought Gopp as he struggled to rub his hands together. His breath vaporized deep in his throat before it reached his palms. Still, it felt as if his hands were before a great hearth, if only for a moments at a time. No one will ever know. No, not 28,000 feet above sea level. I have to do it. For Orlando. For his Nellie. That bastard will pay. I'll make sure that he won't even be a landmark on this mountain. He gripped his ice axe firmly. Two Hours Earlier: "Four hours! We've been climbing for Four hours!" yelled Orlando. "And ...

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“Not Again...” by Tricia Cundiff

Submitted to Contest #190

“I’ve had it. It’s time someone did something about this. And it looks like it’s up to me.” I had seen it happen once too often. There had to be a line drawn. “Yeah, so what are you going to do? Come on; you keep saying you’ll do something about it and never do. You just let it go every time.” My disheveled husband of forty-three years doesn’t even look at me as he says it. I roll my eyes, but not where he can see me. He would just laugh. And I’m unsure what I might do if he did that. What happened to that adorable long-haired hip...

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“Cycle to revenge” by Clare Horwood

Submitted to Contest #190

CYCLE TO REVENGE It was morning in the Adelaide Hills on a crisp clear autumn day. The fire season was over and the trees in the Hills were starting to show their autumn colours. It was the time of year that Mark liked most. He wheeled his bicycle out of the shed and started off on the forty-minute cycle ride to the gym where he worked as a fitness instructor. The feeling of the wind behind him propelling him down the hil...

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“His Grave Was Waiting” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #190

Boone knelt at his wife’s grave. “I know, Clara, you never wanted to take up with a man that carried a gun, or took to whipping another man, but I’m determined Larry Barkley has a price to pay.” The mourners stood nearby waiting for their turn. “What’s he saying?” Chester asked down the funeral line. “Reverend, what’s he saying?” Reverend Kent was trying to protect his bible from the rain. He waved Chester to be silent. Charlotte slapped Chester’s hand to quiet him. “He’s talking to her spirit...

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“A Resolution of Steel” by Eric Olson

Submitted to Contest #190

The ground was red, both from the flickering reflections of the glowing flames, as well as from the dark blood that seemed to cover the ground. On his knees, Nathen gazed upon his house, the only home he had ever known, now aflame and burning furiously. He could feel the heat on his face from the blaze, but he remained where he knelt as tears began to blur his vision. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run straight through the failing wooden doorway to find his father, but he knew that no one he would find in that house would be alive. He k...

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$250

Prize money

250

Contest entries

114

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 24, 2023 EST

Won by Éan Bird 🏆

Title: Dear Coldplay, I Love You. Wait. Scratch That.

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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