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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

“Vengeance Kicking” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #190

Vengeance Kicking It is time for me to wreak vengeance. I thought that was something that I would never say or think. But it is something I simply have to do, given the situation. I just can’t let things be. I have to strike back, not just accept that I am a helpless victim. Life had been going so smoothly for me. The job paid well, and it wasn’t boring, as I like calculating numbers. Then this Wednesday, the boss called me up to his lofty, top fl...

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“Precious Time Wasted - If Only We Knew -” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #190

I wanted everyone to like me, to take me into their groups, invite me home, be my friend, but they didn’t. I learnt to put on a brave face, and act. So, I hated school. I was extremely bright so it wasn’t the work; it was the kids. I went to a school where I didn’t fit in and I felt it, from day one. I hated the teasing, being the butt of jokes and worst of all the talking behind hands, whispers and giggles that I could hear as I sat in my seat, watching. There were a few of ‘alright’ girls at St. John’s Convent but it was difficult ...

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“Drink From My Cup” by Adam Thompson

Submitted to Contest #190

I entered the house quietly. It was early, and everyone was still asleep. I liked to run early in the morning. It made me feel starved and thin and beautiful to sweat before eating. Also, running in the morning allowed me to not feel bad about eating breakfast. I liked to eat, but I liked being hot better. My weakness was sugar. I loved gummy bears, but I could never eat them. The sugar was too much to overcome, and if I had a single bite I’d find myself finishing the bag. I missed gummy bears so much, I allowed myself one glass of orange j...

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“More than just a slight ” by Alex Cameron

Submitted to Contest #190

The magnitude of a slight is relative, and to those with limited perception, it can be less than a neuron firing into the abyss, a moment swept away into the basket of irrelevance. For the inflictor, it often leaves not a mark on the edifice of that day’s events, and sails like a plastic bag in the breeze. But to the inflicted, it can sit and fester and accumulate like mould in a bowl, until it captures everything around it. Finn sat slumped, almost hunched over in the office of Mr Altman. He was shaking his head slightly, peering o...

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“Harold's Revenge” by Charles Connelly

Submitted to Contest #190

Harold woke from one of his brief afternoon slumbers, and there was one thing on his mind, his delightful post-nap cookie. Smiling as he practically leapt out of his recliner, Harold made his way into the kitchen. His smile doubled in size as soon as he spotted his elephant shaped cookie jar. He removed the lid with delicious anticipation. Hurriedly he reached in, and removed the last cookie. It was his favorite, white chocolate macadamia nut. He was going to have to make some more cookies, he told himself. Then he replaced the lid, and made...

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“Isolated!” by Anush Sukumar

Submitted to Contest #190

*Note:- Contains sensitive content - description of female body parts* “Speak now” She smiled at the blank eyes and the open mouth of the corpse lying before her. There was no sound apart from the flow of blood which oozed from the corpse’s head. He was reduced to a lifeless thing in a split second from the bullet in his head. That’s what he had to make the world believe. His true talent was to turn lifeless the minute the lights turned on and camera’s started to roll. Not to mention his coordination to squeeze the bag of red paint by his ...

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“The Right Girl” by Beth Rae

Submitted to Contest #190

“...Speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The pastor's words reverberated throughout the small building, louder and more clear than any of the others he had spoken that day. As Tristan looked at the woman holding tightly to his hands, he couldn't remember including that part in the vows. It was antiquated, out of date and something no one did anymore...right? But now, with the question hanging in the air like the scent of freedom and happiness, he was inundated with a thousand reasons why the people at the front of the room shouldn't be jo...

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“Another Success for Herbie Wright” by Ann L

Submitted to Contest #190

Herbie Wright stood before the tiny, toothpaste-spattered mirror in the small bathroom connected to his small office, staring into his own eyes, repeating his positive reinforcement phrases the requisite ten times each to make sure he got his morning off to a good start. “I am a superstar. I can make miracles. My play is a success.” Proper mental preparation was, he knew, the key to his success in a very, very difficult line of work. Herding cats was much too easy a description for Herbie’s job. It was more like trying to catch, contain, ...

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“My Wrecked Weekend” by Amy Rosenthal

Submitted to Contest #190

This story does contain wine, death, and car accidents. Viewer discretion is advised. I pulled into the parking lot, turned off the ignition, and stared blankly out the windshield, my heart hammered like it wanted to jump right out of my chest. “Just breathe,” I told myself as I leaned my head onto the steering wheel. I caressed my beloved white Volvo fondly. “Thanks, Betty. You got me through all that.” It had been a bit of a harrowing journey to get here from New York City once I could finally leave the office. First bumper-to-bumpe...

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“That Mustardy Dip They Call Cheese” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #190

Would it be clichéd to say the past stalks me like a shadow? Would my readers groan? Would you protest? Could I say it tucks itself into the folds of the dark each time I turn around to confront it? like being trailed by a figure in a trench coat, two lamp-posts back. How else might I articulate this pervasive lack of closure? And can a lack of anything really be pervasive? And how is it that absence can feel so present? I believed five years had made a difference, but now I twiddle my thumbs and wonder if my progress has been make-believe...

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“Felicity's Perfect Day” by Margot Thomson

Submitted to Contest #190

Felicity Forest sat back and felt a tingle of satisfaction run down her spine. “Yes, that’s 100 lines! Done!” She gazed down at the paper in front of her. In her curly, ladylike script written on pink parchment paper were the lines: “I WILL meet Jaxx Johnston tomorrow”. Every i was dotted with a neat smiley face. “100 is a powerful number” she thought. Then she folded the paper neatly, 5 times. Knocked firmly on it with her fist… 5 times. Five was Felicity's favorite number. Felicity Forest had been following Jaxx Johnstone's career for 5 ...

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“Galactic Guardians” by Pete Obe

Submitted to Contest #190

Riley, Lily, and Max had been planning their trip to the “Galactic Guardians” convention for months. They had each invested time and energy into making sure that they would have the best experience possible. But as they made their way to the convention, they were hit with a wrench in their plans. Max’s car broke down on the side of the highway. They tried everything they could think of to fix the car, but it was no use. Max called a tow truck, and they all piled into the backseat, crammed in with their bags and cosplay gear. When they arrive...

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“Hro” by Emory Tales

Submitted to Contest #190

He blinked awake and saw her walking down the hall toward him. How long had it been since the last intruder? His eyes shifted toward a pile of bones and gear against the wall to his right. ‘Not long at all.’ He thought. Turning his attention back to the woman who woke him. “Turn back. No mortal may pass.” He watched as the woman continued walking toward him. She wore plates of hardened leather and carried a thin blade. She looked lithe and athletic and walked with predatory confidence. “My name is Tessa and I’ve come to claim my rightful p...

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“Vengeance is Mine” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #190

The sun beat down upon the scorched earth, earth that it had already scorched many times before this day. But the sun was bored and didn’t know what else to do with itself. That was the only explanation for its relentless scorching of the same patch of earth, and it didn’t look like it was going to give it up any time soon. The heat danced a taunting dance that took the moisture from a man’s mouth. The heat didn’t have the same effect on a woman’s mouth, but women weren’t about to reveal their secrets when it came to their avoidance ...

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“The Man in the Ice” by Rebekah Worick

Submitted to Contest #190

Though he had already sworn himself to revenge, Akvil sought the blessing of the gods before he committed murder. He pushed aside the tanned hide which covered the entranceway to the priestess hut, and the old woman called him by name. Though her milky-white eyes had been unseeing for nearly a decade now, she recognized him before he’d even uttered a word. She sat in the shadow cast by the early-spring sunlight, with the dull embers of her fire seeming to perpetually glow even when unstoked. Undrawn bone and roots lay waiting at her s...

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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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