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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

“Somewhere, Someone Must Have Seen Something” by Sharon Farnsworth

Submitted to Contest #190

"Speak now." She felt her husband's nudge at her elbow, but the cameras' glare kept her attention on the flashing lights."Go ahead, Monica, speak now," someone said.She drew a breath and twisted the hankie in her lap, trying to gather the courage to speak."My name is Monica Hawkins, and this is my husband, Thomas. Our little girl Mandy is missing. It's been two days now, and I miss her so much." Monica took a deep breath in. Her tongue dragged across the roof of her mouth. Breathing through her nose made it worse. She needed a drink. He...

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“St. Regis Showdown” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #190

After boarding the Boeing 737, I take my window seat in first class and try not to be noticed. Pretending to fidget with the tray table, I hide behind my EarPods (Taylor Swift in a resounding beat, ‘…and even though you want to, please try to never grow up,’ goes on and on). Now undisturbed in my shell, I check out the other passengers: a well-dressed man across the aisle in a cowboy hat drinking some kind of brown liquor on ice; sitting in the two seats in front of him is a middle-aged cashmere clad couple, both reading from i-Pads, th...

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“The Replica” by Nona Yobis

Submitted to Contest #190

Droplets of paint flick onto the floor as the brush moves along the canvas. A concentrated expression covers my face, and the tip of my tongue sticks out the side of my mouth as I focus on my work. Every detail needs to be perfect, just so, exactly like the original. My hand quivers under the pressure, and in one unintentional motion I accidentally spread the paint 1/10th of an inch too far in the wrong direction. Dammit. I sigh, grabbing the edge of the half completed canvas and tossing it into the piles with the rest of my failur...

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“Moments of Love” by Ina Jones

Submitted to Contest #190

Moments of Love Love Discovered―New Jersey, May 1956 I thought I’d be struck dead, for sure. A power like lightning just might surge from me and kill us both if I shook his hand. The idealized photo of a movie star—European-cut jacket; slender torso; broad shoulders; handsomely tan; silky, light brown hair―totally captivating, stood before me. His bright blue eyes and engaging smile grabbed my young heart, and I could only blurt out a weak, “Hello”, but I vividly thought …only fifteen, and next month I’ll be sixteen, we could get marri...

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“To love is to lose your mind, and Amanda Grace lost hers.” by Gigi Leonard

Submitted to Contest #190

“Speak, now.” I demand through gritted teeth. My entire body is shaking, never in my life would I picture myself in this scenario. “ Please…” The voice trembles, tears fall from his eyes as he lays helplessly on the floor. “ I told you I don’t know anything!” He yells. I bite my bottom lip, trying to contain the very little amount of patience I have left in my body. “ I don’t believe you.” I say. I’m praying he can’t see the fear in my eyes, hoping he can’t see I’m not made out for this. His chest rises and falls rapidly, “I swea...

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“Witches of Woodlawn” by Catherine Hill

Submitted to Contest #190

[Pronunciation help: Dáithí - DAH-hee; Siobhán - Shi-VAWN]Nora entered the spacious pub on a corner of Katonah Avenue at midday on Monday, an hour before the bar opened. A guy about her age, mid-twenties, with a button down shirt and neatly combed hair was waiting for her at a booth next to the bar. Seeing Nora, he climbed out of the seat and shook her hand.“Nora?”“That’s me. It’s nice to meet you. Joe, right?”“Yep.” Joe gestured to the booth and Nora sat in it. She was holding a folder with her resume and some references from other bars she...

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“IT'S A HELL OF A TOWN” by Kajsa Ohman

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #190

I believe some people are sensitive about mindless promiscuity, even a single sentence of it. The year was 1939, in the merry month of May, and New York City was preparing itself to deliver what some hoped might be its favorite character. St. Vincent’s Hospital was the venue of choice—right in the heart of Greenwich Village, where the competition for created characters was fierce. And sure enough, here she came, though not as quickly or effortlessly as would have been ideal. Alicia, with four syllables, after a popular Russian ballerina ...

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“15 East 7th Street Manhattan” by Glenda Toews

Submitted to Contest #190

There he sat, back to the black-bellied stove that once burned coal a little too hot. A cup filled with coffee rested on the wooden table beside a notepad. There he sat. There he wrote.It was a time before the time of computers and laptops and cell phones. An age when the tip of a pen met paper and the mind was squeezed out in ink. Thought flowed with the sweep of the hand, pushed into tails and curls, and its sentence finished in a puddle of blue. An ink dot. The stop of the thought. The start of another.He sat doing this, lifting his pen n...

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“STEW” by Robin Gadsden

Submitted to Contest #190

Jose Cabrera woke up in a daze. He was stunned. He was slightly dizzy. He didn't know where he was. Everything was a bit blurred. How did I get here and why am I naked? He thought to himself. Even worse, he was on top of a cutting board on a counter, his mouth taped, his legs and feet tied down, and he was miniaturized. Lying next to him were chunks of beef, onions, carrots, potatoes, and celery. He could see a large yellow pot over the fire. The pot was starting to boil. It felt warm and uncomfortable being tied down. He trie...

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“The Second Symposium” by Alasdair Perry

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #190

Last night was something of a disaster. It started out well enough. Alexander and I had gone to see a play put on by his twin sister, Eleanor, at the university’s theatrical club. I remember him coming to my door and asking if I wanted to come along in his usual stiff, matter-of-fact manner. He kept his hands behind his greatcoat and rocked slightly on his brogue heels, evidently feeling faintly awkward but nonetheless maintaining his rigid posture and keeping conviction in his clipped voice. They were st...

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“Resistance of Posterity” by PK Love

Submitted to Contest #190

"Speak. Now." The shadow cast over Hogarth's bowed head reared into full view, bearing eyes of luminescent violet and full lips, pressed into a grim line. Framed by shimmering silver tresses, the eyes bore into the top of Hogarth's blond head as the silence in the chamber grew. "What do you want me to say?" came the response, the melodic voice trembling. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Tobias. He insisted we trust you--give over our safety to you." Hogarth threw his head up then, his eyes filled with tears, face contorted with fury. "...

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“The Kiss ” by Tisa Conway-Cunningham

Submitted to Contest #190

"Speak now." Trust me. I tried but to no avail. I was speechless. My mind was all jumbled, and I had no words. There was a vibe between us, and our chemistry made my emotions boil over. It was like I stepped out of my body and was an onlooker as the scene unfolded. My brain began to retrace the events of this past summer, and it all led up to this. She kissed me! ******************* The year was 1993. I was fresh out of school for the summer break. My freshman year of high school was in the books...

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“My Little Brony” by John McDonald

Submitted to Contest #190

"All right, you can pick out one toy" were words every child wanted to hear. Shopping at Walmart would have been a bore for Rachael if the possibility of any toy of her choosing wasn't promised. Otherwise, she'd just stand there in the middle of the grocery aisle, running back and forth till she got tired. Then, she would beg her mom to let her ride in the kart. The answer was always no. Eventually, Rachael caught on to how this worked. If she was good and didn't run up and down the aisles screaming her head off, she would get a toy. If she ...

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“Drenched In Sappho's Blood, I Fight For You” by Bear Reed

Submitted to Contest #190

Everything I have done was done in love, yet the need for revenge has clouded my clear skies and blotted out the clear truth I once lived by. Now, my heart burns with anger and misery as we stare one another down across the rubble. She looks beautiful, her hair flying out around her in the wind, her eyes blazing. I used to know those eyes so well, I could always tell what they were feeling, but now they pierce right through me and I feel that I am looking at a stranger. She stands tall, her sword clasped tight in one hand, her long knife in ...

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“I Love You” by Rene Volpi

Submitted to Contest #190

"Speak now," she said in a barely audible voice--"tell them the truth." ....From Argentina with Love."Terciopelo" stands for velvet in Spanish. Percie for short, that became her nickname and I believe she's still using it to this day. No one ever inspired me to write poetry the way this girl did. It was magical, almost as if everything was encompassed inside a dream. I was floating around with my senses spinning in all different kinds of ways. Science today would qualify that as an experience dictated by one's own endocrine system. In t...

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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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