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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#208: Come On Barbie, Let's Go Party

The wait is finally over: today Greta Gerwig’s Barbie(™) movie hits theaters and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited! Blonde and big-busted, this by-now classic doll has often been associated with negative stereotypes of womanhood. But it’s also true that, when you played with Barbie as a child, she could be anything you liked: a firefighter, a flight attendant, a teacher, or even an astronaut (Barbie went to space 4 years before Armstrong did). The possibilities were endless, allowing young people to envision new futures for themselves.

This week’s prompts take inspiration from Barbie and her pink, plastic world, asking you to play with the idea of puppetry, childhood memories, and shiny surfaces that hide potential darkness.

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone living vicariously through someone else.

Character – 32 stories

Write a story where the characters start to realize that they are, in fact, just characters.

Character – 49 stories

Write a story about a character who finds a childhood toy that brings back memories.

Character – 70 stories

Write a story about someone who is constantly being put into a box by others.

Angst – 40 stories

Set your story in a rosy-pink world where everything is rainbows and unicorns… until it isn’t.

Dramatic – 47 stories

Stories

“Sins of the Father” by Mateo Méndez Yepes

Submitted to Contest #208

WARNING: *MENTION OF WAR AND CONFLICT* His trembling hands opened the door, where he found the room where he lost his innocence. The wall’s plaster drooped down to the floor exposing the bricks and gadua foundations as if still mourning the loss of this virtue. He could still remember his own mother, her willowish figure and soft obsidian eyes, looking down at him from the doorway while he was playing with his wooden yoyo. The same one that laid on the floor, chipped and broken. It wasn’t always like that, Nestor remembe...

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“Between Me and The Wall” by Mikel Montgomery

Submitted to Contest #208

Trigger Warnings- Arguments between Family / Mental Health "We only want what's best for you." I could feel my chest tighten and my heart drumming faster with each word they spoke. My voice wanted to prove them wrong, but my mouth wouldn't open, no matter how much I willed it to. The look of false empathy in their eyes only made me far more upset than I was. Time and time again, they would act as if they understood my sorrows. Being handed such sweet words of reassurance as comfort for a situation they put me in left a sour taste in my t...

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“Apathy” by Meagan Smith

Submitted to Contest #208

Trigger warning: This story contains a character dealing with troubled mental health, mention of self-harm, and thoughts/ plans of suicide. If any of these are triggering or you don't want to read about them, I'd advise against reading this. For those who are okay with this, you can continue. Apathy: ap·a·thy noun lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. “You don’t have to stay behind every time. You could always just leave. What would he do to you anyways? It’s not like he’s in control of you, you are your own person. Right...

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“Smashed into a box” by Howdle Gavin

Submitted to Contest #208

The scientific community call them anomalies that occur in space. Some scientists sometimes call it outer space when the physics just won't make sense until a bright spark ays, "Maybe it's collapsed black hole". On Earth, an anomaly is known as a paradox. Finally, the busy assistant nurse approached Craig, who was in the hospital bed or something similar. Things seemed very surreal to him, is this reality or what? There was a strange smell in Crag's nose, though how was that true? He was wearing an oxygen mask. The nurse that stood next to ...

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“Oreo” by Patrissha Booker

Submitted to Contest #208

Note: The story is about high school bullying and makes references to suicide attempts, but no details. It is also is about spells and revenge. Oreo I was one of the unfortunate students bullied in junior high and high school. Known as the black-white girl, and the ugly duckling who never had a date, boyfriend, or a sexual experience, not even a kiss. So I was thrilled to be going to my 10-year high school reunion. Because the never been kissed ugly duckling virgin black-white girl whose classmates made me feel like a loser were in for a s...

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“I Want Out” by Ja Ju

Submitted to Contest #208

"I want out! Why won’t they let me out?" Katie cried to herself with tears streaming down her face, moving across her bedroom wearily. She was drained. And the thought of having to carry on any longer pierced her. The weight of everyone else’s expectations was substantial, pushing her into a state of turmoil she had never experienced before. It all started in May 1986. Katie was finishing her Junior year in high school, which was heavily focused on making sure she was prepared to be THE debutante. She worked hard all throughout high school t...

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“Shiny Existence” by Emma Winnicutt

Submitted to Contest #208

(Sexual violence, physical violence, gore, or abuse) Bobby is not your ordinary eighteen-year-old boy. Beautiful deep blue eyes and blonde hair he looks like your typical all-American boy, but nothing is ever as it seems. Delicate in his stature, Bobby is smaller than all the other boys his age and does not quite fit in. Quiet and shy, he observes his peers without ever engaging in order to keep the others from discovering who he really is. This timid creature sits upon a deep well of torment and dissociation other children of his age co...

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“"Down Home Delights"” by E. M.

Submitted to Contest #208

Donuts were the best part of Sunday school. They weren’t exceptional donuts. They weren’t fresh or colorful or inviting. They weren’t coated in decadent gluten-free Nutella or dressed in neon sprinkles. But there they were, nonetheless. Glazed donuts. Chocolate donuts. The mysteriously-filled-with-who-knows-what kind of donuts. My job was arranging them into neat little rows on the foyer table, and I did so with tender loving care. I imagined myself the Lord’s deliverer, a disciple acting in the prophet's name to procure bread for th...

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“The dolls” by Gennadii Seliverstov

Submitted to Contest #208

The dolls Mr. Eddie Todd was a man of average intellect, a kind family man, one of those who married late because he had never shown the necessary determination in this matter. To be honest, he had never considered the institution of marriage to be something so significant as to invest time in. A diligent student in high school, one of the few who didn't try smoking weed in college, he quickly lost his drive for life and career ambitions, replacing them with leisurely lunches and hanging out with friends. In the last years of his family li...

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“Aspirations of a Young Girl” by Karin Eriksson

Submitted to Contest #208

What had I done? Should I even be here? I sat down and clicked my metal seat belt clasp into place. From my economy class window seat aboard the Qatar Airways B77W aircraft, I saw ground personnel signaling with their bright orange batons for surrounding planes to reverse from the terminal. Their beacon wing and underbelly lights all aglow under the night sky. Each taxied down the tarmac, preparing for takeoff. My aircraft would eventually follow. Boarding had just commenced for my flight. We weren't airborne yet, but I felt sick. I wan...

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“Sirénes” by Ayesha Ahmed

Submitted to Contest #208

Hunger. She feels it thicken the air around her, pulse with anticipation, fix its gaze exactly where she stands. Tokyo salivates behind the curtain, ravenous and eager, a dog with wild appetite and wilder eyes. Behind her, a ghost tries its best to disappear.Yulia Sorensi. The star of tonight’s show. A famed pianist, born for nothing else, hailing from further up North to grant Japan the honour of being home to her Asian debut. And…her daughter.Olena fidgets, not for the first time this evening. Tonight’s show must be perfect. It cannot...

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“Across the Cove” by Taylor Petska

Submitted to Contest #208

Fear has always been too close a friend. Always lingering, gripping my hand tightly, whispering into my ear. But there are moments in time where I must shove Fear away and make room for more welcomed friends--Inspiration and Courage. And here is the moment. Because across the cove, a party is happening. I park my car as I always do and quickly step out into the early evening breeze. Instantly, a wave of noise crashes into me–one that sends my head turning and my eyes focused on the scene I have stumbled upon happening across the cove. ...

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“The Piano” by Maggie Holman

Submitted to Contest #208

Just as twilight was turning to dark night, Catherine quietly slid open her bedroom window and climbed out onto the flat roof of the first-floor extension. She crept along the edge, to keep her weight on the strongest point, and then jumped down and landed neatly on the lawn. Her escape was accompanied by the faint sound of piano music coming from the open living room window. She could picture the scene; her mother sitting tidily in her favourite armchair, her hands folded on her lap, her eyes closed, as she listened to recordings of Chopin,...

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“Eight Seconds of Revelations” by Larry Litton

Submitted to Contest #208

“Do I have to do it?” Myles asks his father as they walk towards the arena, their spurs clink on the hard caliche leaving little clouds of dust in their wake. “You ain’t got to do anything,” his father says. “Walk away now if you want. But there may come a day you’ll wonder ‘what if’.” The west Texas sun begins to set and bloodred clouds reef out into the western horizon. An owl screeches from a nearby oak and it flies into the air with great wings silhouetted against the reddening sky and lightning flashes from distant bl...

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“Breaking Every Fourth Wall” by B Lou

Submitted to Contest #208

Critical Thinking Rough Draft Setting: High school Topic: Love at first sight The story begins with our young protagonist waking up for school and starting on their morning routine. The usual hop out of bed, head straight to bathroom, wash up, brush teeth, and then get dressed up before heading downstairs for breakfast with their parents. Kisses goodbye and off towards the school bus. The school bus pulls in front of the school then everybody exits the vehicle. Our protagonist takes one look at the school and breathe...

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$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

85

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 28, 2023 EST

Won by Ian Gonzales 🏆

Title: That All Important First Scene

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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