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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#209: Road Trippin'

The open road is a beacon of possibility. Who knows what you’ll discover as you navigate across boundaries, familiar and unfamiliar: maybe it’s the world’s biggest ball of twine, a hidden gem of a diner, or a new truth about yourself. Whatever it may be, a road trip provides the opportunity to indulge your curiosity, going wherever the wind may blow you. There’s no limits or obstacles, only what you’re willing to do.

After all, road trips are hardly ever about the destination. The journey is what matters most, and what you discover along the way, whether you're taking a vacation or setting out into the unknown. This week, we want to explore those unique feelings that only a good, long road trip can conjure.

This week's prompts

Set your entire story in a car.

Dramatic – 96 stories

Write about two strangers who are both heading to the same destination and agree to do a long distance drive together.

Character – 32 stories

Write a story about someone going on a life-changing journey.

Adventure – 57 stories

Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way.

Dramatic – 35 stories

Start your story with someone walking into a gas station.

Dialogue – 53 stories

Stories

“So help me, I'm Yours” by Tommy Goround

Submitted to Contest #209

-1-Merryl Schenosi has a paper bag because she cares for the Earth. She’s on my porch in heels, a blue skirt that matches the blouse coat, a realtor’s badge near the place reserved for handkerchiefs. “It’s time to evacuate, Mr. Goround.” My realtor has come at 10:02 pm on a Sunday before the Dance of Cyclones, opening storm, 2023 because she cares. Someone gave her a copy of my car keys, or she must have broken into the dealership? Or we were lovers and I forgot.“Everything you ever needed is in the bag.” Alright. She can guid...

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“Too Late for Whale Watching” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #209

They had always planned to go whale watching in Iceland. The 4X4 rumbles through the snowy scenery, the sound of the guide’s voice washing over her. Gunnar is well versed in his country’s natural history – so far, they have seen fissures, extinct volcanoes and a waterfall; but he loves the land’s mythology too. Before he started lecturing them, Deirdre hadn’t realised that Catholicism and superstition were so intertwined in Icelandic folklore, or that the Huldufólk (‘hidden people’) played such an important role. “You would call them ...

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“The Valentine” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #209

“Do we really get to take a taxi?” Lenny asked, his excitement nearly palpable. He’d never been in a taxi before. He wondered vaguely why today was so special to ride in a taxi instead of taking the school bus home, but he didn’t want to ask any questions and risk his mother changing her mind. “Yes, Len, we’re taking a taxi. How was school today?” “It was fine,” he responded, his voice losing some of its cheer. His mother opened the side door and ushered him into the backseat of the yellow cab. As she slid in beside him, the cabbie turned...

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“The Champion” by Frances Gaudiano

Submitted to Contest #209

The Champion It was a small car but I was a small person, fitting between the cooler box and the window. If I was quiet, they would forget I was there and I could lay my forehead against the cool glass and watch the country flash by me. I was their star gymnast and they were taking me around the country to various summer training camps. It was a privilege, setting me apart and making me an object of jealousy for the other girls on my team. It didn’t matter. I had never socialized with the team much anyway. I couldn’t go out for a burger...

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“Local Tongue” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #209

Travel Advice: Colourful language ahead. The hot setting sun momentarily perched on the horizon of the Australian Nullarbor Plain, as a sunset admirer raised a silhouetted arm to wave at the darkening sky. Uttering a blessing in his native tongue, he bid a fond farewell to another day and welcomed in the approaching night, while the haunting and captivating sound of a Didgeridoo signalled the not-too-distant presence of a local mob of residents gathering for a spiritual ceremony. The colour of the soil here in the Nullarbor, lends its...

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“Dinner and a Movie” by Steven Smith

Submitted to Contest #209

In the back seat of our cherry red Impala, my sisters and I fought for elbow room as we tooled up Ina Court. I took in the smells of the car from the center seat, the stream of fresh air slipping over the cracked windows, the plastic seat coverings and grease from door hinges, my father’s aftershave, and my sisters’ innocent scents from the woods and fresh soap. We were off to eat at a restaurant. My father cruised through the intersection of Waterloo Road and Arlington Street and came to a pronounced stop in the restaurant parking lot. As ...

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“She Always Wore Blue” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #209

The elegant black hearse pulled slowly away from 53 Bellamy Street, leading the cortege comprised of just it and one other car. Hetty’s ecofriendly, bamboo coffin, covered with garlands of cornflowers, irises and buddleia in beautiful hues ranging from sky to midnight, could be seen from the back of the second vehicle.“Do you think we’re doing this right?” Stella gently placed one hand on the shoulder of her daughter’s smart, black suit and the other on the cream leather of the seat.“I don’t know Mum, but it’s the best we could manage,” said...

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“Let's Play a Game...” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #209

“Okay, we still have a ways to go… Wanna play a game? “Okay, let’s play, ‘I spy with my little eye…something that begins with the letter…’ Anyone? “Let’s start with L. Right, let’s see… Laptop – put that away, Billy; you got a phone. Laura, my amazing daughter…now scowling. Lilac air freshener. The love of my life… “So, what about another letter? “Anyone? “Okay, a different game. Maybe we should do a new one called ‘Review’. Ever heard of it? “Of course I just made it up. So let me explain the rules: each one of us is going to talk about wha...

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“SUPPER FOR TWO” by Charles Corkery

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #209

SUPPER FOR TWOThe young man, hot and sweaty, walked back into the gas station; his denim shirt, jeans and cowboy boots speckled with the desert dust.“Hell, how long’s this fella gonna be?”Gerry, the elderly gas station attendant, sat on a stool behind the shop counter, thumbing through an auto trader magazine and looked up witheringly at the young upstart who’d asked him the same question several times already in the less than one hour since he’d pulled in to the forecourt.“Jed’ll be here when he gets here”, the old timer replied, with all t...

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“The Commute” by Audrey McKenna

Submitted to Contest #209

The rain came down torrentially as Randall did his best to slide down into the driver’s seat. Despite his efforts, water poured in defiantly through the cracked door, fully soaking the leather that his pants would now have to rest upon for the next fifty-seven minutes, according to his GPS. Great. Disgruntled, and now uncomfortably wet, Randall reached over and set the soggy paper bag that contained the chocolate-covered nuts he was currently marinating his pants in rainwater for onto the passenger seat. Up until this point, he had be...

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“Burning Down the House” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #209

Discussions of family breakdown and abuse.As the upper floor of the old farmhouse yielded its secrets, I was near to overflowing with excitement. I turned to my brother, who, lacking experience in adventuring, was wont to throw caution to the wind in his explorations, although I observed that he arranged matters to the best of his ability, given his tender years. Of such was our journey to the ends of mortal longing. Alas! It was not to be!“Will both of you get down here?” yelled a familiar voice. “You know you’re not allowed up there! What ...

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“The Back Road to Bagdad” by Arthur McNamee

Submitted to Contest #209

Peter Tucker was beside himself with anger for not paying attention to the scenery around him. He had only traveled this same route out of Mesa, Arizona several dozen times in the past twenty years, but somehow, on this particular day, he found himself lost and heading in the wrong direction. It was only after he made a half dozen wrong turns that he realized that he was not at all where he thought he should be. As it was a mid-August evening and well past 7:45 pm, he knew that he would be driving in darkness and through a vast open prairie ...

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“He Knows You're There” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #209

Through the bustling of young savages hyped up on bowls full of sugar, I greet Ashton and his mom outside the elementary school where the kids are dropped off. After a holiday weekend, I had missed Ashton, and he must have missed me because he leaned forward with his golden blonde head for some affection. I playfully kiss it and help him out of his booster seat. As his little feet hit the ground, he took my hand, and we crossed the parking lot together. The other kids were in a sense maniacal, with the inability to hold still and the tendenc...

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“The Drive In Time” by Hansi Saputhanthri

Submitted to Contest #209

This morning I woke up, the same as every day, stretching my legs off my bed and onto the floor, my arms raised up grazing the ceiling. As any other day, I got out of bed and waltzed into the kitchen to make myself some freshly brewed fragrant coffee. I grabbed my leather bag and black coat from the hanger, while chewing hastily on a toast of fresh, brown bread I walked out my old-fashioned house and got into my tiny old green car.The endless stream of daily work calls kept coming in as I gently drove towards the empty highway road. “He...

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“Gas Light” by Nina H

Submitted to Contest #209

“My hand hurts. I’ve been doing this for hours. Can you take it from here?” Meg begged. “No, not while I’m driving! I need to concentrate a little on the road. Please Meg, just a little more. We’re so close now.” Jeff pleaded. I sat in the backseat, pretending to be asleep, listening to it all. If Jeff knew I was awake he’d want me to help. It was close to midnight and we had gotten lost three times in two hours. My boyfriend Mark was sleeping on my right side. He could sleep through anything, and anywhere. That’s why he didn’t eve...

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$250

Prize money

273

Contest entries

154

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 04, 2023 EST

Won by Kyle Sager 🏆

Title: The Driving Snow

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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