Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#214: The Fall of Summer

For both kids and adults, summer is a time for dreams, freedom, and a break from routine. The scorching summer months offer new beginnings, new experiences, vacations in exotic places (real or backyard imaginings), new friendships, and perhaps even new romance. It’s when memories are created, and when ‘growing up’ happens.

Except there’s never enough time. The days fly by, the memories stack up, and pretty soon Fall’s got a stranglehold. To celebrate the last throes of the season, this week’s prompts encourage you to delve into your memories of the summer we’ve just had, and of summers long past.

This week's prompts

Set your story on the eve of the first day back at school.

Kids – 34 stories

What was meant to be a great bonding vacation turns sour when an uninvited guest tags along.

Summer – 43 stories

Now, as an adult, your character looks back on this summer as the summer when they grew up.

Character – 40 stories

Each year, your character's family goes on the most exotic vacations. Finally they discover why — their family are assassins.

Funny – 36 stories

It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.

Science Fiction – 49 stories

Stories

“School.....I had serious reservations” by David Nutt

Submitted to Contest #214

School…..I have serious reservations School, school I even dislike the word. As for the meaning, it was for me the nearest thing to a prison, full of rules and regulations. Endless lectures spouted out by boring teachers. Lunches that I am sure have a life long effect on your health. Now my parents were sending me to a boarding school. All the glorious, free summer days were in the past. Today was my last before being shipped out to boarding school. The day was full of dark angry clouds. I use the words shipped out with the saddening thoug...

Read story

“The Day I Met Kai ” by Kiyana Marie

Submitted to Contest #214

“Pass me another beer,” I shout to Claire. “You got it,” she opens up the blue cooler and grabs me a cold one. “Here you are,” she hands it to me and sits back down next to me in her pink camo folding chair. “Man, it is so great to have a nice long weekend in nature with just the girls, alcohol, and a time to create good memories without any boys here to ruin it,” Marcy comments as she walks down the porch steps of our small wooden cabin. “Ain’t that the truth,” Monica agrees as she swats away at the mosquitos attacking her. &n...

Read story

“A Tale of Two Summers” by Tony Smith

Submitted to Contest #214

A Tale of Two Summers By Tony Smith With the heavy suitcase bumping against my legs, I manoeuvred my way between the seats to the front carriage and shared the view of the driver. Gleaming rail tracks, following the gentle contours of the Surrey hills, were fast disappearing beneath my feet. Rabbits grazing went tail-up and ran, tumbling into their burrows, as the steel monster invaded. I’m -going-home. I’m-going-home, beat in my brain to the rhythm of the wheels. Ahead a tunnel of solid blackness - then we leapt into bright summer sun. I ...

Read story

“Last Summer of Childhood” by Jarden Jones

Submitted to Contest #214

I am three-years-old and have a 104-degree fever burning off my hearing but it will be a year or so after I kill my mommy before anyone notices. Mommy is making me take an ice cube bath. She calls the doctor once or twice a week about stuff but he don’t listen to her no more. He just tells her I’ll be fine, to fill the tub with ice and plop me in till I cool off. So that’s how Daddy finds us, me all over blue and Mommy on her knees crying next to the toilet. Daddy takes one look at me then we are running every light and s...

Read story

“That summer when wishes came true” by Smriti Tuladhar

Submitted to Contest #214

I woke up with multiple sneezes and I realized it was a chilly morning. The Sheet of cloth that I had been using as a blanket did not serve its purpose of keeping me warm now that summer was slipping away. It was the first week of September and as every year it was the beginning of the dawn of summer, my favourite time of the year will now come to an end. Summer was my dream, a living dream where I could show as much skin as I want, wear bright colours, watch the long day end late with an exquisite sunset, chilly summer breeze blowing over s...

Read story

“Dream away, my child.” by Gayathri Venkatesh

Submitted to Contest #214

"Freshly cut mangoes, dosas, people, kids cycling, the breeze of fresh air, scooter, colony friends, grandmother, love, laughter, and a mountain of memories."Raji types this, looks away from her laptop, and takes a long sigh, She is trying hard to write about the summer for a contest as she really needs the money to boost her confidence being an amateur writer, She suddenly closes her laptop and walks away to her desk, picks up her brown diary, opens it, and flips through the pages in a hurry, keeps it back and stomps her feet twice on the g...

Read story

“The Summer I Became An Adult ” by Wanda Fischer

Submitted to Contest #214

My parents were Nixon Republicans. They may have been the only Massachusetts residents who had voted for Nixon instead of Kennedy in 1960. Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating. But that’s how it felt to me. They thought Lyndon Johnson was a wimp for setting up anti-poverty programs. “Those people need to pick themselves up by their bootstraps,” my father said. &nb...

Read story

“Secrets of the Sea Emporium ” by Bitsy Tandem

Submitted to Contest #214

Brown hair is unusual for someone of her kind. Gold, silver, auburn, and even the occasional shades of blue are far more common. Yet there she is, the only one with brown hair, attracting a lot of attention from the audience. She's new here, which is her main appeal, of course. The regulars always like to ogle at the new ones. But in all the years I have spent my summers here, I have never seen one with brown hair before. Stopping to watch the show for just a while longer, I sigh and stretch out my back. With a broom in one hand, I o...

Read story

“Club Dead” by Dale Bankhead

Submitted to Contest #214

“Where’s the man?” shouted Lily as she leaned over the edge of the platform. The sight of my eight-year-old sister hanging over the precipice startled my mother into action. “Oh my God, Lily, get back from there!” Mom grabbed her by the arm and hustled her to the rear of the cluster of tourists in yellow helmets and Sky Trek employees in safari jackets, all of whom stared down into the mist. Nothing was visible below the clouds, but the import of the dangling zipline was unmis...

Read story

“Artichoke Salad” by Ross Dyter

Submitted to Contest #214

The knife flashed in the broken shards of sunlight filtering into the alley. Andy shrank back, his shoulder bumping into the rusted dumpster, “Mum,” he said, his voice squeaky. “Yes dear?” “He’s got a knife.” “I can see that dear, there’s no need to state the obvious. Let me talk to this gentleman and see what he wants.” “You shut up lady,” the man’s voice was thickly accented. His face barely visible from within the dark hooded top, as he loomed over her. “You give me, phone, jewellery, I take that bag too.” “I’m afraid this bag was a gift,...

Read story

“Take Out Some Trash And Take In A Little Paradise-On-Earth” by Rado Randriamamonjy

Submitted to Contest #214

I don't even know how to tell this story. ‘Cause when I’m done, you probably won't believe me. For a time, I couldn’t believe it myself. And I lived it. Looking back, I guess there were clues, hints about what was really going on, but, I don’t know, it’s hard to say. You really live in your own world when you’re a kid. I guess I’ll start with that summer. The summer of my 16th birthday. I had just broken up with Julia (not my first love, but I was pretty crazy about her), so I was really looking ...

Read story

“L'Invasion” by Levi Michael

Submitted to Contest #214

A night like this, even though I pretended it wasn’t, was my favorite part of family vacation. Mom and dad wanted an evening alone together, we were in a foreign country, so they didn’t know any baby-sitters, and even though mom told me not to watch scary movies, I did. Six hours alone to watch whatever I wanted, and to not have to watch them fawn over each other was golden. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy my parents love each other and stuff. But at a certain point it’s like, “Get a room.” I see my friends' parents and they’re not nearly as l...

Read story

“Ready or Not” by Hunter Kinsman

Submitted to Contest #214

“Is everything all wrapped up?” Lucy asked, reclining on the comfiest chair on the deck adjacent to the pier- a seat her plump ass had not left in the five days they had been at the lake. The locale had been on our bucket list for some time; but with COVID, and then life, getting in the way, we were fortunate to be able to finally get together. After an eventful, but mostly drama-free few days, most of us cousins were avoiding the reality of our departure from the rented cabin in the morning. I, however, had assumed myself to th...

Read story

“Emerald Beach” by Sophia ♡

Submitted to Contest #214

It was a last-minute vacation, barely planned. My dad and his friends texted around midnight, probably a bit drunk, and thought it would be fun to rent an RV and go camping at Emerald Beach. The next day, we departed abruptly, only having the previous day to pack (much to Mom's frustration). I love the beach, it’s always so picturesque and relaxing. But, as much as I like the place, I don’t particularly like the ocean and my dislike for it grew after watching Soul Surfer, and so did my fear of sharks. Plus, I don’t love t...

Read story

“Vicariously Inc.” by Christopher B.

Submitted to Contest #214

The rough wood of the little old dock is warm beneath me, and the sun is setting into the lake. It was almost perfect. It was a good Summer. But here I am, sitting at the edge of it, staring at a sunset that would simply go on forever if I let it, and instead of reflecting on how great this has been I’m stuck on what went wrong. I’d been involved, I had participated. But only some had laughed at my joke during the barbeque sequence. I should have seen the issue with the bug spray. And the frog still weighs on me.I don’t think it matters if y...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

202

Contest entries

94

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 08, 2023 EST

Won by Emily Holding 🏆

Title: Departed, Return

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢