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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#231: A New Leaf

The year is almost over, and a new one begins in just a few days. With that comes the traditional time of reflection, and of projection. As well as looking back over the year that's just passed, we're looking ahead to a next — and even the most cynical among us have to admit there's something pretty exciting about that.

A new year is an opportunity for self-improvement, exploration, and even complete reinvention. This week's prompts are all in that vein; characters who are all looking for a fresh start, in one way or another.

This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of a list of New Year's resolutions.

Adults – 54 stories

Write about a character who has reinvented themselves, but realizes it's not always easy to outrun your past.

Character – 62 stories

Write a story about hope.

Short Story – 78 stories

Write about someone trying something completely new.

Character – 34 stories

Set your story on New Year's Day.

Holiday – 50 stories

Stories

“It's Time” by Julie Price

Submitted to Contest #231

Harriet told herself if she ever became single she would simply remain single. There was no way she would go online to find a man. She had listened to enough horror stories from her newly single friends and workmates about the online dating world. Men who catfished you, faking their identities and wasting your time with endless exchanges. Men who asked you to send nudes within minutes of chatting. Men who misrepresented themselves as entrepreneurs when they really were unemployed and living in a granny flat at their mother’s house. Men who p...

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“The Keys to Finding Love” by Judith Wilson

Submitted to Contest #231

The train disappeared round the corner and left her standing on the deserted platform, staring into the emptiness of an already difficult day. Slumping on a bench she relaxed her legs of jelly and pulled out her phone, pushed her hair behind her ears and phoned the office to apologise for missing the 8.30 meeting. This job was meant to be a new beginning, but she was finding it difficult to leave the house each day as she clung to the memories inside. A queue of commute...

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“That Old Russian Rhyme” by A.A. Stitt

Submitted to Contest #231

Sensitive Content: Homophobia, SwearingOne, two, three, four, five,A hare went out for a walk.Suddenly a hunter appearedAnd shot the hare.Bang bang oh oh oh,My hare is going to die.Those were the words of an old Russian nursery rhyme that my 4 year old niece Zemfira insisted on singing to herself at the top of her lungs as she danced around the drab lounge. You will have to trust me that it rhymes in Russian. Its melodic charm is lost in translation. On a normal night, grandfather Novel would have swiftly ordered silence from her. But tonigh...

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“A Blind Man” by Zoe King

Submitted to Contest #231

Friday - Dear Diary, My parents always say, “Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.” Today we went to the mall. In the parking lot, there was a man asking for money; he claimed to be blind. I’d tugged on my mother’s sleeve and asked to spare a dollar for Secret Santa gifts. My family is very rich. I don’t need ten dollars — I dropped it in the man’s tin can instead. My mother saw me do it, she said I was very kind. The blind man said nothing, but he just looked up at me with those big, ladylike sunglasses and smiled a b...

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“The Big Ocean and the Big World ” by Rachel Manning

Submitted to Contest #231

There is a fleeting moment that exists between a dreaming state and consciousness where all thoughts and problems have not yet entered the brain. Evelyn lives in this moment for a few seconds before the sunlight shining from behind the curtain forces her to open her eyes. As the beams envelop her irises the anxieties of her current life rush into Evelyn’s head and her heartrate increases a bit. “Ev!” she hears from the kitchen. Her mom’s shrill voice sends a wave o...

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“HOPE'S STORY” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #231

The heroine of this story was born in a small town called Hope shortly after WWII. Her parents and grandparents thought she was a sign that hope was indeed alive in the world, and so they all agreed to name her Hope. Little Hope grew strong of limb and mind. Most of the time she was sweet tempered, although as a toddler she would occasionally stamp her little foot and stand her ground when she was told to do something she didn’t want to hear or do. Her parents didn’t chastise her figuring that in this world there would be times she would ...

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“Blades of Glory: Rising Above the Ice” by Samira Rezwan

Submitted to Contest #231

Championship day. My time to shine. I would do anything to skip class today and practice for the ice skating championship. My team needs me and I can’t do my best if I’m in class. I’ve been the lead skater representing our team at championships and helping coaches choreograph the younger students’ routines. The only good thing was tomorrow was the last day of school but the bad thing was today is one of my finals in Algebra 2. After this year I can finally be homeschooled which gives me a lot more time in the day for ice skating. I wasn’t ab...

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“The Man Who Died” by Abbas Garmabi

Submitted to Contest #231

A man is sitting alone in a huge concert hall, and an Asian beauty is playing a beautiful violin, especially for him! She’s playing a classic overture on the violin in the middle of a dark stage, and she’s wearing an elegant dress in her supermodel-like body. He tries to see her face, but suddenly… snow starts to fall from above! From the concert hall ceiling?! “Am I dreaming?” he asks himself. He is now standing in the middle of nowhere in darkness, and snow is falling around him. Yet, he still hears the melodious violin playing. He smi...

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“Kate” by Joan Wright

Submitted to Contest #231

Kathryn woke up for the third time. It was 8:00 this time. New Years Day 2024. Something was vitally wrong. She had no hangover, no headache, no mouth full of cotton and no unsettled stomach. New Years Day had been a recovery day for as long as she remembered. Resolutions. That's where it all started. One year ago Kathryn had woken up on Becky"s floor wrapped in a dog blanket. Sick as a could be and wishing she were dead. That's when she made the resolutions that changed her life. She would be disciplined, care about her appearance, and wor...

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“An Artist's Achievement” by Maya Johnson

Submitted to Contest #231

New Year's Day came with many unexpected surprises. The first day to start weight loss goals. The first day to start writing a book that’s been trapped in your mind for a long time. The first day to research a new hobby, or new recipes to make. For Pam, New Year’s Day came with the long awaited news she’s been waiting for since November: her acceptance email to table a booth at the next Lexington Comic and Toy Convention in March. She had a bit of doubt it would ever come, or that she’d get rejected. She spent months creating prints of cha...

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“A New Beginning ” by Scarlett !!

Submitted to Contest #231

It was a late Friday evening, and I was delivering my last pizza for the day. As I pulled up to 4452 Lakewood Drive, I noticed smoking slithering out of the open window in 4453 Lakewood Drive. I squinted my eyes to see better, and noticed a deep red glow in the room. At once I realized it was a fire. Quickly, I dropped the pizza and ran across the street. I began banging on the door and yelling for them to come outside. There was no answer. It occurred to me that there may not even be people in there at all. As I hesitated, I heard sc...

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“Something New This Way Comes” by Chris Pye

Submitted to Contest #231

- You're kidding me. - No. Really. - You're going to start playing the trumpet? Well, bugle, actually. A pause. - The bugle? - Yes, you know. Ta-ta-tootle-tootle. Ta-ta-tootle-tootle. That one. - What was that? - That's the tune they play at dawn to wake everyone up. You've heard it: Revelly. You know. Cowboy films. Bugler by the flagpole. Get Out of Bed. - Sounded more like raspberries. I suppose it could get someone out of bed though. - I'm not actually playing a bugle, am I? Just doing the lips. - I get that. Just kidding. So y...

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“A Tower of Timber, Splendor and Child” by Zachary Fox

Submitted to Contest #231

The paddywhack thwack of little hands, lending themselves to oh such tireless work, could be heard against the threshold of the backyard, stuck between what was very much that of a yard- and what had been the mysticism of a forest. A set of pudgy hands, so very little if you could believe it, had been giving themselves to the swing of the tiniest of mallets, as a small boy did wield its might against nails through the thickness of an oak. It was the said oak, whose branches stretched and groaned like tired joints, spiraling outward like th...

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“a new adventure” by James Mckinley

Submitted to Contest #231

Journal entry: the sky is overcast this morning and they say we are expecting more rain. It is humid and hot here and I am not sure when I will be dry again. My tent seems to work well enough but the Mosquito netting is a bit tedious. I got tangled up in it again this morning when I had to get up and go pee. I am having trouble getting used to the silence, or at least the lack of the drone of artificial noise. The sounds of nature can be just as deafening but I have been assured that I will soon get used to it. I know I resolved to stop sitt...

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“ Last Letter to Santa” by Chris Mueller

Submitted to Contest #231

The door of the post office swung open. “Big news!” an eager little elf yelled.Charlie, one of the most senior elves and the postmaster at the North Pole, popped his head out from the back room. “What?” he shouted back. “Santa. He's got exciting news. Come on. We are meeting at the wrapping factory for the announcement.”“Yah, yah. I think I will skip it. I have work to do,” he said as he shooed him out, “The last big announcement was dairy-free milk would now be offered in the break room. Oh, and the one before that was –”“It's mandator...

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$250

Prize money

278

Contest entries

109

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 05, 2024 EST

Won by Mary Lynne Schuster 🏆

Title: No Junior League

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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