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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#233: Dry January

Like many of my friends, I'm participating in Dry January this year. After the end-of-year indulgences (which, alongside many enjoyable beverages, included far too many forms of potato), spending a month abstaining from drinking feels well overdue. May as well slay one dragon at a time, right?

With that in mind, this week's prompts are inspired by Dry January, and other challenges of endurance — whether taken on by choice, or by chance.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character participating in Dry January.

Character – 33 stories

Your character, having abstained from their worst vice (big or small), finds new clarity.

Character – 49 stories

Write a story in the form of diary entries, written by someone who has set themselves a month-long challenge.

Narrative – 49 stories

Set your story in a bar that doesn’t serve alcohol.

Fluff – 61 stories

Set your story during a month of drought — whether literal, or metaphorical.

Dramatic – 38 stories

Stories

“BOB” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #233

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t hear anything but the buzzing in his ears. It was like a swarm of bees circling his head in a flow of never-ending noise. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz…Buzz… Beep! Beep! The buzzing was shut out by the sharp alarmed cry of a car horn. He jumped in his seat. He jerked the wheel to the side, just as a car in the lane beside him screeched past, the driver holding his hand out the window and putting up a furious, obscene gesture. He’d been weaving between lanes. He was lucky the oncoming Chevy hadn’t scraped or rammed...

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“The Great Drying ” by Jorge Soto

Submitted to Contest #233

Rain poured, children played, women fell, and men cried. It had been 32 days of dry air and 32 nights of bone-powdered ground since the rain had ceased.In the first seven days of the drought, few heeded the warnings, and fewer cared to hear them. Cars drove from parking space to parking space, erupting spurts of gas as they bumbled angrily down their black trails. A policy of overuse had become commonplace among the modern community during its short, abundantly prosperous epoch. How could a resource so seemingly infinite become sparse? ...

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“Drought” by Sarah Anthony

Submitted to Contest #233

“It’s been almost a month since he left. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m doing ok, I just say yes. Truth is, I don’t really know how to answer.” He jotted some stuff down on his pad of paper, clearly he had some idea of what was wrong with me. I watched him move up his glasses, “do you think him leaving has made you feel relief at all? Or do you think it has just caused more grief?” he asked. I sighed heavily. “I don’t know,” I replied. The rest of my appointment was pretty dry, just Dr. Thomas trying to pull some sort of emotio...

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“Part-Time Peace” by Jacob Mathews

Submitted to Contest #233

Warning: this story has themes of substance abuse and self harm. “Ah-” Along with the short but tumultuous scream, he jolted up and opened his eyes far too wide for this early in the morning. That nightmare was intense, even by Trevor’s standards. Most mornings, especially away from home, he woke up in a sweat to his own yelp of terror. Like every other time, he responded by leaning up on his hands and staring at his mess of a hotel room in Vegas. What was different about today was he didn’t lay back down in pain from th...

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“Nate” by Lila Weiser

Submitted to Contest #233

I go on a date with a man named Nate. I giggle to myself on the way there: a date with Nate. We’re going to a fancy bar in the west end. I don’t drink. Over this, too, I giggle to myself, though it’s less a whimsical giggle, as with the rhyme, and more a self-deprecating giggle. I suggested the bar. I told Nate I don’t drink. He did not suggest an alternative. Bar dates are just what you do, I think. I was home sick from work all week, so I look forward to human interaction. I look forward to getting out of my house. I never used to b...

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“Coming Home in the Rain of Emotions: A Fathers Journey through Grief, Love, and Healing...” by Guido Klaus

Submitted to Contest #233

January 1st, 2024 The rain rhythmically pounded on the windshield. I pulled the handbrake and sat still. A moment of peace amid the chaos of work and family, between the downpour of stress and emotion. A sip wouldn’t hurt, someone in the recesses of my mind seemed to whisper. The thought alone calms me, a delightful tranquility occasionally interrupted by disappointment. A strangely pleasant feeling, a paradoxical emotion I had normally surrendered to. But I won’t let them get to me so quickly, I tell myself. No, not today. Today, I’ll let t...

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“Chalk and Cheese” by Clara 'CC' Carlyle

Submitted to Contest #233

Chalk and Cheese Dad loves all things British; William and Kate, tea and crumpets, The Crown, saying the loo, not so much queuing though….. People in our small town treat him like he is a rare and exotic bird. "Lovely," he says. It is baffling to me to watch the faces of folks in conversation. The faces of both men and women brighten when near him. Most of the people around here have never traveled out of the state, much less another country. Just between you and Me- neither has dad. "Do you guys have the same father AND mother?" I w...

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“Day 4,381” by Dafna Flieg

Submitted to Contest #233

Dear Florence, I wanted to write to you to tell you my story. The whole thing and the one I never had the chance to tell you before. I hated being in there but I loved being in there with you. I wish you could have stayed a bit longer, or known that the outcome wouldn’t be as scary as the income was. I'm sorry that this is getting to you too late but, I wanted it to get to you at all, so here it goes: They caught up with me on a Tuesday. My body was a dead giveaway by giving out on the abandoned hallway floor of my high sch...

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“The Habit ” by Katie DeMerchant

Submitted to Contest #233

Ben would often shrug when confronted about the habit. It had caused the end of relationships, embarrassed his mother to no end and even forced him into a brutal and pathetic (on his side) fistfight. In all other ways, Ben was a very average man. The kind of man that caused little reaction in people. He was straight, of average height, and average build, his hair was light brown and so were his eyes. He was white and carried in his bones the sort of security that would mean he’d lead a pretty mild and boring life. If it weren’t for the...

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“Dry January” by Lindsay Southworth

Submitted to Contest #233

I can hardly bring myself to open my eyes upon waking. The world is already spinning behind my closed lids and I know I’ll feel even worse when I see the destruction my New Year’s Eve celebration has wrought upon my home. Don’t get me wrong, last night was glorious. I felt on top of the world, indestructible. I had fun, I laughed, you could even say I was the life of the party. But is it worth how drained, how depleted, how guilty I will inevitably feel for the first few days of this new year? At my age, shouldn’t I know better? I blink my...

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“Mirror” by Raz Kani

Submitted to Contest #233

Not a single compliment in 11 days. I woke up with a compulsion 11 days ago and I couldn’t bring the brush in my hand to paint my face. 11 days ago I abandoned my life long canvas, abandoned my most prized possession, the pristine face I worked so hard on. The one reflecting back at me in the mirror. I’ve been an admirer of beauty from the beginning of my memory. Embroidered edges on fine bed sheets, lovely fluffy stuffed animals, shiny shoes and lace trimmed socks. Beautiful braids with ribbons weaved in and bows at the end. Sparkly...

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“May in summer” by Natálie Safarova

Submitted to Contest #233

The day she was born had been marked by a long-awaited rainfall. May knew this as it was her dad’s favourite story to tell at dinner parties and to any friend that came over to hang out or sleep over. It wasn’t the rain that made him tell it, it was what followed the rain. “It was an incredibly hot day in August.” He would begin to recount dramatically to anyone finding themselves captive out of politeness or simply the incapacity of leaving. I’ll spare you the details of the story and provide a summary. It was a very hot August (as...

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“New Year, Same Me?” by Franco Lopez

Submitted to Contest #233

January 1st, 2024 – Entry #1 Here’s to new beginnings, right? It’s a new year, the partying is over, and everyone is trying to get into new habits. My therapist said that keeping a journal and writing goals down, whether anyone reads them or not, helps with maintaining goals or whatever, so I’m going to give it an honest try before the bad habits get out of hand. I’ve tried diets in the ...

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“The Month Long” by John Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #233

(note: The word "penis" is used once in this story.) Le Veintidos de enero, 2025 Dear diary. I have set it upon myself to be a virgin at 40. I got the idea a few years ago when I saw the Steve Carrell film 40 Year Old Virgin. In the film, Steve plays a man who has never had sex his entire life. His 40th birthday has just passed and he’s wondering what he’s going to have to do to achieve his maleficent goal of “getting laid.” I was like his character in that I was just never able to “seal the deal.” I want to make it to 40 without having sex....

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“GABA or Not” by Helene Simkin Jara

Submitted to Contest #233

GABA or NOT January 1, Dear Diary, Well, today’s the day. I am totally determined. No more negativity. I am making a promise to myself to look at the bright side of things. I will follow the rule of “no expectations, no disappointments. I feel better already just having made that decision. I’m sure I can do it. As the saying goes, I’ve set my mind to it. The minute I feel a negative thought crossing my mind, I will simply shove it out. I will say, “Nope! You are not allowed.” January ...

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$250

Prize money

230

Contest entries

78

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 19, 2024 EST

Won by Ariana Tibi 🏆

Title: Vegan Hamburgers

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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