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!

#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

“''Nothing.''” by Ethan Urbano

Submitted to Contest #233

First Edition- Be warned that the following story contains potentially triggering content involving gore and psychological collapse, as well as family strife.‘’Nothing’’My mother warned me not to stray beyond the light of the pylons. With the crackling of her dry throat she barked, ‘’One step, and you’ll belong to The Shadows. The only way people will hear your voice again will be in the rustling of the leaves sent astray by the vicious winds and cruel nights.’’ But I was as curious as I was foolish, and I set out to see them for myself. The...

Read story

“Shadows in the Scorched Fields” by Martin Marriott

Submitted to Contest #233

Caleb ran the tip of his parched tongue across his dry, cracked lips. His eyes squinted in the unrelenting sun as he scoured the distant land for what remained of his livestock. He tried to pull down the peak of his worn baseball cap further over his eyes so he could see. It was no use. He might as well have taken the damn thing off and tossed it away. But that would require energy—a waste of energy. And Caleb didn’t have energy to waste. He needed to muster all the strength he had to make his way back to the farmstead. Back to where Margo a...

Read story

“Daughters of Drought” by Caitlin Van Buskirk

Submitted to Contest #233

It’s been 28 days since our last rain. I know because I’ve counted on my yellowed old calendar. I know because the last storm was something out of a dream. I almost thought it was a dream. It may as well be one now. This last rain, it was one of those storms that rolls in with hours of rumbling warnings, a show that starts like the orchestra of an opera warming up before the first act– a stroke of string that will inevitably send itself into an overture. I heard it first, echoing thunder, around five in the evening, then I smelt ...

Read story

“Hostage Haircut” by Doug Eliot

Submitted to Contest #233

Dry January, a month-long feat to be sober, officially launched as a campaign in 2013 under the organization Alcohol Change UK. Guess I was way ahead of my time as “Dry Jan” started for me forty-two years earlier in 1981. See I grew up in Cincinnati, and my best friend was a fast-talking, wise-cracking, athletic kid named Larry “Pizza Face” Fox, given the moniker “Pizza Face” for his insane love of pizza and his youthful face spotted with countless red tinted freckles. We graduated from Walnut Hills High School in June of 1978 and that au...

Read story

“Dry January” by Rebecca Miller

Submitted to Contest #233

I miss the night. It belongs to them now. I miss looking at the stars with Dad and him pointing out different constellations. I miss the way the night air kisses the skin in that sweet, delicious way daylight just can’t. The world has changed so much since the vampires took over. They rule the night, and we, the remnants of humanity, are forced to huddle in bunkers when the sun goes down. Today, though, I’ve decided to defy the curfew. The longing for the stars, the memories of those nights with Dad, have become too overwhelming. I sne...

Read story

“Abstinence” by D.J. Bogner

Submitted to Contest #233

Under a beautiful, cloudless sky, two lifelong friends gazed across a glorious vista of grasslands and valleys. A majestic, snow-covered mountain range climbed the sky in the distance. They swatted at a few flies that tried to spoil the day. “I’m going to give up meat, Rick. My version of Dry January.”“You’re telling me this now?”“I’ve been thinking it over for a long time. I wasn’t sure. Now I’m sure.”“Well, that’s ridiculous, Lenny.”“Not really. There are plenty of other things that will sustain me.”“None of them well enough. And I do...

Read story

“Resurrection Rocky” by David Cropley

Submitted to Contest #233

I don’t remember when I first arrived in Narembeen, Western Australia. My assumption is that I was born here, but with my parents now gone, there’s nobody who can confirm this. I live alone, you see, a little out of town. Always have and probably always will.Narembeen is a decent spot. Nestled in the “Wheatbelt” of this massive state, the countryside is typical of many agricultural regions, not just in Western Australia, but also further East, on the other side of the Great Victoria Desert and the appropriately named Nullarbor Plain. Endless...

Read story

“I Live To Post” by Debra Demars

Submitted to Contest #233

Every day of my life...now..... for years ....I have posted online. I have spent all day with my nose glued to my smart phone. Coffee in one hand, smart phone in the other. Days have slipped from morning sunshine into night time darkness, with me still curled up on the couch...posting. I have forgotten to eat, because I was too busy posting. I have lost days on end, too busy posting. I bring my smart phone with me everywhere I go. I bring it with me to restaurants, family get togethers, grocery stores, conv...

Read story

“Tea with Honey & Lemon” by Nicole Mancuso

Submitted to Contest #233

I used to think I deserved it – I’d convinced myself, really. Mornings were for coffee: a dash of cream and that warm, sunrise hug filling my favorite cup. That has always been enough for me at 6 AM. Watching the pink sky give way to blue, hearing my boys yawn and sneak out of their beds, all with perfect mental clarity. Work, school, afternoon obligations have always been happily saturated in water or a cup of lemon tea. It was evenings that called for something stronger. Like clockwork, from Monday to Friday, I’d step over th...

Read story

“Only So Many Times” by Kyle Nilsen

Submitted to Contest #233

I can’t stop moving. My body wont let me. My hands grip the bed covers as my legs do a pedaling type movement. I’m freezing yet sweat has covered most of the sheets. My eyes are closed and I see things. Terrible things. Call them demons, monsters, whatever sick, strange, unimaginable things, I see them. Can’t very much keep my eyes open as I’m so very dizzy. My head is light and I feel I am on the cusp of a seizure. Never had one before. By the grace of God only, I would imagine. I’m moaning and repeating ‘’No….please God, no. Make it go awa...

Read story

“Thinking About Christina” by Camil Allal

Submitted to Contest #233

1/01/24They say talking positively to your water would have uplifting results on your mood. It only made me lift my finger up as I managed to find Christina yesterday and had my very last puff of Ice at eleven fifty-eight. Therefore I kept my promise to stop using substances, as a new resolution this year. Today, I've kept thinking about how life will be fun without drugs. I'm bored, the food is subpar, and it reflects on my bitter self now. Curse my life. I wish I had never started it, yet I miss it already. Time is crawling. I want and nee...

Read story

“CLOVER'S CHALLENGE” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #233

Clover's Diary Entry One It's the beginning of a new month, a new year. With a new year comes new goals and new challenges. For my first challenge this month I've decided to complete a 3 mile run each day. I know this is crazy. I also know I can do this. This year is all about doing something new. Something I've never done before. Which is why this challenge is leading me to something bigger. I want to see how this month goes and if all goes well then, I will continue to do this challenge until I reach my ultimate challenge. Okay, so I s...

Read story

“Diary of me dumping Sugar” by Hope Linter

Submitted to Contest #233

January 1, 2024 Dear Diary. My New Year’s Resolution is to give up sugar for a month. I thought I had eaten all the Christmas chocolates and sweets, and the boxes of Purdy’s chocolate I’d bought as extra gifts just in case, but today I found a box I’d put for safekeeping in the closet behind the linens on the third shelf. (The boys can’t reach up there yet!) I meant to give them to my sister when we visited her today, and I had them in a bag by the front door, but Bonbon, the terrier rescue, we gave our five year old son, Jamie for Christma...

Read story

“My Resolute Resolve” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #233

Caution. This story is about an alcoholic and her struggles.Exactly when it began in 2023, I can't remember. My dear wee cat Socks went missing on October 5th. This happened first.I posted pictures and details around the neighborhood for someone to contact me if they found him dead or alive. No one replied or knew anything. I coped well at the time, but after several weeks of waiting for him to turn up, I accepted that he couldn't, or wouldn't, be coming home.I missed him. I gave away his non-perishable food to neighbors who have cats. Maybe...

Read story

“30 Days of Something” by S. M. Lewis

Submitted to Contest #233

Day 1: January 1stHere we go. I don't really know what to do here. Is the date formatted right? I guess it doesn't matter. The whole point of a diary is that it's mine to format... Ugh, but that's gonna bother me. Hold on.Monday, January 1st, 2024Dear Diary, Test 2. How does this look? Yeah, no. What am I, in college again? And why am I writing all this out?Day 1Hi. Drew and Shelly gave this to me for Christmas as a way to get me to pursue the whole writing thing. They were all like, "Oh, Miriam, if you don't do it now, you never will." I me...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

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 ⭢