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#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 – 48 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 – 36 stories

Stories

Completely Dry

Joanna Brown

Submitted to Contest #233

Joanna heard about dry January as an immigrant in the UK. Making sure to dot her I’s and cross her T’s of making and keeping white friends, she acted like she knew what dry January meant when the “friends” she met at “Uni” swore undying allegiance to this pact for the new year over their third round of sake at Christmas dinner in China Town. Dry January? Joanna’s mind tried to analyze what this meant while maintaining an air of je ne sais quoi, masking the anxiety of fitting in that forever plagued her subconscious by downing the alcohol in ...

14 likes

I.C.B.

Submitted to Contest #233

Marissa scanned the street, her eyes landing on a flashing neon sign - I.C.B. The flat roof and scuffed red door had all the trappings of a dive bar. “Perfect,” she muttered against her scarf. She readjusted her stocking cap as the cold Minneapolis wind blew. She was glad she had kept her cold weather accessories when she moved to southern California. For trips back home like this. Unplanned, last minute, life-altering trips back home. She waited on the corner, willing the crosswalk signal to change so she could get out of th...

14 likes

Insatiable

Submitted to Contest #233

November 1 Dear Patrick, Today, I abstain. -- November 2 Dear Patrick, Yesterday I slept. I don’t know whether it was the exhaustion, relief, or because it was the only way I could switch my mind off. I didn’t have to think or feel the emptiness inside my body. I can’t even remember if I ate. But it wasn’t just my stomach that felt empty, it was my chest, my throat, and everything but my mind. My mind is the opposite, it’s full of thoughts of satisfying my craving. I can’t write anymore. I think I’ll go back to bed. -- November...

14 likes

Daisy's Vice and Her Delight

Submitted to Contest #233

It seemed to Daisy that she was the absolute worst reader in her class. She had a terrible habit of burning her books. She would sit in class and the teacher would ask about the latest story and Daisy would avert looking at the teacher in the hope’s that she wouldn’t be called. And being called always seemed to be the one thing that Daisy could count on regardless of how much she dreaded it. Oh, how she hated that class and having the teacher ask her about the latest story that she had not read. The first few times s...

14 likes

My Uncle's Beast

Suleiman Buhari

Submitted to Contest #233

My Uncle's Beast. After my grandmother's death, my uncle, consumed with grief, locked himself up in his studio for weeks on end and did nothing but stare at the wall like he was staring into an abyss. Almost like he was trying to get rid of his sadness by projecting it onto the white nothingness of his studio wall. My uncle was especially angry because even on her death bed when she could no longer speak or swallow because the cancer that would eventually kill her had metastasized into a goiter in her throat, my grandmother still had a loo...

14 likes

Dry January

Submitted to Contest #233

I never really believed in participating in dry January. What’s the point? You don’t drink for a month and then come February 1st you're back to your same old self and drinking almost on a daily basis. One month isn’t going to save your liver. I never felt the need to do it until Taylor. Oh Taylor. My best friend- my soulmate. She’s the kind of person that you meet and instantly know that she is going to be in your life forever. Or so I thought. When I got the phone call that she was in the hospital I didn’t expect what I saw. She was 27. I ...

13 likes

History of Religion Final Exam Scenario #4582

Submitted to Contest #233

October 8th, 1531 Professor Schneider was right, and trying to talk her off Henry was a complete waste of time, and now I’ve blown a whole week. I don’t know what I was thinking--it’s not like she had any say in the matter! I’ve enacted Scenario Beta and moved myself forward to the early days of her exile, and now I’m going to do a hard push for the nunnery. Even if I can’t get her in by the end of the month, I think I can get the ball rolling enough that she ends up there before 1533, and then I can still win. Additionally, María is driving...

13 likes

My New Pair of Glasses

Submitted to Contest #233

Disclaimer: According to the 11th Tradition, "[Alcoholics Anonymous'] public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion." As discussed in this story, AA is for narrative purposes only. This story contains pertinent profanity. *** December 31 I am about to do something incredibly stupid. I am about to quit cold turkey. This is incredibly stupid because I have been drunk for over a year, and I have been a drunk since I started high school, and everyone knows the dangers of quitting without detox for the chronically imp...

13 likes

My Oasis

Kwame MA McPherson

Submitted to Contest #233

My mouth had been dry, and I couldn’t tell when last I’d a tipple. In fact, a long time ago, all the bartenders in all the bars along the strip knew who I was. They knew me so much that even a drink was named after me: Top Me Up, a mixture of rum, coke, orange juice with a splash of gin and a lemon wedge on the glass’s rim. Talk about blowing one’s head off. My concoction was something I’d been introduced to while away. I’d made all the bars notorious because of that one drink and partygoers from far and wide would visit the strip and ask fo...

13 likes

After Hours

Beth Hatton

Submitted to Contest #233

"Dr. Pepper." "Okay, what size?" I asked. "Large?" ".... We're coming up on 9PM, don't you think it's a bit late for that much caffeine? How about apple juice? Smoothie?" Will paused, and with a mildly put-out expression, "a mango smoothie." "Alright, here's your number. Try to keep them focused, hm?" Will nodded and took "14" off the counter, returning to the booth in the corner where his friends were goofing off. Will was one of the more "mature" ones. Even though he was rough around the edges like the rest of them, he'd learned the value ...

13 likes

A Month of Clarity: Navigating the Landscape of Dry January

Angela Moore

Submitted to Contest #233

Entry 1: January 1 Dear Diary, The first day of the new year dawns with a quiet resolve, and I stand at the threshold of a transformative journey—Dry January. The decision to abstain from my long-time companion, alcohol, arises from a deep yearning for change, for a clarity that has been obscured by the familiar haze of intoxication. Tonight, as the clock strikes midnight, I make a solemn commitment to forgo the customary glass of wine, choosing sobriety in the hope that it will reveal a new perspective on life. Reflecting on the moments t...

13 likes

Cosmic Thirst

Submitted to Contest #233

Sensitivity warning: Violence and Alcohol. As the only Irishman this far into the deep reaches of spa- no wait. As the only human this far into the deep reaches of space, I found myself rather parched. Not just “Oh I wouldn’t mind a glass of water, thanks.” I mean thirsty, and a thirst for the good stuff, too! No water could quench this thirst, no sir. I had been traveling for something like fifteen light-years or so after a deep space research mission had gone wrong. Just me on my own, well me and my ship, the Icarus 28-B and it’s AI. We ...

13 likes

Analogy Schamology - A Sobriety Play in Three Acts

Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #233

964 Boston Post RoadWinding my way through the suburban streets of Rye New York on the back of my DoorDash moped, I reach the Methodist church on Boston Post Road. I've been delivering pizzas to the alcoholics there on Friday nights and know the route well. Today is a Tuesday.Outside their meeting room, a poster on the wall features a lighthouse with the message: Sobriety is a journey, not a destination. For years, alcohol has been a heavy anchor around my neck, and it's time for a change. I take the first step into their meeting room.“...

12 likes

Ronny's Retreat

Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #233

“You are so full of crap, Ronny”, said Mad Max, “You ain’t no different from the rest of us. Fact is, you’re muddle-minded, and full of shit about what coulda, woulda, shoulda been”. Mad Max stamped his feet, flicked his cigarette into Station Road gutter. “Couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t”, chimed in Squidward, “I could tell you a thing or two about the things that I didn’t do”. Squidward rocked his giant bulk back and forth on the park bench, always in motion, never eating in public; it was a mystery to the other tenants how he sta...

12 likes

Love, True Story

Stephen Laviera

Submitted to Contest #233

The train ride back to East Village was a blur. Unconsciously my feet were doing the guiding. I lit a smoke a few feet from the door to the building. Concentrating on my breath in between hits from the fumo. Fumbling around in my pocket for my keys. Zonked out going through motions. Aware of my being emotionally drained. Not even completely inside the door and my phone starts blowing up. “Can’t this day end, I'm about to tap out.” I murmured under my breath. Backing out of the doorway. Onto the sidewalk looking ...

12 likes

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Contest #234

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

227

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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