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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

“Analogy Schamology - A Sobriety Play in Three Acts” by 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.“...

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“Ronny's Retreat” by 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...

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“Love, True Story” by 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 ...

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“American Mythology” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #233

I was ten years old when I ran away to join the circus. The lady who worked from the state came and explained to me what was going to happen to me after my mother died giving birth to my brother Abel. My father had gone north to Alaska to find work, but we hadn’t heard from him in almost a year. “Martin Landover.” She addressed me with a smile, “You will be placed at Harper’s Home for Boys. I have a flier for you to look at.” She placed the glossy brochure in front of me. I glanced at it. It had pictures of bo...

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“The Whatever Thing” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #233

Jan 1, oops, the 2nd, Too hungover on the 1st, lol!Oh my! What a big blank piece of paper I have here when I could be using that leather-covered expensive whatever thing that Grandma gave me. Where did that thing go? I last saw it under all the Xmas wrapping and kicked over to the side. Did it end up under the couch that Mom later threw out? If so, it is strictly AWOL, and of course, I will promise to transfer everything I am writing here into it, or it will break Grandma’s heart. How many times has Grandma had her heart broken? Darned if I ...

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“30 Days Are Not Enough” by Luna Lin

Submitted to Contest #233

Day 1 A friend once told me that keeping a gratitude journal for a month helped her write her pain away, so I decided to try it. I am not really sure how journaling works nor do I know what to be grateful for everyday for 30 days, but if it worked for my friend, it should work for me. I want to be able to write my pain away too. Let’s see… Today, I am grateful for the driver who let me pass in the crazy peak morning traffic. This seldom happens in Singapore, where people drive like they own the roads and everybody has to give way to them...

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“Love Drought ” by Saniya G

Submitted to Contest #233

She kept hearing Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" in her head. Sparrow broke her leg coming down a set of stairs while walking her dog. She had been talking to this really fun guy right before that and things were heating up when they would chat. Sparrow liked sex but never put out early, in fact she had promised herself that things would be different with this guy. She had rushed in with her last relationship which ended up being more of a "situationship" as the kids liked to call it and kept kicking herself. In fact she had told herself she wa...

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“Bartender or Witch? ” by Jessica Smithgall

Submitted to Contest #233

“I’ll take a glass of your strongest drink, thanks” “It’s a bit early for that, don’t you think?” … “Alright, alright. One moment.” He bounced here and there across the counter picking up this, that and the other. An array of sounds billowed up with each pour, a bubbling, then sizzling, then a crackling followed by the clack of ice being shaken up. Once the glass was full to the brim he slid it swiftly across the long countertop, a practiced and perfected move as it stopped perfectly in front of her. Her fac...

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“Maddux's Wolrd - Volume #01” by M.R. Simon

Submitted to Contest #233

Warning sensitive subjet, murder and blood.After the civil war, all system is on the verge of collapsing, government, health, and education. An old fashion private eye is trying to keep his head screwed on straight. That’s me Maddux Marlow, a 45 year-old ex-cop and ex-college football player, tight end the best position in the game.If you’re looking for a Dick Tracy-like private eye, I’m not your man. Fighting, I can handle it and even say I love it. I always carry my Beretta handgun and am ready to take it out. Wearing a raincoat because it...

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“Where the Monster Played Compliation” by Gale Hemmann

Submitted to Contest #233

This is, sadly, a story that is still being written … This was written as a PSA, a real-life diary over one woman’s use, though not the target customer, of Monster in 2023. This is a compilation as best she can assemble from real-life diary entries!!! She couldn’t expel the monster until it came out in the form of a true story - a speech followed by a broadside. Consider this taped to a bpu Monster Of all the advocacy work in my life, I looked at my forehead in the mirror one day and literally saw an empty “M.” I’m their product – I’d be...

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“Love at the Park” by Mr. Pierre

Submitted to Contest #233

At the largest local park in Hertfordshire, from afar, Sasha sees a muscular man wearing a yellow, silky shorts and wearing a golden necklace that reflects a cheerful smile. As she approaches him, Sasha says, “Hi, I’m Sasha. Lovely to meet you.” Mark says, “Nice to meet you, I’m Mark.” As they shake hands, Mark kisses Sasha on the right side of her face while her eyes shine like a golden glitter on his muscular physique, and Mark says, “Super Sasha.” Then, Sasha laughs and feels encouragingly loved. On the circular path of the park, Mark hol...

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“Beyond the Bottle” by James Moore

Submitted to Contest #233

‘"Because it's right," George says to himself. "Since when have you ever known what's right!?" the voice in George's head retorts. "Since when have you ever been good or right about anything?" "I'm not going to sit here and have another argument with myself," George thinks. It had been three weeks since George gave up drinking. It wasn't bothering him; he had never been a heavy drinker. Not even really a social drinker, just a few drinks on the weekend to mark the end of the working week. That's how George had always seen it: a way to de-str...

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“The Fucking Ugly Truth” by D'Spencer Luyao

Submitted to Contest #233

Trigger Warnings: Alcoholism, substance abuse, implied child neglect, depression, implied trauma, and mental health issues, mention of implied suicide This story is a sequel to I Don't Know What to Tell You, which is on my profile, but can be read on its own :) Evan came out of the tunnel and stepped out into the blinding, blistering light of a hangover, sharp and lucid and ugly. He wanted to turn around and walk back into the darkness, but sleep was gone, and it wouldn’t be...

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“1898 at the Lighthouse - When Dreams Are Calling ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #233

Joseph watched whole tree trunks with roots attached bobbing in the churning sea.He saw the wind-driven waves tossing them so they landed in tangled piles on the sandy beach below the lighthouse. "Later we can gather wood, dry it, and use it for the fires in the warming stoves," he thought.Joseph's knitted cap, layered under another hat, protected his head from the windy rain squalls when they blew in from the ocean."I'm still glad we came here," he thought. "I love living by the sea." The gusts chilled his face. He put his hands in his...

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“A Stray in Need” by Noah Thomas

Submitted to Contest #233

As the drunkard came stumbling into the bar, he grasped at his temple and right leg, wincing. He paused in the doorframe, massaging those areas as his facial expression changed to one of confusion, as though he expected something to be wrong, but found nothing. His attention was caught by the sound of someone clearing their throat, looking up, he saw the bartender staring at him expectantly from behind the bar, some distance away. His brow furrowed with additional confusion as he looked at the building he was in, and the bartender especially...

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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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