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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#25: Resolutions

Did you know that the ancient Babylonians are reported to have been the first people to make New Year's resolutions? In March, when the crops were planted, a 12-day festival known as Akitu took place. During the festival, the Babylonians made promises to their gods, and believed that if they kept to their word, they would be bestowed good favor in the coming year.

This would have been about 4,000 years ago, and while the format may be different, New Year's resolutions are still going strong!

This week's prompts all revolve around resolutions. Oh, and for that last prompt, check out this blog post for some of the most popular self-help books to inspire you.

This week's prompts

Write a short story about someone writing Valentine's Day wishes.

Valentine's Day – 49 stories

Write a short story about someone reflecting on their previous year's resolutions.

Holiday – 33 stories

Write a short story about someone who refuses to write New Year's resolutions.

Winter – 37 stories

Write a short story about someone accomplishing one of their resolutions.

Holiday – 54 stories

Write a short story about someone in the self-help aisle of a bookstore. What book do they pick up?

Short Story – 90 stories

Stories

“Word Salad” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #25

The words were broken.No fix seemed possible. No telling who to tell. Who would care?Reggie couldn’t ask. What would he say? That knives have a point? That cold steel is theft? The words didn’t work, like a broken clock on its face, hands down. He was numb to the numbers.The words were broken. Nothing but shards.Out of reach, his feelings were... Untouchable. They made no sense at all. Could they be dead? They had no smell.He felt condemned. Left hanging. When would this sentence end? Full stop.Reggie awoke in darkness in New Year. Where did...

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“Creation” by Marte Van Der Linden

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #25

He had spent too much time recently thinking about dark matter. How long had it been since he had done something strange, something creative that would twist and turn and blossom and grow? If he carried on like this, he’d burn himself out and disappear. A flash of light, a burst of heat, and then nothing. Like a spark rising from a bonfire.As a student he had crackled with energy. He had spent his days bouncing off the walls and reading everything he could get his hands on. Hardly an hour went by without him learning something new. He had wr...

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“Can you help me?” by Mia Hunter

Submitted to Contest #25

“Martin, can you clean table 4?” Ms. Lucious, the librarian of St. Joseph, ordered in a stern voice.“Yes ma’am” Martin replied and started piling the books on top of each other. Science encyclopedias, nat geo magazines, reader’s digest; all brainy books at one spot!Martin picked up the lot, his back straining a bit. He was born under a weak star and was a far cry in comparison to the athletic, energetic boys of his class. Walking slowly to the ‘Education’ section of the library, Martin tried his best to look at his feet from below the pile o...

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“Woah! Tell Me How to Say No to This (not a Hamilton fanfic)” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #25

“Ahhhhhhhhh…” A girl around age eighteen sang to herself. “Ahhh…hmmmmm… oh yeah, those are words all right.” She pinched the spine of a book and dangled it in the air. “Not thought I know what any of them mean…” “Do you need any help, ma’am?” I asked while leaning against a crooked bookshelf. “No, I’m quite fine. You don’t need to worry about me.” She accidentally dropped the book. “Oh, nuts!” She cried as she fell to the floor it get it. Her body banged against the bookshelf, knocking the column off-balance. “Hey!” I exclaimed as the book s...

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“Resolution” by Lee Kull

Submitted to Contest #25

The Pacific Ocean. The words conjured visions of palm trees and summer breeze, sunny islands and suntans in my head. I closed my eyes tighter, trying to hold together the fragments of my happy delusions as they gradually shattered. I pried my eyes open, and stared out into the dark. The dark stared back into me. A tremor quaked my frail body, running its way up and down my spine, and I pulled the tattered life vest closer, sucking from it all the warmth it could provide, insubstantial though it was. A small wave broke over the lifeboat’s bow...

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“Created To Be” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #25

Who am I? Who am I when no one is watching? Who am I, really? The question was always there, but this was the only place she would let herself think it. She was deep between a set of bookshelves filled with unread knowledge, under a high ceiling that allowed the imagination to soar, lit by impossibly tall windows and huge chandeliers. She loved it here. Books could make it feel like someone understood. She picked out an unabridged version of the classic Little Women and settled down i...

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“The helped, the helper, and the help” by Kari Hyp

Submitted to Contest #25

Of course, those you help others have either been: a) those who are just plain NICE; always having that copy-and-paste smile slapped across their faces, b) those whom hate the idea of “not being polite” so they can get their special brownie “points” also known as their parents, spouses, friends, teachers YOU name it! And of course, category c) those who have been helped and don’t necessarily want to help, but they just DO it. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression about ...

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“How To Tell Her "I Love You"” by Lee Kull

Submitted to Contest #25

"Well hello, Oscar, it’s nice to see you again," the young lady behind the bookstore counter blushed. "How have you been?" "I’ve been okay. I missed you, Sue… I mean, you know, seeing you here." He paused awkwardly and adjusted his glasses, a nervous habit of his. "I guess you didn’t know that I wrote a book." Her face lit up. "Oh, so that’s what you’ve been doing lately! That’s amazing, Oscar. You never mentioned you were writing one. What is it, a novel?" His awkwardness slowly melting, he quickly replied, "It’s a self-help book, actually....

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“Be You, Be New” by Whitney Trang

Submitted to Contest #25

Kirsty couldn’t believe it. She had found the book that would change her life: Be You, Be New. The front cover had a large ornate mirror with a golden background. The book’s title was written in the center of the mirror in a large, solid white font. Kirsty picked it up and turned it around to read the synopsis on the back cover. Ready to turn your life around? This book will teach you all the tools you need to live the life you’ve always wanted. The best part? You don’t have to be anything but y...

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“A Pink Jacket and A Small Hat” by Natalie Frank

Submitted to Contest #25

The bookstore was dark, covered in a thin veil of dust. She coughed as quiet as she could, allowing her thin jacket to shroud her face as she coughed again. A clerk looked up, disinterested, and continued to read her book. CLEOPATRA (and other Egyption romance stories), the title read. Coco coughed again, louder this time. “May I help you?” The clerk tried, plastering a fake smile on her face. “Yes, actually, you can. I was wondering if you could point me in the romance section,” Coco asked with a British voice that echoed around the empty b...

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“Hopeless” by Mitra S

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #25

It has been two weeks and I still feel completely devastated. I sit motionless for hours. I can’t eat. This wasn’t my intended diet plan, but I have lost ten pounds. And now I look at myself in the mirror and I am shocked that I hate the thinner me. I wish I could cry but I don’t have the energy for it. I haven’t told anyone about this. I go to work as usual. I sit behind my desk and pretend to be busy, but I don’t do much. My parents called and I ignored it. My mother will be so disappointed when she hears about this. She will even cry...

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“Where the Lost Things Go” by Alaina Logan

Submitted to Contest #25

“George, pick your coat up out of the aisle.” “Cecilia, your book is not a stool; please don’t stand on it!” “Can I help you find anything, Mr. Henry?” “Doing well, Cheryl?” It was my job, as a librarian, to make sure the library was in shape. Politeness and respect for others encouraged them to come to the library. Asking the children to fix things that they were doing wrong kept our library clean. While none of these things were my favorite things, however, I still did them well. My most favorite thing was sorting books. Not shelving them,...

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“Hunting Jack” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #25

Constable Harry Thomson kissed his wife Eliza passionately as Big Ben chimed midnight. New Year’s Eve 1888 had just become New Year’s Day 1889. London was awash with fear as the one known as Leather Apron was still on the loose. There was high public demand that the mysterious killer be caught and all the Bobbies dressed in blue dreamed of being the one to truncheon the phantom of Whitechapel and show him the noose at dawn. New Year’s Eve was too big a deal to keep folks away though. Regardless of the fear shared by all London’s hotspots wer...

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“Courage to Heal” by Jasmine Shouse

Submitted to Contest #25

No matter how difficult the day, there was always peace to be found among the aromatic stacks of books.Andrea took another steadying breath as she paused by the small table at the front of the store, momentarily distracted by the stack of new releases. Her fingers trailed over the glossy embossed cover of the latest Patterson release but resisted the temptation. She was about to move on when a Tom Clancy novel caught her eye. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she remembered a few of her co-workers raving about the latest gam...

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“Failure to Thrive” by Deborah Landers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #25

Winnie's list of New Year's Resolutions was a series of strikes, ranging from tight and controlled to desperate scribbling.Get more exercise. A thick, decisive line in black ink.There were too many people in the gym. The whole point of getting up so early in the morning was to avoid people at the gym. Instead, Winnie had apparently discovered the golden hour for the gym rats. It wasn't packed. She knew she could just as easily slide in next to these people, but there were more eyes than she'd been prepared to deal with.She gripped her gym ba...

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$50

Prize money

263

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 24, 2020 EST

Won by Emily Sperber 🏆

Title: 10 Things To Do Instead of Writing New Year's Resolutions

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.

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