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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#261: Gratitude

Unfortunately, it's true what they say — all good things must come to an end! Today marks my last Friday at Reedsy, and my last week as the host of Prompts.

Before I get into this week's contest, I'd like to take a moment to thank this wonderful community, for sharing your creativity and enthusiasm with me over the past few years. I have been truly moved and inspired by your entries, and am consistently amazed by the talented, prolific writers who make up Prompts. It doesn't escape me how lucky I am to have read and enjoyed thousands of your stories, and to have been given a glimpse into the worlds of so many authors. It's been a great privilege.

With that in mind, this week's contest is all about gratitude. Whether your characters are thankful for a gift, a person, or a change in circumstance, I hope they find a way to express it.

You'll meet your wonderful new Prompts host Isabella next Friday; but for now, all that's left to say is — thank you!

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character trying to find a way to express their gratitude to someone.

Character – 62 stories

Write a creative nonfiction piece about something you're grateful for.

Nonfiction – 69 stories

Write a story about a cynic who has been told to start a "gratitude journal," and does so — begrudgingly.

Funny – 55 stories

Write a story about an unsung hero.

Character – 53 stories

Write a story in the form of a series of thank you cards.

Narrative – 64 stories

Stories

“Beauy Ohy Ohy Oh” by Holly Witte

Submitted to Contest #261

We found Beau in the early afternoon in Fayetteville, North Carolina when we were driving back to New York from Florida. We didn’t so much as find him as we had to swerve our car when the one ahead of us threw him out without stopping. The three of us, my husband, his teenage daughter, and I got to the pile in the road without knowing if he was dead or alive. He was in the gravel in a shallow ditch, very still, but managed to move his head and look up at us. We were relieved that he didn’t seem to be injured a...

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“The Best Kisser Ever” by Nancy Graham Holm

Submitted to Contest #261

Before public transportation, Los Angeles was a sprawling collection of self-contained neighborhoods connected by freeways where residents couldn't exist without automobiles. Teenagers got their driver's license at sixteen and access to a car as soon as possible, which was crucial for survival because automobiles were more than transportation. Cars were private spaces where teenagers learned about sex through the ritual of parking, a euphemism for sexual foreplay. Parking also meant experiencing the sound of crickets, the musical insects in...

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“Grateful to the Rector” by George Wallace

Submitted to Contest #261

My life at school was not good. I got into all sorts of trouble. I failed my eleven-plus and ended up at Tayport Secondary School. That was supposed to be the pits. But I actually had quite a good time. I came second in my class. But the discovery in primary school I couldn’t see, and wearing glasses as a result, helped me write everything down correctly.Tayport School shut after a year and I went to Bell Baxter in Cupar. I did okay, but not great. Dr Maclaren called for a meeting with me and my parents at the end of the third year. I was to...

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“The Pacemaker Blues” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #261

I would rather die than have a pacemaker! That was my reaction when it became a possibility. Forty years as a marathoner and triathlete and I could possibly have a heart issue? No way! I had no family history, ate well and exercised more than most people on earth. The possibility just did not compute. It all started during my Sunday mile swim when I couldn’t catch my breath after two laps and almost passed out on the fourth. It had to be a fluke. Maybe I was overtraining. In any case, I slowed my pace and finished the mile. ...

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“Cards on the Ring” by Elena Ivachtchenko

Submitted to Contest #261

If I wrote any Thank You cards for something special, beautiful, interesting, important whatever event in my life, I would clip each paper on the small ring. The one we use on the key chain. All small rings I will connect to the bigger ring to hold them all. It will allow me to move from one note to another when I want to read a note. Each note will represent one year. As many small rings are on the big ring as many years pass. When small segments stop fitting on the big connector I will start chain small rings up from one to another. It wil...

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“Broken” by Robin Owens

Submitted to Contest #261

This is a true story, as told by three familiar characters. ADRENALINE: She’s holding her seven-year-old daughter’s hand as they walk to the grey Volvo in the parking lot of cheer camp Thursday afternoon. Mom stops when she sees the shattered glass of the passenger window. Confusion tries to take hold, as Mom’s eyes process whose car this is, who this could be happening to. Her daughter screams. I knock Confusion to the side and fly into place, planting myself firmly within Mom. Her muscles tense. Her blood pumps furiously through her veins...

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“The Gratitude Journal” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #261

“It’s like this doc. I have lost all my former friends, and my family has pretty much abandoned me, and nobody talks to me at work unless it is strictly necessary for business. They call me lacking in gratitude, saying that they cannot remember a time when I said ‘thank you’ to any one of them. I know that I have to change my ways, but I do not have a clue as to how I can do that. I need your help doc. Things have to change drastically in my life, or I will spend the rest of my days alone, very alone.” &nb...

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“She made me do it” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #261

The therapist appointed to me by Human Resources told me I should be able to deal more healthily with my feelings, and I told her she might have better conditions than me to think that's remotely possible. She told me as well I should write how I feel in a journal because that's supposed to help me cope with my demons. Apparently, she has not learned yet that my demons have human form and walk the corridors of my office and the rooms in my house. I'm surrounded and damned, but she does not see it that way. According to that intelligent woman...

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“Moms” by Renee Yancey

Submitted to Contest #261

You wouldn't know it to look at her, hair unbrushed, pulled up in a messy bun. Her clothes are several years old and covered in baby spit up and other unknown stains. Her eyes are fierce with love and heavy with fatigue. She wears no cape, isn't called by a light in the sky but by a baby’s middle of the night cry or a teenager ‘s phone call. No, you wouldn't know it to look at her, but she is a hero. To the newborn on her chest, looking at her with eyes full of love and wonder, she is everything. To the toddler, curled on her lap, exha...

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“They Walk Amongst Us” by Bob Leask

Submitted to Contest #261

Summer was just around the corner, and this late spring Sunday started off magnificently. Warm, sunny, and a gentle easterly breeze wafting out over the calm, Indian ocean. However, to a trained eye, a closer look at the red sky foretold of bad weather on the way. There was an old saying, "red sky in the morning, sailors warning, red sky at night, sailors delight." Back in the 1970s I did some moonlighting as a deckhand on a crayfishing boat. I had a standing invitation and would go out as often as I could, weekends, public holida...

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“Arnold's Guardian Angel” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #261

I set the last dog of my evening into the recovery cage, on the thin yellow blanket, I prepared specifically for him. The animal was still relatively lifeless, but that would change within the hour. The anesthesia would wear off, the dog would be groggy for an hour or two, opening his eyes for a moment before closing them again, but should be back to his happy dog self in less than a day. Someone, in the last twenty-four hours, had named the gray and black wired hair terrier, Arnold. I didn’t feel that the name...

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“A Hero for a Hero” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #261

Prompt: Write a story about some unsung hero. A Hero for a Hero “This is 911. What is your emergency?” And the litany of questions begins to pour though the earphone. “Tell me exactly what is happening now? What is the address of the emergency? Are you safe? Is this the number you are calling from? The voice over the phone extends a calming, soothing tone. After a deep breath, the caller responds with the important information. The operator says “Help is soon on the way.” Most of us are old ...

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“Retaliate!” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #261

“It’s getting tense here. All trade with Argon has been cut off, and we have curfews now,” Willa Wisely says, her ordinarily placid features reflecting her concern. “How are the girls holding up?” Ryan asks his wife. Willa brushes her hair back. She always does that when she’s nervous. “They’re scared. They want their father to come home safe.” “My tour of duty is almost over. Tell them I’ll be home soon,” Ryan replies, adjusting the clarity of the video screen. “But what if...” “Soon, Willa.” Willa squints. “By the way, I’m not too fond o...

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“Lenny” by Kelly Leong

Submitted to Contest #261

Lenny took another swipe of his mop on the speckled off-white hallway floor. Dirty shoeprints adorned the floor, courtesy of Louisiana's rainy weather and the boy's football team. In the distance, he could hear the boys jostling each other and their rambunctious chatter. He remembered when he was at that age, he was a wide receiver on his own high school's football team. He enjoyed the thrill of running as fast as he could to catch the ball from the quarterback, and then running routes past the defense. He could almost hear the rush of the w...

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“What the Student Said” by Burton Sage

Submitted to Contest #261

What the Student SaidbyBurt Sage “Good evening, and welcome to It’s Your Turn, the program celebrating local community members in the greater Rochester metropolitan area. I’m your host, Alice Carpenter. Tonight we’re speaking with Dr. Jason Evans, the recipient of Monroe County’s Educator of the Year award. Thank you, Dr. Evans, for taking the time to speak with us.” “You’re welcome, Alice,” Dr. Evans said. “I want to thank you and radio station WHAM for giving me this opportunity to express my gratitude to the students of West High School...

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$250

Prize money

303

Contest entries

97

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 02, 2024 EST

Won by Sandrine Hu 🏆

Title: Dear Aunt Beth

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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