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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#28: Narratively Takeover

This week is a special edition of the Reedsy Prompts contest because our friends at Narratively are taking it over with their own theme and prompts! We'll let them take it from here...

Narratively is a media platform that celebrates the diversity of humanity through authentic storytelling. At Narratively, we know that truth is sometimes stranger (and more interesting!) than fiction, so we’re switching things up this week and asking for your TRUE stories. For this week’s prompts, we’re looking for your very best creative nonfiction — the fascinating true story that only you can tell, the one incredible tale you just have to share with the world.

We like stories that surprise and delight us, and that are full of dramatic, active scenes with lots of colorful moments.

To that end, each of our prompts for this week takes on an issue that never goes out of style… love.

The winning story will be considered for publication on Narratively.

This week's prompts

Write about someone (or something) you loved that you shouldn’t have.

Nonfiction – 90 stories

Write about a date that was so terrible you’ll never forget it.

Nonfiction – 46 stories

Write about your most unique experience at, or in, a wedding.

Nonfiction – 34 stories

Write about a time when a broken heart led to something you’d never have expected.

Nonfiction – 58 stories

Write about a secret that you’ve never told to the person you love.

Nonfiction – 41 stories

Stories

“Wishing for Me and You” by Madyson Wong

Submitted to Contest #28

Dear You, I don’t know why it happened. It shouldn’t have. I tried not to let it happen. I didn’t want for us to get this way. Before, when you tried, I told you… no. And why? I’ll never know. And it happened. I hate you for it. At the same time, I can’t hate you. It’s almost physically impossible for me to despise you, hold a grudge, and get you off my mind. I know I said I hate you, but I don’t mean it. Maybe you can tell by now. I think my friends can also tell. That’s the ridiculous part. I say that I hate you so ...

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“The Color of Love” by Kim Smyth

Submitted to Contest #28

The Color of LoveThe day I left my parent’s home to strike out on my own, I never expected a life-changing encounter like the one that happened to me. I had been raised to love everyone, and to me, that meant regardless of race, color, or creed. Not to infer that I set out to find a man that my parents would so vehemently oppose, it just happened that way.Firstly, everything about my short time in the military was a struggle. I had to fight to get into the Army due to my gender and size, I fought every day to overcome issues like simply marc...

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“Misleading Mr. Right.” by Leah Pryor

Submitted to Contest #28

Luke was special. He was special in the way a good book and comfy pajamas are special because that's how he made me feel. Comfortable. He was also incredibly good looking. A light-skinned Latino with sky blue eyes and thick black hair. He had the kind of smile that thawed my cheeks quicker and was sweeter than Hot Cocoa dolloped with Reddi Whip and sprinkled with cinnamon. His touch was soft and gentle. The touch of youth in the prime of existence. His hands were smooth as silk. His well-manicured nails rested on fingers that traced the line...

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“The past is in the past” by Serena Rose

Submitted to Contest #28

Giving your heart to another person is hard enough. Finding out you gave it to the wrong person... well, it’s like breaking your heart all over again. Maybe worse. Tears tear your heart to pieces, and you keep your heart on lockdown, fearing the pain of another heartbreak. Your heart aches for anothers’ love, anothers’ touch and yet it quivers in fear. When I was 15 years old, I met Bill, whose name has been changed for the sake of this story. He was 20, and I was wary. But he was so kind. Funny. He was sweet and he called me every night. I ...

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“Sitting in a Dark Parking Lot” by John Folding

Submitted to Contest #28

More often than not I miss them. My old friends. One friend in particular who was more than that. He was unlike anyone I have ever met. His life was completely his own, and he spent most of it in his beat-up red truck. I would stumble upon it walking across the school grounds long after they had closed, or driving through town. If I had to I would walk on, waving if I thought he'd see me. When I could I would tap on the window, jump in if he'd let me. I was happy then, and alive. Knowing we could be whatever we wanted to be. Whoever we wante...

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“Of Rats and Raccoons” by Susan Singer

Submitted to Contest #28

When my first husband moved out, it was rats that came to call. First, there were some dying under the house and raising a stink. Because we still had young children together, I had no compunction about calling him to come deal with it. A few months later, when the kids were in bed and I was on the phone with a friend, I heard skittering across the rafters in the basement. I ignored it. Then I heard a heavy thump in the bathroom wall. Something had fallen between the drywall in the bathroom and the plywood in the laundry room. I defini...

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“Obsolete” by Noemi Corbeil

Submitted to Contest #28

I wished for the release, but it never came. Numbed and buried beneath the icy waves. Walked amognst them, tall and proud. A corner of my heart remains the same. A corner is all that is left in her love of you. I don't, but my heart forever will. I don't need your touch, but I crave the roaring in my ear, of the shivers down my spine when my name leaves your lips. I am wrong in every way, especially for you. I can see in it your gaze and even when you look away. I can't help but dream, dream into my endless nights of a light that never shone...

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“Who would've thought?” by Heavenly Torres

Submitted to Contest #28

"Love is the feeling where the world freezes the moment you see that one person. Everyone is in the room, but somehow, you can only see them". That's the definition of love, at least to me. In some cases, love is a beautiful feeling, it can make you the happiest person ever. In other cases, love is blinding, and very confusing. You don't understand what's going on, you just know you want to be here in this moment with that one person ( It's okay if their name pops up in your head out of nowhere while reading this, it's normal). You fee...

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“A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be” by Emma Race

Submitted to Contest #28

It was the 2018 Fourth of July firework show held at the local high school where we met. You were wearing a white crop top with cutoff jean shorts and your auburn hair was tied into a high ponytail. You were holding hands with one of my best friends. She stopped to introduce you to me. “This is my girlfriend, Viv. We met at 4H counselor training in March. She just moved up here a couple years ago and is going to start coming to public school with us. I’m so excited for her to meet everyone else!” I smile back at Emma and her new girlfri...

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“Unloving Miskates” by Marlene Velez

Submitted to Contest #28

We learn from our mistakes. That's a motivational quote that we often hear. While I do find it inspiring and true, I haven't always put it into practice in my own life. David and I met our sophomore year of high school. We became fast friends, and within a short amount of time, we became a couple. The first few months were pure bliss. In a sudden turn of events, his parents found out that we were dating, and they forced us to break up! His parents threatened to change David to a different school if we kept dating. So there I was, at age 16, ...

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“Christmas Break Suspension” by Robyn Welborne

Submitted to Contest #28

This story dates to my high school days when I was a Junior. I wouldn’t overdo myself, saying that I was the “good girl”, but I did tend to keep to myself when possible. I wasn’t a popular girl, nor was I the smartest. I never had a thing for love. Everyone else fell hard for the infatuation in the air. Almost every girl in my class had some type of boyfriend or partner. I was one of the few that still prided themselves in being single. Like every teenage girl, I did enjoy my fair share of petty drama and gossip—if it didn’t evolve me. ...

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“I Wanted Her” by Chass Postert

Submitted to Contest #28

I wanted her; it was as simple as that. I met Trish at a bar one late October night; she was the bartender and a friend of my aunt’s. From the moment I saw her, with her shoulder length dark hair, fair skin, and deep chocolate eyes, I knew I had to have her. She wasn’t traditionally beautiful, but I was struck by her. When she spoke to me, all I heard was a choir of angels singing. She had to lean in close to be heard over the music and her scent was intoxicating. When she smiled, night became day. And her eyes, dancing wi...

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“Post Script” by Heather T

Submitted to Contest #28

Lately, I’ve seen heartbreak as something that’s inescapable from life. In one way or another, we’re hit with them. The loss of a loved one, a good friend, a beloved pet, a position in life, a dream. Reality hits like a freight truck that tears you off your putt-putt course. Minding our own business, right? But let’s get real: most of the time we’re doing more than just minding our own business. There’s always something. The meeting we’ve got coming up. The appointment we’ve promised to go to. A group activity, a play date, a ...

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“Jason” by Keren Poliah

Submitted to Contest #28

Writers are thieves. We steal from reality to build a fascinating story. With a pint of imagination, we make readers enter our world and sympathise with the characters. We can make you visualise any place or person with the simple use of correct words, thrilling your mind. Jason was such a person in real life. He could make you think or do whatever he wanted, but he was only a thief, not a writer.Jason was a criminal who lived a few blocks away from my house. Almost no one ever saw him, but everyone heard the stories that forged this infamou...

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“The One Boy I Couldn't Have” by Amanda Young

Submitted to Contest #28

A sigh escaped my lips as the brisk autumn air wrapped itself around me. The cold suffocated me like an anaconda to its prey. As if I wasn’t cold enough with my natural body temperature. I looked up at the dull, overcast sky in distaste. It was the first day of my Sophomore year and so far, things were looking bleak. I shook my head of those negative thoughts as I rounded the corner and neared my bus stop. Ahead, I could see two of my best friends. Johnathan and Henry. We’d basically grown up together, so we were close. I saw both of them as...

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$50

Prize money

269

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 14, 2020 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

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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