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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

“For Ryan. ” by Kelly Kicks

Submitted to Contest #28

Since you wanted to know what was bothering me. That night at the concert. I don’t know if i will ever send you this or what, but i just need to get it out somewhere since i can’t say it aloud.My biggest fear is not being good enough.Somehow not being good enough. Or being good enough, but never the best. “How can I be the best?” or “How can I be better?” or even “I’ll never be better so I may as well not even try.”These are things I think about. Exactly how much, I won’t say.This fear manifests itself the most in my romantic relationships. ...

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“How Not to Leave Him Behind” by Becca Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #28

I never told him how much the Gulf of Mexico reminded me of his brilliant blue eyes. I would stand there on the edge of the white sand and stare out into the vast gulf wondering what he would say about my thoughts. Would he agree? The love that accumulated in my heart for that boy was more than enough to drown me when I realized I would never see him again. My insides were heavy every mile I drove away, only to completely fall apart the second I reached my destination in Clearw...

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“Life changing moments” by Shwetha B

Submitted to Contest #28

Life has a special way of teaching us to realize that we need to feel grateful for what we have. It was a chilly December morning when I got the call. I partly opened my eyes to see the caller ID. It was him. I was smiling to myself internally as I picked up the call and mumbled over the phone chirpily. He had a serious tone and I could only hear muffled voices. I immediately woke up to his abruptly trembling voice. The call was immediately cut and I tried calling him back but couldn't reach him. I got antsy and was expecting him to call bac...

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“Worst Date in the History of Time” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #28

On my quest for love, my path has, most unfortunately, intersected with an electrifying hoard of men vying for my attention. And by ‘electrifying,’ I mean not-one-bit-electrifying. Many a man I’ve had to throw back into the dating pool so they could swim off. Preferably to some other woman who is not me.Many a man has tried to convince me they were my knight in shining armor, all the while strategically concealing their narcissism, sociopathic tendencies, or straight up bipolar disorder. That and the one with an ex-girlfriend with borderline...

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“The bouquet toss of the century” by Brianna Marshall

Submitted to Contest #28

I am from a large and loving family that is a bit well weird in most people’s eyes but weird is fun. As a quick example, when a photographer asks for us to pull a ‘silly face’ we have to clarify “marshall silly face or normal silly face?”. We all enjoy making each other laugh and goofing off. We are all each other’s best friend. As the second generation of twelve cousins becomes older there are marriages every year and babies every other. My father is one of four and is the second oldest. First it was Aunty Jenny followed by my father Steve,...

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“A Little Time with Frank by Joe S. Thomas” by Joe S. Thomas

Submitted to Contest #28

A Little Time with FrankByJoe S. Thomas Frank was dog tired as he punched the time clock for the umpteenth time. He had worked at the same paper plant for over 30 years. It was Friday. He looked forward to going home, avoiding the wife who seemed to hate everything about him, grabbing his fishing gear and heading to his honey hole. Yes, that was the plan. However, things just never seem to work that way for Frank. He pulls into the long, rutted out driveway that his wife has been bitching about for at...

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“Dear Andrew ” by Abby Michel

Submitted to Contest #28

Dear Andrew, My name is Abby, but you know that already. What you don’t know is just how hard and fast i’m falling for you. And deep deep down, I know that it may explode in my face like a barrel of dynamite, but hey can we enjoy the spark before the ignition? Here’s the thing, I am not supposed to be this into you. What past experiences have taught me is that falling leads to heart break and heart break leads to cruelness, which leads to more broken hearts. And I’m not a stranger to heartbreaks or cruelness. I’ve fallen for many before you....

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“Loving Without Confession” by Emma Schroeder

Submitted to Contest #28

This story, like many other love stories, starts with a boy and a few words. Now, I'm not one known for falling in love very easily. Frankly, out of the fourteen years of my life, I've only fallen in love once. It's crazy, right? Well, I do it with good reason, and I'm about to tell you why. The boy I fell in love with actually just happened in late October 2019. I had gotten over my first love only a month before that, which was an accomplishment because I had liked him for over a year and a half, though he had no interest in me whatsoever....

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“Yeah, I Know, but Mine Really Is Special” by Ed Friedman

Submitted to Contest #28

Yeah, I Know, but Mine Really Is Special Everyone likes to think that their wedding is special and unique. But the truth is, if you’ve lived a long time it’s likely that you’ve been to many of them. In general, I’m not a fan of attending weddings. I go when they’re with people I like and for whom I’m happy. But they’re long and they follow a fairly predictable pattern: 1) House of worship2) Vows3) Matching dresses/suits,4) Time lag between the ceremony and the r...

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“The Screaming Priest” by Ronda Everson

Submitted to Contest #28

The Screaming Priest, by Ronda EversonWhen I lived in Romania, I was invited to a wedding occassionally, and they could get quite interesting. At the Orthodox church in Romania, the buidlings are quite ornate, and the weddings can be too. I went to a smaller Orthodox wedding at a smaller Orthodox church building, but it was still beautiful with lots of pictures on the wall, beautiful carpets on the floor, and flowers, an open Bible, and objects of gold at the altar. Usually, people don't sit at an Orthodox wedding. However, th...

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“The Field Trip” by Amya Leak

Submitted to Contest #28

The entire sixth grade had been crammed into two buses. Buried under coats and scarves meant to protect us from the November chill, we grew warm and sweaty in our sardine-packed rows. I loosened my scarf and pulled at my collar, but I would have to remove one of my many layers to feel any relief. I had sat next to Allison, my best friend, in hopes of spending the ride talking with her. But she was only interested in -the very uninteresting- Zach. I couldn’t understand why she seemed to like his company over mine, or why it made me so jealous...

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“diamond heart. ” by Elina Rindle

Submitted to Contest #28

She had been bruised and broken. Her hopes and dreams shattered on the floor beneath her. She had been fighting, holding on to the broken pieces of glass, she once used to call her heart, until they slipped beyond her grip. Blood was running down her fingers but she couldn't feel the source of the pain that caused it. Nothing but the ache she felt inside of her chest. Nothing but the hole it had left. She had fallen to her knees. The sharp glass was drilling itself into the soft skin around her kneecap, but she wouldn't feel ...

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“She Had Seen Him, Wanted Him, But He Couldn't Be Had” by Amelia F

Submitted to Contest #28

From the moment I met him I just wasn’t quite sure. The moment my friend went and got his “snap”. It basically started out as a joke, he was just a guy who had his stoned friend introduce him a “single and ready to mingle”. That was just one of the signs that getting involved probably isn’t the best idea. Well screw it, he’s a guy, I’m a girl so I’ll just talk to him. Gain his trust but as far as feelings go, that just can’t happen. We’ve only seen each other twice in person, both times at competitions. Band competitions, oh yeah, don’...

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“Second Time's a Charm” by Karen Quick

Submitted to Contest #28

The mirror regards me coolly, telling me bluntly what I already know: The dress is too big. Nevertheless I push on, determined to look somewhat tasteful on my impromptu wedding day, and continue stuffing crumpled towels from the dispenser into the bodice that was cut too generously for someone my size. My friend, who was not selected as a bridesmaid and will be sitting in the crowd, finally declares that unless I want the horror of wearing a bra under my strapless dress I should plaster my arms to my sides and just get on with the whole mess...

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“The T-Shirt Toast” by Sean Reiley

Submitted to Contest #28

“Sean, where are you?!” Good question. I was walking around town towards a restaurant I frequented throughout any typical week. Saturday happened to be fish-fry-special night and nothing was more delicious than the fresh caught fish from Lake Mwanza. “Heading towards the Uhuru Monument. What’s up?” Sunsets in Arusha can be borderline nirvana. There weren’t too many lights illuminating the city sky so as to block out the emerging stars against the increasingly pink and orange horizon. If you looked during the right time frame, ...

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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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