Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

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

“If I'd Known ” by Cienna Leax

Submitted to Contest #28

I started to fall for a boy who had given me a feeling that I never felt before my senior year of high school and my emotions just grew as we grew closer. I opened up to him even if I didn’t want to because I was scared but he would tell me all the time he never would hurt me. I don’t want him to think he’s responsible for me getting hurt, but I was hurt. It hurt more than anything knowing that he promised I wouldn’t though. I was hurt by that dreadful night, I was hurt when he started to disappear, and I was hurt after that night in his car...

Read story

“My love for my husband and his work” by Madison McCoy

Submitted to Contest #28

This is not truly a narrative. It's merely a description of how deeply I love my husband and the career field we both desire to work in. I love the theater.I love the art, the burning of the lights, the creaking of that wooden stage, and the fire that burns in my soul when I step into someone new. The feeling of the cloth on my skin, the euphoria of being someone I’m not, it excites me down in the deepest depths of my soul. There is something so spiritual about acting, of playing a part and living in constant mutability. I grow stronger, an...

Read story

“Bad Medicine” by Patrick Harding Harding

Submitted to Contest #28

Bad Medicine by Patrick Harding By the time Bill found out Giselle’s secret, it was far too late. Her ad had sounded promising but Bill hadn’t gotten too optimistic. After all, how many women had he met online that weren’t anything that they had advertised? So many had either refused to supply a picture or had supplied a pic from years ago when time had been kinder to their bodies. Some had even supplied a picture of a model that clearly wasn’t them. Giselle’s ad showed a beautiful, tall brunette on a...

Read story

“Goddess Beyond Reach” by Stephanie Ricketson

Submitted to Contest #28

I know she is married. I know she is everything I could ever want. I know all of this, and yet… I couldn’t stay away from her. I can’t stay away from her. She is perfect. Perfect in her imperfections. Does that make sense? Oddly, it does to me. Who is this Goddess made flesh? This unattainable woman who haunts my dreams and fuels my fantasies? She is as common and real as the girl next door, yet as unreachable as ...

Read story

“My Blue Eyed Addiction ” by Julia Fanello

Submitted to Contest #28

My heart had been freshly broken. I reeked of instability and pain, not an ideal combination. My 16 year old self longed for something to latch onto, not yet knowing the comfort of being alone. His name was Case. A funny name, he told me his dad named him after a case of beer. Could have been one of his many lies, or one of his many stories. There was always a fine line between the two.I met him at a local fast food restaurant, thanks to one of my friends' matchmaking efforts. He was wearing a thick puffy jacket, despite it being quite a war...

Read story

“Sinner” by K. M

Submitted to Contest #28

I grew up in a fairly small town, in which almost everyone was Catholic or Christian- including myself. In fact, the only things I really remember from my childhood is the scent of incense and some random fragments of sermons from various masses. I lived with my religious grandparents and believed anything they told me about the Bible, including their own personal intolerances. When I was seven, they sat me down and talked to me about homosexuality. “If you ever find yourself feeling that way towards a woman”, they warned me, “tell us,...

Read story

“The Girl with Maroon Eyes, The Zodiacs and Him” by Jupitere Stars

Submitted to Contest #28

To begin, I have to go all the way back to our first conversation. I was a new kid in a new school with so many new people. I could already tell I was going to have an interesting time here. "Um, hi, I'm Emma, and my dad wants me to get at least two phone numbers to prove to him I have friends...." I explained quietly, my face flushed with embarrassment. That’s when she stood up and began to yell her phone number with one of her friends intensely in my general direction. I take out a pencil and tear a corner off a sheet of paper...

Read story

“Jack.” by Madison Smith

Submitted to Contest #28

Remember when way back when we were all 5 years old? When we were all just learning what love was, love was the way our moms and dads hugged us goodnight or the way mom knew just exactly how to make our pb&js. Suddenly, as we grew older into teenagers love meant boyfriends and girlfriends. It wasn't just family now, it was staying up on the phone talking to that one person, holding hands, and messy breakups. I guess what I'm saying is I wish I had never grown up, I wish I didn't love someone I wasn't supposed to love. It ...

Read story

“Death might not want you, but I do” by Kate Jones

Submitted to Contest #28

(Trigger warning: abuse) It was agony to breath, but he could not stop himself from sobbing. Kai had fallen in a broken pile of mistreated limbs, unable to escape the relentless fists of his boyfriend, which had landed heavy blows to bruise his pale skin. Usually Jackson left his face, but tonight Kai knew his left eye was blackening to a deeper purple than even his best make up could conceal. Long minutes had passed since Jackson had left, screaming abuse to ensure Kai knew he was worthless, a waste of space, so abominable that he deserved ...

Read story

“Pastel Crush” by Whitney Cash

Submitted to Contest #28

January 4th, 201311:23 pmHe was so beautiful. But it wasn’t because of his Clark Kent jawbone and chin dimple, his beauty resulted from all of the little traits—how he matched his socks to his shirt, how he combed over his thick copper hair—maybe to appear more like a professor than a student. Or, how his pale blue eyes penetrated you. Patrick swirled his beer on the bar, his gaze transfixed on the glass bottle. He took a sip. I studied his lips on the rim.“Are you seeing anyone?” He let his eyes off his drink, and turned in my direction.I s...

Read story

“Pain” by Nadia Graston

Submitted to Contest #28

I loved it. Even though I knew I shouldn’t have, I just couldn’t help it. The more I did it, the more I wanted to. It gave me this feeling, a feeling that I needed and did not know how else to get. It was almost like a happy feeling, a high. It made me feel alive when I normally felt like I was kind of just existing. I craved the pain. Honestly, I still do. The pain of cutting my own skin open, the pain of toxicity, the pain of people hating me, the pain I got from ruining my own life. &n...

Read story

“Tip and Pour” by Olivia Suda

Submitted to Contest #28

You know it’s time to put it down, to stop, to take a rest and reset for the next day, but you also know that that’s not what will happen. The bottle beckons you, pulls you in and envelops you in the crystal clear liquid, promising you oblivion. It reprimands you for stopping; tugs at your gut in dry heaves and clutches bile in your throat when you tempt the bottle not to tip towards your lips. There hasn’t been the need for a glass in a long time; glasses are used for appearances and sharing, neither of which have been a priority in months....

Read story

“April 20th changed my life. ” by Madyson Johnson

Submitted to Contest #28

April 20th, 2019 my son turned 10 months old, my father in law turned 35 years old, and my husband's grandfather passed away. That date will forever hold a place in my heart. Though I only knew his grandfather for 4 years of my life, I feel like I had known him my entire life. I loved going over to his house, he always listened when I needed to talk seriously with him, he was so kind and thoughtful, he could always make me laugh, he was the best grandfather that I had in my life. My husband and I got together in 2015, that was the year...

Read story

“She sailed Home” by Carol Keefer

Submitted to Contest #28

Keefer/She Sailed Home/Page 1 “She Sailed Home”By Carol Ann Keefer Keefer/She Sailed Home/Page 2 It was a day that I would n...

Read story

“The Blow Off Letter” by David Lastinger

Submitted to Contest #28

The Blow Off LetterThis happened many years ago before the age of cellphones, pagers, and even online dating. I believe I was about 21 years old at this time. The answering machines, if you had one, worked off of a tiny cassette tape. I knew this girl, Deanna, in high school. She was much too pretty and exotic to be interested in me, let alone even know that I even existed. She was tall, of Spanish descent and had long flowing black hair, a beautiful smile, and the sexiest voice you can imagine. Oh her voice, it was just the right amoun...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢