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!

#29: Bildungsroman

Often, the stories we read in our youth end up sticking with us well beyond adolescence. We vividly remember our first encounter with imaginative Anne Shirley, the nail-biting rumble between the greasers and Socs in The Outsiders, the fierce camaraderie shared by the Harry, Ron, and Hermione trio, among many other memorable moments from the young adult books we read in our formative years.

This week, all five prompts feature popular elements that are frequently at play in coming-of-age novels. While you are certainly free to write a short young adult story, you can also choose to incorporate these prompts into any other type of fiction.

If you want to revisit some classic YA fiction to get your creative wheels spinning, check out our freshly published list of some of our favorite young adult books!

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone dealing with family conflict.

Nonfiction – 82 stories

Write a story about someone discovering something new about themselves.

Nonfiction – 52 stories

Write a story about two best friends.

Teens – 73 stories

Write a story about someone falling in love for the first time.

Romance – 80 stories

Write a story about a character struggling to decide how to handle a problem that is morally gray.

Short Story – 41 stories

Stories

“Letting Go” by Inna Douglass

Submitted to Contest #29

In an old brick remodeled house that was once a gunshop at one time lived two best friends by the names of Doug and Inna. Doug and Inna met ten years prior and decided to live together and split the bills. They of course had their ups and downs like all best friends did but for the most part they enjoyed each others company. They worked hard all day and would come home and eat supper together and talk about their day and watch some television or maybe play a couple gsmes of scrabble then go to bed to get up to the same routine the next day.I...

Read story

“Silence” by Daisy Collins

Submitted to Contest #29

I open my crusted eyes and peer begrudgingly at my surroundings. The sprawling mess of clothes curled around my legs like the extremities of a tired beast. The semicircle of scattered notebooks spilling from the mouth of my open backpack. The mugs with lipstick stains adorning the rip with the pattern of an old-fashioned doily. The congealing takeaway container of… something? I squeeze my lids shut again – I’d seen enough. From my position, curled on my ...

Read story

“How Much is a Guy Worth?” by Cory Pines

Submitted to Contest #29

Jessie and Claira had basically grown up with each other. They had been friends since second grade, and they treated each other’s parents as if they were they’re own. Jessie’s little brother Ki was basically Claira’s brother too, and Clair’s dog belonged to both of them. They were inseparable. Even though they were vastly different, they still found a way to be the best of friends. At least, until they met Rafael.Both of them fell in love with Rafael. He was in Jessie’s math class. The two of them sat next to each other and he was always so ...

Read story

“At the Edge of Friendship” by Andrew Marble

Submitted to Contest #29

We were kings of our own domain, ruling those endless summers together. Those summers where time was irrelevant and everything we did was full of meaning, full of adventure, full of a vigor we may never again know. Had we the choice, we would have spent every waking moment together. We fed off each other's spontaneity, zipping from one activity to the next, never worrying about the inevitable future that this one day will end. It didn’t matter, because we had each other to entertain. We were a union&nb...

Read story

“The Blue Flame” by Paul Carney

Submitted to Contest #29

The Blue Flame By: Paul Carney Soon after Grim and The Reaper started to take over the Earth, reports started filtering in about how ruthless they actually were. It was said that the conquest of these two super powered aliens with weird “V” shaped scars on their chests started with them blowing up their entire home planet. Like so many people around the world, I watched in horror as they started to destroy our world one city at a time. It all seemed hopeless as the death tolls climbed ...

Read story

“The Betrayal Of The Besties” by Brinley Kiskaddn

Submitted to Contest #29

Just yesterday it seemed like my Mommy and Daddo were dropping me off at my first day of preschool and today is my first day of being one of the bosses of the high-school, a senior!I walked into the doors of the school with my best friend, Avri, right by my side. Everyone stared at us when we walked in, after all, Avri was top of the class! Best grades in the grade!Principal’s list!Science Olympiad!Robotics team captain!4th-11th grade spelling bee champion!Chess-team captain!Skipped 2-grade levels, she’s supposed to be in 10th grade!Engifted...

Read story

“Him” by Matthew Ramirez

Submitted to Contest #29

I tried to identify what his scent was. It smelled like Axe body spray or maybe it was the mousse in his curly, brown hair. In either case, the smell was pleasant and just sitting there in his presence had a calming effect. I leaned a little further back into the couch, my knees now pressing up against him. He was laying back, brow furrowed as he flicked through his Instagram feed. I held still. I noted the rise and fall of his stomach with each breath. The mumbling he did every so often. The warmth of being so close. The d...

Read story

“November” by Tha Youn

Submitted to Contest #29

She watches silently as the minutes pass.Every so often, without as much as a sigh, she glances at the cracked glass, the numbers stark against the black background. 7:15. 7:23. 7:45.Turning as the group shuffles towards the revolving glass door, she brings two fingers to her lips, pressing lightly, checking for blood. Rough skin meets her fingertips. No red. With a breath, she wipes them against the dark material of her shirt.Glancing up, she watches as one of them, blue jacket gleaming in the near-unbearable glare of the light, playfully p...

Read story

“First Love is the Sweetest” by Cyan Villanueva

Submitted to Contest #29

May 2019“Whenever you two are ready, we can begin. Please, make yourselves comfortable and don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.” The interviewer, David Rakei was a sweet and gentle young man in his early twenties. David had finally gotten the funding needed to create his documentary on Love. The documentary was an in-depth look on John Lee’s theory that there are six styles of love. He had gone out looking for couples that seemed to love in one of Lee’s styles. He had finally found his ideal couple. Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, a...

Read story

“Caterpillar-Becomes-Cocoon-Becomes-Butterfly” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #29

That one summer I longed less for the summer than for what would follow summer. I'm born in June. I turned eighteen in the middle of the final examinations in senior high school. That wasn’t the only reason why my birthday went unnoticed, though.A couple of months later, in October 1988, we would all go to college. I can’t say I regretted saying goodbye to my fellow students in high school. If you’d ask me who I was friends with back then, I fear I wouldn’t have known what to answer.Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine, but when I grew up, bo...

Read story

“Love or fear? ” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #29

I love you! The text read, she didn't know what exactly she was supposed to reply. "I love you too!", She replied. But, she didn't know if she genuinely meant it or not. Two months or more passed by, when she was just tired of everything that ever happened to her till the date. Locked herself in her room, speaking to none, being a total psycho, she just wanted to disappear. No messages or calls from friends, neighbours being just a headache, relatives being not so helpful, family being everything but still couldn't help her get out her ...

Read story

“You walked into that room and entered my heart” by Steve Kaye

Submitted to Contest #29

Love is a funny thing. Every Friday when I was five years old my mother would drive me to my grandmother’s house. My brother and sister were in school and my mother’s beauty parlor was around the corner from Nanny.She dropped me off at ten o’clock and would re-appear after lunch with her hair coiffed majestically and a trunk filled with groceries.It was a fun day. Nanny, dressed in her suit, hat, and white gloves and I drove around the corner to the deli where the man behind the counter handed me a piece of lox on a bagel, before getting dow...

Read story

“Red and burning” by Igor Tishalovich

Submitted to Contest #29

Our camp shift is slowly coming to end. Sometimes it was tough, sometimes — relaxing. Too many things to conclude. Too many actions to realize. For the first time in my life, I showed my talents to public. I felt the challenging fire, burning within my heart. However, I think my cooperation with rest of the shift was the most important part. Finally, I was a member of group and I felt it. Everyone is slowly packing up his luggage. Nobody really wants to leave. Especially our “first” group. After the end we will stuck in formal routine: colle...

Read story

“Elly” by Ysa Alberto

Submitted to Contest #29

LIGHT I awoke to Mama wrapping my butt like a gift while she went on and on about poo and pee right before she hid me under her jacket. It was so hard to breathe, but I needed to keep on. I was more terrified about what's gonna happen next when I heard her talk about me leaving for good. Is she getting rid of me? DARKThere was this girl I've never seen before. She tried to steal me away from mama, but I was scared of her sad smile so I tried to claw my way closer to mama's chest. No, mama! Please don't let her get me. I wanted to beg m...

Read story

“Her first taste of love” by Christina Lyon

Submitted to Contest #29

“Mom, I’m going to the library for a bit!”“Okay! Don’t stay out too late and remember to not check out so many books this time.”“I won’t mom. Bye!”Every day is the same, I go to school and after school I go to the library to read and check out books. Oh, I should introduce myself first; my name is Megan Greene and I am somewhat of a nerd. I enjoy reading books of all types; from basic fiction, to Manga, and even comic books. I even play the occasional video games and write my own stories when I don’t feel like reading. I am currently a Sopho...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

328

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 21, 2020 EST

Won by Megan Dang 🏆

Title: Time Bomb

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 ⭢