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#4: Woodstock

Last weekend was the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the 1969 music festival that attracted an audience of more than 400,000 visitors, and was known as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music." Its a legendary cultural event, and a large variety of books and documentaries have been dedicated to telling the story of Woodstock. So this week, we thought we'd take inspiration from it too.

Each of the following five writing prompts are titles of songs that were played at Woodstock. As far as writing prompts go, they're pretty broad and open to interpretation, so we're looking forward to seeing the many different directions and stories they lead to.

🥇 Winner

“Lela” by Tula Singer

🏆 Winner of Contest #4

As soon as Lelo fell asleep we went out to the balcony for lunch. Lela made mariquitas and black beans, and I cut an avocado for the salad, then dressed it with olive oil and vinegar. We each served ourselves and took the plates outside to eat. Neither one of us spoke while we devoured our food. Once I had finished I gazed at the sea for a few minutes; the water was blue and green and old. When I was younger, we would go down to the coast and swim for hours while Lela sat on the rocks and watched. Enrique was always the first to get ou...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“A Profound Study into Paternal Relationships” by Shaz -

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

The first and only time my father said that he loved me was when I was eight and a half years old. Out of all the cloudy images and half-memories that would revisit me throughout my life, this was the most distinct: June twenty-third, nineteen ninety-five. June twenty-third of nineteen ninety-five was a glorious day. I know that because it was the last thing I had wanted. A gleaming red circle marked Oak Grove Preparatory School’s annual sports day on the family calendar that hung in the dining room. I’d purposely not prayed the entire...

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“I Love You, Sara” by Arabella McClendon

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I have always been a light sleeper, so when she slipped out of our bed and crept through the house, I was dredged up from the depths of sleep. Not as much by her movement as by her absence. Never leave me, Bea. I find her on the lawn, lying in the soggy two-am grass. I wonder if she knows I’m there, halfway between the inside and the outside. I move along the patio and catch that look in her eyes. The look that is lost and winsome and so, so far away. The one that makes me think she is not entirely mine. Not even a wedding, a house, a life t...

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“The Cell Phone” by Ron Scott

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

Harold really didn’t want to go. He heard a giggle and turned to his left to find his granddaughter, Julia, engrossed in a typed conversation on her cell phone, grinning like a madman. Madwoman. Madperson. He had to be careful about that; Julia was constantly correcting him, telling him to be more careful with the things he said. He was trying, but it was hard. People never used to be so sensitive about these things. He had never even considered that his style of speaking...

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“Seasons” by Jim Hirtle

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I wish you could hear me. I wish you would open your eyes and see what I see, hear what I hear. Do you remember this song? You declared it our song. Remember. I thought it was silly—we had joy; we had fun; we had seasons in the sun—not a song of lovers, but that didn’t trouble you. I turn the volume up too high, praying you will hear and wake up. Too high. Now that’s ironic. The old woman upstairs doesn’t like this song. She keeps pounding on the floor. I’ll turn it down in a m...

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“By the Sea” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I sit by the sea, watching the waves crash down on the shore. The sickening smell of rotting fish and dried salt envelops me every time I step outside, so I try to stay in the house as much as I can. The sun burns down on the shore, and seabirds scurry around on it in dizzying patterns. Everything about this situation I’m in is so wrong. Especially when I remember where I came from, recalling the freedom I felt, looking down at everything from the top of the world. I hate the sea. Hate the memories it brings back, hate the smells, the sandy ...

Read story

“A Big Sensation” by Isabella Grey

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

“You stand accused before a court of your peers. How do you plead?”“Not guilty, your Honor.”Marlena could feel dozens of eyes on her, likely millions more behind the glass window of the news cameras, but she did not notice them. Her attention was fixed on the man who stood across the room, the man who lied so well that she was certain he had been in this exact situation before.And yet, here they were.Hardly a month had passed without a new trial broadcasted in the papers. When she saw the first news screening, the one that started it all, sh...

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“Love at a Funeral” by Karen Kalbacher

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

A matte black suit ensured he blended in with the shadows. His tie was a vibrant purple in deference to the corpse who practically drowned his house in sweet-smelling heliotrope. Normally he skipped these things, too expected, especially with the scythe. He had to bring the scythe cane to funerals on the off chance someone could see him in the graveyard. Stupid, really, making Death visible in a graveyard. He pulled at the half Windsor knot of the tie in frustration at the oversight. Not a single Death had managed to catch Ben’s soul before ...

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“Addie” by Kaitlyn Lee

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

John lay on the dark blue paisley rug of the creaking house across from Addie and tapped her nose gently until she finally opened her eyes, glazed with irritation, and let out a deep sigh. Their splayed positions, reminiscent of bear-skin rugs, mirrored one another’s with only the fifth appendage of Addie’s tail breaking the symmetry. “Addie, why is life so easy for dogs?” John mused, continuing to stare at her in an effort to avoid the half-filled moving boxes with haphazardly scrawled labels that towered around the pair inside the ancient ...

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This week's prompts

Write a story based on the song title: "Beside The Sea"

Fiction – 33 stories

Write a story based on the song title: "My Generation"

Fiction – 22 stories

Write a story based on the song title: "To Love Somebody"

Nonfiction – 46 stories

Write a story based on the song title: "You Can Make It If You Try"

Nonfiction – 14 stories

Write a story based on the song title: "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Nonfiction – 19 stories

Stories

“Lela” by Tula Singer

🏆 Winner of Contest #4

As soon as Lelo fell asleep we went out to the balcony for lunch. Lela made mariquitas and black beans, and I cut an avocado for the salad, then dressed it with olive oil and vinegar. We each served ourselves and took the plates outside to eat. Neither one of us spoke while we devoured our food. Once I had finished I gazed at the sea for a few minutes; the water was blue and green and old. When I was younger, we would go down to the coast and swim for hours while Lela sat on the rocks and watched. Enrique was always the first to get ou...

Read story

“I Love You, Sara” by Arabella McClendon

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I have always been a light sleeper, so when she slipped out of our bed and crept through the house, I was dredged up from the depths of sleep. Not as much by her movement as by her absence. Never leave me, Bea. I find her on the lawn, lying in the soggy two-am grass. I wonder if she knows I’m there, halfway between the inside and the outside. I move along the patio and catch that look in her eyes. The look that is lost and winsome and so, so far away. The one that makes me think she is not entirely mine. Not even a wedding, a house, a life t...

Read story

“A Profound Study into Paternal Relationships” by Shaz -

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

The first and only time my father said that he loved me was when I was eight and a half years old. Out of all the cloudy images and half-memories that would revisit me throughout my life, this was the most distinct: June twenty-third, nineteen ninety-five. June twenty-third of nineteen ninety-five was a glorious day. I know that because it was the last thing I had wanted. A gleaming red circle marked Oak Grove Preparatory School’s annual sports day on the family calendar that hung in the dining room. I’d purposely not prayed the entire...

Read story

“Entitled, Lazy, Stupid” by Ash Brinton

Submitted to Contest #4

“Alice Glade, please report to the main office. Alice Glade,” The announcement boomed over the silence of the classroom. All eyes turned to look at me. Slowly, I rose from my seat and left the room, my chin down to hide my burning cheeks. Every step I took felt like a noose tightening around my neck. I reached the main office. The receptionist glanced up at me and pointed to the principal’s office. “She’s waiting for you.” I gulped and knocked on the principal’s door. “Enter. You must be Alice. Sit down. As I am sure you know, I am Mrs. Stry...

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“Seasons” by Jim Hirtle

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I wish you could hear me. I wish you would open your eyes and see what I see, hear what I hear. Do you remember this song? You declared it our song. Remember. I thought it was silly—we had joy; we had fun; we had seasons in the sun—not a song of lovers, but that didn’t trouble you. I turn the volume up too high, praying you will hear and wake up. Too high. Now that’s ironic. The old woman upstairs doesn’t like this song. She keeps pounding on the floor. I’ll turn it down in a m...

Read story

“The Cell Phone” by Ron Scott

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

Harold really didn’t want to go. He heard a giggle and turned to his left to find his granddaughter, Julia, engrossed in a typed conversation on her cell phone, grinning like a madman. Madwoman. Madperson. He had to be careful about that; Julia was constantly correcting him, telling him to be more careful with the things he said. He was trying, but it was hard. People never used to be so sensitive about these things. He had never even considered that his style of speaking...

Read story

“Water Wears Rock” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #4

1The seagulls are circling overhead, crying. The ocean’s waves are lapping up against the sand, whispering. In the distance stand the resolute shadows of mountains, shimmering.A man is motionless before the darkened sand where the seawater has licked the shore, holding his hands behind his back. The man carries with him an air of well-earned wisdom, but if he were to walk, we’d see that his movements are slow and pained.He stands there, looking out across the vast body of water. The man is old, but the sea is older. The undulating waters exi...

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“By the Sea” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #4

I sit by the sea, watching the waves crash down on the shore. The sickening smell of rotting fish and dried salt envelops me every time I step outside, so I try to stay in the house as much as I can. The sun burns down on the shore, and seabirds scurry around on it in dizzying patterns. Everything about this situation I’m in is so wrong. Especially when I remember where I came from, recalling the freedom I felt, looking down at everything from the top of the world. I hate the sea. Hate the memories it brings back, hate the smells, the sandy ...

Read story

“The Sea” by Melanie S.

Submitted to Contest #4

Beside the sea, I stand alone, listening to the laughter of the bodies that stand beyond the faded lights. I walked away an hour ago, and so far I see no indication of worry that I am missing. I am at peace beside the sea, tasting the remnants of champagne on my tongue, the champagne that I swapped with my sparkling cider when no one was looking. He told me that he would meet me beside the sea at eleven, and at ten, I slipped behind the white curtains that enclosed the patio and found my way down the soft grass toward the glassy dark waters....

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“Beside the Sea” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #4

“Look at that!”The surf line shone brilliant white against the distant blue. But Margaret pointed elsewhere. She tugged at Charles’ sleeve. “No, look, Charlie.”Charles shifted his gaze beyond his wife’s gnarly index finger and saw the sign, ‘Beside the Sea Cafe’.“That’s it. That’s where we’re going.”The door jingled as they entered the small, clean dining room lit by shimmering sand reflecting through the picture window. Old nets draped around the perimeter of the ceiling. They’d been catching dust for years. Radio music from back in the kit...

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“A Little Help” by AL Paradiso

Submitted to Contest #4

A Little HelpIt was the right thing to do. So I was told; so I believed. Focus on my job for twenty years and it will provide for my family for life—good salary while working, good pension and benefits afterwards. Finding the discomfort of a stable job like that took several wasted years. During those years, I made many friends. Few of those would be with me far beyond the typical transient cycle of fickle friends. Though years and distance separated us, I stayed in touch with one friend from college. Support and care were obvious during our...

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“Beside The Sea” by Arthur Tiberio

Submitted to Contest #4

Sometimes his eyes forgot the land. Not always, no, and perhaps not even often, but there would be days when hours of gazing at the sea stirred within him an undeniable loneliness, and his pupils shrank to suggestions of darkness in a sea of washed grey iris and his feet twitched as if wondering what this solid weight beneath them could possibly be. On occasion, a memory.These days it was one of hands: strong, muscled hands that must have once been his... he blinked, rheumy eyes rejecting the paralysis of being, looked down at his own wrinkl...

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“Beside the Sea (Turtle Whispers)” by Adriana K. Maxwell

Submitted to Contest #4

When he was a young man, a year and 97 days ago, he lived beside the sea. They all did, his mother, his father, and him, up in a tired house that smelled of salt and old nets and home. Every dark morning, he would tramp down, check her hull, test the ropes, and shove off. Then hours throwing the net and hauling it up, looking to see what the sea would let him take. Back to harbor, checking and mending the nets, sorting the fish, and flinging away the seaweed. Finally to market, haggling for the best price, and then h...

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“The Killjoy” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #4

Esther was nine. She was, as her mother said, picky. Not so much about food (though nobody had yet tempted her to try a walnut or a mushroom) but about clothes (her top always had to be a lighter colour than her skirt or trousers - it was just right that way!) and about where things were. Her toy hippo had to be to the left of her Welsh doll with the tall hat, and her storybooks and what she called her “really” books, her word for non-fiction, kept on entirely different shelves. “It’s not even as if she’s ...

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“Diamond” by Royce Holland

Submitted to Contest #4

DiamondBased on theme: To Love SomebodyBy Royce HollandI arrived at the doctor’s office about 15 minutes before my appointment. I walked into the office and checked in with the receptionist behind the counter.Good morning, I have a 10:15 am appointment with Dr. Williams.Good morning, may I have your name please?Charlie Johnson.Okay Charlie, I will let Dr. Williams know you are here. You may have a seat until called.Thank you.You’re welcome.I took a seat near the window and started to stare blankly out of it wondering what was going on for y...

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$50

Prize money

134

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 30, 2019 EST

Won by Tula Singer 🏆

Title: Lela

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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