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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#47: Second Person

Writers are often cautioned away from using second person point of view. And that's because it can be tricky to get right. But as writers like Junot Diaz, Lorrie Moore, and our contest's very own Hayley Igarashis proves, second person POV can also provide for an incredibly immersive reading experience.

 

This week, our prompts challenge you to write a story using second person POV. In other words, the story should address readers as "you," pulling them right into the narrative. You don't need to use the prompts verbatim in your stories — as always, they are meant to get your wheels of creative interpretation turning! (And for additional tips on this unique point of view, you can check out our guide to second person POV!)

This week's prompts

As you check your mail, you notice a letter that makes you stop in your tracks.

Thriller and Suspense – 213 stories

"Just say it," you silently reminded yourself. You knew you'd regret it if you didn't.

Nonfiction – 217 stories

You looked out the window and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been.

Nonfiction – 146 stories

Suitcase in hand, you head to the station.

Adventure – 188 stories

You check the time. Perfect. As intended, you've arrived fashionably late.

Funny – 115 stories

Stories

“ “ Just say it - It’s over. I have moved on!”” by Alkaa Sharma

Submitted to Contest #47

                    “ Just say it - It’s over. I have moved on!”“Chiplab”, a bright tall handsome man was the hot favourite of the girls around him. “Hey Sweety! What's up? Give me your number dear” was his cliché line that he shared with almost every other female he met. “Born flirt “ - a tagline was given to him by his colleagues and friends in the hardware company he worked for.He was not only charming but very observant as w...

8 comments 8
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“How NOT to throw a party” by Nolan Cox

Submitted to Contest #47

Pacing back and forth across the wooden floor of your home, you think to yourself most fervently. Should you go to this party? Should you just stay home and let everyone else enjoy the festivities? Did you have enough guests? Perhaps one more would do some good. It was an incredibly hard choice to make. You stop and take a deep breath, allowing the air conditioned air to slowly fill your lungs, calming your rushing mind. Slowly, you exhale your breath, able to finally find some calmness. Perhaps you should stay home, it might do you some goo...

33 comments 33
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“Happily Ever After” by Jan H

Submitted to Contest #47

Every morning for ten years you stand on the front porch, smiling and waving as Tom pulls out of the driveway. Neighbors drive past and wave. You smile and wave. This morning is no exception.You pause a moment to take in the splendid morning. The forecast called for rain, but the sun is warm on your face and the sweet smell of honeysuckle fills the air. The weatherman got it wrong again. You feel so lucky to be alive. There’s a bounce to your step as you turn to go back inside the house.Tom has left the coffeepot empty as usual. You always m...

37 comments 37
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“Under Your Skin” by Liza Silva

Submitted to Contest #47

You looked out the window and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been. You knew the weather forecast because mother had looked it up. She always had the strong sense that something would go so wrong, especially on important days. She needed to be prepared for every predicament. They had said that it would only be partly cloudy.Yet the world blurred outside, under the glossy cover of the downpour, the narrow ditches at the side road overflowed with dark water. Motorcyclist - possibly friends or family of...

33 comments 33
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“To Abstain Courteously” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #47

You are warned against drinking and dating older men, especially those dark-eyed ones from New Jersey. Upon meeting Frank for the first time, your Virginia gentlewoman of a mother calls him swarthy. Being the son of Italian immigrants is not a crime, you cry, reminding her that The Godfather is just a movie. The second time she meets Frank, your mother throws a vacuum cleaner at him, which is something a Daughter of the Confederacy would never deign to do. You remind your mother that First Families of Virginia do not act in such a way, and s...

2 comments 2
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“Please Mama...” by E. Jude

Submitted to Contest #47

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2002)The train rattles past. A subtle reminder of time passing. It shakes the crummy apartment that sits next to the tracks, as a faithful cat to its owner. It shakes the whole building microscopically, but evidently. The glass of water that the daughter grasps in her trembling hand, slips, tumbles and smashes onto the cheap, wooden floor. The impact shatters the glass, crystal-like splinters shoot in every possible direction. An inquisitive sight, perhaps to some, but this just brings tears to the girl's eyes.&nb...

32 comments 32
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“Ignorant or not you need to know. ” by Anja Z

Submitted to Contest #47

You think to yourself everyday about the same thing. Over and over again. Should you have reacted the way you have or should you not have. It was a summer, back when you were seventeen and although that was a long time ago or so it seems, just seeing Jace made you think about that memory again. Should you have reacted differently? It was the summer when you still felt love so deep, when you still believed in fairy tales and knights in shining armour, when nothing felt as good as the idea of just being around Jace. Just to be near his very ex...

17 comments 17
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“A Mother's Love ” by Crystal Lewis

Submitted to Contest #47

As your mother, all I ever wanted was for you to be happy.It’s what every mother wants for their child - especially you - who saved my life just by being born. I vividly remember your innocent little face staring up at me, pulling my spiralling life into focus.You have no idea the pain it causes me to see you unhappy.You deserve the sun and the stars and the moon.A purity radiates from you I have not seen anywhere else.I wonder where you get it from because it certainly isn’t from me.But it’s there. You can’t always see it but others can. Ot...

14 comments 14
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“It Came!!!” by Felix Thorne

Submitted to Contest #47

You wake up with the sun in your eyes, yet again you’ve barely closed your eyes thanks to those dreams. Those stupid dreams that keep coming back no matter how much you tell them to fluff off. Those dreams full of your demons that follow you around during the day, weighing down your shoulders, whispering their horrible words into your ears then showing themselves at night. Haunting you at night, making sure you don’t sleep and then when the sun peaks at your eyelids you know dad’s going to come around to wake you up and maybe if he’s in a go...

68 comments 68
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“The Mysterious Man” by Thotsuki Bakuhoe

Submitted to Contest #47

You were only getting the mail. You got it every day after work. Usually there would be bills, magazines, and bank stuff. But never letters. Your family hated you. They hated him, your husband. They said he was only trouble. You didn't ever know why they hated him. You thought about it all the time. He was perfect, he was the love of your life. That is until he died last year. You were heartbroken and you didn't want to talk to anyone. But life went on and you soon tried to get over it. You did all you could to forget about him. You ev...

24 comments 24
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“Granola Guidelines for the Sensible Refugee” by B.T Beauregard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #47

Don’t think about before. Never think about before, it will break you. Avoid the memories and resist the impulse to indulge in them. Forget the kind faces and small shops where everyone knows you. Forget the strange foods and smells beside the road, whether good or bad. Remembering these things will leave you empty.  Empty is bad. Empty will leave you broken. Fact: Crying on a plane by anyone besides small children and babies, terrifies people. Always turn away or you risk having a good natured passenger asking if you are alright,...

20 comments 20
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“One hundred years” by Audrey Winter

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #47

You are one hundred years old. Your hands are old and frail and difficult to keep still. Forty years ago, on your sixtieth birthday, you saw the old person looking back at you in the mirror and you did not recognise yourself. You saw someone people had stopped paying attention to years ago. What you did, simply did not matter to anyone else. Everyone was too busy focusing on their own self and insecurities. You spent sixty years worrying about being judged for what you had accomplished. About your acquaintances seeing your title and feel...

12 comments 12
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“Inuiria” by Katy S.

Submitted to Contest #47

You check the time. Perfect.Once you walk in the door to your right, you will be exactly one minute late. Everyone else will already be there, because as your lawyer advised," It isn't good to be late to court. "Funny little man he is. He usually knew how to play the game well, but on this point he was mistaken. After all, the prime player needs to make an entrance. And so, you adjust your tie, smoothen down your hair, and walk in.The lights are bright, and the stage is set. Everyone sees you walk in. " So sorry I'm late, the downt...

16 comments 16
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“You, Me & a Man Named Bill” by Shirley Medhurst

Submitted to Contest #47

The Police called to tell me what had just happened to you. My phone clattered to the pavement as I sank to my knees, the humdrum sounds of the busy street fading into oblivion. A foggy greyness hovering at the outside edges of my vision grew darker and thicker, and then there was only blackness! And silence! “Stand back, give her some room!” “Should we call an ambulance?” “Here! Lay her head on this,” “Shouldn’t you loosen her scarf? She might choke.” The jumble of voices sounded tinny and faraway as I swam back to consciousness. ...

22 comments 22
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“Simple. Elegant. Evolved.” by Spencer Mack

Submitted to Contest #47

You look in the mirror. Tie, perfectly off centre and a dashing smile. You can feel the confidence in your chest, like a perfect sculpture waiting to be revealed. Take a moment; you earned it. You turn and face your office. Dark mahogany desk framed by a staggering arch top window overlooking the city. A bearskin rug - one of the last polar bears - lays sprawled across your floor. Old hardwood creaks under your feet as you circle the room. The world will now be yours. Be proud.  Deep breath. Check the time, perfect. Everyone will be w...

6 comments 6
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$50

Prize money

879

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 26, 2020 EST

Won by Miranda Carter 🏆

Title: My Mother's Sky

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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