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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

“Precious Cargo” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #47

More to be desired are they than gold............ sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.        Psalms 19:10 ESVDark clouds fill the sky overhead, you watch the spray battering the water proof covering you are under, it is your window to the heavens. Whether the spray is rain from above or just the ocean washing over the barge you can’t tell. You do know they said it would be a clear and calm crossing, they were wrong. It is cold and cloudy. The waves continuously batter your...

4 comments 4
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“Your Regrets” by Neha Dubhashi

Submitted to Contest #47

You always make me feel like I’m the one who’s wrong. Every small annoyance with you turns into a full-blown argument. Like yesterday, when you didn’t meet me at the train station and left me there for hours, hours in the pouring rain. I felt humiliated. Ashamed that I thought you'd changed. Do you remember how you dealt with that? You told me I’ve made you wait before, and I deserved to know what it felt like. That’s not a valid reason. That’s not even close. If our relationship is simply about revenge, how can it be healthy...

17 comments 17
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“An Invitation To My Own Death” by Artemisia Pearl

Submitted to Contest #47

    “Maybelle! Go get the mail! I am expecting a package!” Mom yelled. I shook my head with a groan. I was getting ready for my job interview, and Mom always interrupted my process. I stomped to my bedroom door and slammed it behind me. And like the 28-year-old woman I was, I stomped down the stairs, in annoyance with my mother.      “Stop slamming my doors, Maybelle Louise Eirdis!” Gosh. Mom was in a mood today. I paused in my tracks and screamed, silently. I continued on to the front door. When I struggle...

7 comments 7
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“Destination West” by Writers Block

Submitted to Contest #47

It was late afternoon in the Carolinas, and the school group was awaiting a travel bus for their trip out west. All of the 8 leaders were gathering the group of high schoolers to do a head count. Everybody formed a straight line as the bus arrived in the parking lot. Excitement grew over the group as they marched inside the bus to find their seats. Before the bus took off, a couple of the leaders stood in the aisle and commenced with a short spiel. Applause followed from the passengers. Faces were glued to the windows as the bus traveled onw...

4 comments 4
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“You deserved better” by Sam T.

Submitted to Contest #47

You stared at the dingy, large, intricately designed iron gate as if in a trance, wondering how a sight so feared was something that now fueled your intrigue and fascination. It was as if the misty air and the ominous energy was calling out your name, and you were happy to oblige to the questionable beckoning. Snap out of it, you’re crazy! You scolded yourself internally, and tried to divert your attention towards the small walk leading you back home. Whatever you do, stay away from the Torrance mansion. The same warning would keep repeating...

14 comments 14
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“Treading Water” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #47

“It was supposed to be a sunny day,” you say to yourself, as the rain lashes against the window which has cracked into a spiderweb. Your voice barely sounds like your own, and you almost don’t recognise it at first — it also has a wavering, trembling quality to it that you don’t particularly like. You say these words to yourself because you are the only one in the room, and possibly the only one left in the whole facility. The precise fate of many of the others is unknown, but you know how a few of them went, oh yes…You feel a judder as the ...

2 comments 2
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“Phantasia res eodem” by Katy S.

Submitted to Contest #47

  You sit with your carpetbag on your lap, looking at the colorful blooms sway in the midst of the green leaves.  You think about how poetic all this is. Sitting, waiting for a train. That's ever so sentimental. How many stories start or end with a child getting off, or on a train? Usually an orphan, but the matter remains, that trains are awfully story-like. Your mother, and father are both very much alive, ( a very good thing, that you are grateful about, just to clear that up ) but you suppose it could be said that you are ' sta...

10 comments 10
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“you don't have it in you” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted to Contest #47

“Just say it,” you silently remind yourself. You know you’ll regret it if you don’t. “Can I get a blueberry scone, too?” you ask. So simple. A scone to go with your large oat milk latte. The sort of thing anyone can do, even you. The world does not explode when you ask for a scone. Your heart is still beating faster than it should, but the barista tells you the total and you pay with a card and leave a good tip and nothing bad happens. And then you must wait for your coffee. Waiting is its own form of torture. Where to stand? Why are ...

8 comments 8
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“"Dear Satan"...” by K. M. Carpenter

Submitted to Contest #47

 The day is dark when you awake. In complete honesty, it's nothing new, the black smog rolling off your pointed tower turrets. It doesn't surprise you. Neither does the occasional scream as a soul rushes past your cracked bedroom window; the house is just plain stuffy were you to close it.   No, none of this is new to you. Another long, long day in Hell. Yes, that's a capital H. When you're the devil, things get old fast. Really fast.   Like breakfast. Your morning tea boils over, staining the crisp, red su...

9 comments 9
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“Loving and Longing” by Elaina Goodnough

Submitted to Contest #47

Dear Josh,I remember the day you left, it was bitter sweet. My boy was a baby no longer, and my bird's egg had cracked and my chick had flown away. I was alone with my husband, alone, yet with a world of possibilities. The odd thing is, I didn't feel like exploring this new and intriguing world. I could vacation, yet I didn't feel like traveling, I could escape, yet I felt like being trapped.I remember waiting for the day I would meet you. Preparing a room and spending hours rubbing my swelling stomach. You came in a whirl of tears and smile...

12 comments 12
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“The Miracle” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #47

As you check the Reedsy contest stories, something makes you click a title and read a story.If you are reading this, you are lucky. If someone else is reading this to you, you are also lucky. If these words are being conveyed to you in any shape or form, you are incredibly lucky. Why is that? Because it means you are alive. You exist.Have you ever wondered how close you came to almost not existing? A few stray molecules of DNA here, a stray asteroid there and you’d not be sitting there, reading these words. But, you are. You are here. Alive....

40 comments 40
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“Brightest Moon” by SIMON Prathap

Submitted to Contest #47

You got up early this morning and opened your diary. Today is 365th Day. You realised you complete one year today, you look yourself in the mirror and cursed yourself for being so shy.You recalled the moment the day you saw your love first. You were late to your office and you ran to catch the bus and realised the door is automatic one, by the moment you are about to give up from your little marathon on the road, the bus stopped. There was a sweet voice that made the deaf driver to open his ears and stop the bus. You entered the bus wit...

16 comments 16
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“Never letting to go ” by Prathamesh Chavan

Submitted to Contest #47

You met her at nightfall with the sun sinking behind the dark mountain's emitting its last colour left to Persian blue sky. And really you met but had a glimpse of her and it was enough to you fell in love without knowing anything about her and never fearing about consciences. It was foolish of you to have full faith upon her but she turned to be a clever girl then you have ever met. You were practising football for the upcoming tournament and it was the first time as a captain but you got late for packing up everything . You left the ground...

1 comment 1
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“First of Many to Come” by Dobby's Sock

Submitted to Contest #47

You don't like waking up so early but your flatmate is calling out to you."It's his letter! Ay do you hear me? It's his letter!" she is banging at the door. The cries die down but the thuds continue, as loud as before.You wake up with a start from your slumber, all signs of it vaporizing in an instant. You push your feet into your slippers and rush for the door. As you open it with a careless swing, the momentum of your friend finds no resistance and along with her arm, she stumbles ahead and falls on you. But you're so excited you don't thi...

25 comments 25
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“ Truth or Dare?” by Emaan Amin

Submitted to Contest #47

It was seven in the morning and you were sitting perched on your leather couch with an unopened pack of potato chips and coke; an excellent combination. You rubbed your eyes and stretched your arms as you yawned. It was a cold wintry weekday, and you didn't have to worry about the school work. As you didn't have much else to do, you clicked the television open and started browsing through YouTube. You opened the pack of chips and started munching on them. It was all very well until the television screen turned pitch black. You frowned and ba...

14 comments 14
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$50

Prize money

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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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