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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#5: Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea was published for the first time in Life Magazine on September 1st, 1952. The story went on to win the Pulitzer Prize the following year, turning Hemingway into a bonafide international celebrity. And remember, this story was published decades after some of his now most famous works, like A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells Tolls. A good reminder that it's never too late to achieve literary acclaim!

To celebrate the last full-length work published during Hemingway's lifetime, this week's prompts reflect topics and themes from some of his best-known works. (No need to have read any of Hemingway's books to use these prompts, but if you're looking to get better acquainted with his works, check out this Hemingway reading guide!)

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone who finds life meaning in an unexpected place.

Fiction – 34 stories

Write a story about two unlikely people falling in love.

Romance – 40 stories

Write a story about someone who decides to confront their fears head-on.

Character – 35 stories

Write a story about someone striving for a "comeback."

Adventure – 11 stories

Write a story about someone who is tired of their day-to-day routines.

Sad – 36 stories

Stories

“The Return to the Room” by Chloe Wade

Submitted to Contest #5

As I stood in the room after all these years - the same room which had shaken my perspective on life as I had once known it - I was left suffocating on its emptiness.Pacing the room, stroking the spines of children’s storybooks, examining the desk and its chair I had long outgrown. The warm tones of the orange walls and posters of punctuation, exploding with primary colours. The whiteboard was adorned with childish doodles in greens and blues and reds. Hearts and renditions of emojis. Names scrawled in pencils under the text in the distincti...

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“The Lonely Heart” by Shachira S

Submitted to Contest #5

"Solitude is the true companion of humans" Everyone ignores the sound of fire. Its bright color distracts people from hearing the deepest sounds hidden inside its womb. Ganga wonders what everyone is seeing right now in the fire that is burning in front of her. Probably no one is bothered with fire but thinking about their life issues. In her case, she was always fascinated by the sound of fire. She was used to being different as she never confirmed to the ideals of others. The headstrong woman was Looking directly at her husband's...

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“Whatever Prevents you from Killing Yourself” by Tristan Carax

Submitted to Contest #5

This night, while the shadows of the leaves usurped his wall with Rorschach blotches that looked like dinosaurs, he stood underneath the rope. I know they don't want me to go out like this went through his mind as he thought about the people he would be leaving behind. Looking up, seeing the nail he hammered in, pulling on the rope to make sure it was secure, reminiscing over the time it took to formulate this plan, the only one that seemed quick and easy with very little room for error, he stepped on the stool.He had spent many nights hangi...

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“Full Circle” by Mike Dettmers

Submitted to Contest #5

“Now what do we do?”“Did you ever think we would end up here, like this?”“No.”“You know, if this wasn’t us, I think I would be laughing about now.”“But it is.”“Oh come on. Take a deep breath and accept it.”“Nobody accepts dying.”“Really? Because it’s inevitable, a new chapter in your life. It happens whether we want it or not.”“Nothing just ‘happens’. Everything has a reason.”“Oh, right. A reason. Because everything has ‘a reason’. Ok, so tell me then, what is THIS reason?”“We ignored science.”“Science? You really believe that?”“Yeah.”“So te...

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“God's Plan: We All Have a Purpose” by Rochelle Buchanan

Submitted to Contest #5

Rochelle BuchananGod’s Plan: We All Have a PurposeSeptember 6, 2019 “Candace, I’m sorry, but my mother said you have to go home. I asked her could you stay just one more night, but she said no. I wanted to tell her you did not have anywhere to go without going into detail” Although she was 5 feet tall, she had a heart that stood ten feet tall. Betty was short, thin, and had big brown eyes that reminded you of a doe. Her hair was long and thick, and the color of autumn leaves. She spoke so softly, if you did not know her you would think...

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“I guess that worked out well, huh?” by Macy Jensen

Submitted to Contest #5

There he is, that guy. He comes here every week trying to ‘take-off’ in his comedy career. I mean, some of his stuff is…half-decent at best, but otherwise, he’s just making a fool of himself. Some people think it’s hilarious but I don’t get it. Most of its anecdotal humor with some awkward puns thrown in here and there. Being honest, I don’t have anything against him, and I think they’d be good stories to tell to a group of friends at a house party. He clearly can keep people interested, but I just can’t focus when he's on stage. Then ...

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“A difference” by Soliman Zebua

Submitted to Contest #5

It was Friday afternoon in 2003. Dinara, a Javanese girl who worked for a government agency as an administrator. Get her true love through a phone call from a mysterious man.That day was a lot of work. After finishing her lunch, Dinara immediately headed to her desk to resume her work. At her place of work, Dinara is known as a person who is friendly, hardworking and sociable with anyone. Although she has a friendly nature, Dinara has not yet met her soul mate, even though her age is fairly mature enough for a woman. But it seems like she do...

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“Bear” by Bobbi Jo Domitrovich

Submitted to Contest #5

BearBy Bobbi Jo Domitrovich I don’t know what made me walk into that shelter that day. It was as if something was drawing me there. Don’t get me wrong, I had been wanting a dog but knew it was not the right time for me to do so. I was silently suffering inside an abusive marriage but wanted something to love so desperately. Or maybe I wanted something to love me so desperately. I don’t know which. As I walked through the door, I heard myself asking the staff about the pup...

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“Ignorance and Remembrance” by Teddy Beare

Submitted to Contest #5

Fear is never easy to confront. Ask even the bravest man, and he’ll tell you that he struggled to face his fears. Of course, there are different types of fears. Some are quite easy to avoid. Some are everywhere. Some fears come true uncommonly. Some fears come true all the time. Now, lucky for Griffin, his fear came true rather uncommonly and was rather easy to avoid. It was a rather typical fear, however. Most everyone has this fear, he’s found. No one wanted to face this fear, though. It wasn’t exactly a fear that you could simply wa...

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“what is scarier than death?” by Candace Thompson

Submitted to Contest #5

Have you ever stared death in the face? looked upon it's beady eyes, and saw your own mortality? I have looked death in the face many times. I saw death in my fathers eyes, as he lay in his room at the hospital. I felt death, in the cold hands of my grandfather, who remain still in his bed. I have heard death, in the voicemails of my grandmother after her voice had gone silent. I have met death on multiple occasions. When my cat was put down, when my cousins car wrapped around a tree, when a noose wrapped around the neck of a boy in my town....

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“Beneath the Burning Stars” by Kayla Stoltzfus

Submitted to Contest #5

Ewyn awoke suddenly as her bedroom door creaked. Thin, watery light leaked in through the window curtain. Who could be—? “Wyn?” Her brother padded to her bed, a blanket draped over his shoulders. “Mmmhm?” “I’m going to the Cliffs to see the sunrise. I thought you might want to go with me.” “Too early,” she mumbled. “Don’t worry about it then.” As he turned to go, Ewyn propped herself up on one arm, blinking. “Wait.”&n...

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“Fear Grips The Heart” by Mary Wood

Submitted to Contest #5

Fear is a compelling response to physical and emotional danger; it has strong roots in human adaptation in living life. If people didn’t feel fear, they couldn’t protect themselves from legitimate threats; but what about the fear that seems for some, to be unfounded? Let’ s talk about the baseless fear we see, but don’t address; like the elephant in the room, we feel awkward, it’s there, we all see him, but no one knows what to do or say, it’s too big, I don't know how to get it to move. Because we are so sure the situation is abs...

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“Nyctophobia” by Troy Rodman

Submitted to Contest #5

Everyone has a fear, be it the common ones, be it ghosts or bugs,or the more... strange. No matter who you are or what you do, there's always something that makes you want to run, and hide. For most of us, fears are irrational. A spectral hand won't pull you to the depths of hell. No tarantula wants to make you its next meal. These fears are improbable, or, usually, just downright impossible. Most fears give in, or, at the very least ease up, letting a person live their lives without worry. Emily’s fear is different. Her fear creeps into her...

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“Fine Line Between Freedom and Fear ” by Vannessa Wallin

Submitted to Contest #5

As she stood at the base of the looming television tower which stood 1575 feet about sea level; Virginia swallowed hard in a desperate attempt to rid herself of the lump that had formed in her throat. She gazed up having been completely unaware as to the towers height, from the various other vantage points of it visible all around the city. When her husband suggested coming here for an outing, to lookout across the city from the tower, the idea made her apprehensive, but excited . Now, she was not so sure. She knew that it was tall, but as s...

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“20,000 Leagues” by Tonya Smith

Submitted to Contest #5

Jewel could only think of one other time when she had felt so helpless, and terrified. It was when her sister had convinced her to ride the Slingshot in Orlando during a Spring Break visit. She remembered being strapped in and counting down the seconds before they were launched into the hazy evening sky. Jewel knew that the best way to alleviate some of her fear was to take a deep breath and scream as loudly as possible. That would release her endorphins and adrenaline so she wouldn't pass out. Her sister had remarked later that Jewel s...

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$50

Prize money

156

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 06, 2019 EST

Won by Yves. ♙ 🏆

Title: World Got Smaller

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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