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!

#54: Second Chances

"Third time's the charm."

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

"Rome wasn't built in a day."

The English language is full of aphorisms that get at a universal truth: human beings aren't perfect, and oftentimes we need to keep trying (and trying again) in order to get something right.

This week's prompts all revolve around the theme of second chances. Whether your characters are circling back to something from their past, getting a start on something they put off for a long time, or simply in the process of learning after a swing and a miss, we're looking forward to the 'second acts' you come up with!

And speaking of layered characters, on August 12th, bestselling novelists Caroline Leavitt and Gina Sorell are hosting a free webinar on creating believable characters. RSVP here!

This week's prompts

Write a story about high school sweethearts coming across one another after many, many years apart.

Romance – 283 stories

Write a story about someone going back to school as a mature student.

High School – 88 stories

Write a story about someone looking to make amends for a mistake.

Adults – 223 stories

Write a story about someone struggling to learn a skill that in no way comes naturally to them.

Funny – 154 stories

Write a story about a TV show called "Second Chances."

Novel – 108 stories

Stories

“The Fall of an Empire” by Asteria Rose

Submitted to Contest #54

A wave of dread washed over Lucifer as he walked through the blackened forest. He pushed it away, forcing himself to continue onwards. Remember, this is all your fault anyway. He repeated those words over and over, emblazing them into his skin like a burning torch. His spine crawled with anticipation, and all he could do was put one foot in front of the other. Left, right. Left, right. Left- he paused, forcing his body to come to a still. Was there someone in this forest? He listened, pressing his slender body up against a...

Read story

“Anisha's folly. ” by Aparna Jagannath

Submitted to Contest #54

Anisha Mehra belonged to an upper middle class family. She studied in class XII. She had opted for the commerce stream. Her younger brother, Anand, was a student of class IX. Both of them went to Delhi Public School, where their mother, Anupama, taught primary students. Anisha's father, Jaideep, worked as a senior executive in the HR department of a private firm. They lived in an apartment consisting of three bedroom hall and kitchen in Rohini, New Delhi. Anisha was excited to receive a smartphone from her father on her seventeenth birt...

Read story

“A Second Chance” by Adrian Stolecki

Submitted to Contest #54

Day 1: The launch was today. I still cannot believe that I have been chosen to carry out this mission. I am nervous, but also very excited. Along with official scientific data and automated daily system logs, this log will serve as a personal accounting of my mission. I will not fail. Day 3: I was able to get a lovely view of the moon today as the ship went past. It was beautiful. It is hard to believe that only 62 years ago, that was the farthest humans could go. It seems like only a stone’s throw from home, as they say. Day 7: The sh...

Read story

“The Second Tide” by Candice Ramaiah

Submitted to Contest #54

The taxi drove through the town of Avarua; nothing seemed to have changed. The sea was on the right and rows of houses on the left. The town looked almost the same as Eddy had left in 2009. The name of the island was Rarotonga; one of the larger islands in The Cooks Islands. The other large island was Aitutaki. Eddy watched as the endless sea seemed to whiz pass by. This was one island nation where people drove on the left side of the road unlike Canada where he had lived for the last eleven years. It took him some time to get used to dr...

Read story

“The Story of a Scrunchie” by Dunya Zatde

Submitted to Contest #54

Of all the mistakes and pranks he could’ve gotten caught and punished for, Peter’s luck just had to run out on him when it came to Mindy Meyers. The prettiest girl in the entire 2nd grade. Don’t get him wrong, he’s in no way infatuated with her. And no, he doesn’t think she’s adorable and kind and sweet and pretty. On the contrary he finds her annoying and whiny. She’s always asking him to clean up his table after lunch, and always tells him to put away his crayons in the right order. She’s always so full of herself and Peter reall...

Read story

“The stairs ” by Beth Lawrence

Submitted to Contest #54

He’d been here before. The stairs were spiralling up, out of sight. The journey to walk them exhausted him. No matter how much he exerted himself, he still found himself at the bottom of them. He continued and pushed on, but got nowhere. Each look above was greeted by the same scene of endless stairs, going up, up, up. He was out of breath and paused for a moment, he looked above, and then below. He’d made absolutely no progress. How was this even possible? He’d been climbing for hours now. The staircase was glimmering with a golden sheen un...

Read story

“Balling It Up and Throwing It Away” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #54

Dear New Kid, I’m sorry. I’m also sorry I’m addressing this letter—you, really—as ‘New Kid.’ But I want to get down to the bare bones of the matter. I extremely apologize for being so ignorant. I mean, I didn’t mean to laugh at you in the playground game back in 5th grade, but I did—in a way. But just hear me out: I didn’t laugh at you. I merely laughed in a way that would hopefully make everyone hear my kind of laughter so we wouldn’t laugh at you. I don’t really know how to explain it. I just wish ...

Read story

“Eddie” by Brita Sherren

Submitted to Contest #54

My hand feels stiff and clumsy. It feels unnatural, holding this child’s crayon pinched awkwardly between my fingers and thumb. Well, it is unnatural, I suppose. You’re not supposed to be able to teach an old dog new tricks. I thought, you know, that I made out alright in this life. I worked for 40 years. Paid for a nice house. A good car. My boys, they went to school, got a good education, good jobs. Even sent them off to college. We never wanted for anything. Maybe it wasn’t fan...

Read story

“The Baker’s Bested” by Jess Smith

Submitted to Contest #54

The fire alarm screamed to life as my kitchen filled up with smoke. “Not again” I ran towards the kitchen, the room had filled with smoke. I ran to the oven and opened the door quickly, smoke eveloped from the small space. I coughed as I grabbed the pan of what looked like screaming monsters, they were supposed to be cookies. I grabbed a towel quickly to hush the fire alarm that was still screaming. I looked at my poor cookies, and could feel the scrutiny of hate coming from them. This is a skill that I just did not have. I came from a famil...

Read story

“Sundays with Shirley” by Stacey Fultz

Submitted to Contest #54

It’d been a long, exhausting week at work. As soon as I entered my apartment, I knew I was in for it. Lulu was sitting on the couch watching the door waiting for me to come home. As I closed the door behind me, she made no acknowledgment, other than to turn away.I could tell from the stiff set of her shoulders and the way she held her head just what she was thinking. Who do you think you are, waltzing in here more than an hour late! You are in big trouble mister. I am not speaking to you!Better go make this right, I thought to myself as I jo...

Read story

“For Keeping Him Alive When No One Could” by Sharika Mattoo

Submitted to Contest #54

The charcoal stick slipped out of Rachel’s hand for the fourth time and she had half the mind to chuck it on the grown and trample it under her Louboutins. This was hard. She couldn’t get the little thing to manoeuvre the right way and there was no way in hell that she was settling for anything less than the perfect stroke. Which was why it was also the fourth time that she reached for the rubber to erase the obscenity that she had just unleashed onto the world. “You know you can’t ace it on your first try?” Felix muttered with an uncomm...

Read story

“TAKE MORE CHANCES, DANCE MORE DANCES” by Manya Seth

Submitted to Contest #54

“Life is like a tango; fortunate are the few who can master it.” ― A.J. GarcesI believe that we can only acquire a skill if we work hard for it. There are various type of skills, some that come to us organically and some that require us to put in great effort.I have personally struggled to learn a skill that I was not privileged to have naturally. Since I was a child , I was always fascinated by the different types of dance forms but unfortunately, I was not able to perform any of them graciously . Whenever I tried to dance I was ...

Read story

“Rookie mistakes” by Micah Lewter

Submitted to Contest #54

“I’m a writer, not a killer.”Perhaps I should have said that when I first met Sal. Then I wouldn’t be in this basement learning how to mix chemicals and saw off shotguns. The thought of sawing shotguns made me wince, and I looked down at my left hand, the hastily wrapped bandage still seeping blood.“Hey, look, I’m sorry,” Sal said, when he saw me look at the hand. “The saw slipped. Sometimes it happens. You gotta watch out for these old saws. Sometimes, they slip, especially when they get old and rusty.“It’s good you learn that lesson early....

Read story

“Quiet People” by Alicia Powers

Submitted to Contest #54

The beans crunch in the bean bag chair as I shift to better survey the room. The comforter dangling off my lofted bed at a slight angle creates a curtain in front of my desk where my mother’s computer, mine for the next three weeks until I get my own, hums in its new home. A picture of my family and a Koosh ball bookend the computer. The opposite side of the room remains empty for one more night until my roommate arrives. Thumps through the hallway indicate the presence of additional hallmates. “So this is college life,...

Read story

“Second Chances - The Incident” by Grace Namkung

Submitted to Contest #54

Marco and I go to the arcade to play a few games. We play air hockey, pool, Pac-man, Crossy Road, MarioKart, and DDR. After our arcade gift card is out of money, he walks me home. Yet my boyfriend, Noah, comes outside and shoots me a glare. "So... Marco, right?" Noah asks. He looks as if he's ready to fight, but manages to keep a smile on his face. "Polo," Marco says. They shake hands as I look down at the ground. They share a laugh as I wait for what's gonna happen next. "Yeah, what are your intentions with my girlfriend?" Noah's voice...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

856

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 14, 2020 EST

Won by Mollie Rodgers 🏆

Title: Where the Water Meets the Sand

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 ⭢