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

“Eye to Eye” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #54

A glimpse was all I needed to recognise my childhood sweetheart; I’d never forget those killer’s eyes. I swallowed hard, my throat like sandpaper. That blood-pumping muscle in my chest began to thud so violently my whole body vibrated. She slowed and turned to face me. The whites of her eyes told me she’d not forgotten me either.Time slowed, the microseconds tick-tick-ticked away as our eyes locked. I willed her to turn back around, to keep going. But, as I knew she would, she allowed herself to be guided by the primal instinct tha...

Read story

“The Mistake” by Rebecca Lee

Submitted to Contest #54

Mistake is defined, according to the old Webster dictionary, as “an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong.”And Julia Barrett knew she had made a big old misguided action that she had to make amends for.If only she knew how to start.The mistake she made happened five days ago, but it still ate her conscience. Jules, as her family and friends called her, blamed that on her parents, and how they raised her siblings and her to be compassionate and genuine.Otherwise, she thinks this mistake wouldn’t be bugging her so much.The 48-year-old ...

Read story

“You are what you believe you are!” by N S

Submitted to Contest #54

“It’s simply not my cup of tea,” exploded Vami! She had started to struggle with herself. All she was trying was to give her best shot, after all, she needed that second income, and it was just her first step. She had been watching movies all her life, was very quick at picking up new things, she was a natural orator & a very good one! She was on top of her game when it came to tabletop topics, she even represented her district on the state level of the Toastmaster’s contest. But when she had to do it on camera with a prepared speech, sh...

Read story

“In Ten Years Time!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #54

(Write a story about someone going back to school as a mature student.) Well here I sit! Seems a sad and solitary comment for one beginning on a new and exciting adventure! Well I may as well get on with it. Hello I’m Kate. The last time I sat in a formal classroom was many moons ago. In truth, watching and listening to the other students, it also seems like it was in a land far far away. It is our first class and I feel like I am in a foreign place. The dress and language and share...

Read story

“Borders Apart” by Shiza Ali

Submitted to Contest #54

In the end, we only regret the chance we didn't take.Her lips part as she gazes at the mascara brushing against her thick false lashes. The Indian glass bangles jingle as she swiftly moves her hands, wrapping her hair into a hijab. Her eyes stare back at her. She draws a deep breath pushing the tears back.Is it starting all over again?Karan's face flashes in front of her. She jolts back."Zara!", her clipped voice echoes in the hotel apartment, "He is not coming back.", she inches closer to the mirror, talking to her dark brown reflecting in ...

Read story

“The problem with dedicating songs” by Adah M.M

Submitted to Contest #54

Life is one big ball of disappointed.Nothing ever goes according to plan. Good things always happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. The rest of us that are in between what do we get ? The answer is nothing. Most skills that come naturally to others often seem to elude me. I've been told several times to work on my social skills. To learn to interact with other humans properly. To learn the simple act of communication but it isn't simple or easy if you're like me.People like us are the twenty percent of the hundred pe...

Read story

“His Little School Girl Gets A Second Chance” by Rebecca Lee

Submitted to Contest #54

“Are you serious I am too old to do that?” Erica Madison stretched her tanned legs out in front of her, and reached down and pulled up the left ankle-length sock, and straightened the toe part of the other. She cut her eyes back up at the African-American male with copper-colored skin sitting next to her on the cozy, over sized couch. Jonathan Fountain stared at Erica with his deep, hazel-eyes glittering in the reflection of the overhead light in the living room. “I think you are wrong. You never finished your bachelors, why not? You could...

Read story

“Divided we Fell” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #54

I feel like Lot fleeing the city of Sodom. The big difference is I didn’t turn into a pillar of salt when I turned back to view the city. The fires can be seen for miles and we are only about 50 miles away, but it seems more like a thousand.******************************************************** Our state was fortunate, we had a 12 hour warning, but the states on the coasts didn’t. Maine to Florida fell right away, they were the first targets. Within hours they hit the west coast. We’ve heard nothing from...

Read story

“Secrets Under the Balearic Sun” by Jessie Nice

Submitted to Contest #54

I rarely become speechless but for the first time in a long time I was utterly lost for words.Who would have thought the chances of our paths crossing of all places would occur in local farm shop on the outskirts of a tiny rural village in the Balearic Islands? But here we were.I did a double take at first, and at second, convincing myself it wasn’t her - after all, her hair was a different colour to the bright pink and black I last saw her, she didn’t have the winged Amy Winehouse-style eyeliner, nor the punk fishnet tights and clunky Doc M...

Read story

“Diploma” by Al Johnson

Submitted to Contest #54

In the old school days we often joked about women, those pompous politicians, the insufferable teachers and the athletes who had just ripped the teams off for the most outrageous contracts. But never did we rant more than on the futility of school. After all, if education was so important and formative as the pedants claimed, where would the drug dealers, the streetwalkers, the failures, and all the prodigal sons be? We all thought of education as something more pretentious, more aristocratic that the privileged set up to hide the ugly truth...

Read story

“Ivy, Like the Weed” by Anna Mosqueda

Submitted to Contest #54

"My fish died..." "Oh," I say, being especially useless in these types of situations. My best friend seems to be biting his lip to hold back the tears. Although, I recall him being nowhere near a caring state for this fish, he barely even fed it. "Yeah, man it sucks. I really liked Fin-Finnegan? Was that his name? No...I think it was Taco-" His voice trails on but I'm no longer listening. My eyes have landed on one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. Her peach colored hair is catching the sun at the most perfect angles, her eyes a...

Read story

“Len” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #54

I had to tend to some legal matters regarding my parents’ property, so had gone back to my home town for several days. It had been an awful legal process because there were other people who thought they had a claim to things. Greed is disgusting. Nobody ever got anything good by being greedy. Such a useless thing to be. A greenish, gray space. Gauzy and unpopulated.For part of the paperwork, I had to go to an office in the next town over, and drove along Route 31, which I knew better than the palm of my hand. None of the buildings regis...

Read story

“Home Again” by Melissa Hassan

Submitted to Contest #54

She looked like a model who had just stepped out straight from the pages of a fashion magazine. Her flaming red hair tied in a bun, glistening in the afternoon sun, red lipstick painted on her luscious lips. Her beautiful blue eyes shaded by a pair of Aviator sun glasses. She wore a custom tailored beige pant suit which accentuated her tall slender figure, complete with nude pumps which made a distinct clicking noise on the pavement as she walked along, attracting attention from passers-by. “I thought I'd never come back here again” Jul...

Read story

“Sky Bridge!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #54

(Write a story about someone struggling to learn a skill that in no way comes naturally to them.)Time units are being gobbled up like matter falling into a black hole!This awareness makes my head hurt. It will take every ounce of training, every bit of mental conditioning to pull this off. It is a race between dwindling time and failing capabilities!~~~~~I should not have been wasting the precious time trying to regain strength and acclimate to this place in which I find myself. Everything here a charred mass of whatever had p...

Read story

“A Reel Fish Out of Water” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #54

Warning: the following short story contains a carp ton of fish puns. Bass yourself. “Gilroy, please don’t do this,” Bubbles pleaded. “Don’t go making waves.” We bobbed together in large, black waves as the storm raged overhead. Lightning cracked down in the distance. Birds screeched at each other within the dark shadows of the forest bordering the shore. “I can’t, Bubbles,” I said, pausing for dramatic affect. “It must be done.” “No, it doesn’t,” Finley interjected. “You could stay in the ocean. Swimming forever. It’s what you were born ...

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 ⭢