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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#6: On The Road

On September 5th, 1957, Jack Kerouac published On the Road — a novel based on his travels around the United States. It's viewed today as a defining work of the Beat generation. And fun fact: Kerouac wrote the book on one long reel of paper over just three weeks.

There's something about literature and road trips that work inherently well together. Just like road trips, stories must start in one place, and end in another.

This week, our prompts are all road trip inspired! And remember, it's about the journey, not the destination.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a family road trip.

Short Story – 22 stories

Write a story about a road trip taking place 300 years from now.

Science Fiction – 18 stories

Write a story about two people in a long-distance relationship, driving to a location mid-way between both their cities.

Romance – 23 stories

Write a story about someone who started a road trip ten years ago and hasn't stopped since.

Adventure – 22 stories

Write a story about friends taking a road trip they've been planning for years.

Adventure – 22 stories

Stories

“The Journey ” by Isabella Gessner

Submitted to Contest #6

The thing I loved most about Conrad was his smile. It was the first thing I noticed about him. His thin lips had formed a toothy grin, a smile that showed his affection towards everyone surrounding him. I saw him at a party. My brother's graduation party. I approached him, drawn in by his smile. How his teeth shined like the moon in a pitch-black night. He was talking to a few guys. I didn't pay much attention to anyone else. I walked right up to the dark-haired, blue-eyed, tall guy, who I knew nothing about. But I wanted to. "Hey," I say,...

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“Discharge” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #6

DISCHARGEI discharged myself from hospital in a state of blind panic. My stay there had done nothing to counter-act my long standing phobia. They tried to stop me, said they had still not worked out what caused my mysterious, painful skin condition and that it could be to do with my kidneys, and that they needed to take some more tests and that I had not finished the course of antibiotics. They tried to persuade me, and in retrospect I feel sorry for one particular nurse, who was very kind, but I was having none of it.&n...

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“Saying Goodbye to Glenda” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #6

SAYING GOODBYE TO GLENDAWe set off far earlier than we needed to, especially as we had agreed to spread the journey over a couple of days. I’m not sure why. Perhaps you just do. Perhaps journeys like that don’t have their proper significance and go through their proper rituals unless they are started at a time when most people aren’t awake (though probably far more are than you imagined). We rose and drank mugs of coffee while they were far too hot with no real need for such haste while we half-wat...

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“Invitation To Reminisce” by King Sacrificer

Submitted to Contest #6

"Where is my breakfast?" Mukul said, eyes focussed on his laptop. Aisha shoved a plate of eggs in front of him and rushed back into the kitchen.“And why isn’t this TV remote working? The batteries seem drained. Give me the new ones.” he said.“They are right there, in the drawer.”“Yeah, so give them to me. I am busy here.”Aisha raced past him to the cabinet, pulled out the batteries from the drawer, dropped it besides the laptop and then raced back, wiping her sweaty brow with the back of her hand. The house was filled with monotonous ramblin...

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“Whose Europe?” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #6

“This is going to be amazing!” “I know right! Can you can believe, after all this time, we’re actually going to do this?” “Yeah.” “Oh come on Kate, stop killing the mood. This is gonna be great!” In her seat at the back Kate rolled her eyes, though neither of the others were paying enough attention to notice. Melissa was fixing her make-up in the flip-down mirror, and Amanda was going through her iPod and picking tunes. “Yeah Kate, come on. We’ve been planning this for ages.” No, Kate thought. I’ve been planning this for ages. Can you even r...

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“A Road Trip Down Memory Lane” by Musfira Afzal

Submitted to Contest #6

If you asked me my one memory of all my road trips, "Being crammed in the backseat with my only companion, the luggage," I would have said with a frown. Well, that was the answer I would have given you a year ago but now, I would simply just smile at you.WHY? Well you're about to find out.It was the 5th of June, one of the most beautiful days I had seen this summer. The sun shone brightly up in the cloudless clear blue sky. I could hear the faint chirping of birds as they flew overhead. The golden rays of sunshine reflected the dew...

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“On the Road in the Year 2319” by Jeff Marcus

Submitted to Contest #6

Waves of dry rain pinged off the windshield as the old Caddy careened through the mushroom forest. Dean maxed the wipers, clearing the tiny spores. The road appeared in snapshots, the way a strobe light in a dancehall captures shifting spastic poses. I cursed Dean, expecting each blade-swipe to reveal the object of our deaths – a giant mushroom in our path an instant before we’d plunge into its meaty stalk.“Howee!” Dean said. His forearm rested at noon on the wheel, and his eyes fixed on the strobing view of the road.We zoomed past phallic s...

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“I'll meet you in Centerville.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #6

I’ll Meet You in Centerville They did not know the complications they would get themselves involved when they first met. Both Beth and Bob were going to a conference of chemistry professors. The fates put them side by side on the plane leaving for the conference site. He was already sitting in his seat, when Beth arrived, somewhat breathless as her connecting flight had been late. When she looked down, she saw him writing chemical symbols on a pad of paper. “You’re going to the chem-conference then. Doing your homework?”...

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“Storm” by Wolfe Montgomery

Submitted to Contest #6

We’ve been running from it for ten years now. Trying desperately to keep in front of it, to avoid the fate that befell the rest of the world. Now our time is at an end, we have nowhere to run, so we stay. We set up camp and we sit and wait for our end to come. Some of the men are on their knees, praying to whatever god they worship, whatever god they think still exists on this desolate ruin of a planet. Others just sit and stare at the horizon, knowing that death will be upon them before long. A death that has come to every...

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“Heroes Don't Exist Until Ten Years Later...” by Owen Hee

Submitted to Contest #6

Tony Chou sleeps at the petrol stations because there is nothing to go home to but an empty fridge and three unopened bottles of lemonade. Tony Chou makes friends with the people who sleep with cardboard or newspaper for blankets and we’d discuss what it means to love and live. Maybe he’ll wander a city one day like a lost atom in a haze of Monday blues, late nights and reports due on Friday. Every now and then, he gets into his old second-hand car and gets lost in places where he’s never been lost before. But he still did keep a phone with...

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“Rules of the Road” by Erin Pettit

Submitted to Contest #6

Mickey stopped counting how many days he had been on the road years ago. Time was no longer measured in days of the week, months, or even years. Instead, he measured the passage of time by the deepening of the wrinkles around eyes and the length of his hair. He didn’t know how long it’d been, but looking in the mirror, it seemed like a century. Gone was the wide-eyed youth who had set out on this journey, replaced by a grim specter. Soon he would have spent more years of his life on the road than not. The thought almost made Mickey laugh.He ...

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“Road Trip Hell” by Rima ElBoustani

Submitted to Contest #6

The radio isn’t working. This isn’t the first time. This road trip is hell. Figuratively. I know I’m not actually in Hell. It doesn’t matter how much the scenery might resemble what I imagine Hell could look like. I know, because I’m not dead. Not yet. But if a road trip could kill you, this would be it. I glance at barren fields and leafless trees jutting all over outside my car window. Everything here looks dead. It’s looked dead for the past few days. “Whose idea was this trip?” I vent. Everybody is quiet. They know I don’t really need an...

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“A Trip Toward Fortune” by Kerri Lee

Submitted to Contest #6

"A deep tin tub.” Alfie’s eyes rolled up toward the heavens as his hands formed into prayer. “Filled with warm water in front of a blazin' fire. That's what it'll be. Rose petals floatin' all around me arse, and me very own maid dabblin’ her hands in, right near me belly-button. She'll swirl 'er hand around, swooshin' away just to make sure it's all hot enough in there. Yup. That's what's comin' for me my lad... and bubbles too. There'll be lots of bubbles." Alfie was a lanky, bedraggled, sun-dried old man who had dreams. He was most noted b...

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“CURSES ARE WELCOME” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #6

Ganesh exclaimed. ‘Wow, the rooms at Dindigul are booked. So, we can leave comfortably for Kodaikaanal. At Kodaikaanal, anyway, the guest house is already reserved for us. Pray to God that we have a happy and safe journey’. Tarun said, ‘Dad, I am eagerly looking forward to this road trip. The hill station, curvaceous roads, hairpin bends, green stretch, dark clouds chasing us, beautiful botanical garden, pillar rocks… all that I have r...

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“The Trial” by Samael Taman

Submitted to Contest #6

Eric took a long drag of his cigarette and sighed. Damn. “Something the matter?” Eric continued driving as he turned to see his friend Josh sitting in the passenger seat. “Nothing.” “C’mon,” Josh said nudging him with his elbow, “I know when something’s bothering you. What’s the matter?” &nbs...

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$50

Prize money

107

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 13, 2019 EST

Won by Annabel Hynes 🏆

Title: Gone West

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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