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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#66: Ready, Set, Go!

It’s almost November, and for many writers around the world that means the start of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. This wild challenge dares you to commit to writing a 50,000-word novel in just 30 days!

It’s an impressive feat, but it’s hardly the only way to exercise your writing muscles. If you like your writing in smaller doses but still want to build up the habit, today I’m going to challenge you to commit to writing a story from one prompt every week in November! (If you already do that, try for two, three, or even all five.)

To get you started, this week we’ll be focusing on stories all about challenging yourself. Whether it’s running a marathon, finally writing that novel, or just making it through a tough personal situation, challenge is what consistently pushes us to grow into our best selves.

And if you are giving novel writing a try, here are a few resources to help you along:

What Is NaNoWriMo? And How to Win in 2020
Join Reedsy’s NaNo Squad (with weekly live write-ins!)
Crafting a Novel Opening (workshop replay)
How to Write a Novel

🥇 Winner

“Mahalo King Cod Filet” by David G.

🏆 Winner of Contest #66

A slate-grey sky hung heavy over the President James K. Polk Memorial rest area on Interstate 64 in southern Indiana. At the fueling station, eighteen wheelers lined up under bright green lights for diesel and windshield wiper fluid from an army of apathetic attendants. A mother carrying a styrofoam coffee cup emerged from the Kwik Mart, pulling the collar of her neon pink and light purple ski jacket tight around her neck with her free hand and hurrying her two children across the broad expanse of cracked tarmac. A grove of oak trees, damp b...

121 comments 121

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Virtual Reality Show” by Rayhan Hidayat

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

Mihara leaps into the air, barely escaping the fireball that should have vaporized her. It blooms into a screaming marigold below her, coaxing water vapor out of the marsh.It had to be Marshlands, she inwardly seethes as she splashes down in muddy water and tries to peer through the steam blanketing her vision. And of course I get matched with a pyromancer.“Once again, Rōnin avoids getting flame-grilled by the skin of her teeth,” broadcasts the invisible announcer. “Had she reacted one heartbeat too late, she might have paired well with some...

206 comments 206

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“Influenced” by Scout Tahoe

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

My art professor in college hated butterflies. She said they were basic and painless with nothing more than wings that could break when you touched them. If we were ever to paint them in a project for her class, we’d have to make them shriveled and gray. Those last two words started to make me think that I had made the wrong decision about college. I had thought it was nothing more than cardboard walls and brick buildings, holding its breath with purple lips. Those words also reminded me of my father’s pinched face when h...

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“Effortlessly Weightless” by Maya -

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

At first when I wake up, it feels like any ordinary Saturday morning. I reach over to hit the tempting orange snooze button on my phone before I catch myself. This morning I can’t afford to allow myself ten more blissful minutes of sleep. Today, there is somewhere I need to be and I can’t be even seconds late. The moment I remember my plans for today, the relentless nerves return. There is a queasy feeling in my stomach as I force myself to eat breakfast. I don’t have much of an appetite, but I’ll need all the energy I can get. At ...

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“Fall Of the Stars” by Mr. Brohirwani

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

The heavens glittered with stars as the man silently drove over dirt and gravel, the thousand twinkling eyes mocking his desperation. Muttering a curse under his breath, he slowed down at the rusty security gate at the entrance of the abandoned mines. To an ordinary person it would be a half-broken gate with just a couple of night guards sleeping their shift away. But then again, the average person wouldn’t notice that the old equipment was strewn about almost too cleanly, or that the uniformed guards lacked an identity or a logo. ...

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“Binding” by Cathryn V

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

The road stretches out in front of me as far as I can see, all the way to the horizon, straight and flat with empty fields on both sides like enormous blank pages. Nebraska, almost halfway to San Francisco, I am alone on this endless stretch of interstate 80.The audible book supply is depleted. For a change, I'm riding in silence.In the rear view mirror, a patrol car with flashing lights screams toward me. I slow the car and pull to the side to let him pass. But the lights slow too.The state trooper is at my window, sunglasses, wide fla...

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This week's prompts

Start your story with one character telling another, “It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”

Novel – 132 stories

Halfway through a fierce competition, your character is given the opportunity to cheat their way to victory: do they take it?

Short Story – 52 stories

Write about a character who makes a dramatic life change to pursue a goal they’ve secretly always wanted.

Novel – 120 stories

Write about a contest with life or death stakes.

Adventure – 145 stories

Write about a character who’s finally on the verge of achieving their lifelong dream.

Dramatic – 135 stories

Stories

“Mahalo King Cod Filet” by David G.

🏆 Winner of Contest #66

A slate-grey sky hung heavy over the President James K. Polk Memorial rest area on Interstate 64 in southern Indiana. At the fueling station, eighteen wheelers lined up under bright green lights for diesel and windshield wiper fluid from an army of apathetic attendants. A mother carrying a styrofoam coffee cup emerged from the Kwik Mart, pulling the collar of her neon pink and light purple ski jacket tight around her neck with her free hand and hurrying her two children across the broad expanse of cracked tarmac. A grove of oak trees, damp b...

121 comments 121

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“Pressure” by Angelina Tran

Submitted to Contest #66

“Work harder!”“Do better!”“Try again!”“No- not like that!”“Do it again!”The sounds of his mother’s ‘encouragement’ —or lack of— had pressured him to work harder, do better, and try again.And he needed to work harder, do better, and try again to win the 2020 Sportsman of the Year annual competition at his school. It was only for seniors, and this year was his chance to shine— especially because winners go to the national competitions. “142, 143, 144…” his mother counted his push-ups.He pushed himself using the final bit of energy he had ...

136 comments 136

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“Virtual Reality Show” by Rayhan Hidayat

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

Mihara leaps into the air, barely escaping the fireball that should have vaporized her. It blooms into a screaming marigold below her, coaxing water vapor out of the marsh.It had to be Marshlands, she inwardly seethes as she splashes down in muddy water and tries to peer through the steam blanketing her vision. And of course I get matched with a pyromancer.“Once again, Rōnin avoids getting flame-grilled by the skin of her teeth,” broadcasts the invisible announcer. “Had she reacted one heartbeat too late, she might have paired well with some...

206 comments 206

Read story

“Shamina's Dream” by Melissa Hassan

Submitted to Contest #66

She heard the loud cheers of the crowd. Through eyes brimming with tears she could almost make-out the outlines of a few audience members seated nearby, now on their feet cheering and chanting her, name, Shamina...Shamina, and waving the colourful lion flag. The flag of her country. The tiny island of Sri Lanka. As the last year’s winner, removed the crown from her head and placed it gently but ever so carefully on hers, as the crowd roared even louder. She could hardly believe it. “Is this really happening?” She asked herself as the runne...

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“The End, Less Possibilities” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #66

Trigger warning: abuse “Where do you think you're gonna go?” her husband sputters, blindsided by his wife’s packed bags at the bottom of the stairs. “It doesn’t matter,” she replies, dead-eyed and somber. She puts on her coat, the black one, the one for special occasions. “The kids—” “The kids are thirty,” she says, turning away from him to gather her things. “They have their lives. Now you have yours.” Flummoxed, her husband racks his bourbon-soaked brain for anything—anything to stop this thing he cannot control. This is so un...

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“Achieving a dream” by Robert Grandstaff

Submitted to Contest #66

Achieving a dreamOnce, it mattered most, being independent. Fulfilling a lifelong dream. All it took was education and hard work, the proverbial toss of the dice, and a little luck. Then one day you learn you can’t make it alone, no one ever does. The person who said they did it all by themselves is a liar. To say, “I walked down this road through the rain, sun, the good, and bad, you name it, I always had you by my side.” Those are the words of an achiever.The house door slid open and closed with the ease of a firm grip. Evening flies hover...

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“The Silver Ring” by Wolfy 🐺

Submitted to Contest #66

"What is WRONG with you, man?" "Nothing, heh heh. Why do you ask?" "Bro, you're sprawled out on the floor, covered in blood, moaning about some long lost love, and you don't expect me to ask you?" Gareth lay sprawled out on the floor of the dormitory, scratched up and muttering about 'Julia'. Don't ask me who Julia is. I don't know. All I do know is that Julia was the reason we were here, which does not give me a very good impression. Let me give you some background context. I'm a college student and live in a small apartment with my br...

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“Influenced” by Scout Tahoe

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

My art professor in college hated butterflies. She said they were basic and painless with nothing more than wings that could break when you touched them. If we were ever to paint them in a project for her class, we’d have to make them shriveled and gray. Those last two words started to make me think that I had made the wrong decision about college. I had thought it was nothing more than cardboard walls and brick buildings, holding its breath with purple lips. Those words also reminded me of my father’s pinched face when h...

Read story

“Dear Noah ” by Malz Castell

Submitted to Contest #66

Dear Noah, You don’t have to do this. Do you understand me? You. Don’t. Have. To. Do. This. Stop it. Just come back. We’ll figure out another way. We always do, don’t we? So, stop acting like a stubborn ass and just come back. I know what you’re planning to do. You’ve blocked my calls, you’re ignoring all my messages, you’ve even blocked my emails. So, I’m writing this letter to you as one last attempt at talking you out of this insane plan. I know what you’re going to say. That you have to do this. That we have no other option. But pl...

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“Triscin and Muz: A Duet :) ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #66

Triscin sat on the porch of the Colorado cabin, his arms heavy inside the coat Eleanor had returned to him as he left the hospital. He stared down at the phone in his hands. He’d been scrolling through old pictures and thinking of deleting them, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Every time his finger got close to that dreaded trash can, every time he got close to shredding another strip from the paper mache sculpture he’d become, he froze. It was impossible. Triscin was looking at a picture he and Eleanor had taken on their way to Colo...

191 comments 191

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“Effortlessly Weightless” by Maya -

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #66

At first when I wake up, it feels like any ordinary Saturday morning. I reach over to hit the tempting orange snooze button on my phone before I catch myself. This morning I can’t afford to allow myself ten more blissful minutes of sleep. Today, there is somewhere I need to be and I can’t be even seconds late. The moment I remember my plans for today, the relentless nerves return. There is a queasy feeling in my stomach as I force myself to eat breakfast. I don’t have much of an appetite, but I’ll need all the energy I can get. At ...

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“The Annual Life or Death Beauty Pageant” by ♡ ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝 ♡

Submitted to Contest #66

Everyone tells me I’m beautiful. I’m serious, everyone. Strangers strolling down the street will drop their coffee on the sidewalk and gawk at me, then ask how my complexion is so clear. All of the girls at Wilmington Academy beg me to style their hair and apply their makeup. All of the boys practically drool whenever I pass them by in the halls. Everyone wants to be me. Which is why I decided to enter into the Life or Death Beauty Pageant. The Annual Life or Death Beauty Pageant - or ALDB Pageant for short - is a contest watched worldw...

227 comments 227

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“Sonder” by Amiable Sorceress

Submitted to Contest #66

“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.” The room smells like the incense our family lit when my brother died, old flames licking the frostbitten air. Ling stares at me, her hazel eyes boring into my own as we sit uncomfortably across one another, her words stinging the incense ridden air. “I know.” The night is cold, just like that night, I will be missing in his memory tonight. For a minute, I want to run back to the warmth of home, but the soft glaze of the moon shines on my path ahead. It doesn’t count if you’...

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“Who Loves Lives” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #66

“You are going to die today if you don’t do this right. And I mean literally.”“I know,” I squeeze out between clenched teeth.I pull the arrow as far as I possibly can without breaking the bow’s string and aim.My fingers let go of the arrow.It lands a few inches away from the centre of the target.I curse.******It’s my WWL today. Who Wins Lives. I’ve been training for this day for the entirety of my life.To ensure that I have a life after WWL.Quite simply, whoever wins, lives.The title should have been Who Loses Dies.That is a more accurate wa...

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“They Didn't Break Me” by . .

Submitted to Contest #66

Why did it always have to be me? I’m not special. I don’t live a life of luxury or poverty. I’m not beautiful or ugly. I’m average. Yet still, they chose me. Still, they chose to uproot me from my home, tell me I’ve received a great honor, and shove me in a contest they know I won’t win. Waking up in the morning is the worst part, because I have to be let down again, have to recognize the truth of my situation and embrace it with open arms. After all, I don’t have a choice. It’s either go all in or die an outcast, hated by my country for not...

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$50

Prize money

584

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Nov 06, 2020 EST

Won by David G. 🏆

Title: Mahalo King Cod Filet

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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