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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

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

“The Letter of Her Dreams” by Monica Chaddick

Submitted to Contest #66

Sydney was exhausted. She worked her boring, tedious job as a cashier at the local grocery store, then went home to clean, cook, and do laundry for herself and her three kids. Then it was homework, baths, bedtime stories, and finally she was able to collapse into bed until morning. Morning brought more tedious, mundane tasks. Making lunches, cooking breakfast, making certain that bags were packed and the kids got to school. Then back to her job again. &...

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“10 Feet” by Erin F

Submitted to Contest #66

I was almost there. Just one more step, one more reach, and I would succeed. I would do what I had trained and prepared for my whole life. I would be rich. I could have everything that I’d ever only dreamed of. But… I was hesitating. All my life, I’d been training for this moment. Before I could walk, I was pulling myself up and across rocks and boulders, soldiering my way on with twice as much determination as anyone ten times my age. People assumed that it was because of my father’s legacy, but there was something more, something that ...

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“Tonight” by Stormy Meyer

Submitted to Contest #66

Tonight. Ava stared at herself in the mirror of her vanity in her bedroom. Her heart fluttered and her fingers tapped nervously against the polished wood. Tonight, was the night. She glanced down at the script that sat on the vanity in front of her, then back up at her reflection. 'Relax,' she told herself. 'You'll be fine. You've spent months rehearsing, the choreography is instinct, and your lines are memorized. You'll do fine.' And yet, she couldn't stop worrying. Maybe it was because she'd dreamed of this night for so long, an...

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“Reino Dorado” by Hannah Sobczak

Submitted to Contest #66

“Alright, let’s stop here,” I paused and signaled to the party behind me. I surveyed the clearing as people began to put up tents. It was the seven month of our exploration looking for Reino Dorado. I had searched for nine long years, dedicating my life to the discovery of the ancient Aztec kingdom. I pulled my leatherbound journal out of my backpack, and sat down on the ground to report today’s findings. My intern and younger cousin, Tasha, approached me cautiously. She knew I was getting a bit restless. “Sabrina?” she asked. “What would ...

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“Fairytales endings don’t exist” by Sophia Lloyd

Submitted to Contest #66

When i was growing up my mother was overly relaxed in probably every way and my father was worrywart, consistent with his nagging. The two of them were quite the pair if I don't say so myself, they had absolutely nothing in common aside from the fact that they both loved every one of the Star Wars movies and they were constantly annoyed with one another. Yet somehow they managed to never really, truly fight in any sense of the word. I mean clearly, they would get annoyed with one another constantly, to the point where being in the same room...

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“Marilyn - David King's short quest” by Bogdan Kross

Submitted to Contest #66

Marilyn. David King’s Short Quest ‘Hallo uncle Peter,’ David called out stepping off the old 1970s coach in Nice, capital of French riviera. It was the start of Summer 1998 and young David King, fresh after graduation met his long-lost uncle. It was almost a decade ago when Peter decided to ‘travel the West’. This was the official version but from his parents’ quiet conversations, David knew that there was something more to his disappearance than this. So, when they heard that Peter is finally back in Europe, David almost forced his parent...

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“TOUCH THE SKY” by Cathy Vincent

Submitted to Contest #66

TOUCH THE SKY Once upon a time in the countryside of California there lived two friends - Chippy and Becky. Chippy was a little sparrow. He has been living in that almond tree since he was an egg. He lived with his parents and his little brother. Chippy was a reckless fellow. He follows what he believes and do what he thinks is right. A wild soul he was. A little barn stood just steps away from Chippy’s almond tree. There were all kinds of animals – like horses, sheep and hens in that barn. It was Chippy’s little hideout whenever he ha...

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“The Ritz” by Stephen McIntosh

Submitted to Contest #66

Helen opened the door as though she was entering the Ritz in London. The sun shined brightly behind her, blue sky with not a cloud to be seen. It was going to be a great day, her day. She strode forward, her shoulders back, chest out, chin up. She was finally going to do it, no matter what anyone thought, this day was hers. She had spent her life being small, boring, normal and she wouldn’t let it continue. Today she was going to achieve her dream and it was going help her start the next chapter of her life. She reached the till ...

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“The First Kiss” by None-of Yourbizniz

Submitted to Contest #66

Jenny The monitors beep around me. I can't see anything, but I hear voices. Crying. I hear crying. I struggle to open my eyes, but they are glued shut. I can hear my parents. I feel like I'm drowning in my own body. I try to lift my arm, to say “Hey! I’m right here!” but my arm feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I think back to how I even got here in the first place. And then I remember. We were in his car, driving home. I was looking at him, as he kept his eyes fixated on the road in front of us. “I had a great time with you.” I tried...

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“The swept away treasure ” by Joan Opoyi

Submitted to Contest #66

The rain was pouring down;walking down a muddy path with a shovel in my hand. The strong wind that kept on blowing away my hat from my head as I chased after it.Sliding into a dirty pool of water; my face all covered up with mud. My hand could feel something hard beneath the mud;no matter how I tried to reach towards it, the deeper it went.It took me hours, days or even a whole year to dig out that treasure in me. "How long will you keep on trailing your treasures?" My mind was switched off from the voices that moved like a redio with no ba...

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“I write history books!” by Leon Moss

Submitted to Contest #66

It must have been back in 1942 when I was 9 years old that I walked past a newsagent’s shop and saw a boys’ magazine, “The Wizard”. It had a colored picture of a soccer player shooting a penalty on the cover and I just had to have it. I nagged my mother until she gave me the money to buy a copy. At home, I opened it and stumbled into a new world – an unexplored world of adventure and sports. It was a place I’d never been in. All I seemed to hear those days were snippets about sport on the radio when we gathered around to listen to the news o...

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“Winning Edge” by Deathof TheAuthor

Submitted to Contest #66

“I’m going down as a legend, whether or not you like me or not. I am the new Jim Morrison. I am the new Kurt Cobain. I am Warhol. I am Shakespeare in the flesh.” So says my favorite performer and songwriter. When I’m successful, I’ll have to make sure to call him. I’ll let him know how much he inspired me in the lonesome, gloomy days renting a cold basement and filling my notebook with dreams. I used to put his songs on a loop and repeat their affirmations to myself as I worked. No self-pity for me. Thanks, Kanye! Of course, all the stuf...

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“I want to live in america” by Jose Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #66

Kirby rummpana was born in india. Remote village where everyone knew each other. They pretty much looked out and raised each other. So close to each other meant they had no privacy but the good thing was they had a strong support system in place. You could go over to your neighbor and get some sugar when you needed it. Many hungry nights his dad begged his neighbors for some leftovers. Kirby didnt know this he was a happy go lucky kid focused on girls. Typical. His family was of modest means, fancy they were not. They were born to a lower ca...

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“The Last Shift” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #66

It took time but I made it… I remember, I went from working in the credit field to the telecom field. Two distinct fields with no concrete correlation. I had to take that new job. It was from one call center to another call center but the pay increase was significant. Almost 56%!!! Where I used to work, people were very friendly and we were a small team, a small department. I felt like we were a family. We were about twenty-five employees in that office. After some time, the tasks involved had become too monotonous. I would end up repeat...

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“A Proposal” by Liz Dolence

Submitted to Contest #66

“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat,” John said, annoyed. “Of course it still counts,” Ken insisted. “I’m still going to talk to her, aren’t I?” “But you won’t get anywhere with that attitude.” “How do I know I even want to get somewhere with her?” “Look at her,” John reasoned, “It’s worth a chance. And you are going to be single forever if you are waiting for the perfect person to just stroll into your life. Plus, she’s been giving you ‘come hither’ glances all evening.” “Maybe I don’t have any problem being single...

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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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