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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

“ONE MOMENT IN TIME” by Kogi Naicker

Submitted to Contest #66

From young, and as I grew older, listening to One Moment in Time by the late Whitney Houston always opened my head, actually probably my heart more than my head, to a life of serving others and making a contribution to lives all around me. Even though that picture of how it was going to be done was not very clear, the feeling that it created inside would spontaneously bring tears of gratitude. I felt like the song was written about my life, written for me. Being rebellious in so many ways and always thinking that there was so much more to...

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“the good, the bad and the ugly” by Vatsal Lahoti

Submitted to Contest #66

Trigger warnings: suicide, mass murder “Hurry now! Its only in the night that we can travel in a group. Jia get up! tonight is not for sleeping, come and help me to pack these things, and be ready before your father comes, come on.” Jia was a seven-year old girl with a malnourished body but gleaming bright eyes. She was educated but not in the traditional sense. Jia had seen all the sides of the world and she had even divided them into three categories. The good, the bad and the ugly. According to her she was yet to explore the first ...

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“Just another day... At a time.” by Brian Lilah

Submitted to Contest #66

Sunlight flooded in through the blinds. Almost simultaneously he heard a rhythmic knocking at the door. Was it obnoxiously sunny before or after his daughters had knocked on his door? Who knows, he thought groggily as he got up and opened up, knowing this was the official start of his day. He felt 2 pairs of little hands wrap around his legs as his girls looked up at him with a smile. They each looked like their mother, which always gave the man relief. Big beautiful eyes, long hair, and of course hearts bigger than the entire universe. The ...

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“My Vehicle Story” by William Chumbley

Submitted to Contest #66

Today I woke up and I realized today’s the day I get my Tesla so I drove seven hours to Detroit and went to the Tesla dealership, I looked at the kind of Tesla’s they had, I found the one that I wanted it was the Tesla cyber truck they let me test drive it so then I could know if that was the one I want and then I said “no I don’t want that one I want to Tesla model X” and when I sat down to see the phone number of the car, I said how much is the car and they said $100,000 and then I said is there any cheaper prices and they said $90,000 dol...

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“Nicole” by A.J. Brown

Submitted to Contest #66

Roman logged out of his Facebook. There was nothing interesting there, of course, just people showing off pictures of their families or political posts. He looked around his apartment living room which was mostly empty except the couch he was sitting on, the recliner, and the flat screen TV. This was his life. 35-years-old and single without any kind of woman in his life, living in a one-bedroom apartment. He always had gotten good grades in school and graduated college with a 3.6 GPA and a business administration de...

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“The Chosen One” by Rama Chaudhary

Submitted to Contest #66

“The Gods smile onto you, your highness.” Petitioner practically cooed to my sister. I fumed inside but maintained my outer expression, a charming smile. Jasnah, my twin and the mortal enemy accepted the praise with a gracious nod and heralds presented next person in the court. It was always like this. She was the future of the family and the kingdom, the chosen one, prophesized to bring a new dawn while I was an afterthought. But I knew it to be untrue. I knew the truth behind the façade of her charming personality. I knew the mistake...

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“The Long Road” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #66

I looked across the room at my husband, the person who has been by my side through this long and difficult journey. Sensing I was watching him and thinking I needed something, he took two strides with his long legs and he was by my side once again. His strong, rough to the touch hands gently brushed away the stray strand of hair from my sweaty face. “Are you feeling ok my beautiful?” he asked quietly, his voice to me, as always, was soothing, velvety as a piece of creamy choc melting on my tongue. Dark blue eyes, pools of deep water met...

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“The Wide Black Yonder” by Barbara Eustace

Submitted to Contest #66

If Roderick Deschiens could have drawn breath at this moment, he would have taken a deep one. He was going beyond what any man had ever done in the history of mankind. Let’s face it, he told himself, you’ve been breaking barriers for the past fifty years or more. This was just one more. Except there would be no return from this one. Probably. And if he did return, what then? What was there to come back to? He had no family. Tamsin had died five years ago, what was left of his own body had been switched off...

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“Descent” by Matthew Eubanks

Submitted to Contest #66

“Something's wrong with the pumping station,” Tadia said. Her eye was fixated on a blinking red light. The rest of the panel was cold and black. Irvine Cobb looked up from the alarm and out at the barren lunar surface. It had turned gray as the sun passed but it would soon be lit up in warm yellows when the sun rose. Tadia swore under her breath. In twenty four hours she was scheduled to see her children and husband on Pisces 1, have dinner, watch the water flow from orbit into the lunar lake they had spent a year p...

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“The Size of the Dog” by Ian MacVicar

Submitted to Contest #66

The 800-metre race is possibly the most intense competition in track and field. Part sprint, part endurance race, this distance taxes the body, bone, lungs, and the will every step of the way. This is really true in the last 400 metre lap when you body is running on empty, and especially in the last 200 metre sprint to the tape when you often have nothing left but the will to win. I had trained for track virtually my entire school career, and now as a college senior, I was on the verge of being selected for the Canadian National Olympic T...

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“The wait of the crown” by Scott Blevins

Submitted to Contest #66

Edward climbed the seven wooden steps up to the elevated stage; each bowing under his weight, with a painful-creak. His entourage, numbering seven, filed up the steps behind him, each announced by their personal sing-song of creaks and groans which varied by weight and by gait. The priest and other officiators were already on stage, having arrived earlier. As Edward cleared the last step, the master-of-ceremonies motioned him to the high wooden throne set in the middle of the stage. His new bride followed, who they motioned to the...

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“Ghost Writer” by Sarah Engelskirchen-Bugler

Submitted to Contest #66

Tomorrow. Tomorrow by eight in the morning. That’s what she had said. Six hours from now, and here I am with palms sweaty and shaking, but somehow supporting the weight of my head in my hands. Shoulders tensed and caved in, sending ripples of pain to my lower back. I can barely bring myself to peer through my fingertips at the blank and blinding computer screen in front of me, cursor blinking methodically. Mocking me. Eight in the morning. That’s what she had said. Like it was a favor. I suppose that it was. She had ...

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“A Contest of Sorts” by Ray Van Der Veer

Submitted to Contest #66

Jasper’s hands shook like an earthquake was rocking the ground, and the hot coffee in his hand began to spill out of his cup, the liquid scorching his hand. He dropped the cup and it splattered into the air, over his jeans and the two women standing next to me. “Oh my god!” shrieked the younger one, glaring through glasses that framed her face in a manner reminiscent of a raccoon. Her long pointy nose continued to point in his direction as she shook her right leg first and the...

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“letter for a dead girl” by Stefano D'Antimo

Submitted to Contest #66

“it doesn’t count if you are already planning your defeat” you said, kindly stroking my fluffy hair. “what do you mean it doesn’t? it’s much better than planning to win. You are already ready for the hit losing will give you” I answered. I was laid down on her lap looking up at you. From there I could see you face hunched over me; you weren’t beautifully pretty. you didn’t have long blond hair, or any, for that matter. your eyes also weren’t sparkling full of life and they weren’t blue, like all those models you see on social media. When y...

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“Pickled” by Amy Wright

Submitted to Contest #66

“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat,” Nick said. His perfectly ovalled nails glinted as he tapped them against the side of his sweating martini glass. “What doesn’t count?” Renee asked. “I’m going to eat the pickles, aren’t I?” Her short, wavy hair was disheveled and the expression on her round face was sour. She looked at the red lattice basket in front of her heaped high with fried pickles cooling into hardened grease. She stabbed one repeatedly with a cocktail straw. “Why did I enter this ridiculous contest?” She si...

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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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