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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#73: My True Love Gave to Me

In years past, we’ve themed our seasonal prompts around a favorite Christmas movie… This year, we’re going to mix things up and base them off a Christmas song! And since this week’s contest runs through December 25th, what better song to pick than The 12 Days of Christmas?

If you need a little inspiration to get you in the holiday spirit, check out the Christmas and Holiday sections in our Stories directory to see what members of your community have come up with! With all these marvelously festive tales to choose from, we know you’ll find something to get you feeling jolly in no time.

And despite the Christmas origins, our prompts work for any holiday, so feel free to celebrate in a way that's true to you! We can't wait to see your character's traditions.

This week's prompts

Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn’t know how to take care of it.

Holiday – 200 stories

Write about someone who gets proposed to five times on Christmas Eve.

Romance – 170 stories

Write about a drummer going to a Halloween party for musicians.

Halloween – 54 stories

Write about a young nobleman whose greatest wish is to become an Olympic long jumper.

Middle School – 20 stories

Write about a backup dancer who’s on tour and just wants some peace and quiet for the holidays.

Winter – 54 stories

Stories

“Curtain Call ” by Marion Donnellier

Submitted to Contest #73

As an actor, we're told from our very first performance that the light projected onto the stage would protect us from the intrusive look of the audience and create a safe place, calming our nerves until the inevitable judgment. The reality is quite different and lights are rarely this strong. I personally like to peak at a face or two and spot a reaction. It's a tricky move that can easily either lead to a much-welcomed confidence boost or end up damaging my performance altogether. Then again there is always the risk a projector will break, ...

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“The Final Red Light” by Matias Matias

Submitted to Contest #73

The Final Red Light - I Gerardo, motionless in the quiet darkness of the amphitheatre, waiting for the signaling beam which would diminish the identical faces of the crowd into a blur of blinding red light, announcing the symbolic death and rebirth of the unnamed dancer/warrior. The final act was the most startling for Gerardo, and a thousand more performances wouldn't fade the anxiety which it provoked. He was certainly not the most inexperienced amongst the cast (a few years had rendered him competent in his act) but compared to those wh...

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“Chatty” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #73

Fran? Fran, it’s Cyn. CYN! No, not your sister. Your cousin. You don’t have a sister. Are you drinking that grass drink I bought you at the store near my house? Drink it, it’s good for you. CYN! Am I bothering you? Well, I know it’s 4am, but I had a feeling you’d be up. Especially if I called you a few times. What was it--six? Six times? You should really answer your phone as soon as you hear it. It could be an emergency. I could be dead. Imagine if your cousin was dead and you didn’t even know it, because you were ...

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“Christmas bird” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #73

- Today is the 20th of December – I reminded my husband , and it makes exactly a month since we just moved from a big city . - Having a Christmas party in the countryside is going to be fun – my husband John said, looking for “ the twelve days of Christmas” vinyl disc to play on his old Philips disc player with diamond ring. ? And we both started to dance, moved by the rhythm . -&n...

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“Secret Santa ” by Kumbi Chitenderu

Submitted to Contest #73

Donald and his cousins screamed as they ran through the house. Tyrannosaurus! Mastodon! Triceratops! Sabre toothed tiger!Wait, I’m the Sabre toothed tiger. Tsitsi had stopped running. Yellow is my favourite colour. No, it’s mine. Tanya stood staring at Tsitsi, arms folded.Donald could sense a fight coming and he was not about to have his holiday ruined. Two weeks wasn’t enough time to pack in fun and fights. Those had to be kept to a minimum. Guys why don’t you switch every two rounds, he suggested. By now the power range...

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“The Jump” by Navneeth N

Submitted to Contest #73

Harry’s foot sailed through the air, kicking up dust as it flew. It landed with a thud against the fine dirt, and his body followed. He landed with a grunt, slipping slightly. He got up, panting. His feet ached, and he glanced over to the markers on the side of the track. The imprints of his foot were next to the marker that read 8.7 meters. Harry pumped his fist in the air; he couldn’t believe it. 8.7 meters! Only 0.2 meters away from the world record. That was it. Evan looked down at his legs. They were serving him well. All th...

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“Voiceless Poet ” by Lilli Colbath

Submitted to Contest #73

"I don't want to hear it!" The director yelled at me. "But-" I started. " NO!" He said and walked away. It really wasn't my fault that Christmas tree on set fell over. Well, I thought to myself at least I got noticed. I walked back over to my make-up station and gathered what little things I had there and headed out to my car. Thankfully my car started this time because I felt the looming auditorium suffocating me. ________ _______________ ____________ ______________ I flopped on my couch with the grilled cheese I had just made and switched ...

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“The flying nobleman” by وداد أكرم

Submitted to Contest #73

Harry stared long into the sky and sighed long in the hope that he would not reveal himself during the World Athletics Championships in the long jump. Harry loves this sport and despite all the obstacles and barriers, he finally achieved half the dream remained the second half . Harry is studying medicine at one of the most prestigious English universities and since he is a gentry, there are sports that he is forbidden to practice, Polo, Equestrian and swimming have always been imposed on him . In this year of 2030 decided Harry four y...

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“Cottage in the Woods” by Ken Coomes

Submitted to Contest #73

Large, fluffy flakes danced over seven falls and draped the forest in white. The world, blanketed in white, held its collective breath, anticipating something special on this Christmas Eve. But white wasn’t the only color to be seen in the gleaming twilight. An arched opening of deepest black, untouched by the snow, stretched up from the base of the seventh hill. Dusky light reflected off the falling snow failed to penetrate the shadowy adit. A narrow, rust-colored path, magically untouched by the snow, snaked from the bottom of the dark o...

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“Strained Hamstring” by Sara Blanch

Submitted to Contest #73

One of the worst things about my job was trying to find rhythm in terrible songs with a basic , repititive pop beat and meaningless lyrics. Whilst I got myself through the Australian university of the performing arts, I worked as a backup dancer through the holiday months to make ends meet. This role was arranged through my uni which meant that I had little to no say in the jobs I took...which was why I was spending yet another weekend performing the same bordlerine innapropriately sexual moves over and over as the latest young pop sens...

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“Best vacation ever” by Jasmine Collins

Submitted to Contest #73

You know how alot of story's end with lots of happiness and fun laughter and lots of noises. Well for one I am so sick of crowds cheering and everything that has to do with loud noises. Yes I sound like a christmas scrooge but i am just trying to get some peace and quit but I cant with all the noise that keeps happening every day and even night as well it's like no one sleeps anymore. I am a ballerina dancer at a studio call scarlett swan. I have lots of fun dancing but I have had enough of the fans for a while I want to be away from the for...

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“The Golden Bird” by Shreenidhi Ramamurthi

Submitted to Contest #73

Disclaimer: The characters Panchali and Krishna are inspired by Indian Mythology. However the story is completely a fiction and not a part of the Indian Mythology. Little Kittu was lying on his Grandma’s lap, his cute little eyes wide open in excitement and his half agape mouth drooling. ‘Jusht one more shtory grandma, pleeeeeashe,’ said Kittu in his squeaky voice. Who could deny any request that comes from this soft melodious voice? ‘Ssshhhh! Not so loud! Your mother w...

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“The Language of Birds.” by Sheikh Muzamil

Submitted to Contest #73

"Do not let it out until it gets adjusted," Sahil said."But i do not want to cage it," i said."You do not have to," he said with a sly smile, "just pluck out the flight feathers on its wings and it will have no option but to stay."He looked at me expecting an agreement from me. I smiled back.Sahil was a well known pigeon fancier in our village. Stories about him catching new birds everyday and his experience to tame them were known to all. I told him how much i was worried about my pigeon not eating anything. He explained everything that i s...

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“State of Liberosis” by Emre Yildiz

Submitted to Contest #73

Black-legged kittiwakes are flying birds commonly known as “winter gull” in New England as they hint at the incoming winter. Here in Manitoba, province of Canada these are simply kittiwakes. There are two subspecies, namely R. tridactyla pollicaris and R. tridactyle tridactyla. Mainly seen near the sea except during the breeding period, from May to September, when they can be found nesting on the sheerest sea cliffs. They are rarely found inland, though they have been sighted on a few occasions as far as 20 km inland. Normally, kittiwake spe...

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“A Holly-Jolly Christmas” by Elliot G

Submitted to Contest #73

Theo was lonely. He lived by himself in a tiny little basement apartment near the outskirts of town; far from the busy city streets. He did not particularly desire human company and was rather grateful for his independence. However, on the rare occasion that he found himself growing excessively lonesome, Theo would sometimes find himself longing for a companion and there was no denying it. As the holidays approached, Theo could feel himself grow especially isolated and miserable as he watched families gather together, joyful and ex...

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$50

Prize money

498

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 25, 2020 EST

Won by Shawn Forno 🏆

Title: Burt Brain

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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