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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#74: Countdown

Congratulations everyone, we’re almost done with 2020! As we reach the final week of a year that’s brought so much upheaval to all our lives, there’s bound to be even more clock-watching than usual.

To channel this anticipation, this week we’re going to focus on counting things down. Whether it’s seconds, days, or tasks, striking through lists and calendars is both therapeutic and practical. So don’t let me hold you up! After all, time’s a-tickin’ and these stories aren’t going to write themselves!

This week's prompts

Write about someone scrambling to finish a goal in the last few hours of the year.

Winter – 123 stories

Write about someone keeping track of time with tally marks on a wall — until one day they discover that all the marks are gone.

Thriller and Suspense – 133 stories

Write a story that takes place across ten days.

Kids – 100 stories

Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Kids – 256 stories

Write a story in the form of a top-ten list.

Middle School – 115 stories

Stories

“250 Days” by Iona Cottle

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #74

Esme sat and watched the sun pass across her room, just as she did every day, waiting for the right time. That wasn’t to say that she watched it all day, every day, although she did spend a lot of her time – probably more than most – just watching the box of light trek across her painted wall. It wasn’t as though there was all that much else to do. During the morning, when the light was best, she did draw and read, but after her lunch arrived through the little flap in the middle of her door, she’d settle into her large armchair and watc...

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“Always and Forever” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #74

“Maggie?” “Magdalena?” “I’m coming, give me a second,” I yell at Mom, pulling up the world map to its original position to hide the marks behind it. I guess I have to cut it off after lunch. You always knew that Mom meant business when she called me Magdalena. Rarely anyone called me that anymore, being the mouthful that it is. Except for him, who always said that it was beautiful. I hear footsteps coming towards my room, and I try to fix the map quicker, but my fingers fumble and it doesn’t loop around perfectly. Mom comes in t...

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“You did it” by 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚝 ~

Submitted to Contest #74

DAY 1Dear Diary,Today was horrible. My friends aren’t really my friends anymore. Luna left me to go visit her friends that have things to share with her: little fancy cheesecakes, designer pens, and their bunnies. Bunnies. Luna will do anything for bunnies. After English, Kaylie completely ditched me, going off with her cousins to the mall to buy who knows what. Probably purses. Raven, being the most similar to me, decided to morph into a different person. She and I were all like, “Yes, we like darkness, grunge, black, all that good stuff.” ...

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“Countdown!” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #74

Title: Countdown! Author: Haripriya Author's Note: Hello everyone! I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! 10: I carefully bite the humongous popcorn kernel I accidentally got, as I foraged through the entire jar. I look down at my buttery popcorn and look at mom, who looks at dad, who looks at my little brother, who looks at his toy. Everyone's glare is now back at the flat screen T.V. I too eagerly look at the T.V and back at my popcorn, trying to find a bigger piece than the one I just found. The house is filled ...

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“Graphite Lines” by ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕒 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕨 🏳️‍🌈 (inactive For The Summer)

Submitted to Contest #74

The sound of the graphite point scraping against cement. Drawing a line. Placing a hand on the cold wall. Pulling it away and inspecting the black dust. Is it ash or graphite? Her home had burned. She had been put here. She wore clothes of rags. Her hair was uneven and dirty. Her eyes had once been full of life and beauty. Now, they were empty. Devoid of what had been there. Once a week she showered. Once a day she ate. Once a month she gazed out the window, just to tell herself there was still beauty in the world. Once a year she got to go ...

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“A Promise to Future Me” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #74

I wake up in the middle of the night, my body jerking upright. I just remembered something. And I know that I cannot get back to sleep without handling it. I ignore the fact that Benjamin is not in bed, even though it stings, more than the cold tonight. I walk over to my desk, shivering due to the cold, pulling on my sweater tighter. Turning on the lamp, I flip feverishly through the pages of my journal, the smell of ink as familiar as the back of my hand. I land on the page I’m looking for, the list of goals I had written down carefully exa...

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“Heart to Beat” by Rayhan Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #74

As soon as her eyes snap open to a dark ceiling and her body registers the sense of unease, she knows the Dream has begun.She climbs off the mattress and slides the bedroom door open to reveal a short stretch of hallway, dimly-lit; at the end of it is a staircase descending into the light. Any time now, the seconds will start to tick down.And I’ll only have ten.It’s a small house, and from her vantage point she takes in the sight of the open kitchen by the front hall, the only light source at this hour—unfinished dishes half-drowning in soap...

121 comments 121

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“Getting Up” by Amiable Sorceress

Submitted to Contest #74

10 “Imagine yourself getting up and walking to me.” I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand, wobbling shakily. If I sat back down, would the shaking stop? “Imagine yourself walking to me, and then do it.” I had a brain; I could think. Heck yeah, I could imagine myself dancing across the wooden floor, but the shaking...would I fall through the floor before I got to the other side? Through the window, I saw Max peeking inside. “You’re going to be fine.” He mouthed, fogging up the window. But I wasn’t going to be fin...

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“Believer” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #74

Top Ten Things to Believe in This Year #10 Santa Claus Do you believe in Santa Claus? I don’t anymore. I used to think he was this kind man with big hands whose smile was pale and stretched lines into the moon. My childish thoughts shaped this man who drew snowflakes and birds into the sky like a coloring book. But that was ended for me when my grandmother let those three forbidding words slide off the tip of her tongue. I used to be a stupid child who knew nothing but how the light combed through the sky. Now I know thi...

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“Dancing Trees” by Maggie Deese

Submitted to Contest #74

It was t-minus two hours until the Sapling Festival began. Jaxton stood in the midst of the pitch-black field behind the stadium trying to get those darn trees to dance. In front of him loomed two large, voluptuous trees off to his right and left and, in the middle, a tree that matched his seven-foot height. The three trees stayed stock-still waiting for Jaxton's instruction; he hated that about them. The trees were obedient things, always ready to pounce when given the signal. They were good at that, waiting. It was getting them to ...

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“And the Ball Drops (Cressida's POV)” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #74

Author's Note: This is a collab I did with Nainika Gupta! She is a really amazing author so you should definitely check out her part (Wayne's POV) and all the rest of her stories. I put the link to her page in a comment. Hope you enjoy reading this!On the morning of December 31, the streets are way more crowded than usual. People bustle down the sidewalk on their way to meet friends for breakfast, while others sit on cold benches sipping steaming thermoses of coffee or hot chocolate. The license plates of the many cars parallel parked down t...

125 comments 125

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“Dear Diary” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #74

May 15th Thursday 9:37 PM Dear Diary, Today was an awful day. It couldn’t have gone worse. I told Uriah that this marriage wasn’t working out. He tried to convince me otherwise but ended up being more pro-divorce than me. He pointed out everything about me that bothered him, from my long working hours to my ‘obsessive need to clean’ to the fact that I still write in a diary like ‘a little angsty teenager’ when he was apparently ‘right here’ for me to talk to. I’ve never met anyone more annoyingly logical than Uriah. He always...

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“The Man Who Gave His Heart to a Stranger” by Yolanda Wu

Submitted to Contest #74

The coolness of the night air wasn’t helping with his insomnia.It was chilling. Made goosebumps prickle against his skin. If anything, it shocked him awake, rather than making him drowsy.He needed one of those hot, sticky summer nights where the air was sluggish and lethargic.He rubbed at his eyes. They were stinging and bloodshot.Every fibre and muscle within him wanted to collapse and take him to the blissful realm of sleep.But his mind was buzzing with energy. Too much. Too many thoughts running through his head.Running wild.Banged agains...

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“Top Ten” by BRoOkE HAs A COwBoY HAt

Submitted to Contest #74

My Top Ten Reedsy BFF’sDisclaimer: I want all of you to go check out these people and follow them and give support and read their stories because they’re all WONDERIFIC and so deserve it. Also, almost everything that I wrote goes for each and every one of these people, so if you’re one of the top ten and there’s something you wanted me to say that I said for someone else, let me know or please remember that everything goes for everyone. If that makes any sense at all...1.) Megan SutherlandMeg is one of the best people that I don’t know. She ...

353 comments 353

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“Fingers Crossed, for 2021!” by Akshaya Sutrave

Submitted to Contest #74

2020 Mapped out:Goal #01- January- Make this a fantastic new decadeI can’t believe this. This is the start of a fresh year. A year that is the very first of a whole new decade! It is something almost the entire world has been anticipating. I’m on top of the world right now. I need to follow every last resolution of mine this time. Whatever happens, this decade is going to be different, and I can feel it in my bones. Let’s make it a better decade in a better world!Goal #02- February- Continue the ‘smooth sail’So far, everything has ...

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$50

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727

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 01, 2021 EST

Won by Scout Tahoe 🏆

Title: Kindergarten

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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