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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#75: New Year, New You

For many of us, the last year was like living through a low-budget disaster movie — but the good thing about the new year is that it gives us an excuse to start fresh. And even though flipping a calendar doesn’t necessarily fix all our problems, it’s still good to take a moment and think about everything you do have the power to change.

In that spirit, this week’s prompts are all about fresh starts. From small, personal achievements to huge goals that will change the world, everything starts with the decision to try. What sort of things will your characters achieve this year? What sort of things will you?

This week's prompts

Write about someone who has finally managed to succeed at a long-standing New Year’s resolution.

Winter – 98 stories

Write about someone whose job is to help people leave their old lives behind.

Adults – 246 stories

Start your story with one character making a vow that they never would have made the year before.

Holiday – 102 stories

Write about someone who doesn’t remember their past — and doesn’t want to.

Thriller and Suspense – 205 stories

Write about two characters who each want to change the same thing, but resolve to go about it in very different ways.

Teens – 84 stories

Stories

“THE DISAVOWAL” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #75

I am a businessman aged 34. I had received a message from club STROMBOLI asking me to join. I discussed with my wife and she said “They call it the weight watchers paradise. It seems to be quite popular. The New Year is soon. Let us make weight watching our resolution.” I said “STROMBOLI in only for the rich. See the amount they charge. 50 thousand rupees as donation at the outset. There’re only 100 members and if I register and am accepted I would have to pay what they call late fees. I’m 166 on the list. I don’t know how much more I would‘...

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“Divine Visitation” by Ur_ Favouritexx

Submitted to Contest #75

Trigger warning: self harm, suicidal ideation, substance abuse Divine Visitation. Change they say is constant, but Chisom felt the same way every year since the death of her parents. It wasn’t that she willed herself to be depressed, things weren’t just working out for her. Her caretaker had demanded that she had a month to pay her rent, or she’d park out of the lodge, her grades were dropping the more time she spent drowning in alcohol, instead of studying for her exams. She repressed a sigh, making a vow ...

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“Remorseful New Start” by Floraine Thwin

Submitted to Contest #75

Remorseful New Start In august 2019, the father was feeling bad in stomach and he couldn’t release out the waste daily. He ate the pills for his stomach and there was nothing happen over 3 days. Three days later, he put out the waste from stomach a little and ate the breakfast. When he took lunch at that day, he felt unwell inside so he hadn’t finished the lunch. And then, go straight to bed for resting a bit. But an hour later, he was vomiting very serio...

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“New Year's Resolution” by M.W. Nel

Submitted to Contest #75

“Are you mad?” Linette scrunched her brows up in disbelief. “That’s your New Year’s resolution?” “What? Why do you sound so surprised?” Bridgette took a sip from her wine. “Bridgette, are you being blackmailed or something?” “What? No. Why would you think that?” “Uhm, maybe because you sound ridiculous and not at all like yourself.” “That’s ridiculous.” Bridgette puffed in defense. “No, what’s ridiculous is what you just told me.” “All I said was that I want to have a baby.” “With Rex?” “Yes.” “And tell me. What has your New Year’s res...

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“Fighting to live” by Lisa Greghi

Submitted to Contest #75

I will never get admitted in a clinic, anorexic but not dying does not qualify for treatment. I can become as thin as paper, but until I reach a weight they consider dangerous enough, I won’t get in. They want to cure us, but fuel what we want: to be considered so sick people would worry we will drop dead at any moment. The thinner you are, the less you matter, but the more people worry for you. There is a power in death very few are aware of. Sick people know it more than anyone. I will restrict more, become thinner, and control every...

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“Remember to Forget” by Raveena Weerabahu

Submitted to Contest #75

“May I remember to forget” she vowed in firm resolution, even as a stranger peered across at her almost invasively. Chipped nails adorned the hand that rubbed blearily as the owner struggled to comprehend the image ahead. Weary eyes, wrinkled skin, chapped lips and frown lines told the tale of a soul beset with hardships. She turned away from the mirror; its ornate frame glinting contrastingly against the grim image it showed. There was a startled yell as someone dropped yet another vase but she cared little; they were not hers to cr...

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“Reverie (And a Happy New Year)” by Janice L

Submitted to Contest #75

When the ball drops at twelve, the whole world will erupt into a frenzy of fireworks, alcohol, and happiness. The excitement fills the air in every home and heart in the neighborhood. "Welcome!" my neighbor smiles. Her face is contorted by her colorful festive lights, sculpting her bright and cheerful smile. "Happy almost New Year!" She takes my gift of wine out of my hands and gestures her hands into her already bustling New Year's party. "I'm so glad you and your boyfriend could make it. Come on in!" We carefully put our shoes next t...

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“The Time Reset” by Jena Carruthers

Submitted to Contest #75

"Number 2021, how are you feeling?" the nurse asks. "Um my name is Hamuar." Hamuar sat up in bed, looking around. "What happened?" "You drained way too much of your power." The nurse said. "And caused a whole lot of death and destruction." She looked at the window. "What do you mean? What did I do? What is going on." "Don't worry about it just rest, for right now just focus on healing." The nurse waved off all his questions. "Do you need anything?" 'No" "Very, well. You will be getting visitors." "Who?" Before her could get a response ...

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“The vow” by Nathalie Grant

Submitted to Contest #75

"Open your eyes!"Nothing."Sophie! Open your eyes!"Darkness. Light. Darkness. The end.5am. 20°C. A normal morning for tropical North Queensland. It is quiet. The roads are deserted. Only a few early-morning joggers and workers punctuate the Cairns Esplanade. Farther beyond, the sun is rising.Sophie woke up earlier than usual this morning. In today's Facebook post, she writes"It is happening today. I have made up my mind. Wish me luck!😍" before pressing the SEND button. Sophie types up posts ever morning. This is what she does to set herself u...

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“Maxwell” by Okiki Adeduyite

Submitted to Contest #75

I stop walking. This seems like the best place to sit without disturbance. It was a bad day but I'll empty this tray. I must. Stars spot the sky but it is dark. Dark enough for Mummy to be back from church. I drop my tray on the gutter fence. My head pad falls but I don’t pick it up. I sit and reflect on the day's sales. Or the day's wandering. I sold nothing. But I must sell it all. I have to make my mummy and daddy happy this year. My 2021 promise. They will love me if my tray is empty even if it means I go home late. But I sold nothing.&n...

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“The countdown” by Kay Anne

Submitted to Contest #75

TW: Self harm Addiction I didn’t think I would survive this year long enough to hear an entire countdown. “10” I honestly thought I would be dead right now. Not in a gloomy sad way, just in a logical science-ey way. Through my many endeavors with mental illness, through the plague that spread like water, through my...

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“He could have been the 13th” by Florian Wolf

Submitted to Contest #75

The seasons change and so does my place. My rod keeps moving me forward and my dearest sheep follow my every step. Slowly we move forward towards the hills that lay between this and my goal. Despite the hill being more steep than necessary we have no big issues. This excludes my youngest sheep. I saw it moving upwards, the knees bend, coughing. With my dearest rod firmly in my hand I move faster towards this sheep. The sheep breaks down. It rolls downward. Its head now stuck. Two branches around its head keep the whole body paralyzed. I hear...

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“SEEKING HELP” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #75

Lokesh was searching for a document which he thought he had kept in the drawer. It was needed urgently in connection with approval of his plans for widening of his Lottery Ticket shop. While pulling out things from the drawer, he got an old letter folded into four flaps. He knew what it was. Still, out of curiosity he opened the letter and ran a cursory glance over the contents. It was a letter written by him to a cinema star Sonu Sood, though he did not post it. Thank God! He did not send it to the star. He felt quite ashamed now to have wr...

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“Resolution” by Marija Brincat

Submitted to Contest #75

So, here we are, at the end of 2020...at last - what a year it’s been! So here we are, finally, celebrating..what exactly? The end of a horrible year, and bliddy good riddance too. Or maybe we’re celebrating the new year coming in on the stroke of midnight? I’ve always thought it’s kind of funny how we make such a fuss about the stroke of midnight on NewYear’s Eve. You’d think it does something different. The stroke of midnight ushers in a new day every day of the year, regardless of the date. Always has done, and always wi...

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“bed sheets” by Niké A.

Submitted to Contest #75

This year, I’m going to change my own bedsheets.Waking up in the morning is easy enough. I open my eyes, shrug the crick out of my shoulders, and wait silently in bed until my blinds darken enough for the night light in my room to flicker on. It’s a bit embarrassing to still be using a night light at eighteen years old; the last person to mention that to me was my mom. I haven’t seen her in a year–which explains why my bedsheets are so dirty. She’ll laugh if it’s not clean by the time she gets back home for dinner.I guess I should take out t...

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$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 08, 2021 EST

Won by R. A. 🏆

Title: The Violinist

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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