Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

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

“Reincarnation” by Sara Blanch

Submitted to Contest #75

The geniune unknown and mystery of the events that occur after Death was such a momentous question in a human's soul that often the first thing that they asked me was ' Am I in heaven or hell?' I never know how to respond to this, I mean should I be insulted that they think my smiling face greeting them belonged in hell?...or should I be grateful that they believed I could be heaven's representative? How did I articulate to them that heaven and hell are simply social and religious constructs that are left behind on the mortal plane? ...

Read story

“Hidden in Her Past” by Trinity Giordani

Submitted to Contest #75

It had been nearly six months working with troubled teenagers leave their old lives behind, many who were abused and ready to leave. Some of them had mental illness take over their life, hallucinating the trauma and having outbursts unimaginable. I wasn’t just a normal therapist, I worked with who I was assigned to everyday and was to give them daily therapy along with financial help, emotional support, and overall guidance in their everyday life. I hadn’t planned to be doing this job, or any job, really. I was a stay at home mother ...

Read story

“Going Under ” by Marianna Mills

Submitted to Contest #75

The rain pummelled down, cold and dark that night, Eilleen held her breath as she waited for her husband to leave to go to work. Patrick Escoban went to the post office to work the night shift as a desk security, he grundged while he grabbed his bag lunch and coat, going to the old Buick outside in front of their small bungalow. Eilleen watched him from the window, her eye still sore and bruised from his beating the night before. She winced in pain - not afraid anymore. "I am never going to let you do this to me again." She said to the windo...

Read story

“Transformation” by Bernadette Jackson

Submitted to Contest #75

“Now you know what to expect, Ms Duncan. The transformant serum may feel a little warm when it infuses into your hand, but that sensation will soon pass. And once you wake, you’ll be on the ship and a long way into your journey.” James smiled reassuringly as he delivered his customary speech. For many years he’d been sending people on the Long Voyage, and there had been remarkably few problems. In fact, he’d become a little too accustomed to the familiar words and the slight squeeze of the Voyager’s hand that normal...

Read story

“All change” by Matt Edwards

Submitted to Contest #75

I use running logs, add notes to them as I see fit – as my clients speak with me and proffer situations that have arisen which need to be tended to. Some are a simple change of physical location, or maybe a new hair colour. Others ….. well, they're not so easy. I need to think on my feet. Helping these people is a lot like hard work only there's the satisfaction of assisting them in their desire to get up and out of the situations in which they find themselves, regardless of fate, future or finances. I've made a few good friends fro...

Read story

“J'ba Fofi” by Deeptreasures Kabamba

Submitted to Contest #75

“Where am I?” the king stammered, as his bloodshot eyes adjusted to the light of the strange environment. The king was seated in front of a pitch-black chasm which lay across the diameter of a massive circular clearing. The clearing was surrounded by thousands of ancient, thick-trunked rainforest trees. Their gigantic canopy rose so high that it almost completely obscured the darkening sky above. Upon realisation of the unfamiliarity of his surroundings, the king attempted to get up and flee, but his bed...

Read story

“Time for a Change” by Jordan T

Submitted to Contest #75

Fiske sauntered into the room. Every time they met the room was different, but this one was barely a room. Two of the walls had buckled, plaster cracked and crumbled at their base. The room hadn’t kept rain out in years. “How do you find these places?” A short man stood next to a rotten table with a tiny lantern flickering back against the dark. “You are just one of the people in my employ. You have your talents, others have theirs.” The hood the man wore muffled his voice. Fiske had never seen his face. Probably safer for ...

Read story

“Downloading...” by Theresa Anna

Submitted to Contest #75

No one really knew what happened inside the Bath House--all they knew was that the people who went in were not the same who came out. Well. Not technically. Sure, they looked the same. They had the same mannerisms. The same essence. But that was about it. It was like looking at a stranger twin of the person you used to know. A stranger because they didn’t recognize you. They didn’t recognize anyone, or anything, from their old life. And all it took was one appointment. Move on and move into the new you--the Bath House’s very own slogan. No...

Read story

“The escape” by Krista Womack

Submitted to Contest #75

RING! "Umm...hello?" "Hello."A woman's voice answered. 'Um... I always carry an umbrella on Tuesdays." I whispered, unsure ifI had the right number or the phrase. What choice did I have? I had to try something. Living this way was not an option anymore. "10 minutes intersection of 1st and Pine."CLICK. 'Wait! Hello? What am I looking for? Hello?" Well, I hope this works. Anything was better than this. The hard part was next, getting away. Even though these people didn't want me, they also don't wan...

Read story

“A Place of Beauty and Darkness” by Rose Buckingham

Submitted to Contest #75

*trigger warning* child abuse and violence against LGBTQ+ In a place of beauty and darkness, there sits a throne which is made up of all the time that ever was. Seated upon it is the Old Year and every soul who leaves their life must pass through these midnight halls on their way to the next. The Old Year does not judge, it is now and forever and exists simply to ease the passing and hear the tales of what went before from those that wish to tell them. A young woman approaches the throne, painfully thin with hair shorn short to her head, the...

Read story

“The Fixer With A Broken Past ” by Mystical Fro

Submitted to Contest #75

Madelyn Badeaux was a name that was renowned and admired by all. She was a woman of great distinction that carried herself with great pose and she treasured the fact that she could turn the most wretched of people into upstanding citizens. She was the best therapist in all of England and she could certainly get anyone’s life back on track. This mere fact was evident from the lives of her patients. She had a way around people and knew exactly how to fix a multitude of problems, nothing was too big for Madelyn. Except maybe one man could disma...

Read story

“THE HEALER” by Chioma Opara

Submitted to Contest #75

That morning, I sat under the gradually lightening sky watching the rolling waves kiss the shoreline.I had always felt drawn to the water. It reminded me of myself. It was a cleanser, dissolving the dirt of hundreds of baths and washes. People feared it but came to it because they needed it. For the fault of being itself, it had been banished to isolation- away from the land; away from the sky and birds and trees; away from the people until they needed it.Unlike me however, it never gave up. As days turned into weeks and weeks into years and...

Read story

“The Client” by Malia T.

Submitted to Contest #75

“You have ten minutes to collect five possessions you want to bring.” I said, glancing at the brassy pocket watch in my hand. The man nodded, smiling softly.“I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time. It’s just down the hall, one moment.” The middle aged man walked around the corner before returning with a backpack. He slipped on a hooded sweater, slung the backpack over his shoulder and nodded. “Ready.”I arched an eyebrow, snapping the watch shut and shoving it into my pocket. “That was quick. Most people are usually packing, unpacki...

Read story

“Mirror Shards” by J.B. Dixon

Submitted to Contest #75

“Alright. It looks like everything’s in order.” Selene’s elegant fingers typed on the keyboard. “Now, before I send everything off, are you absolutely sure you want to do this? If so, there’s no going back. Everything will be erased.” Seated on the other side of the dark brown desk, the dark-haired woman crossed her legs and straightened up. “I’ve never been so certain of anything in my life. This has to be done. I need a clean break.” ‘Right. Like I haven’t heard that line before.’ Selene thought. “Okay.” She clicked the mouse, and the ...

Read story

“Bear” by Rebecca Marie

Submitted to Contest #75

As I sat at my office, going through the manila folders stacked so high I could barely see the scared little boy sitting there across from me. Shaking in his seat, dried, dirty tears had been running down his face for who knows how long. Holding on to his teddy bear tightly, peeking up from time to time to look at me, then he would look back down. I gently slid the golden bowl of tootsie roll pops across the table at him, and he reached up and quickly grabbed one, I said "Take one for your bear too!" He smiled up at me then and thats w...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢