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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

“Abandon your old life, and start a new one here!” by D.G. Tran

Submitted to Contest #75

My name is John Maddon, and my job is to help people leave behind their old lives.My office is located in a small, inconspicuous space in a crowded commercial building, in the middle of one of the busiest areas in New York City—Chinatown. I picked this spot when I first started my business five years ago, as my profession demands the privacy of my clients be held at the forefront of my priorities. But if privacy is important, why select such a crowded place to settle? My response to that comes in form of a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald's Th...

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“Turnaround” by Grace Estano

Submitted to Contest #75

"Cut! That's a wrap!" the director shouted when my cellular phone went off."Who could be calling at this unholy hour?" I almost grumbled but kept my temper at bay. "Hello." I said, hoping I didn't sound offensive."Hello Counselor, " the caller sounded distraught."Yes, I am Counsellor Catherine, What can I do for you?". I answered as evenly as I could."I'm Paz," she introduced herself,Paz, Her name means peace, but she sounded exactly the opposite. Did she realize what her name meant? Peace, calm, tranquility. But that is immaterial, out of t...

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“Re-living” by Aknur Berdigulova

Submitted to Contest #75

‘What are we doing about the mom this time?’ - Allie uttered as she was taking apart a photo frame with a picture of two smiling ladies. She took out the picture and longingly stared at the older woman with no hint of grey hair, but a set of very cozy ‘smily’ wrinkles going down the sides of her eyes. She seemed kind and all-time motherly. ‘Client opted for the medium erasure: so I prepped the see-you-a-year-later letter and a personalized non-disclosure agreement’, - I said lightly, as if we are not talking about a daughter skippi...

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“Bettering Beginnings” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #75

CRASH My head flies from its feathery perch, sleep escaping as my eye-lids jerk open in my darkened bedroom. In haste, I slide from between the wrinkled sheets, running barefoot down the hardwood hallway to Elise's room. She rushes into my arms, her pupils large with fear and fatigue. "You stay here my love." My lips caress her warm forehead. Her door protests softly as it closes. Grabbing a heavy glass vase, I step onto the first steps, descending the staircase with care to miss the creaky boards. A fist-sized rock...

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“THE LIFE AFTER” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #75

THE LIFE AFTER Robert had been a literature teacher for twenty years and, even without being particularly convinced of it, he had been not bad with his job. It had been when he met Jean Paul that something in him got upset , and his life definitely changed. Jean Paul was a man of nearly sixty, who was employed in a funeral home. Robert met him , by chance, one night, at the card table in a friends’ house. It was not so much his current job that had impressed Robert, but rather the learning th...

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“Then She Was Gone ” by One Author

Submitted to Contest #75

It’s a purple door. A glossed and vibrant purple door with silver detailing around the windows and frame. I’ve never knocked on a purple door before. The wind blew gently through some chimes tied up to my left. They looked to be sea shells stringed together with fishing wire and hot glue. Still, their homemade music clicked wildly in the air. For a moment I closed my eyes and tried creating rhythm to their beat, strange. I’ve never done that either. “Hello?” Or show up to a new client’s home with my eyes shut....

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“Snake in the Garden.” by Leonides Calderon

Submitted to Contest #75

In my line of work you not only see bad people and what they do, you also get to watch them start a brand new life from the pocket of the tax payer. My job is not only to create the names and find the new life, I am also the one that makes sure they don't mess it up. They call me 'The travel agent'. In my 10 years on the job it's almost all you ever see, young kids trying their hand at the life of crime and realize they don't have what it takes. Witnessing a heinous crime from your 'hero', the person you thought could do no wrong, can really...

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“Butterfly” by SA Bouteloua

Submitted to Contest #75

I once considered myself a connoisseur. The word has a lovely, sophisticated ring to it. It grants you the freedom to indulge in anything really. All vices can appear grand when framed in the proper context. I carefully selected bottles. My fingers caressed labels and delicate glass ridges. I eyed rich liquids and wafted before delicately sipping and rolling the wine across my tongue. I chose presents and selected perfect pairings. Friends and colleagues asked my advice. Now, a box waits patiently on my counter. It greets me when I enter my ...

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“A New Life” by Stephen Timm

Submitted to Contest #75

At cocktail parties, I’m often asked what exactly it is I do and my response is always the same – that I help people to leave their old life behind and to start a new life. “Oh, so you’re a shrink,” some would say. “Well, I suppose in a certain way I am,” I would say. “Or are you some kind of guru or mystic, who lives in an ashram in India?” they’d ask. With a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other I’d say, “Well, let me tell you then.” And so, like that I’d begin to explain what it is I do. But first I’m always careful to look around...

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“Evolving to positive change” by Vivek GracaPinto

Submitted to Contest #75

Jack Knolson looks towards the expanse of his world from his balcony. Seated on a comfy cane chair he taps his fingers on the seasoned cane of his chair's armrest. The sun is about to set as his cup of tea chills in the shuttle breeze. For a child, the view could be his entire world. But for 75 year old crippled Jack, it's his dying view. His balcony hung from the second storie of his penthouse that overlooked the valley. From his seat, the streets looked like open veins that carried toy cars between the multitude of homes standing in rows l...

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“The Longest Journey Begins with a Single Step ” by Brenda Liddy

Submitted to Contest #75

The Longest Journey Begins with a Single Step These days the phrase ‘reinvent yourself’ is bandied about. There are endless self-help books and blogs which argue that it is possible to leave your old life behind and start a completely new one. Fiona Harrold’s book, ‘Reinvent Yourself’ sets out seven steps to reinvent yourself. You have to ask yourself, ‘who are you now, who do you want to be, be authentic, what do you want, fake it, look the part and finally, move on’. These books are very valuable and they certainly help some people...

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“My job is to help people leave their old lives behind” by Migel Jayasinghe

Submitted to Contest #75

My job is to help people leave their old lives behind The Royal British Legion Industries’ Vocational Assessment Centre was established in 1996 to help the transition of ex-servicemen and women, especially those with a disability, into suitable civilian employment. The facility is situated within the Royal British Legion Village in Kent where clients are provided with meals and single accommodation during the three-day assessment period of rehabilitation. I, as the occupatio...

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“Green Box” by T. Sipply

Submitted to Contest #75

“Tell me again Charon…"The man lights up a cigarette."…how was this city back in the days?” “Agadez was quiet. The only noises you could hear were the rumbling roars of the camels slowly walking into the city. Their owners would trade them on one of the markets. Agadez was one of the busiest gateways to the desert. You could smell the dry dustiness of the hot Sahara wind everywhere. People lived an honest life, being helpful and respectful towards each other.”“And now you have the streets filled with Toyota pickup trucks, explosive nois...

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“Shadow Warrior ” by Kasia Harman

Submitted to Contest #75

“New year, new you. We can help…” Dee reached up and turned off the radio. What a load of bull, he thought. It astounded him that people actually bought into the rubbish that a date change could lead to a better life. It thought it disgusting how advertisers viewed this belief as a means to exploit people that were vulnerable and willing to spend their hard-earned cash on things that, quite obviously, were not going to change their lives for the better in any way, shape, or form. He pulled up to the gates of the townhouse ...

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“The Emptiness and My Companion” by Chelsea Berggren

Submitted to Contest #75

The Emptiness and My Companion I woke up. I woke up, that seems important somehow, though I don’t know why. Just, I woke up. Though where I woke up in unfamiliar. Not unfamiliar as in I never been here before, which it is, but unfamiliar as in I cannot place where I am. It is like no place I have ever been before. Everything around me seems just out of sight. Think of being stuck in a fog ...

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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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