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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

“Same Problem, Different Solution ” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #75

My name is Kady Norwood am 16 years old & I am currently in the state of California.Since the new year started my goal is to lose a couple of pounds before the summer approaches.You see living in California the majority of the girls my age have perfect bodies.Flat tummies, slim waist.I don't have that type of body.I've always been thick since a child.I believe that I am the only girl in my family that is this big.I know that everyone comes in different shapes & sizes but I want to look good.I want to lay on the beach with my leopard...

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“The Perchyderm” by Lenox Ndeda

Submitted to Contest #75

THE PERCHYDERM By onyango lenox He is sitting there lacking anything to do. He had told me that there was no way the year would end before he would be able to end the year before marrying Tamara. Now the one am speaking of is Jarabai. The latter is my good friend. We have been bred well across the Kalande Estate. Needless to say this guy was a bachelor, indeed a senior bachelor because his age was considered too old if yet he was still single. I remember when he broke the news to me, “I am going to marry Tamara whether she accepts or not.” “...

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“He Looked Nothing Like Jesus” by Rexy Rexy

Submitted to Contest #75

Existence is pain, Existence is absurd, Existence is pointless… ‘Nadia!’ The familiar shout from her father downstairs drifted up and stopped her pencil mark dead on the paper. ‘Nadia!’ Again, this time much louder, with a thundering bang on the wall for extra effects. ‘Yes, what is it?’ She came back from her dreaded philosophizing and shouted back towards downstairs. ‘Get the door. Somebody is at the door! Are you deaf?’ Her father shouted some more with blurred cursing. ‘Ah, that old drunk! Why can’t he for once do it! H...

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“i am with you ” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #75

With consciousness came the pain, it exploded through her being, every inch of her body hurt, she felt it in her bones, her muscles and her skin. The slightest movement of her head sent unbearable agony racing along the nerves of her body. Through the pain she heard a calm voice speaking to her, “Callie, wake up.” She ignored the voice as she struggled with the pain, but the voice was persistent. “Callie, Wake ...

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“The Ivy and the Holly” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #75

Lois and Neil had decided that they would have to do something about Mrs Carter. About Ivy. Neither of them really wanted to, and both of them had been putting it off for months, but they knew it would have to be done. “It’s the kindest thing in the long run,” said Lois, when they discussed it, in one of the many discussions they had in that long, surreal week between Christmas and the New Year. They had discussed it before, of course, but those discussions had become more frequent and more serious. Even if you didn’t make resolutions as suc...

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“Scraps of Life” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #75

There are two people, and they both know one change is needed. The people are close friends and their names are Marta (her mother is from a Spanish-speaking country, so there is no h in her name) and Linnea, who hates her name, but really shouldn’t. (It’s not clear where her mother is from, but obviously she has a poetic side to name her daughter that.) Marta and Linnea are adults and have grown up together, pretty much. They have so much in common and even try to pretend they’re sisters, because neither has any siblings. Both women have s...

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“Haunted” by Urvasi Pauvaday

Submitted to Contest #75

Ava did not know what to feel. She read and reread the note which she was holding in trembling hands but she was unable to make any sense of it. “DO NOT WATCH THE TAPE!” were the only five words that had been scribbled on it. She stared at it hoping that something would click in her mind and that she would somehow remember when or why she had written it, but she drew a complete blank. She could not stop herself from feeling frustrated and, of course—very curious. The one thing that was bothering her the most was the fact that she w...

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“Flashback” by Alisa Burdick

Submitted to Contest #75

Zoe awoke in a king sized bed with no idea how she arrived there. A tall man approached the bed. Zoe shook. "It's alright. This is a glass of water." "How did I get here? Who are you? What's going on?" The tall blonde man sat at the end of the bed. "First, this is a glass of water. I usually give people Gatorade but the concierge isn't back with it yet. My name is Scott. Do you remember anything at all?" "I remember going to a club by myself. I remember going to the bathroom and asking the bartender to watch my stuff. It was busy in the club...

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“Nostalgia” by Ashiam R

Submitted to Contest #75

Among all the black ghost dressers, only the red-green parrot caged by the porch seemingly caught all the colors in the funeral. I am Jenna Carsons or Field, and by the driving license I own, my lifespan is stated to be 27 years, 49 days, 15 hours and 34 minutes. While my other twin Miranda Carson adoringly known as ‘Annie’ ‘s existence lasted 5 days, 11 hours and 30 minutes less due to a car accident. As twins we swapped something significant, I gave up my 15 years of life recollections in amnesia and she gave up her vibrant life. After 3 ...

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“Lost In The Fog” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #75

He opened his eyes and was surrounded by medical staff inside the emergency room of a hospital. A doctor stood over him shining a small silver flashlight into the pupils of his eyes as a nurse prepared bandages to treat his wounds. Although the whole scene seemed very traumatic, what bothered him most, was the fact that he could not remember what brought him to this moment in the first place. In fact, he did no...

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“The Obsidian Queen” by Maya Ad Astra

Submitted to Contest #75

When I tell people, I don’t remember anything before 21, I get a handful of responses. “Oh, you poor thing,” an older woman would say. Her hand is on my shoulder or my arm and she’s looking at me with sorrowful eyes. In her eyes, I have become her daughter or her granddaughter and she will treat me as if I’m her own. The former frat boy laughs it off. Says he doesn’t remember anything before 21 either. He lost his memories to parties and underage drinking. Most people think it’s trauma. My brain is protecting me by making me forget whatev...

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“Transit” by Zorana Lorden

Submitted to Contest #75

I woke up this morning with a weird feeling, but not necessarily a bad one. Maybe it’s best described as that feeling when you’ve slept in a new position and you don’t quite fit in your body. Then you stretch, and you feel more comfortable than ever. That’s how I feel right now. I woke up feeling good. I looked in the mirror and saw my reflection staring back at me. I looked just the way I thought I should. I can’t say that looking in the mirror was a pleasant experience. After all, I could still see imperfections and insecurities ref...

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“The Endless Rails” by Sreedevi Mahapatra

Submitted to Contest #75

The railway station was buzz with activity. People, porters, vendors and a whole lot of luggage, the cacophony of the announcement of the arrival and departure of trains and the mad rush of people running on the platform was an everyday scene. In the din and noise, the only person who seemed calm was “Amma” that’s what everyone called her, served drinking water to the thirsty passengers from set of three huge earthen pots kept on an iron stand. Amma was in her early seventies , not very tall but graceful enough to be n...

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“Cockroaches in the Monastery” by Jim Mendenhall

Submitted to Contest #75

Antonio wrung his hands, as if feeling them for the first time, then ran his finger down the soft blue veins that burrowed through the surface of the loose flesh. He inspected the liver spots that speckled his skin. He picked at them and rubbed them, but they stubbornly remained. “Cosa sono questi scarafaggi?” he mumbled to himself. “What are these cockroaches?” “Not cockroaches,” said the young monk wheeling the old man through the dim yellow light of monastery hallway. “They’re just the rot of old age, Antonio. You’re decaying.” “Rot?”...

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“The Grey World” by Fomichi Fomichi

Submitted to Contest #75

“You smell the blood, don’t you? This iron heavy scent beckons you, while dangling white-meat legs try to find the invisible ladder and escape from here. But there are no ladders in our world, right my friend? We…” - Boss, it is … emm… time! – a lady’s umbrella-shaped head appeared in the narrow door chink. Her tiny jellyfish eyes glanced at the majestic figure of the Boss who was holding a tiny toy-shark in one hand and a tin soldier in another– Are you … emm… playing with toys again? The Boss flinched and dropped 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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