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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#80: Living History

It's an important truth that those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, sometimes we find ourselves living through historical moments whether we’ve prepared for them or not.

 

This week, we’re going to examine all the ways that people live through — and shape — history. Whether that’s an important activist organizer, a daring political leader, or just someone trying to educate people on the past so they can avoid previous mistakes, history is made up the actions of each and every one of us. How will your characters change the course of their world?

This week's prompts

Write about someone who never planned to make history but is now about to deliver a speech in front of millions.

Teens – 104 stories

Write about a child witnessing a major historical event.

Dramatic – 237 stories

Start your story with someone entering a museum, and end it with them settling down to join a sit-in.

High School – 41 stories

Write about an elderly character who was part of a historic movement years ago.

Historical Fiction – 134 stories

Start your story with a major news event breaking — one that will change the world forever.

Dystopian – 156 stories

Stories

“The Edge of Time ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #80

March 1807John Coulter slowly took off his hat and fell to his knees, staring down at the canyon glowing with dark orange, yellow, and tinges of red hues. The roaring river fell hundreds of feet and meandered its way down the canyon that it had carved into for millennia. A sharp cry made him flinch and his eyes tracked the flash of brown and white as an osprey carrying a fat trout winged its way to its nest. He smiled as he watched it drop the carcass to its hungry chicks and returned to gape at what he had quite literally stumbled across.No...

128 comments 128
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“Rise and fall of a...... wall ” by Palak Shah

Submitted to Contest #80

Tearing up pages, Stephan hauled them into the bin; missing a few shots that went directly into the vase next to it; but he couldn’t be bothered to pick it up. No, he had to write a 500 words history essay, which was due in for tomorrow, and unsurprisingly he forgot about it. Moaning and groaning, he scribbled out everything he had written; whilst slashing through the page and ripping it into shreds. “What is all this noise?” asked Karl as his brow furrowed; one eye darted across the room and the other one followed: there were heaps of scr...

78 comments 78
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“Stories and Memories” by 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚝 ~

Submitted to Contest #80

The rocking chair rocked back and forth, forth and back, squeaking like a mouse.Creak creakThe dark wood was polished and smooth, little tendrils of chestnut snaked across, covering the whole chair. Creak creakShe ran her hand across the armrest, her light skin illuminated by candlelight in the winter storm. The wind blazed and tore at tree branches, the temperature threatening to lower below sub-zero, so even the penguins in the zoo would be shivering.“Grandma! I’m here!”The door slammed open and clanged against the wall, the candlewax...

95 comments 95
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“And The World Was Never the Same (pt.12 of Mutants versus Witches)” by Moon Lion

Submitted to Contest #80

I glared at the gaggle of people that moved past me, annoyedly shifting my legs to let them pass. Glancing once more at my phone, I swore when I realized the press conference hadn't started yet. "Are you done yet?" I asked one of the newbies irritatedly, forgetting to keep my voice down. He rolled his eyes and continued wiring his computer to the television. It buzzed on, and I switched to the channel and began waiting.  Elysse came down the staircase, looking besieged as she carried a bucket of laundry. Her hair was messily done ...

9 comments 9
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“Eve's Saturday Morning” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

Submitted to Contest #80

“Are you awake, sweetheart?”“Yes, mom… I am”, Eve said and then she yawned. A nine-year-old child doesn’t have much to worry about, does she? Children’s work is playing and enjoying life; however, helping at home is a plus. And Eve knows it! (hard work will never hurt any kid)Eve belongs to a loving family. They have worked in their workshop and store, for generations. Commerce has always been a good friend of them. They are not rich people but prosperous ones. It’s the result of hard work which, by the way, has given them a great reput...

7 comments 7
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“Uphill Battle” by Rayhan Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #80

It’s a sun-baked Sunday afternoon in a suburban neighborhood and Little Timmy is contemplating murder. He turns the water gun in his hand, inspecting the sleek plastic finish, gauging the amount of ammunition sloshing around inside. From his perch on the front porch, he scans the yard for a victim.There. A mound of dirt not a dozen paces away from where he sits.Little Timmy ambles over and points the nozzle at the earth. A string of black specks trundles by in his shadow, oblivious to the threat as they transport a cargo of bright-green leav...

57 comments 57
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“The New Normal” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #80

“The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a global pandemic,” the reporter says, his lips pursed. I sit on the couch, crossing my legs comfortably as I increase the volume of the television, my heart beating faster at hearing the unfamiliar yet easily comprehendible term. They show a clip of a man sitting at a table, the logo of WHO clearly visible behind him. The director-general of WHO looks worn out; his eyebrows scrunched up in between as he lays out the facts to us. “Over the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-...

22 comments 22
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“A Vessel of Death” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #80

𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮: 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓾𝓬𝓱 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓪𝔂 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼. 𝓘𝓽'𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓯𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓽. 𝓘'𝓶 𝓱𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽, 𝓼𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓭. 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰!Six years.That’s how long I spent on that ship, the ship that never seemed to go anywhere good. The wind took our sails from one bomb to another, one battle to another. Never anywhere good.I didn’t have a purpose there, they could have survived this thing they call a “war” without me. A few extra rats don’t make the difference between life and death. Bu...

155 comments 155
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“Patriotic” by 🕊 🎀 𝒱𝒶𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒶 𝒱𝒾𝓂𝒶𝓁 🎀 🕊

Submitted to Contest #80

The white-faced emerged from the docks of the ever-flowing ocean, anchoring as their boots; wet from the splashing sea beyond the enormous skyline, attracting powered sand on their heels as they made their way towards us. Smiling faces, beautiful, attractive blue hues lighting their restful eyes.Their hushed breathing made my parents edge closer to inspect them further. I remained immobile, clutching my old doll against my chest, backing away until I bumped into my grandpa. His dark brows were furrowed in skepticism, his hands joined behind...

244 comments 244
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“Liberty or Death (ft. Emerald)” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #80

Author's Note: This is a collab I did with Emerald. She wrote Magnus's perspectives and I wrote Alex's. This was not meant to be a Magnus Chase fanfiction, I personally have never read that book. XD She's a really amazing author and you should definitely check out her stories, I'll put her link in a comment below. Have a fantastic rest of your morning/ afternoon/ night!𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕩:The dust from the crumbling walls overhead rested on top of my head, turning my usually dark brown hair powdery white. The cracks in the ceiling used to be alarming, cons...

88 comments 88
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“The Box of Life” by Emily Grice

Submitted to Contest #80

                              The Box of Life The city of LVIV (formerly Poland until the Nazi invasion). Now Ukraine, USSR. June 1941. ‘Take this and hide it.’ Father presses a wooden box to my chest. The box I was forbidden to touch when I was a child. It has our family crest of three crowns, inlaid into the lid: the mark of the Polish aristocracy. Once it was a symbol of...

45 comments 45
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“Noah Adir (Part 1)” by Cookie Carla🍪

Submitted to Contest #80

"Headline news this hour. An eight-year-old boy, allegedly accused of sexually offending a woman, is being executed next Monday at the Jorge's Memorial Center."Laney sat watching the news on the couch while ironing her clothes she planned on wearing to work the following day. It was night, the first night she had been home, in a long while. Her back was sore from bending over her stout desk at her work. She leaned back, trying to straighten her posture, as she rubbed her shoulders.The television was playing softly in the background. She...

163 comments 163
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“The Warding Arrows of Kimimela” by Kate Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #80

SHOUTOUT TO VARSHA VIMAL BECAUSE HER BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY VARSHA!!!!!!!!!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 days earlier: They were coming for him.No, correction: They had already come for him.But he wouldn’t let them arrest him! He couldn’t! He was Sitting Bull and he had done so much for his tribes to be arrest now!The Indian Police had barged into his house early this morning, demanding to arrest him for creating violence. Sitting Bull was still sleepy from being awak...

221 comments 221
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“7 Years(ft. 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 🦋)” by 💛🤍 L U N A N A 🤍💛

Submitted to Contest #80

I did a collaboration with Timber, so shout out to her! I wrote Liv's POV, and she wrote Zuri's POV. A link to her profile will be in my comment! Kudos to her!! ~LIV CAVALIER~ I glanced up from my science notes as my mom turned on the tv. The newsman comes on and starts talking about the daily announcements. I go back into my notes and don't start listening again until I hear a name that I hadn't heard in so many years.  “Zuri Rivera, a coma patient of seven years, has finally woken up. Missed by her family and friends, she is now...

34 comments 34
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“Saving the Museum” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #80

Maria was entering the art museum. She always loved art, and after high school, she knew which college she wanted to be enrolled in. Always the thought of colors, paint, brushes, strokes, canvases, and the thought of putting anything down on the paper and making it look beautiful made her get very excited.  "Ah, this is where I can follow my dreams," she whispered to herself as she walked inside the museum. Her father worked in the museum, so she was allowed to see all the expensive pieces of art up close, and more pieces that others we...

51 comments 51
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$50

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Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 12, 2021 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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