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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#85: City Living

There’s something deeply compelling about cities, isn’t there? Whether it’s the influencer-driven styles of LA, the laid-back sophistication of Athens, or the perfectly manicured greenery of Singapore, each one truly has its own unique soul. Those who visit are awed and at times overwhelmed, either falling in love or swearing them off forever — while lifelong residents take up a fierce loyalty that nothing can shake.

When writing, it’s often helpful to think of your setting almost like another character. Cities are an excellent way to explore this line of thinking, so for this week, pick a favorite and invite your readers in. What gives your city (whether real or imagined) its local “flavor”? And what impression do the people there give to the many tourists traipsing down their streets? Tap into your inner tour guide — it's time to travel the world!

This week's prompts

Set your story in a major city that your character has a love-hate relationship with.

Middle School – 153 stories

Write a story that takes place in the same building but in two very different time periods.

Historical Fiction – 154 stories

Start your story with the line, “That’s the thing about this city…”

Adults – 283 stories

Write about someone fighting to change their city neighborhood for the better.

Teens – 44 stories

Write about someone fighting to keep their city neighborhood the same.

Teens – 34 stories

Stories

“Love Never Dies” by Marzia Azad

Submitted to Contest #85

Love never dies Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh,I was brought up here seeing the beautiful sky with overwhelming moon. In my childhood it was only a city to me. We had tiny field where me and my brother used to play cricket. We used to wait to hear the Azan (prayer declaration) in nearest mosque because it was an indication of being afternoon. At that time Dhaka was only an answer of general knowledge question to me. That time I had interest about famous places of Dhaka like Shahid Minar, National Museum etc.. It was all about visiting...

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“It's not always raining” by Karen Watts

Submitted to Contest #85

“Renoviction? Is that even a word?” “In Vancouver it is, and it just happened to you, Jill.” Still clutching the poorly worded eviction notice, and trying not to sob into the phone, Jill waited for her friend, a long-time Vancouverite, to explain. “Let’s say you want to double the rent. You can’t legally do that, but you can force your tenant to move out for renovations that turn the place into a bigger or better suite, and then the new rent for the next tenant is justified.” “And this happens to lots of people?” Jill sniffed and looked arou...

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“Tintin & Chicken City ” by Kirrtanaa Thanesh

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city,”“Huh?” asked Zero.“It’s just so… great,” continued Chips.“It’s the city’s 100th anniversary today! We shouldn’t be here, talking! Let’s go see Patty!”“Oh yeah!” ️️️“Hello, there!” said Patty cheerfully.“Hey, fatty Patty!” joked Chips.“Oh shut up Chips,” said Patty annoyed. “I know I might have put on a few pounds but yo...

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“Excerpt from Missing” by Keith Manos

Submitted to Contest #85

Athens, the oldest capital of the modern world, was a city of rectangular, gray-white buildings, all of them slammed against each like the lockers we had at Tremont High, except these buildings seemed to be constructed haphazardly, as if it was an anything-goes type of architecture. People crowded the streets, going in and out of the shops and avoiding the Volkswagens, Toyotas, and Volvos that honked and battled each other at every intersection. But what really struck me was the lack of wind in the city, like the air was resting because Zeus...

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“To my friend” by Nicole Davis

Submitted to Contest #85

Hey, Man! Gavin here. I know I haven’t written home lately, so I wanted to catch you up. Let me tell you about how great last night was as I scramble to get ready for work this morning. Dude, it was EPIC! My buddies and I went from party to party, dancing and socializing over snacks and drinks in those intoxicating neons. Flashing discos didn’t hurt either. I love this city, there’s always something to do! Anyway, I met this really great girl who gave me her number on a napkin. We got to talk for a bit before her friends came and pulled her...

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“Family Traditions” by Leane Cornwell

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city, there’s more than one reason it earned the nickname Sin City. You can’t write about Las Vegas, Nevada without giving credit where credit is due. Most of which belongs to the caginess of one very large, very extended east coast based family. That family and it's role in building such a mega-glamour capitol from desert sand captured my imagination and was the sole reason for my sixty year intrigue with the city.By the time my own extended family discovered that ill-gotten electric city in the 60s, Vegas w...

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“Coming To Terms” by Coira MacHaffie

Submitted to Contest #85

The Aldritch Academy of Magic, Sorcery, and All Things Presently Unknowable was a menace. This was, of course, well-known by the citizens of Aldritch proper. No one had forgotten the incident three years past when an aspiring necromancer had accidentally raised all the dead buried on city grounds, which had led to a harrowing forty-eight hours where the deceased had outnumbered the living by an uncomfortable margin and had, in more than a few cases, decided to increase their numbers further by settling some old grudges before the necromancer...

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“Fashioning Fatality” by Shannon Sullivan

Submitted to Contest #85

Just outside a decrepit mansion that sits on the edge of town, two young journalists were beginning to film the story of a lifetime. They had just broken the chains that held together the feeble fence and were now standing next to the abandoned mansion of grand proportion. A few chimney stacks could be seen poking their heads up above the tree line. The balconies loomed overhead; they clung to the walls for dear life. Those walls, which appeared to stretch for miles, were lined with an infinite matrix of white bricks. The arched windows were...

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“Two Birds with One Stone” by Ashley Slaughter

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city. It stinks. Literally—it smells terrible. Between the massive landfill along the interstate and the old papermill across the river, the stench of pollution and hard-earned money from both sides ride on the wings of the wind through the streets, whishing between the tall, dilapidated buildings of downtown. Good old Monroe, Louisiana. The city used to be a big deal back in the early- to mid-1900’s. The infamous Bonnie and Clyde hid in one of the old hotels, the first bottles of Coca-Cola were produced here, and...

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“Infinity” by Malisa Ray

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city. With its melancholic star-studded sky, imperfect strangers rushing by with thoughts of collateral beauty and dreams of touching the horizon, and flickering neon lights illuminating the bustling streets. It was home, and yet home became less about four walls and a roof and more about a person. Home was the beautiful woman with the afro, a smile touching her maroon painted lips as she swept through the crowd, photographing Times Square. It was the man hurrying to catch the train at 6:04 PM, his one hand gras...

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“I Like to Drive” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing with this city… if you don’t have a ‘place for your stuff’, if all you have is your body, you’re a nobody. With no place to stand, you have no standing. You ain’t got a castle, who are you? So, being homeless, unless you call my car a home, I wanted a place to lay my head besides my steering wheel. I drove into the camp to check things out. Little kids wandered like stray dogs. No one cared. I slammed my brakes and yelled a blue streak out my window when a pack of them ran into the road. Last thing I needed, to run some kid ...

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“Watertank” by HBR Patel

Submitted to Contest #85

Tim saw the blue and red light flashing from a distance. He shouted, 'Patrol Car, Ron.' Hearing this, Ron hid behind the railings of the top of the water tank of the town. Tim hid behind the concrete fence walls around that water tank. The police siren murdered the silence of the night. The intensity of sound was increasing, and as the car passed by the water tank, the siren sound began to decrease. Suddenly, the car stopped, and the policeman reversed the vehicle to park in front of the water tank. 'He definitely saw us,' though...

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“The Broken City” by Sonja V.

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city… it’s not the normal one you stumble across while driving on the interstate. It’s… a little different than your human ones. The buildings are two or three times higher than yours, double the size, and a big white dome surrounds it all, like a shield protecting a broken city. The people have hover cars, and small cubicle apartments where they set down their families for the rest of their lives. The buildings take over all different shapes, some with a pointy roof while some are laid on top of one another. Inst...

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“Oh, Timeless New York” by Day Goncalves

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city, y'know. People come. People go. Buildings are built, some are demolished. Oh New York, how you steal my heart. I came here, some 50 years ago, I was probably your age, how old is you? -seventeen -yeah we're seventeen well, I was a bit younger than you then haha, ah God how time flies, now I'm old, just like you New York, you oh great jungle of buildings. Where was I going with this, kid? I must have gotten lost in the way. -emm yes don't worry bout it, the next question we have is why you came here? Oh yes! ...

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“The Picture on the Mantle” by Cynthia Haltom

Submitted to Contest #85

"Hey Chloe, get down here, I want to talk to you right now"! Chloe hurried down the stairs to the living room where her mother was standing in front of the fireplace pointing at a framed picture on the mantle. "Why did you put that there"? "I didn't" Chloe responded taken aback by her mother's overly aggressive gesturing. "Um, I think you did because you are the only other person in this house and I didn't put it there so it had to be you". "No, it wasn't me and I have no idea what that picture is about so why would I put it there...

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Ended on 23:59 - Mar 19, 2021 EST

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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.

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