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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

“Of Apartments, Boutiques, and Bars” by Aubrey Berry

Submitted to Contest #85

And that’s the thing about this city. No one really looks beyond the clubs, casinos, bars, and all that other crap. No one cares about the rest of the city. No one cares about the people on the street. No one cares about the people struggling to get a single scrap of food. Every. Single. Day. I mean, who would? A loud knocking suddenly erupted on the other side of the door leading to the crummy apartment Jessalyn lived in. She glanced up, the color dripping from her face like a popsicle on a hot summer day. She started shaking, but she didn...

1 comment 1
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“Iris” by Katlin Shuherk

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city...nothing about it has been the same since that night. The night - twenty years ago - that my life was forever changed; the night that I watched the man who was supposed to be my father walk out on my mom and me after beating her until her face was unrecognizable. He stumbled out of the doorway and into the street leaving the woman he had vowed to love and protect in a pile of blood and tears. He threw us away that night. Moments before, I lay on top of her - shielding her from his blows. I was convinced he w...

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“What a mess! ” by Abraham Bashaija

Submitted to Contest #85

"Swoosh, swoosh," I was once again awakened by the sound of cruising cars. I should have got used to it, but that is not how the human body works. My building stands in downtown Kampala, at the literal edge of civilization. On one side are flats, housing people a lot like me. On the other is perhaps the world's thickest slum. House upon house, tiny roads winding through. The air feels different there. Whilst the people are warm and the children are jolly, one gets the feeling that they are not safe when coursing though this part of "town." S...

3 comments 3
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“Celebration of commotion in the city.” by Saumya Dubey

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city...You will come here all alone as a ignorant being but this city will give you gifts of realities that will urge you to live a life of soulfulness. Varanasi is a vibrant city of India blessed with river ganga and lost in it's own mysteries. This land has witnessed so many things in so many different ways and to avoid confrontations among different lifestyles among different mentalities different believes this city blends all of them into one. And that's makes this place mysterious. It's really very ...

2 comments 2
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“New Generations” by Sam Ackman

Submitted to Contest #85

“Where are you going, kiddo?” “I’m going out,” Sadie replied. “I have that project.” “Didn’t you do that last night?” “It’s for two weeks, I’m only on night three.” “The neighborhood won’t thank you for your troubles.  Garbage grows in this part of town; pick some up and more just pops up in its place.” Sadie lifted an eyebrow, “It must come from somewhere.  It’s people who make garbage.” “Well aren’t you smart for a ten year old,” she smirked. “You’d think my big sister would know more,” Sadie grinned back Sadie pulled on her coat...

2 comments 2
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“City Of Veilers” by Kaysie Davis

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city; it was built in a spot where the veil between dimensions was thin. It was commonplace for people or things to pass through a temporary hole in the veil and land into our city. You would think that living in a town like this that I would have already seen it all. It's my job to find, catalog, and determine what to do with our city's new residents. The newly minted Rican City occupants, or veilers, as most people call them, are usually relatively easy to find homes and jobs for. For the most part, they are m...

5 comments 5
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“Then and Now” by Amrita Valan

Submitted to Contest #85

Nita hesitated slightly, then pursing her lips, walked through the ornate black columns of the entrance to 6 May fair road, Owner’s Court, a sprawling complex housing two identical apartment buildings back-to-back. She had lived in one of the apartments, in the front facing building for six years, between 1977-1983. She had been eleven when her father took up a job with a new company and they moved to the residential colony attached to the factory site, on the fringes of the city. That was where she had done most of her growing up but this a...

8 comments 8
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“GERALD 2.0” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #85

Gerald looked confident; it was a look that did not often cross his coarse features. Teague told him; “I don’t see how you can be so sure about that?” “Vittorio has got to be on the run now; because as much as Mr. Penrose did not want to start anything permanent with the Italians;” Gerald explained to Teague. “You have to know that the Italians’ feel the same.” It made sense; what Gerald was saying, Teague had to admit. This was unusual because more often than not, it was Teague’s job to explain things to his coworker, and fellow troub...

2 comments 2
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“Moths to A Flame” by Erica Fransisca

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city; it attracts writers like moths to a flame.Legend has it that moths are drawn towards flames because they mistake its light for the moon. They say if you aim for the moon, at least you’ll land among the stars. Except, of course, when you crash into blazing hot light bulbs or burst into flames.As for me, I have known the city since it was a town, and the town since it was a village. It’s never intended to lure writers in, let alone trap them. Those poor souls, like the moths, always think they’ll find somethin...

4 comments 4
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“When Allison Met Roberty” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #85

 When Allison met Robert When Allison and Robert met they were ten years old. She and her mother had been living there for some time. He and his recently divorced mother moved in a floor below the young girl. They first met leaving to catch the bus. As it turned out, they were attending the same elementary school. They walked out and nearly bumped into one another. “Hello, my name is Donna and this is my daughter, Allison.” She was a cute little girl with dark, curly hair and hazel eyes.  She was of averag...

2 comments 2
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“The Wailing Corpses” by Advik Godbole

Submitted to Contest #85

Thesseley ran towards her master's chambers. She passed nervous cooks and other maids on the way. She went up the three flights of stairs to the chambers.She knocked three times on the door and waited. Her master eventually called her in. He sat on his bed, his head bent. He still wore his nightly clothes, even in the late afternoon.He coughed a few times and took a sip of his tea. He waved towards Theseley and beckoned her. She walked towards him, her skirt trailing on the floor.She knelt beside him and put a hand to his forehead. It was bu...

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“My City” by D. Owen

Submitted to Contest #85

In the hushed hours between night and day, I leave without disturbing my peacefully sleeping family. Years ago there was a funny Dunkin Donut commercial in which the baker passes himself as he is coming and going. He mutters to himself. “It’s time to make the donuts.” There are times I have felt like that baker. Aware that local bar patrons may also be on the roads during these early hours, I stay keenly alert during my drive to the bakery especially approaching intersections.     The Mrs. Shaw’s Bakery loading doc...

10 comments 10
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“Juniper Bookstore” by Lauryn Ware

Submitted to Contest #85

The wooden Juniper Bookstore sign hanging above the entrance squeaks and trembles as Jude stands underneath it, watching it with a peculiar look. It’s not like he hasn’t seen it a thousand times before, every afternoon once he’d finished his last class -- American Literature, how boring -- but today he just stood outside the door to stare at the weak sign. He felt a whoosh of air behind him from a car speeding downtown, causing him to grip his coat to keep it from flowing up around him. He made a noise of annoyance and adjusted his round gla...

2 comments 2
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“Benny” by J. Shire

Submitted to Contest #85

*Warning: This story contains violence based on the true story of the countless victims of the “War on Drugs” regime in the Philippines. https://time.com/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-local-photographers/ ---That’s the thing about this city, it never changes. Empty lots turn into subdivisions, old buildings get torn down to put up even bigger ones, and the exuberant little kids playing in the streets suddenly become grandparents stuffing their grandchildren with endless supplies of Choc Nut candy. But the chaotic ignorance that dwells...

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“Oz” by Esteban Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #85

   “That’s the thing about this city It only appears every 99 years during the seventh full moon of the year like magic at the top of the valley, overlooking this gentle river.” The old hag pointed in the direction of the hill with a flat area on top. “The clouds come overnight and in the morning at sunrise the city appears like gold for 24 hours till the next daylight and vanishes again for 99 years, it’s the Emerald City from the land of Oz. I met Dorothy once but that was so long ago I don’t at all remember when. She had th...

2 comments 2
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Ended on 23:59 - Mar 19, 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.

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Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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