Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone who doesn’t know how to let go.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 16, 2024

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 121 stories

“Made to Move On” by MELLANIE BROWN

Submitted to Contest #185

The view of the table made her visualize the family members that had died. Now, this table has been in the  family for generations. Raegen was left the  table to keep it in the family. She doesn't want it. Aunt Lillie’s will and testament said for it to go to her, because she has the space in her house to fit the table. Why did Aunt Lillie  not think to have a back-up just in case Raegen did not want the table? I want the table. I want to keep this table in the family. I have a condo that is eleven hundred square feet. This ta...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Life's Story In Boxes” by Sandra Oliverio

Submitted to Contest #185

S. J. Oliverio word count 2920 (734) 788-8604 mymichiganmemories@gmail.com LIFE'S STORY IN BOXES by S.J. OLIVERIO I recall the day she first entered my store, touting a large shopping bag filled to the top with fabrics, magazines, paint sample strips, and a notebook brimming with clipped article photos and notes likely compiled over some time. A short, seventy-ish lady, smartly dressed in a black pantsuit with a leopard scarf draping her neck topped by a smiling, rosy face framed in loose, white curls, strode ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Shame” by Selah Vee

Submitted to Contest #185

Note: this story contains some physical violence, substance abuse, and implied human trafficking. “Which was easier: selling your baby girl to the whore house or satisfying the monster with your own body?” Blood flew as knuckles met nose. He stumbled back and fell roughly on the concrete hallway. The rain had not let up since he had begun his journey and as a result, his once light jeans were soaked through, his mud-caked sneakers little more than sponges. He winced and looked at his scraped, bloody hands.  Woman gently s...

0 comments 0
Read story

“THE TROUBLES WITH LETTING GO” by Paula Furlong

Submitted to Contest #185

Debbie waded through seventy years of keepsakes, a black trash bag in hand. An aerial view of the living room would look like a giant chessboard. Debbie is the pawn that lost its way. Puzzles, games, toaster ovens, and hoards of who knows what was in those stacks—three, four, and five feet high. Debbie ran a hand through her short silver hair. “Okay, what can I throw out?" She picked up a very used puzzle, looked it over, and put it in the bag. One step and her stomach felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. Standing still, she evaluated ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Hold on...” by Emma Lekhesi

Submitted to Contest #185

The trees blur right on sight as I pass each one slowly, driving to our place. I can't even understand why I'm torturing myself like this, but I need to do this, it feels right. It feels like closure, like letting go, but it also kinda feels like grabbing on.I finally arrive at our place. The burgundy couches still looks as polished as before, one might say that they even look new. Did they buy new couches?I brisk walk to our favorite couch.The waiter comes to my table to attend to me. She flashes a full smile and I successfully force a smil...

0 comments 0
Read story

“DIAMOND HANDS” by I M

Submitted to Contest #185

The old man wants to 'buy the dip' again. I admire his commitment to delusion, if nothing else. He still loves to bring out the charts, even though that last 'all time high' looks more like the edge of a cliff with each passing year. "Real soon, Tula. I can taste the super bull run." "Uh-huh." "You know I've been holding my bitcoin bags since before you were born?" "Since before my mother was born." "What was she a teen mom or something?" "She had me at twenty." "Yikes." "Yup." "Whew! I ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Of Bounded Days” by 姐 姐

Submitted to Contest #185

Content Warning (CW): Physical violence, gore, abuse, mental health ---------------------------------------------------------------- Of Bounded Days ---------------------------------------------------------------- 'Oh, God, it's so quiet here!' I thought to myself, sitting on a victorian balloon chair made with a solid mahogany frame. Sitting with my knee over the other, I caressed the arms of burgundy velvet that was there. Then, I called out into the empty, listening to the echo repeated back to me like a bored little girl. The silence was...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Polka Dot” by Simon Elia

Submitted to Contest #185

My mother comes to mind whenever I experience wind. When I do, I see her standing in the water, her hair caught on gusts that seem to come from every direction around her, hiding her smile behind a curtain of golden fringe. On a nice day she would open every window of the house, and the wind would take the scent of her perfume from room to room and by extension to me. I always knew that it was her house, and I loved it there so much.  Penny Lane, my mother, was my favorite person. Growing up she was always happy – even if I knew she wa...

0 comments 0
Read story

“To Our Firsts And Lasts” by Leo Kayne

Submitted to Contest #185

     Father was right, as he often was. I had gotten used to the dying.     “You will see countless deaths before the day of your thirteenth. You must accept them. Do not return, Samstain.”      Do not return.      I had sworn to him that I would obey this instruction. That I would move on to the next day, and the day after that, and so on and so forth. Living my life with as few chronological breaks as possible.   &nb...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Spirit of Things” by Janis Parker

Submitted to Contest #185

The Spirit of Things  Mercury Retrograde ends in 32 minutes.  I can celebrate.  I am setting goals.  According to some psychics, 2023 is the year to rid yourself, your home, of negativity brought about by too much stuff.   I don’t need a psychic to tell me my energy is severely compromised by a sense of overcrowding.  The need to protect the environment, “Re-use, recycle, upcycle” is not helping.  I try to find a use for everything, rather than add to the waste collection.  To further add to my di...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Letting Go” by Robert Dyer

Submitted to Contest #185

Gary almost fainted when the smell from inside the microwave hit him. He couldn’t comprehend how his mother could tolerate that odor. Pinching his nose tightly, he leaned down to look and make certain there was no animal carcass inside. All he saw were layers of spills on the walls resembling some sort of hieroglyphics written in old tomato sauce and crusty bits of food. The house that personified orderliness throughout his childhood grew in chaos with each visit home from college.           &nbsp...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Hazel and Her Treasures” by Deborah Goff

Submitted to Contest #185

Hazel and Her Treasure    Hazel looked at the lovely mountain before her - a mountain of her own making.  She pondered the organization of an extensive collection of beautifully balanced treasures.  For years, Hazel Acton had brought furniture, clothing, reading material, bric-a-brac and other unique finds to her small storage space.  Some had been hiding in plain sight at garage sales and antique stores.  Not a small number of items had come from the side of the road, where another’s trash became her treas...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Chait-&&-Manas” by Sri Vi S

Submitted to Contest #185

It was looking inside, Peering into the light, Standing by the pier, Seemed like water, Shimmering like waves, Of mist moving, Slow and steady. It thought, When would this stop !! Seemed like it never would, It felt as though covered, In a dome, That was hard, That could never break !!! The conversation never ceased. It was making rounds after rounds as the physician would. The physician kept returning to check on it. This hazy character with whom it had a strange relationship. It felt embarrassment most of the time but few times even...

0 comments 0
Read story

“No Room for a Relationship” by Phineas Andrews

Submitted to Contest #185

WhiiieeeAnne’s gaze was fixated out the window, savoring the view; the empty street, the singular tree towering in the front yard, the birds frolicking and competing for the lone bird bath.Whiiieeeeeee!An escapee tear strode down her face. Her knuckles white as they gripped the countertop. Steam started to fill the kitchen and her nostrils stung, as if she wanted to sneeze, instead they flared, irritated by the humid air and the lingering smell of dust. Her ears penetrated by the loud whistle. Loud enough now it started to ring out her own t...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Our Prized Possessions” by Jeff Roosenberg

Submitted to Contest #185

It’s mine.  It’s all mine.  No one can make me get rid of any of it…..and I won’t. People collect things.  When I was a kid, I collected baseball cards.  I had a lot of them (in my opinion).  I was an Oakland A’s fan at the time.  Mostly because other kids in the neighborhood liked them.  I didn’t even really like to watch baseball.  But I collected those cards like crazy.  Bought packs stuffed with crappy gum whenever I could.  I’d go to card shows and look for deals on multi-packs.  ...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Someone’s beloved collection is destroyed. How do they react?

Adults – 25 stories

Start a story with someone saying, “It’s mine, and you can’t have it!”

Dialogue – 25 stories

Write about a dragon who doesn’t know what to do with their hoard anymore.

Fantasy – 63 stories

Set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit.

Mystery – 46 stories

Contest #185

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Hoarding Away

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

138

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 17, 2023 EST

Won by Lynda Williams 🏆

Title: Jesus and Jockeys

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢