Write a time-travel story where a character from the present finds themselves in the 80s or 90s.

Posted in Historical Fiction on Feb 2, 2024

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✍️ 38 stories

“The Spin” by Nicole Eaton

Submitted to Contest #236

Friday night. Just got home from my 9-5 and am exhausted. Can't change into my pj's yet, because we are running out to grab a pizza . Only then can I get comfy. In the meantime, I dip club crackers into hot sauce because I skipped lunch and am starving. I flip on the roku and Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom is streaming. I remember when I was a kid, my parents hired a babysitter and went to go see it at the theatre. They got dressed up and went out for dinner. My mom put on a black dress and red lipstick and I could smell he...

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“The 80's Called” by Renee Yancey

Submitted to Contest #236

She was dreaming. She has to be. There is no way this can be real. Just a dream about a time her parents lived in. That's it! She saw them earlier and they were talking about their high school days. She sighs in relief. Might as well lean into it. She will wake up soon enough. Her eyes take in the high hair, the leg warmers, the puffy jackets, and blue eyeshadow. “Girl,” she makes it two syllables, “what in heaven are you wearing?” Everyone looks. Unfortunately, the jukebox fell between songs right that moment. She lo...

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“White Paint” by Eliza Levin

Submitted to Contest #236

“Security clearance?” The desk attendant asked flatly without looking up from his computer screen.Harriet cleared her throat.He looked up and his face formed into that sympathetic smile that Harriet despised, the one everyone gave her lately. For a moment, she could have sworn the sickly sweet stench of decaying lilies filled the room. Maybe it had started to cling to her clothes.“Oh, good morning, Dr. Grant! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you on the schedule for today.” He said brightly.Harriet tried to smile back, but what came out was more of...

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“Once in a Lifetime” by Josephine Harris

Submitted to Contest #236

Once in a LifetimeI honestly considered it their fault and If I took precautions I wouldn’t catch it. I was smarter. Shows how much I know. Now I have the time sickness, popularly known as Nurse Ratched's Revenge.I’ve gone back thirty years, further than I thought possible and am stuck in normal time permanently. It's ironic, isn't it? given it's the time phase I'd lost everything to avoid.For me, normal time is tedious. Everything and everyone appears the same, changing infinitesimally from day to day. You know what they did yesterday and ...

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“Chronos Ex Machina” by Ajene Amenti

Submitted to Contest #236

"You don't do this unless you have the strength of spirit, boy!" The captain slurred his words and stank of rum, but that wasn't enough for me to turn back. Truthfully, I had tried to leave but the thought of seeing my father again held me in a vice-grip. If I left now the entire journey would be all for nothing. This was his last request, after all. I look around and see the surrounding men staring into the crevasse, waiting anxiously and eager to start. "I've paid you the deposit." I replied. "The rest of the blueprints will be paid on...

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“Backwards” by Deborah Alexander

Submitted to Contest #236

“Can you pinpoint a moment in your life where you lost something that would have changed the outcome of your future?” This therapist was stupid. Who hasn’t had one of those moments, or many of them throughout their lives. “People make choices everyday that affect their outcomes. I suppose I am no different than anyone else,” I respond. I am beginning to wish I had never agreed to come here. But Will made me. It was an ultimatum to our relationship. Get help, or he’s gone. Some...

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“Going back for ‘a’ good!” by Andrew Venn

Submitted to Contest #236

Going back for ‘a’ good! There was a purpose for all of the research and the dedication required towards the construction of a mechanical machine and transportation unit, that would be capable to reverse time and decrease the age of a living person seated within this structure, and this personal purpose was to avoid an incident that would dramatically and drastically affect both my younger years and a ne...

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“Starting Over” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #236

The crushing headache was expected, and having every nerve ending screaming like she was being electrocuted. But it only lasted a moment, as she had been promised, and she swam back to consciousness moaning and cradling her head. The pain faded quickly, almost instantly, and she slowly raised her head and looked around. Sarah expected to be disoriented, so she wasn’t alarmed that she couldn’t place where she was right away. She should be in the bedroom she shared with her sister in the apartment on Glendale Road....

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“Between Reality” by Gregory Knight

Submitted to Contest #236

Jack’s eyes snap open, and he scans the room. He looks at the Heavy Metal concert posters on the wall, the chipped Swedish desk, the tape cassettes strewn about it; he sees an oscillating fan with sticky notes flapping. The place smells of nauseating incense and he can hear synthesizer tunes from the next room. Wait a minute, he thinks. Through his lethargic state, somewhere strange and somewhere very wrong had penetrated his heavy lids. He shook his head in disbelief and rubbed his face to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Flipping over on t...

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“The Clerk” by Mike Fedorov

Submitted to Contest #236

Markus’s head cracked and thudded against the warm pavement, sending needles down his spine and a stabbing pain through his cranium, the rest of his body crashing down right after. Mumbles and groans escaped his sneering mouth as he swore up and down, attempting to soothe the pain. Through squinted eyes, Markus could barely make out vivid pinks, blues, and yellows - an endless amount of color that cut through the night sky above him. Among the people passing by him, he counted four who looked genuinely concerned; the others barely even glanc...

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“Orville Wadsworth Finally Gets It Right” by John Dmytruk

Submitted to Contest #236

He is making the final additions to a new invention. It looks like a small shipping container on the outside, but inside, it has four leather office chairs that were bolted to the floor. Canvas straps for seat belts that were bolted into the floor. Gauges and lights line the inside wall of the container. It wasn’t much to look at, but Orville Wadsworth thought it was his finest invention. While Willma Wordsworth did think much of it. “Orville, is this going to be another one of your finest inventions, like a robot housekeeper? Remember how ...

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“1989” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #236

The 1980's was a decade that changed America. From the many inventions like the computer and cell phone to the music, to the clothes and the many hair styles. The 1980's was truly a decade that changed us all. For me 1989, the last year of the 80's is the year that fascinated me. 1989 saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of Communism and the fall of dictators. It was a year marked with new beginnings for many and the end of the old ways for others. I saw 1989 as the year my family was freed and reunited after so many years. I was luc...

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“Rewinding Hearts” by Bill Miller

Submitted to Contest #236

“This is the town I lived in when I graduated from college and started my first grown-up job Emily. Your mom and I met here.” I shared with my disinterested teenage daughter. Emily was sitting in the back seat with her socks up on the seat of the van and elbows on her knees. She was busy texting away as we drove through South central Iowa on our way to see the in-laws. She looked up briefly from her iPhone to acknowledge me with a quick nod before returning to her besties. Laura smiled at me and said “I wonder h...

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“Vinegar Syndrome” by Leah Vargas

Submitted to Contest #236

I didn’t expect it to work. When I placed the worn photo of my mother and her long-gone sister under my pillow – a photo that had captured them at their most rebellious, most vivacious – some summer night in 1982 – I didn’t expect to be brought back to that very parking lot where the photo had been taken. And yet, that is where my story begins. She was 19 then, and my aunt 23. It would be the last time my mother saw her sister alive: a night that would haunt her for the rest of her life, and in turn, would haunt me throughout mine. My mot...

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“The Project Called Pangea” by Farai Gotora

Submitted to Contest #236

Isaac Wells was the CEO of Infinity Partners, a Venture Capital firm that distributed funds to inventors of extraordinary skill and sight. CEO was his proudest title as it was one that he took pains to achieve. Prior to this venture, Isaac's greatest criticism was his lack of achievement given from whom he was descended and the size of the golden spoon he had been born with in his mouth. He was only Isaac Wells, son of Robert Hudson Wells, founder and owner of Glob-Oil Inc, an oil company with successful operations on every continent. And wh...

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Write a time-travel story where a character from the present finds themselves in the 80s or 90s.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“The Spin” by Nicole Eaton

“The 80's Called” by Renee Yancey

“White Paint” by Eliza Levin

“Once in a Lifetime” by Josephine Harris

“Chronos Ex Machina” by Ajene Amenti

“Backwards” by Deborah Alexander

“Going back for ‘a’ good!” by Andrew Venn

“Starting Over” by Mary Lynne Schuster

“Between Reality” by Gregory Knight

“The Clerk” by Mike Fedorov

“Orville Wadsworth Finally Gets It Right” by John Dmytruk

“1989” by Melinda Madrigal

“Rewinding Hearts” by Bill Miller

“Vinegar Syndrome” by Leah Vargas

“The Project Called Pangea” by Farai Gotora

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character finding a retro piece of tech they don’t recognize.

Write a story about someone finally gaining access into their family’s very old computer.

Write a story about a grown-up sharing their favorite childhood video game with their child.

Write about a character who isn’t nostalgic about their past at all, and show readers why.

Contest #236

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

184

Contest entries

83

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: