Set your story on New Year's Day.

Posted in Holiday on Dec 29, 2023

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✍️ 50 stories

“Sunrise” by Adriano Dechicha

Submitted to Contest #231

SUNRISE Adriano Dechicha This is the story of myself being an early bird on New Year’s Day. It was January 1st, 1888. Those who were there may defend it is not my precise picture. Quite true, but my figure was there, floating among the colors of Strasbourg housing. And a faint yellow, as mild as the rising sun, was the postcard of the hospital building. I crossed the gate, hearing the crowded sounds of patients. One voice stood out: ‘“Doctors are not here. We called them like sirens do.” And I readily supposed it was a gr...

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“Firework” by Kyla Tavares

Submitted to Contest #231

“I’ve made it another year,” her voice said faintly. It was barely audible. Only those who really tried to listen to her could hear. Thankfully, there were people gathered around her who cared. They cared about her well-being and wanted the best for her. Her family came and visited every day. She was blessed to have them. On the right of her sat her parents. The children on the left were her younger siblings. She was the oldest of them at the age of thirteen. After her came Emily who was eleven, and her younger brother Jack who had recently ...

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“Ring a Ding Fling? ” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #231

“I can get Cary Grant on the phone. Would you like to speak to him?”On New Year’s Day, I wish myself a happy new year and hope for new opportunities, like everyone else I knew. New Year’s Eve was a small affair—just a gathering of friends in our apartment. Then, when I least expected it, there was this phone call on New Year's Day. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.He was in his fifties. A former ballet dancer working in the entertainment industry. He swept me off my feet.And who am I? I was a twenty...

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“War in Space” by John Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #231

It was a day like no other. January first, 2038. New year, new me. At least until the Incinerators came. Let me organize this story in a way that will be the most gratifying. I don’t get to tell stories often, and I don’t want to bore anyone. Space. The beginning and ending of the trudge of life. Life, that ever-expanding, ever-fruitful bending of a straitened reality. Never showing anything. Always learning. The science of space travel had just turned 10 years old. In our short jaunt through space, we colonized all the planets of our solar...

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“New Year's Bashed” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #231

On New Year’s Day, Wilson awoke at 7 am and tried to clear the throbbing pain from his head. He sat up in bed to find his old-timey pinball machine wrecked and laying destroyed in a corner of his room. After running over and over this strange turn of events in his mind he fell back into a deep sleep that led him into a nightmare that never seemed to stop replaying. In his dream he had gone to the same country club party to which one of his s...

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“George” by Rory Kilalea

Submitted to Contest #231

Rhodesia declared a unilateral declaration of Independence from Britain in 1965 to avoid black rule. A bush war erupted. Black freedom fighters attacked the white Rhodesian forces for control of the country which they called Zimbabwe. . Brady Barracks. Bulawayo. Rhodesia. Africa. 1973 “Why don’t they ever clean these shelves, George?” George shrugged. She expected musty smells and silverfish when she sorted through old files A comfortable feeling. “I suppose the dust must be antique now.” George giggled, clicked shut the mottl...

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“Draped in a Sari - for 31 days” by Soumya Ravi

Submitted to Contest #231

This was a challenge many, many years in the making. I first thought of doing it, when I read A Sari for a Month for Newsweek by Shoba Narayan. I loved the idea, and since then, it remained in my mind as something I would do one day. What’s the big deal for an Indian born and raised, 50-year-old woman to wear a saree for a month? It’s not a big deal for most women of my age, especially if they were raised in India, just as I was. Even today, I have cousins, both older and younger, who wear a saree and feel no constraint and are com...

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“Nighthawks” by Alyn Dobb

Submitted to Contest #231

It was 1:54 in the morning. The first 1:54 of the new year. The warm, social buzz that was once present had been replaced by a thick, salty haze of steam and butter. The haze was paired with a symphony of flickering ceiling lights. Marisa didn’t see the appeal of such a gaudy celebration. To her, work ethic was a necessity, not a privilege. The idea of a single day with the sole purpose of forgiving the lousy output of a person, for the exchange of a possible shot at redemption struck a chord with Marisa’s principles. State tuition in F...

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“A New Beginning: Rivers of Styx” by Pryor Rose

Submitted to Contest #231

TW: Verbal Abuse, Gaslighting, Kink Talk, Adult Language “If you cross that threshold you will not be welcomed back.”’ Shane’s voice echoed from the back bedroom where he laid in the bed acting like the arrogant prick that he was. “Really? That is your threat? I told you we are done, my bag is packed, Briar is picking me up in the next five minutes. I don’t want to come back Shane, this is it. Last night proved to me that I mean nothing to you.” Rhiannon shook her head shifting the weight of her back deeper on the curve of her shou...

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“First Day of the Decade” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #231

This story is set in 1980. The characters are products of their times and may use words that will be considered insensitive and/or offensive to readers of 2023. Today, I got three plastic totes full of the things that I’d left behind at my ex-wife’s house. Her divorce attorney, who I’m guessing will be her next husband, had his paralegal bring them to my apartment. One tote was full of books. There were no John Grishams, one of the two things we agreed on. The other was mostly CDs and cassette tapes, with a few VHS tapes and DVDs. T...

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“The Gift of Hope” by Britni Jay

Submitted to Contest #231

“Today, it is going to happen,” Jake said as he straightened his bow tie and looked in the mirror with a glee of hope in his eyes. Jake has worn the same classic black tuxedo daily for almost a year and thought he looked better in the suit each time. He grabbed the wide toothcomb off the dresser and combed his silky dark brown hair to the back. He wanted to ensure every hairstring was intact and he looked handsome. Looking at his watch, Jake saw it was almost 4:30 in the evening and knew he had to leave home now to beat traffic. He needed to...

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“Pluto, the Rat and the Birds.” by Rose Lind

Submitted to Contest #231

Beware Swearing.Happy New Year! I said that about 8 am. I'm not sure really of that time, as the kitchen clock hands frozen at sixteen past one, and the loungroom clock hands, fast runners, said sixteen past eight.I could not be bothered to press my phone button on, to find out the real time via satellite, as I enjoyed the quiet and solitude of the morning light, and New Year's Day is only another day. For example, if I had a partner, they would receive a kiss every morning, no extra passion on the morning of Valentine's Day! It's just anoth...

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“The Confession” by R.L. Lamm

Submitted to Contest #231

"Remember, when they chanted your name and your business in the streets? 'Masseratelle has a secret!' they sang, they cajoled. 'Masseratelle has a secret!' It is the New Year, today, Masseratelle. Yet it was in the old year that you kept your secret. Your secret and mine. The secret we all kept, until we couldn't any longer. The Bishops and the Cardinals, Masseratelle! You spoke for them. You were their public voice, delivering the words of the Papacy and the councils. And when they heard your voice tremble, in November, all the ...

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“When Dreams Align” by Mara Rouge

Submitted to Contest #231

Dear Diary, It has been a while since I shared something here. Well…guess what? I dreamt that I had the best New Year’s Day lunch with my closest relatives. Everyone showed up and was on their best behavior. We shared our New Years resolutions (all the things we wanted), buried the hatchet with those who hurt our feelings throughout the year, forgave one another, and reflected about those things we couldn’t or didn’t do in the previous year, while pretending that we all liked each other. It was simply extraordinary, and this is...

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“What’s in the Freezer? ” by Jessica Smithgall

Submitted to Contest #231

January 1, 2018 It was New Year’s Day but I had to work. I didn’t mind it, I liked staying busy and feeling productive about my day. I always worked the night shift at a local pizzeria. Usually there were two people who close the store but the others conveniently called out so it would just be me. 30 minutes till close I eagerly started cleaning up all that I could without taking everything down. I’d wipe the counters of the lasting food and sweep the floor as well as I could. I’d scramble to wash the dishes while swiping glances at the do...

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Set your story on New Year's Day.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 50 stories

“Sunrise” by Adriano Dechicha

“Firework” by Kyla Tavares

“Ring a Ding Fling? ” by Joe Smallwood

“War in Space” by John Jenkins

“New Year's Bashed” by Bob Faszczewski

“George” by Rory Kilalea

“Draped in a Sari - for 31 days” by Soumya Ravi

“Nighthawks” by Alyn Dobb

“A New Beginning: Rivers of Styx” by Pryor Rose

“First Day of the Decade” by Zack Herman

“The Gift of Hope” by Britni Jay

“Pluto, the Rat and the Birds.” by Rose Lind

“The Confession” by R.L. Lamm

“When Dreams Align” by Mara Rouge

“What’s in the Freezer? ” by Jessica Smithgall

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a list of New Year's resolutions.

Write about a character who has reinvented themselves, but realizes it's not always easy to outrun your past.

Write a story about hope.

Write about someone trying something completely new.

Contest #231

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

278

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: