Start your story with one character making a vow that they never would have made the year before.

Posted in Holiday on Oct 25, 2022

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.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 102 stories

“For Honor and Blood” by Tim Maddox

Submitted to Contest #75

“I have called you all here to ready the men to head to Serendia. My intention is to head to Ludune province and aid House Scur against the Kaladun invaders.” Mordecai quickly glanced around the room at each of his lieutenants. The Graecians, Alexios and Mateo, were stunned and turned to each other as if to ask the other whether they had heard correctly. Hakeem’s eyes fell into the fire so as not to betray the thoughts behind them. Ibrahim, the Emir’s official representative to his council, hid his mouth in his hand. The two Therovingi broth...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Down a Narrow Lane” by Paige Leppanen

Submitted to Contest #75

“We’d have never taken that oath before—” “Quiet, Sarah. They’ll hear.” Anthony shoves his clammy hand over my mouth. I consider biting it but know that we can’t draw attention to ourselves. The time for childish retaliation is long gone. Anthony seems to sense that I’ll remain silent and slowly moves his hand back to his side. We continue to walk, side by side, down the narrow lane. We have a little over a mile to go before we can speak freely. This is part of the test. They dumped us off and are now watching us as we trek to the House....

2 comments 2

Read story

“Good News” by Amir Sher

Submitted to Contest #75

Most people don’t know exactly when they will die. They go on living their lives as if it’s gonna last forever, never thinking about the end. My life is ending today, at 12:00 pm, to be exact. Six months ago, Doctor Faux told me I have six months to live. I pulled my smartphone and swiped the months on the calendar app six times. It was 12:26 pm on June 8 when I sat at the doctor’s office and received the bad news, so I added the event “Life is over” at 12:26 on December 8. It didn’t conflict with any other appointment. The doctor who was ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Carver's Will” by Rachel Kenley Fry

Submitted to Contest #75

They were going to kill him. Carver knew it, he knew without anyone speaking a word that he only had a few moments left to live. And this time last year, he would have enthusiastically proclaimed that this was exactly what he wanted. Actually, in all honesty, he did enthusiastically proclaim it, many times, to many, many people. “I don’t ever want to live hooked up to machines, like a veg-e-table, y’know?” he’d said, cuffing his sons-in-law on the shoulders. “I mean, if I can’t hunt, can’t sleep with my wife, can’t even feed myself, then...

14 comments 14

Read story

“The Hunter” by Lenox Ndeda

Submitted to Contest #75

THE HUNTER “I may not know what actually, made him shrink that much,” came the voice of Sulfika. Now the one spoken of was the chief village hunter and in fact an ardent member of the craft. In my community it was common for all men to embrace hunting, I don’t want to say gathering because it only leads to cultural redundancy. Sulfika Lando, his full name that was accorded to him by his late grandfather Pio Gama Olotembe. The name Pio Gama was given to him by the villagers because he spoke of a strange activist, I opine think ably that he ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“House Hunting” by Tanja Cilia

Submitted to Contest #75

“This is the year I will get out of here.” You call it the Psychiatric Hospital. I call it the Funny Farm – funny as in weird, not funny as in ha-ha. The day I checked myself voluntarily for hospitalisation into a psychiatric ward, I didn’t quite know what I had let myself in for. But my state of mind – or rather the voice reverberating in my brain – told me it would be the best thing to do. I was the only remaining sibling from a family of seven. Our parents were dead, and I was all alone… no one on either side of the family had want...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Crash ” by Marion Donnellier

Submitted to Contest #75

2 comments 2

Read story

“Blind Love” by Lydia Shona

Submitted to Contest #75

Trigger warning: suicide I stare into the oncoming train lights. After Sam and Devon, I had vowed that in this life, I would never love again. Damn my heart that I follow with such blindness. My head is swarming with memories that hold so much pain. I can barely stand. I can scarcely breathe. My heart strains like a sack of grain almost splitting in half. Reason tries to make my feet move, but I am rigid. Nothing can stop me. Nothing can knock me over, not even this train. I am ready to meet oblivion. Finally...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Re-building of Me” by 🐔zen Chicken 🐔

Submitted to Contest #75

There’s always going to be a jerk in your life. I should know. I dated one. In my defense, Mark Robinson didn’t seem like a jerk. He was a famous celebrity, and celebrities are supposed to be nice. They always are on-camera. I was just one of the rare ones that tried to be nice off-camera, too. But Mark was not like me in any way. Not that I could mention it, though. Mark's reputation was crystal-clear to the public. Most people didn't want HGTV celebrities to be terrible people, and Mark and me were some of the best-known House Hunt...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Deep Leap” by Michael Hayes

Submitted to Contest #75

“You said you’d never do that in a million years!” As the saying goes, ‘Look before you leap’. I shrugged. I have seen the show ‘Love Trap’ many times, and wondered why people would go on these shows. The infamous show claims you will find true love by marrying another contestant they’ve never met or seen. I often watched the show, just to see their faces when they met their match. Sometimes they are pleasantly surprised, sometimes they try to mask their disappointment, and other times go Arrrgh. In sickness and in health. Death us do part. ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“What's next” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #75

This all started because I swore something that I never would have the year before. That's not to say that I wouldn't have made this particular vow; it's just that before a few days ago I didn't know that there was a reason for me to swear to kill a yet to be decided number of people. I know that might seem horrible. Honestly I have to say that no matter the justification; no matter the type of people involved, it is a rather horrible thing that I am contemplating. So now i’m in the back of a patrol car he thinks to himself...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Phone Call” by Estelle Westley

Submitted to Contest #75

"I'm going to call my sister today!" Sandy thought if she said it out loud it would make her more determined to take this step. She scrolled down her contact list for her sister's number. No! I wouldn't know what to say, it's been twenty five years, will she just cut me off or she might not even answer her phone. She put her phone down and decided to make herself a cup of coffee first and think of how she would start the conversation. I need the caffeine. Sandra's mother had passed away twenty five years ago and would not have been ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Never Wanted It” by Janie Cruz

Submitted to Contest #75

Niall sat anxiously in the room, waiting for someone to come get him and tell him it was time. He checked himself in the full length mirror and chuckled. He swore he would never do this. Not anytime soon, at least. Yet here he was. He thought about their first date. ***flashback*** “Ann?” “I’m coming, I’m coming!” He chuckled as he heard her run down the stairs and into the living room. His breath caught in his throat. “What? Is my hair messed up?” she asked. Niall shook his head and laughed. “No no, Pet. You….You...

1 comment 1

Read story

“NEVER IS AN AWFULLY LONG TIME” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #75

From the vantage point of the balcony, Ruth stood motionless looking towards but not concentrating on the fireworks display. The horrid year was being ushered out, and the New Year welcomed in. The sky looked pretty but her heart was not in the celebrations. Her sister and brother-in-law were beside her, clearly in a world of their own. Suddenly Sean, sensing Ruth’s demeanour, stood beside her. Theirs’s was a good relationship: the non-DNA brother Ruth had wished for. Sean put his arm around her shoulders...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Making Life More Complicated” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #75

This year I won’t be so sure of things and so intent on letting people know all about it. Oh, let me qualify that (and perhaps when you start qualifying and quantifying resolutions and putting terms and conditions on them they lose their potency, but I don’t care.) There are things I will always be unashamedly sure of, things that are unreservedly wrong or unreservedly right. Hurting a child or an animal comes into the first category and remembering (well, most of the time) to sort my rubbish properly comes into the second. But there are hug...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who has finally managed to succeed at a long-standing New Year’s resolution.

Winter – 98 stories

Write about someone whose job is to help people leave their old lives behind.

Adults – 246 stories

Write about someone who doesn’t remember their past — and doesn’t want to.

Thriller and Suspense – 205 stories

Write about two characters who each want to change the same thing, but resolve to go about it in very different ways.

Teens – 84 stories

Contest #75

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: New Year, New You

$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 08, 2021 EST

Won by R. A. 🏆

Title: The Violinist

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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start your story with one character making a vow that they never would have made the year before.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 102 stories

“For Honor and Blood” by Tim Maddox

“Down a Narrow Lane” by Paige Leppanen

“Good News” by Amir Sher

“Carver's Will” by Rachel Kenley Fry

“The Hunter” by Lenox Ndeda

“House Hunting” by Tanja Cilia

“Crash ” by Marion Donnellier

“Blind Love” by Lydia Shona

“The Re-building of Me” by 🐔zen Chicken 🐔

“Deep Leap” by Michael Hayes

“What's next” by John Del Rio

“The Phone Call” by Estelle Westley

“Never Wanted It” by Janie Cruz

“NEVER IS AN AWFULLY LONG TIME” by Claire Tennant

“Making Life More Complicated” by Deborah Mercer

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who has finally managed to succeed at a long-standing New Year’s resolution.

Write about someone whose job is to help people leave their old lives behind.

Write about someone who doesn’t remember their past — and doesn’t want to.

Write about two characters who each want to change the same thing, but resolve to go about it in very different ways.

Contest #75

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: