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

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✍️ 102 stories

“Cocayne” by Nick Holmberg

Submitted to Contest #75

Cocayne was on his mind. Last year, he never would have vowed to stop; it was his thing, it was what defined him. Now it was a new year, though, and he had resolved, “Never again.” His wife, his life depended on it. He braced against the cold wind and stinging flurries as he shuffled to his car. He couldn’t stop thinking of Cocayne. Jana Stoner loves Jill Cocayne. Jokes swirled in his head from the vast combination of names he came across while filtering spreadsheets at his go-nowhere job. Some jokes didn’t land with certain people. His...

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“The year´s bombastic finale” by Mona Del Valle

Submitted to Contest #75

Nellie exchanged glances with Liam. “And before the New Year begins… we now solemnly renew our vow: We will never put yeast over friendship again.” The candles were lit, the mulled wine filled the room with its spicy aroma, the oven spread its heat throughout the entire room. Nellie led Liam through the kitchen, over the carpet, into the living room and back again in a wild attempt at a Tango. They were hard pressed to maintain their serious expressions under the amused look of Ann who was sitting on the couch, cuddled into her favorite bl...

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“Bringing Home an Epiphany” by Lisa Wentworth

Submitted to Contest #75

Week 9 Start your story with one character making a vow that they never would have made the year before. “....As God is my witness, I’ll never go hungry again.” Scarlet O’Hara, Gone With The Wind” Now, Elizabeth was hardly a Scarlet; more like a Melody...sweet and a people pleaser. Even her preferred name, Beth, was taken from the most docile character in Little Women, not a strong-minded Jo. Yet fortune has made her life full of drama, which was an unexpected turn from the stable childhood she had...So why was she so disposable no...

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“A veiled epoch ” by Aparna Nair

Submitted to Contest #75

Clinging vessels were as usual the wake up call for Chinna. He lay on a dried palm leaf mat covered in a faded thin .He could see the clear white sky through the cracked terra-cotta roof. Last night he slept holding his kaleidoscope .. the one he had made from scratch,now lying safely next to him. The other boys laughed when he told them his plan to make one and today he would prove them wrong. Drops of excitement slowly formed on his otherwise painfully deserted heart. He sat up.. the kaleidoscope safe and secure on his lap as he folded his...

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“No Regrets, The List” by Chris Harris

Submitted to Contest #75

Oscar woke up in bed. He yawned, tussled his messy brown hair and tried to roll over, but as he did something stopped him half way – there was something tugging on his arm. It was something painful! His tired eyes started fluttering open to find out what was poking in his arm. As he moved, his head set on fire in a splitting headache. It was probably a hangover he reasoned, another big night out celebrating the end of high school and going on to university. If that was the case (which it likely was) then he really didn’t want to know wh...

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“No More Room For Hate.” by Kasia Harman

Submitted to Contest #75

The strange thing about hate is that it has within it something that sets it apart from other emotions. Choosing to hate others based on traits like race, religion, or sexual orientation creates a particular look in the eyes. A chilling look that both repels and disgusts those that are sensitive to it, or have suffered because of it. When looking into such eyes, one gets the sense that hate has taken up so much space within the person that their soul was simply…pushed out. Those that hate wholeheartedly leave little room for anything else wi...

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“A new path ” by Vanessa Amber

Submitted to Contest #75

On the night of New Year’s Eve Simone sat alone at the London city airport. The next flight was scheduled for the next morning, but everything was better than being in the house she grew up in. It felt like a new beginning, and she vowed to herself that she would never come back to England.The airport was empty, and no shops were opened. She had never seen an airport like that and found it calming. After all she went through it felt good to have a bit of time to reflect on what happened during the last year. She was sitting right next to a b...

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“Fortress of Solitude” by Brya Wallace

Submitted to Contest #75

“I’m ready,” I declared, “I’m ready to get out of this house and explore the world,” I grinned at my parents. They smiled back at me, a sense of relief painted across their face as they gave each other a sideways glance, “We’ll help you,” Dad said quietly back “we’ll do this together.” --- It was a school like any other, so I’m not sure why it had to change my life; ruin my life before it had even had a chance to begin, in essence. I was an average teenager, as in to say there was nothing extraordinary about me and I was just like every ot...

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“To Succeed, We Must First Love” by Molly James

Submitted to Contest #75

The mind, such a beautiful fragile thing. The key to slipping away from our painful, stressful realities. But also the secret weapon we harbor that can lead to our ultimate downfall. I always look at the world in a half-full glass, I whispered in a daydream once. Oh, how daydreaming was my eudaimonic pleasure, how it dulcified my anxiety like the lull of the luscious melodies of Jazz. My mind glowed with the glimmer of a million fireflies leaping across the luminescent sky. But that was before the storm clouds came rumbling in camouflaging m...

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“Jay’s Resolution” by Todd Zirlott

Submitted to Contest #75

The mirror was covered in steam, so Jay could hardly see himself. He spied a triangular window where his eyes and nose poked through the steam-made clouds on the mirror’s reflective surface. He stood and watched the vapor dance and billow atop the sink, relishing in the warmth that blanketed his skin. The bathroom smelled of running water, and when he closed his eyes, Jay could picture himself sitting in a sauna. He cut the shower water off and sighed. Grabbing a towel, he dried himself off and wrapped the cloth...

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“Hard Chosen Vow Went Wrong” by Ghost Writer

Submitted to Contest #75

Contemplating what she was to do, Lora paced in front of her living room couch. For a year now, she had faced the problem of her drunken boyfriend, who came home every night vomiting and speaking in slurs. She was getting tired of it and soon it would have to end. A year before, she would have never thought the things that she was thinking to herself, never would she have thought of breaking up with the guy she had known since middle school, he was her high school sweetheart, but now that Damien was 21, he drank all the time, never stopping ...

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“A Vow to Move On” by Alo River

Submitted to Contest #75

"I vow to move on from you and live a long happy life but you'll always be in my heart" I placed my hand on Hope's tombstone and placed her fresh roses beside it." A vow I thought I'd never make.It had been 4 years since my fiancee had passed away...My name is Julian and I'm currently 34 years old. 4 years ago my future was already planned and I had no worries about anything at all that is until my fiancee was involved in a hit and run accident. I witnessed it all and I couldn't do anything about it. Since her passing I never even once thoug...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 102 stories

“Cocayne” by Nick Holmberg

“The year´s bombastic finale” by Mona Del Valle

“Bringing Home an Epiphany” by Lisa Wentworth

“A veiled epoch ” by Aparna Nair

“No Regrets, The List” by Chris Harris

“No More Room For Hate.” by Kasia Harman

“A new path ” by Vanessa Amber

“Fortress of Solitude” by Brya Wallace

“To Succeed, We Must First Love” by Molly James

“Jay’s Resolution” by Todd Zirlott

“Hard Chosen Vow Went Wrong” by Ghost Writer

“A Vow to Move On” by Alo River

🌟 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: