Write about a character setting an unusual New Year’s resolution.

Posted in Holiday on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 26 stories

“Secrets” by Tanya Forsyth Taylor

Submitted to Contest #126

Secrets The dappled light muted the harsh summer rays of the Australian sun. I cruised along my picturesque street lined with beautiful architect-designed homes creating a wealthy ambience for those who lived there. I loved this part of the drive home. It gave me time to turn off from work demands and once more become the mother and wife in the O’Brien family. As I flew through the round a bout into my street the sound of horns blasting ferociously around me shattered my reverie. Cars were stopped in the middle of the road. Instinctively I ...

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“TO DO OR NOT DO” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #126

Once again, it'll be here before we know it. That day that will once again live in infamy, only in a different century. We all made a pact to do what we were going to do a long time ago. But here we are, still dragging our feet with another deadline fast approaching. It was to be a pivotal time for all of us. The excitement was so real back then. Back then? I believe it was only last year we said we'd go for it. What were we thinking of? I don't know if each of us understood the sincere trust people were giving us to head out on this unique ...

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“Planning My 130th Birthday Party” by Monique Nelson

Submitted to Contest #126

Have you ever heard someone say, "Shoot me if I ever get that old," or something to that sentiment? I never understood that. Perhaps it's because I've always enjoyed old people so much. For as long as I can remember, my grandparents have been my favorite people and I'm more at ease in the company of someone 40+ years my senior than those my own age. My peers start complaining about mid-life crises in their 30s and 40s. I recognize the average life expectancy in North America is somewhere around 80, but I've never aspired to being average....

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“The Gentlemen's Club” by Karen Haggard

Submitted to Contest #126

I can't stop my hands from shaking. Hell, my entire body has been quaking for the last nine months, give or take. And the sour taste of bile rising in my mouth daily makes me want to vomit. The never-ending stress of this whole fucking thing will kill me before anything else does. I look at my face in the bathroom mirror, and I seem to have aged a lifetime in a few short months. How is that possible?I chose this Option, willingly. Foolishly. I chose to live a privileged version of a life I've never had instead of going to prison for twenty-t...

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“A Resolve” by Matthew Kyle

Submitted to Contest #126

Christmas Eve 2021 instead of thinking about tomorrow I am thinking about my New Year's resolution (seven days from now). Until, last year I was terrible about following through with my past resolutions, which I attribute the reason is they were so generic, and cliche (workout, eat better, drink (alcohol) less) finally completing the latter last year, which I started November 2020. I'm not sure that even counts as a New Year resolution. Now, I am bored again seeking out to find the perfect resolution, but I want and need some mea...

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“Duolingo ” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #126

Oliver sat in wait. His head turned in the direction it should be. His body laid low to the ground and he barely breathed. He was waiting. His New Year’s Resolution was to finally get that pesky mouse that had run control of the house for the whole year. Oliver felt that he was not doing his mousley duty letting that mouse run past him every night and not catching him for his humans. He longed for the day he could put that old gray mouse at the feet of his humans and sit there and purr in happiness and accomplishment. That was his goal. Oliv...

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“I Won't Do It Again, I Swear” by Daniel Harder

Submitted to Contest #126

“Where the hell is that no-good, lazy, piece-of-garbage accountant, Stanley?” That is the exclamation this chilly Boston New Year’s Eve from Silvio Marino, the CEO of Amalgam Enterprises, a company the general public knows very little about, other than the constant charity donations in the local news and the “Save the Children” or “Adopt a Whale” campaigns Silvio is always showing up at to do volunteer work. The true nature of his business is in the “safety” industry – well, to be more precise, the protection industry. Mister Marino’s organi...

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“Just Passing By” by Vanessa Landriault

Submitted to Contest #126

Pop.A glance to the left showed bits and pieces of what used to be a golden balloon twisting and turning about itself as it gracefully tumbled to the ground. The white string it was attached to sat in a sad heap on the floor, still tied to the blown-off rubber knot.Well, there went Chance's one source of entertainment.Technically not his only source, but after a while, one got tired of the endless expanse of space; one got tired of the lack of gravity. Sometimes. Okay, never. He'd never gotten tired of either of those things, but the balloon...

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“A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION THAT BACKFIRED” by Eileen Donovan

Submitted to Contest #126

A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION THAT BACKFIRED If I weren’t standing in front of the Cort Theater in the middle of 48th St., I’d scream. That thought ran through my head every time I came out from a darkened theater into the pinpoints of sunlight that found their way through the surrounding buildings down to the sidewalk. The bus that would take me north to Orange County was leaving in ten minutes. There was no way I could get from 48th St. and 7th Avenue to Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd St. and 8th Avenue in ten minutes. Especially through...

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“To a good 2022.” by Ella Bennett

Submitted to Contest #126

I finished my assignment for my science lesson. College was seriously pushing my limits; there was only so much of school I could take. It'd always been that way. I glared at the time, 3:21am. New Years was right around the corner, yet I hadn't thought of a New Years resolution. I took the time as a sign that I had worked hard enough and dragged myself from my desk to my bed. I slumped down and flopped on my face in a daze, thinking about what could possibly benefit me from a New Years resolution. I woke up later than usual. The time sh...

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“A Resolution of Two Species” by Brian Janko

Submitted to Contest #126

Generally, keeping one’s New Year’s resolution is a good idea. But sometimes other factors intervene.As the New Year was near, Arthur relaxed watching TV, to see the ball dropping in Times Square at midnight. At 11:35 p.m., he fell asleep. At first, it was a very light sleep, for at one point he opened his eyes just long enough to glimpse the Times Square count down and the ball starting to drop. But he fell back asleep before the drop had finished.Later, “Auld Lang Syne” droning over and over in his mind, he awakened, groggy, naked, on a co...

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Write about a character setting an unusual New Year’s resolution.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 26 stories

“Secrets” by Tanya Forsyth Taylor

“TO DO OR NOT DO” by Debbie Curtin

“Planning My 130th Birthday Party” by Monique Nelson

“The Gentlemen's Club” by Karen Haggard

“A Resolve” by Matthew Kyle

“Duolingo ” by Marcia H.

“I Won't Do It Again, I Swear” by Daniel Harder

“Just Passing By” by Vanessa Landriault

“A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION THAT BACKFIRED” by Eileen Donovan

“To a good 2022.” by Ella Bennett

“A Resolution of Two Species” by Brian Janko

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or end your story with one or more characters shouting “Happy new year!”

Write about a character reflecting on the previous year.

Write a story about two people who don’t know each other but bump into one other on New Year’s Eve (either once or every year).

Write a story about someone seeking a fresh start after a difficult year.

Contest #126

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

162

Contest entries

100

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: