Write a story inspired by a memory of yours.

Posted in Nonfiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 90 stories

“Everyone Just Called Her "Viv"” by Marc Bradley

Submitted to Contest #140

September 1971—The morning started in a rush. I was in kindergarten and my brother in second grade. Mom was in more of a hurry than usual and was not her smiling, upbeat, positive self. It did not take me long to realize that my brother and I had missed the bus. Mom rushed us all into the car, all of us into the back seat, my brother, me, and our good friend Jimmy from across the street, who had missed the bus as well. There were no seatbelts back then, so the back seat was the safest place for kids our age to be. The next thing I remember i...

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“Huntington Lake” by Mariah Heller

Submitted to Contest #140

“Remember the bear? With Dad around, we didn’t even realize we were in potential danger. At least our food was wrapped up well and out of reach from wildlife,” recollected Ellie while she was on the phone with Susan. Susan snorted, causing the sound waves to vibrate against Ellie’s ear. “Wrapped up? Don’t you remember that bear ate the rest of the dog food! Dad and Uncle Brian secured our food, not Porky’s.” Ellie smiled at the memory she and Susan shared camping with their dad at Huntington La...

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“The Church of the Past” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #140

The Church of the Past The year was 2016. My wife and I were taking a drive in the country with no particular destination in mind, open to anything that we might find and explore. But, as we would suspect sometime later, perhaps there was more to it than mere travellers' whim. Perhaps the word 'destination' contains the word 'destiny'. We had driven down country roads for about half an hour when we saw something that caught our interest. The little church stood prou...

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“Death Among the Waves” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #140

Natasha Yugoselski ran to hang up her Walker Company work apron and rushed to the exit for the long trek home. She couldn’t wait to throw herself into the arms of Janusz, her husband, lifemate and love. He had spent the glorious summer day swimming on the Jersey Shore with Stash and Walter, his two teenage sons, and Natasha couldn’t wait to hear about their adventures. Sure she regretted having to work on the production line while her family played, but one of the Walker...

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“Sessions 2, 5, and 9” by Sue Hunter

Submitted to Contest #140

“You said you had some things you wanted to talk about, Helen. Tell me, what’s on your mind?” “I don’t know, I guess I’ve just been feeling really burnt out lately. I feel like I keep repeating the same chores every single day. I have no way to liven things up.” “I see. What about your friends? Why not ask them to hang out?” &...

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“One Slug To End It” by Kit Gordon

Submitted to Contest #140

I like movies. Old ones especially. I used to only listen to people’s advice if it suited perfectly the image I had for myself. So, advice escaped me. Friends would tell me, “ You should be an actor. You look like James Dean, and you’re weird!” I enjoyed hearing it, even the weird part. I connected it to art. I didn’t want anything else for my future, but to somehow be artistic. At nineteen I saw ahead of me all the paths of mundane careers. Professions of boredom, an entire life of boredom. I wanted a creative caree...

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“My Grandparent's House” by Luccia Moraes

Submitted to Contest #140

The house was beautiful once. A long time ago. Children ran through it, their laughter echoing through the long, majestic hallways. There was always the smell of the same three recipes she cooked, but the smell was heavenly nonetheless. She probably doesn't remember how to cook them anymore. The first floor was vast. At least one bedroom, a den, kitchen, a dining room with a dining table so grand, I always felt microscopic when I would go into that room. Not that I entered it often. The table and chairs were always covered with a sheet. A...

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“Uncle Chris” by D. Thorne

Submitted to Contest #140

It was a peculiarly cold morning for May. I was living in Zurich, miles from home. The pandemic had made it difficult to see my family back in the United States, and communication between unrelenting schedules and the eight-hour time difference was scarce. I was busy with work, spending all of my days at the Opera House, for I had pursued ballet my whole life to attain the job I had acquired. Having little time for myself or others, I became preoccupied with my own world. It was a busy season at the opera. My exhaustion made me irritable, a...

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“Our secret garden” by Jada Orendorff

Submitted to Contest #140

Our Secret Garden When we saw Mommy get the stroller out of the side porch on those hot, Maryland Spring days we knew we were going somewhere fun. All three of us, too young to go to school, would pull on our Velcro sneakers and fill our water bottles. Kelsey and AJ, the youngest siblings would load in the double stroller, and I would walk next to it, keeping a gentle hand on the handle. “Look Mommy, I can push too!” I would sing as she smiled down at me. Sometimes it would be a trip to the library, a walk to the farmer’s market, or ...

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“Black Market Memory” by Kirstie Anders

Submitted to Contest #140

Once, just once, I broke the law...well besides speeding and the odd DUI - well twice with that...alright and maybe a few puffs of dope...but besides that straight as an arrow...pretty much. So, when I arrived in Greece via car at the start of a European summer in 1989 with my best friend Wendy, I didn’t for one minute think I’d be performing something illegal on purpose, two months later. We’d bought an Opel Rekord in a small town named Siegburg in Germany six months earlier and travelled parts of Europe we hadn’t yet seen after three mont...

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“My First Dead Body” by Ed Friedman

Submitted to Contest #140

My First Dead Body “My Aunt Carmela died”. These were Roseanne’s first words when I walked into the candy store where she waited for me. I was 19 and Roseanne was 17. We had been dating for a few months. “The wake is at the Gun Hill Funeral Parlor…tomorrow”. I wasn’t sure why Roseanne was sharing that detail until I realized she expected me to go with her. The thought of this terrified me on so many levels. I had never been to a funeral and had no desire to go to one now, but I could tell that this was a social convention and I ne...

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“More Than a Number” by Dru Sumner

Submitted to Contest #140

More Than a Number It was dark inside except for light that washed over the cockpit from the instrument panel. City lights that seemed to move below, along with the comforting hum of engines and the banter between the pilots, helped me achieve a somewhat meditative state. “Hey Dru, would you like to visit the Vietnam Memorial? Have you ever been there?” Talk about being pulled out of a meditative state! That did it for me. I blinked, shutting out the view of the Capitol and the Washington Monument and focused on Jim, our Captain. “No, not ...

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“Memories, Mondegreens, and Witnesses” by Monda Kelley

Submitted to Contest #140

I have left too many witnesses in my wake of ridiculous behavior that I will never live down. Most incidences do not involve alcohol or any other mind or conscience altering drug. Some do, however, involve alcohol or the aftermath of some of that wild elixir. My life is filled with memories and mondegreen’s, and the witnesses I have left behind. A mondegreen is a misheard lyric or word. An example of that in my life is the AC/DC song Dirty Deeds. I am old enough to be a grandmother, I work with high school...

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“Skinny Snowmen” by Jennifer Mathews

Submitted to Contest #140

The Winter held Spring hostage. What should have been a balmy morning was unmercifully icy. “Below zero last night,” my dad said. I assumed that meant it was really, really cold, and it certainly felt that way as I sluggishly got out of my cosy bed to get ready for school. It crossed my mind to feign a sore throat. I’d had many of those recently, so it wouldn’t be too far-fetched an excuse. The doctor said I had tonsillitis. At seven years old, I wasn’t sure what that was, but my mother explained that my tonsils were causing my sore ...

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“If Cinder Blocks Could Talk” by Douglas Maxson

Submitted to Contest #140

“If Cinder Blocks Could Talk” The house at 824 Pleasant Street still stands. It was my home from 1955 to 1970. My folks cared for this two-story for another 25 years after I left for college.The memories speak of countless tales hidden within those cinder blocks stacked like legos. They were uneven showing signs of jagged cracks in the foundation from years of settling. You can’t ignore the warmth the blocks absorbed from the summer sun. It felt like a Swedish sauna. Even the winter sun added heat to the inside as the blocks transferr...

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Write a story inspired by a memory of yours.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 90 stories

“Everyone Just Called Her "Viv"” by Marc Bradley

“Huntington Lake” by Mariah Heller

“The Church of the Past” by John Steckley

“Death Among the Waves” by Bob Faszczewski

“Sessions 2, 5, and 9” by Sue Hunter

“One Slug To End It” by Kit Gordon

“My Grandparent's House” by Luccia Moraes

“Uncle Chris” by D. Thorne

“Our secret garden” by Jada Orendorff

“Black Market Memory” by Kirstie Anders

“My First Dead Body” by Ed Friedman

“More Than a Number” by Dru Sumner

“Memories, Mondegreens, and Witnesses” by Monda Kelley

“Skinny Snowmen” by Jennifer Mathews

“If Cinder Blocks Could Talk” by Douglas Maxson

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the narrator or a character saying “I remember…”

Write about a character with an unreliable memory.

End your story with total oblivion.

Write a story that involves a flashback.

Contest #140

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

333

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: