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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of creative nonfiction short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Creative nonfiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. The creative nonfiction stories on this page deliver exactly what it says on the tin: true stories told in weird and wonderful ways.

Creative nonfiction Short Stories – Page 4 of 10

How The Tables Do Turn

Submitted to Contest #322

Within a week of my arrival home, I happened upon a television film, “Kids Like These”. Although now it would appear extremely outdated, back then – more than thirty-five years ago - it was extraordinary, a first, and to me an absolute inspiration, I was bowled over by it! But the coincidence of it was overwhelming! Was it an answer to my prayers? I’d certainly done a lot of that in the previous three weeks! How often had I sent my sister to the library to look for books showing photos of these children? How could I have never even seen one ...

11 likes 6 comments 6
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The Shape of her Fire

Submitted to Contest #322

Marina often thought her town was a cage.Not the kind built of iron bars and locks, but of routines and quiet resignation. The streets were always the same—narrow, cracked with weeds pushing through. The people, too. They worked, they ate, they slept. No one ever asked what lay beyond the horizon, or if the horizon even mattered.But Marina did.At night, when the town quieted into its slow breathing, she hunched over her notebook, filling page after page with stories. Words spilled from her like an endless confession, worlds bigger than the o...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Unadopted orphan. Orphaned, ordained, as a form of Australian Justice

Submitted to Contest #322

Ambitions that force me, chasing my dreams of interconnected nuclei deep within the depths of Earth’s soul-cry, to bring together the coding of decoded, recoded, or failured coding system. System of systems. Not my needs or wants – I apologise, I am sorry to have asked... but instead, my desires and ideas, which can make an impact impacted upon the future together with your systems, I swear to you. An impact on families and even property! If you’d just listen. To the words; to the believers and the observed; by observers, I have heard, a rus...

2 likes 1 comment 1
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58

Submitted to Contest #322

CW: Physical and sexual violence, and references to substance abuse. We are both 58 now. She, my friend from childhood, had always considered me the dimmer of us since we met in 11th grade. She was raised in the town my family had hastily skirted us away to after my father had cheated on my mother and was caught when mother drove me to the secret barn that he had rented under the auspices of being an artist and needing privacy. She and I entered the barn and there he was with a student, naked, and an easel, paintless. As mother was in hospit...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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A Measure of Success

Submitted to Contest #322

There was a soft ding overhead and the fasten seat belt sign came on as we began our descent into Ft. Myers airport. The flight from Cleveland had been mostly uneventful. Take off was a little rough as we left in the middle of a snowstorm. And there was some turbulence along the way as we passed over the mountains in Georgia. But the flight was “relatively crash free” as my father used to say. He thought he was funny. From my window seat the view outside was a stark contrast from the cold and snowy world we left 2 ½ hours ago. Cleveland ...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Char's Gift

Submitted to Contest #322

It was never meant to be competitive between my sister and me. But it was. Maybe because she was 3 years older, setting a torrid pace and me wanting to keep up with her. Maybe it was because she was a girl, and me, as an adolescent boy, was not going to let a girl get the better of me. I finally came to realize it was not the pace, nor her being the other sex that troubled me, rather it was her success rate at everything she did. However, my struggle to keep pace and succeed finally won out. How, and what eventually happened, was my sister’s...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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No reply

Submitted to Contest #322

I had been working for the twins since the beginning. I did freelance graphic design. I had other customers, too. Most of the others came and went, based on what was most convenient for them. But the twins were different. They incorporated me into their whole business, and I loved it. They incorporated me into their lives, and I loved that even more. I loved belonging.When I started out freelancing, I had two little kids. I did my best to work in naptimes and during episodes of “Dora” or “Wild Kratts.” Aside from that, I worked late at night...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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Squirrely Bargain

Submitted to Contest #322

A SQUIRRELY BARGAIN “Nature’s lessons are timeless, teaching us patience, resilience, and the beauty of embracing change.” -Gabriel Cruz A noble gesture with the highest of intentions was about to shake up both my inner and outer safe sanctuaries. It all began on a beautiful, easy-going summer morning, a stark contrast to the busy life I had been leading. The realization dawned that there were fewer days left before the sun's warmth would begin cooling down, leaving little time to take advantage of what it offered. I would do my best to make...

3 likes 3 comments 3
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Greater Than Gold

Submitted to Contest #322

CW: Emotional abuse, controlling behaviour Celeste Monroe used to believe that ambition was everything. That if she worked hard enough, dreamed big enough and loved deeply enough, life would reward her. She had graduated high school at twenty-seven — late, yes, but triumphant. She had plans college, a career, maybe even a little apartment with plants in the windowsill and books stacked on every surface.Then came him.He was her father’s friend — older, charming, familiar. He knew her story, her struggles, her soft spots. He said all the right...

7 likes 5 comments 5
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I Desire That None Shall Sleep

Submitted to Contest #322

Imagine being so turned off by marriage that you'd rather kill anyone who tries to propose to you then to marry him. Sounds like a good plot for a fairy tale? From the beginning of my life, my mother saw me as a miracle. She had lived a hard life full of tragedy. She had a daughter before I was born but she gave that daughter up to the man who left her to return to his wife. They raised that daughter. Not my mom. My mom met my dad when she was a dancer at a go-go bar. Not a stripper... but close. He was likely in the middle of a manic episod...

15 likes 5 comments 5
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Peeling the Orange

Submitted to Contest #321

Peeling the Orange“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”-Anthony Weldon, The Court and Character of King James, 1651“This is pretty exciting, Roy, my first President’s address to Congress. I’m nervous.”“This is my 17th, and I still get goosebumps, Fred. It’s such an honor just to see him in person.”“Well, I’ll just follow your lead, you know, for when to clap and for how long.”“It’s not complicated, Fred. Basically, every time he says something, you clap. Stand up when I stand up and sit down when I do. You’ll be fine. And...

25 likes 6 comments 6
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AND THEN THE STORM WAS OVER

Submitted to Contest #321

AND THEN THE STORM WAS OVER WhatsApp Call – August 2013 Sheyla: Hey! Just saying hi from the airport! Got back from Rhodes. I am vacillating between Antalya and Amsterdam for the second part of my vacation - as long as it starts with an A.Evan: Cool choices. Give me a heads up if you decide to come to Antalya.Sheyla: You need an alert? Why, it's a big city, don't worry!Evan: I kinda feel you’d like to see me if you come to Turkey thou!Sheyla: Well, not sure, we didn’t part as friends exactly. And I don’t really care anymore!Evan: It is more ...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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My ultimate goal was to obtain a masters degree in mathematics

Submitted to Contest #322

CW: Themes of emotional, physical, sexual abuse and trauma Before I narrate my story, I would like to talk about mom. She was the worst mother on earth. She was so evil. She used to find her happiness in hurting me. Unlike other mothers, she never defended me. In fact, she was the exact opposite. She used to blame me when I was not at fault. She was a monster mother.My bad luck didn’t end there. My mom was obsessed with my academic performance. She tormented me each and every minute from my 11th grade. Every single day, she used to ask me wh...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Hide and Seek

Submitted to Contest #321

Gilly is at Mel's house playing hide and seek. Mel lives in the double wide trailer at the end of the cul-de-sac. His mama is at work at Scooter's Bar and Grill down the road and he's 10 so he's old enough to stay at home by himself. Gilly isn't, but her older brother Mick is supposed to be watching her anyway. That's what he tells her daddy even though he's just drinking beer in the woods with his friends and Gilly can do whatever she wants.Mel and Gilly have been friends since his dog ran away last year and Gilly found him sleeping on her ...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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Someone Would Have Loved Tonight

Submitted to Contest #321

I really wanted to go home. The trouble began and ended with a man named either Seth or Vinny. He was staying at my favorite hotel in town. It’s next to an Indian restaurant that I love, and the hotel itself is rather new in a town full of old hotels placed lovingly on the water. This one offers no promise of charm or elegance. Just modernity. New-ness. It lives and dies on youth. Architectural youth. Why am I talking about the hotel? It wasn’t really the hotel, but the hotel helped get me into trouble. And the trouble wasn’t really trouble....

28 likes 13 comments 13
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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