Menu

Prompts

DirectoryContestsMagazineFAQ
Stories
Studio

Apps

Hire professionals for your project

Advice, insights and news

Online publishing courses

Free publishing webinars

Launch your book in style

Bestseller PodcastBook Cover ArtSuccess Stories

Tools

Book Promotion SitesBook Review BlogsBooktube Channel GuideBook Title GeneratorCharacter Name GeneratorIndependent PublishersLiterary AgentsLiterary MagazinesPen Name GeneratorPlot GeneratorPublishers DirectoryShort Story IdeasWriting ContestsWriting ExercisesWriting Scholarships
Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

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.

5380+ 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 6 of 359

The First Stitch

Submitted to Contest #298

Eugénie never liked quiet. Not the kind that came after a funeral, or the kind that slipped into the room when everyone else went to bed. But this quiet—the kind that waited for her to speak first—was the worst of all.She sat on the edge of her granddaughter’s dorm bed, purse folded neatly on her lap. Her legs didn’t touch the floor anymore. The years had shortened her. But she still held herself like a woman who’d spent her life on her feet.“Your roommate gone?” she asked in Kreyòl.Amara nodded. “For the weekend.”“Good,” Eugénie said. “Less...

6 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Love, Lost & Found

Submitted to Contest #298

“What are you trying to say?” Rose looked at him as he stood up, not meeting her eyes right away. George lifted his hand to cup her cheek, then stared into her eyes, his hazel eyes mirroring her confusion and sadness. She nuzzled his hand and closed her eyes briefly, savoring his touch and bracing herself with a deep breath. When she dared to look at him she noted the furrowed brows, his lips turned down at the corners and she just went blank, expressionless, waiting for his answer. “I think we should separate for a bit. Take some space. T...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Long Road to Forgiveness

Submitted to Contest #298

For forty long years, I carried the burden of secrets and lies, hiding my gambling and drinking addiction from my beloved wife and two precious daughters. It was a heavy cloak that weighed down my soul, a constant reminder of my failures and deceit. Over time, the gap widened between the facade I presented and the reality of who I had become.The façade I maintained was intricate, a tapestry of lies woven to protect my family from the truth. I rationalised my actions, convincing myself that I was sparing them pain by shouldering the burden al...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Maybe it was me

Submitted to Contest #298

The street lamps turn into blurs as we drive past. The lake now just a recent memory as we enter the parking lot of Fort Warden. One of Washington’s Historical Landmarks. This base specifically was in charge of artillery more than anything else. Would I say I wanted to come here? Absolutely not. But this is kind of the whole point of why we are here.My mom exited the car first, then my brother. I was the last to go out, feeling the cold wind hit my face. That’s the main reason why I didn’t want to come, the cold. The cold makes me shiver, af...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Honest Truth

Submitted to Contest #298

Glenda sat down with her parents and said, "This will be a long discussion, and I need your full attention to hear everything I have to say. I will be grateful if you find it in your heart to forgive me in the end. If not, I will accept that. Regardless of how you perceive what I'm about to share, I know you have your ways of thinking. I am twenty-three years old, and you raised me to be an honest adult. What I'm about to tell you may be hard to believe, but I assure you, it is the God's Honest Truth.”Glenda's mother, Bonnie, asked, "Since t...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

to Whom it May Concern: PART FOUR

Submitted to Contest #298

TWIMC...FOUR Today is a new start.To new beginnings.Hello.24-27.9:52 to go. 31-34.We are going to lose.We lost.Too, too bad, Detroit. Sorry boys. All of you.Ok.It’s sad.But it’s over. Onto a new year in many ways, but one..Trevor called me this morning to wish me happy birthday. And to say that he couldn’t come over because of some reason or another. Birthdays are getting old. She would rather be at home. He’s still planning on taking her to the golfing range on Sunday. She told Logan and Megan that and asked them if they wanted to go also...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

I Made Her Wait

Submitted to Contest #298

I made her wait far too long.I was staring off into what once was. I had purposely avoided this place for far too long. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel small, weak, horrified. This is where the demons creep in, the kind that show up in the quiet moments, when your hands are still. When you’re surrounded by silence, and your phone screen goes dark. It pulls you back without asking, dragging you to the place you’ve worked so damn hard to forget.I was standing in that place, surrounded by overgrowth and God knows what else might be h...

18 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

From 11 to 18

Submitted to Contest #297

Dear Darlene,It’s me. The person you considered a best friend during middle school. A long time has passed, hasn’t it? Do you still remember me like I remember you today? If anyone ever mentioned my name, would you still remember? The last time I saw you–if I remember clearly–was the last day of 7th grade. I forget lots of things, but somehow, I remember the last time we saw each other.Do you remember the first day we met? It was the beginning of when we started 6th grade! We were 11 years old at that time–so much time has passed! We were in...

2 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Execution

Submitted to Contest #297

Fifteen Hours Before the Execution“Name?”“The Countess of Lyttelton. Lady Wilhelmina Lyttelton.”“Name of the prisoner?”“The Earl of Lyttelton. Lord Matthias Lyttelton.”“And your companions?”“Lady Pembroke. Mrs. Shannon. And my maid, Phipps.”“Only two visitors at a time.”“Can’t you have a little compassion, sir? My husband is due to be executed at dawn. Let us console him.”“Two visitors.”“If we must. Mrs. Shannon, please come with me. Lady Pembroke, Phipps, wait here until Mrs. Shannon returns, then we shall trade places.”Fourteen Hours Befor...

2 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Beauty and Terror at 11:30am

Submitted to Contest #297

Beauty and Terror at 11:30am‘Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.’ - Rainer Maria Rilke.Part One: BeautyFebruary 7th11:30amI have my favourites. Your breeder has sent pictures, for which I wait with impatient elation, of you and your littermates. None of you are named, and so we call you, ‘black puppy, blue puppy, green puppy, red’. Your blue-collared brother is beautiful, he will go first - no chance we’ll end up with him- black is huge (even for a Bernese) and red is chipper and cheeky. And...

10 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Strongest Storms Reveal the Strongest of Trees

Submitted to Contest #297

The Strongest Storms Reveal the Strongest of TreesBy: Evelyn CurrieIt was a cold, early spring day when the storm began. The wind came first and went up to speeds of 100 km per hour, which caused a flicker throughout the town; if you looked close enough, you could see a bolt of lightning strike in the sky. They say it all started slowly, and that would be correct. Around half an hour later, the drops of freezing rain came slowly, and as time passed, those drops grew and grew. Hours passed, and the rain kept on. After about 4 hours, the darkn...

5 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Veterans Day November 2017

Submitted to Contest #297

Veterans Day November 2017 Jules Bosch In November 2017, I was starting my third year of volunteering at the Lyons Veterans Administration Medical Center in northern New Jersey. While my primary assignment was to interview and write brief biographies for veterans in a hospice unit, I was heading to the Veterans Day Parade in New York City on this particular early Saturday morning. Along with other volunteers and nurses, we accompanied a group of six soldiers from a nursing home at the VA. All the vets were in wheelchairs, and once we had sec...

2 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

A Letter To My Ex-Husband

Submitted to Contest #298

My Dearest M,I’ve wanted to write this letter for a long time. I think there are moments in life that deserve to be honored with more than a passing word or a nod. Moments that deserve stillness, breath, and reverence. This is one of those moments, and this is one of those letters.You and I have been through a lot—more than some, less than others, but still, our own mountain to climb. And today, I just want to say: I love you. I am so proud of you. And I’m grateful beyond words that we walked so much of this life together. I feel as though w...

9 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

"It's Time: 0600"

Submitted to Contest #297

Prompt: Write a story with a number or time in the title.Prompt: Set you story before midnight or dawn. “It’s Time: 0600” The day looked dreary and cold even as the sun had just lifted above the horizon. The thick air turned the sunlight into straw-colored clouds as I looked out my window from my bed. The weather outside really does not matter anymore as I have little energy to do anything now. My breathing has been erratic even with all the gadgetry and tubes running into me. I spend my days now lying in this bed at the rehabilitation cen...

5 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Aren't cats supposed to be boring?

Submitted to Contest #297

For something more than a decade I’ve been trying to convince my cats they’re supposed to be boring. So far I’m not making any progress. For a long time, a friend of mine tried to convince me that dogs were better than cats. According to her, cats were just boring. They didn’t do anything other than sitting around being cold and aloof. Dogs, on the other hand, were very attentive. They’d go for walks, chase toys, protect the home, and be ever-faithful companions. I had a dog for a while, a laid-back Shetland Sheepdog with an incredibly sweet...

5 likes 6 comments 6
Read story