Start your story with the line, “That’s the thing about this city…”

Posted in Adults on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 283 stories

“The Hungry Tower” by Conor Thackray

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city…” Detective Inspector Steph remarked, pulling her gloves off as she stepped away from the body. “It just gets more brutal by the day.” Detective Inspector Hanlon, trying not to look at the body for too long grimaced at what was left of the man on the floor. The man was dressed in a shirt and trousers, with curly black hair and a stump surrounded by crusted blood, where his right arm used to be. “What do you think did this?” He asked through gritted teeth, his gut churning. Steph shrugged as she threw her glo...

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“City Life Dream” by Rose O'Connor

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city. Within the realms of going into the setting of coffee shops, urban getaways, and forgetting what the rural life is back at your childhood home. Forging into this setting makes you think about how one place can be so busy, yet so elegant. The sights of Boston arouses your vision about what your life is going to be like now that you've landed your dream job here. You think about how much money you've saved so you can get one of those elegant apartments to go with the atmosphere of this city. While other...

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“It's the Life We've Got” by Mobarewaye Odufisan

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city, it's the gradual way the unceasing hustle and bustle creeps up on you, and becomes a norm of your life before you even notice. It's Ikorodu, Lagos: the most popular and populous city residing in the commercial hub of the nation of Nigeria.With the brief illustration given, you could probably glean that the most defining thing about the city is its markets. The act of trading is an undeniably oversaturated venture, yet still prosperous enough to keep steadily growing with more and more breaking into the busin...

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“Wallowhole” by Melissa Alexander

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city; you either stand out or become just another face in the crowd. Luther came from a small town in Eastern Kentucky and always dreamed of moving to the city. Luther had fallen in love with the architecture and the big city lights. It was nothing like where he grew up and in fact; it was just the opposite. Wallowhole was a small community that had fields and more fields. The type of place that you could leave your doors unlocked at night and families leaned on each other during hard times. The type of place that...

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“Ember” by Leah Barlow

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city, it has an invisible draw that always seems to pull me back. No matter how many times I try to escape and start anew somewhere else I always end up back here, and this time it might keep me. I grumble angrily at my car as I kick a tire. "Freakin' car! I was only supposed to be here to VISIT for a weekend and now you have to go and break down and I am stuck. Oomph! Ow ow!" I grit my teeth and hop on one foot grabbing my injured toe. I whine and then setting my foot back on the ground I say in defeat. ...

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“City of the Unknown” by S Hum

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city..." Where what you can't imagine recites in the dark conner....a place where there's light with a part of darkness...where there's love and obsession..."A city of mysteries beyond your thoughts..." A place which speaks of a story that's been buried all along... "A girl so innocent was vanished from where she belonged, the story starts in this unknown city with no name known as "The Unknown" where what it seemed wasn't waht it was.... This girl named Olivia who lived in a town sifted to this "Unknown" c...

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“The City is Ours” by Bianca Medina

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city, it makes sure to remind you of every painful and beautiful memory you have to leave behind. The community that lives here doesn't seem like much yet has such a strong, huge impact on your life. If I would have known that I don't think I would ever leave because this was the only place I could call my home. The only place I ever actually belonged; where I was happy for once. See most people feel out of place because they do not know anyone in their new neighborhood, but I know I don't belong because I don't k...

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“Misery and Survival” by Janet Larrew

Submitted to Contest #85

Misery and Survival Here's the thing about the city, it's just too big. I spent eleven years in Iowa. I was a farmer's daughter, and just because my parents couldn't get along I was brought to Chicago. I hated the move, hated the smell, hated the brick buildings all around me. I was miserable. Every morning my Mother took me to my Aunt's apartment on Kedzie ave. She lived in the Logan Square neighborhood. She lived in a stuffy one bedroom apartment . She had the bedroom, her daughter and son shared the dinning room. Two twin beds under th...

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“City Of Dreams” by David Zasloff

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city...it's not very big, but it acts like it's a major metropolis. I'll explain. You know how in a big city you have to wait at intersections even when the light is green because some dope going across didn't quite make it all the way across? It's like that here because the city can't afford the computers to synchronize the traffic lights. So you wind up waiting at the green light while the cars behind you honk and honk, as if you could just go through the car in front of you. You know how in a big city you m...

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“My Mind is a City” by M G

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city, it’s not really a city at all. I mean if you wanted it to be, sure, we’ll go with that analogy. For literature’s sake or psychology’s what have you. If me talking about my mind as though it were a city entices you, so be it. I can’t promise that I’ll keep your attention, god no. I can promise that I will ramble. I must, however, preface with the fact that I am neither a speaker nor writer. Let’s begin shall we? Who needs bullet trains when thoughts race through my head at speeds faster than I knew existe...

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“Too bad for new Born” by Mansi R

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city, you never know when it will start raining. Carry your umbrella all the time, one extra jacket and of course the shoes with better grip than I'm wearing right now. Every step feels like the last step before slipping off into the pool of embarrassment in front my colleagues I left behind, waiting in the shade of garage. I'm sure they can still see me. Too eager to beat the heavy rain and get home before roads flood with enough water to drown me half, I left as fast as possible but now all that is a part of r...

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“Wiggling” by Chris D

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city; it's magic. It's a conglomeration of fantasies melded into a world that she dare not leave, for fear of not finding her way back. It's been three weeks in this city. Three weeks of utter bliss and perfection after waking up in that chair. For once, that chair didn't have wheels. For once, her feet moved one in front of the other, from that chair to the front door. It's her own little universe, where the lawn is freshly mowed, but you never hear a mower. All you hear are birds singing songs, and childre...

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“Moving On ” by Cora Barlow

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city. You never know what’s going to happen,” Mark told his friend. The two boys were walking along the dirty, rust-covered streets of Zrada, the Beautiful City. Or so it was called. In Mark’s opinion, it was just a giant mud pit that tried to pass itself off as an oasis. He and his friend, Noah, were going to the food market, which wasn’t much more than a few shops selling different flavors of paste. Actual food was long gone; most people didn’t know what an apple tasted like. “What do you think? Bread or...

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“BRAIN FREEZE” by Ronja Wang

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city, it rots you from the inside out. Slithering down your throat to make a coiled home deep in your tummy, twisting, turning, beating like an extra heart. Eleanor pushes off from the ground and she soars on the swing, eyes closed, head tilted back. Higher and higher. On the swing next to her, Katinka isn’t moving. She blinks, and an eyelash stabs her in the eye. She pulls at it, unafraid, pressing it between two fingers like a tiny fairy wing. ‘El,’ she says. Her voice is like a cough, her mo...

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“Dancer's Fight Club” by Franchesca Patino

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city, there's more to it than meets the eye. I was born into one of the richest families in Manhattan. I come from a long line of people who worked boring office jobs to make their way to the top of Corporate America with not a single creative bone in their body. I’ve lived in Manhattan my entire life; I’ve been to every museum it has to offer, gone to every charity ball or unnecessary banquet with my family, seen more than 10 Broadway shows, have visited the statue of liberty, and been to the ...

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Start your story with the line, “That’s the thing about this city…”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 283 stories

“The Hungry Tower” by Conor Thackray

“City Life Dream” by Rose O'Connor

“It's the Life We've Got” by Mobarewaye Odufisan

“Wallowhole” by Melissa Alexander

“Ember” by Leah Barlow

“City of the Unknown” by S Hum

“The City is Ours” by Bianca Medina

“Misery and Survival” by Janet Larrew

“City Of Dreams” by David Zasloff

“My Mind is a City” by M G

“Too bad for new Born” by Mansi R

“Wiggling” by Chris D

“Moving On ” by Cora Barlow

“BRAIN FREEZE” by Ronja Wang

“Dancer's Fight Club” by Franchesca Patino

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a major city that your character has a love-hate relationship with.

Write a story that takes place in the same building but in two very different time periods.

Write about someone fighting to change their city neighborhood for the better.

Write about someone fighting to keep their city neighborhood the same.

Contest #85

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

671

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: