Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Posted in Angst on Oct 11, 2024

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✍️ 63 stories

“Truth or Deceit” by Ann Walker

Submitted to Contest #272

The trial of Ms. Jones began in a stifling courtroom on a sweltering June afternoon in the year of 1856. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, casting sharp beams onto the worn wooden floors. The room buzzed with quiet whispers as the townspeople crowded in to witness the outcome of the most scandalous case they’d ever seen. At the center of it all sat Ms. Jones—poised, unmoved, and remarkably serene. Across from her, Mr. Edward, a sharp-eyed attorney, looked ready to tear her apart. “Ms. Jones, let us begin,” Mr. Edward’s voice...

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“Hyde Mind” by Tavi Oliver

Submitted to Contest #272

The rain pattered against the window, drumming a staunch rhythm in the darkly lit room. In this small, stuffy space, stale coffee and old books hung in the air, with the faintest hint of something more sinister. Alexandra Vine sat hunched over her desk, the glowing, soft luminous light of the lamp casting a radiance over the tangled mess of papers surrounding her. Chaotic, frantic thoughts weighed upon each sheet, a mirror of the storm that brewed within her and the one outside her window. Ever since the accident, Alexandra had fought this d...

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“Jaws on the Floor.” by Shinga Shinga

Submitted to Contest #272

I wanted nothing more out of his flabby tummy than to retrieve the lion’s portion of my green club sandwich. Nothing more, check; but nothing less either. That and for the incessant bullying the school yard had suffered at the hands of The Gang of Three to stop. The Terrible Trio had swept across the school yard like a swarm of locusts, picking harvests out of takeout containers with victuals prepared for stepchildren and grandkids. Picking clean the lunchboxes of the small and weak of this world. Topsy-turvying the chow of those who dared r...

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“The Magic Bullet” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #272

1980 was a good time to be alive because everyone still did what they were supposed to. Parents let their kids disappear for hours at a time, school buses meandered on the road packed with out-of-control miscreants, teens drove home drunk from prom and scout troops showered naked together. But it was a relatively boring time because the world was so safe. The state lottery offices were closed on account that it w...

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“The Vagrant” by Robin Young

Submitted to Contest #272

Living is an elusive evil. All communion between human beings is fractured, and I’ve always been on the deprived end. Take eating, for instance; what about the human beings that go and starve on the street? Isn’t ignorance a sin? I’m not benevolent by any means. I eat not because I am starved, but solely because it is what I desire. If it were eating for the sake of subsiding hunger, I would never eat again. That’s a chore, and chores are for children, though I never truly grew into the face of a man. If I were to live a good life, I know I’...

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“Freed.” by Emmy Leigh

Submitted to Contest #272

Sensitive content includes:Mental health and deathSounds and illusions, maybe they were considered delusions, filled Aurora's mind, tormenting her day by day. Her world was split into between what was real and what wasn’t. Visions of those she thought she loved being thrown into the hands of death himself filled her brain with these heinous, irresistible urges, tempting her, ridiculing her. Who was she to commit these horrendous fallacies? Therapy, psychiatric holds, and four, five, six different medications to subdue her thinking. But nothi...

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“The Surgeon” by Tuesday Adair

Submitted to Contest #272

T/W: Sensitive content.Mentions of surgical procedures. It would take no longer than a split second. One slip, one cut.How would anyone ever know?The scalpel rests in my hand, a weighty, tiny blade that I control.The beep of the heart monitor shrouded the room in a terse excitement, thumping in time with pulse of the body lying open before me. The nurses are all focused, trained eyes fluttering about the equipment as they surveyed the patient.They trust me. Fools. The heart is exposed, thumping delicately in the light of the surgical lam...

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“Present, Past and Future” by Robyn Little

Submitted to Contest #272

Present They had nothing left but each other. All that they could do was run to the corner of the world if that’s what it took. His father would beat him black and blue. Her sister would stain her cheeks red. But only if they caught them. They could fantasize about a new life all day but they knew it wouldn’t be cornflakes with rainbow sugar nor cheap beach houses along the waterfront for them to reside in. It would be long nights in the rain with sleep fleeting in the corners of bus stops. It was no life for his Cinderella. She was le...

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“In The Darkness” by Mel Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #272

In the darkness of a stormy night, the metallic tang of lightning rests slightly over your scent.Floral, bitter and so alive.So fragile, so achingly human.Your blood is pulsing through your veins and I can hear each beat of your heart as I sit and await the dawn. Your heart, the ever-present clock to remind me of the truth, that one day that clock must stop so we can spend eternity together…or separate us by a veil, when you enter a realm where I can never follow.You want to join me in the darkness, condemn yourself to the cold emptines...

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“Diary Entry 1014” by Nat Fendie

Submitted to Contest #272

Life right now is multitudinous. I've gotten everything I wanted as a child. An apartment with a beautiful view, financial liberty... and someone who loves me. Really loves me. The kind of love I always wanted. Unconditionally given. Always there. Maybe that's why I'm so adamant about pushing it away because deep down, I know I don't deserve it. What is about your childhood that never leaves you? The dilapidated memories that bundle up in your conscience like a homeless person on a cold, winter's day hurling insults and ...

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“Third Time's a Charm...” by Elaine Monaghan

Submitted to Contest #272

It was pretty common in the 1960’s, for many people to leave New York City, for a better quality of life in the suburbs. Grassy backyards replaced sidewalks and streets, providing a better place for kids to play without dodging cars in the big city. In addition to providing a better environment for one’s family, it allowed people to own their own homes for the first time—something that eluded past generations. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, many who could never afford a house could now achieve the American dream of home ownership.People who left t...

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“Conflict Resolution - A Practical Example” by Keith Vallencourt

Submitted to Contest #272

My then junior-high daughter, Jezebel, fell under the spell of a ninth grade hellion we’ll call “Emma.” Emma had dedicated herself to a precocious mastery of mascara, rock n’ roll, and, worst of all, boys, so naturally we sprang into action to rescue our perfect little angel from Emma’s ruinous clutches. Now, Emma wasn’t the first bad influence we’d had to deal with, but the only tween-size plot left in the backyard was under my wife’s prized tomato plants, which we hated to spoil because they were coming along so beautifully. Plus, we suspe...

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“Down With The Sickness” by Joseph Wilbur

Submitted to Contest #272

It’s happening again. I can feel him again. I’ve even started seeing him in the mirror again. I’m standing there in a steamy bathroom staring at my reflection. A flash of light revealing my face, twisted and deformed. It’s gone again before my eyes register the change. This is not the first time I’ve seen this. Before it was always in a dream. Now I am completely awake. “What is wrong with you” I say to the mirror, half expecting the mirror me to answer. But he just looks back dumbfounded and weary. Eventually I am able to pull myself ...

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“Temptations ” by Sophie Jackman

Submitted to Contest #272

"Hi." I stepped into the jeweler's store, the security guard opening the door and giving me a curt nod. I tried to ignore the sound of my fluttering heartbeat. It had been so long since I had been in a store. With so many things. To steal. I ignored how my eyes started twitching at the thought. You see, I'm a naturally talented thief, and without a doubt, unfortunately that is my one true vocation in life. And girls. Speaking of which, there was a particularly gorgeous one looking at me from behind the counter, her bright blue eyes framed b...

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“Catharsis” by Aaryan Mishra

Submitted to Contest #272

The weather was inclement now. More inclement than when the house had burned down. He supposed it was something to do with the train station. His eyes wandered past the usual galleries of muted colour; muffled tones of grey cement and pallid blues streaked across great snaking trains. The distinct aromas of creosote and hot electricity that wafted about and always made his nostrils weak. The metallic voice of the female PA announcer, whose robotic monotone played over and over in the minds of passers-by like a distant m...

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Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“Truth or Deceit” by Ann Walker

“Hyde Mind” by Tavi Oliver

“Jaws on the Floor.” by Shinga Shinga

“The Magic Bullet” by Len Rely

“The Vagrant” by Robin Young

“Freed.” by Emmy Leigh

“The Surgeon” by Tuesday Adair

“Present, Past and Future” by Robyn Little

“In The Darkness” by Mel Kennedy

“Diary Entry 1014” by Nat Fendie

“Third Time's a Charm...” by Elaine Monaghan

“Conflict Resolution - A Practical Example” by Keith Vallencourt

“Down With The Sickness” by Joseph Wilbur

“Temptations ” by Sophie Jackman

“Catharsis” by Aaryan Mishra

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Start or end your story with someone running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, vampire, or werewolf.

Write a story in which the narrator or a character says "Did you hear that?"

Contest #272

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

488

Contest entries

176

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: