Start your story with a character canceling their plans.

Posted in Angst on May 31, 2024

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 26 stories

“The Splintered Looking Glass” by Marley Monroe

Submitted to Contest #253

As I slowly hung up the phone, the disappointment in her voice still fresh in my mind, I knew I had done the right thing. It had been eight years since I’d been back home, since I’d cut off contact with everyone in my family except for my baby sister. To say it hadn’t been easy would be putting things mildly, but every therapist I’d spoken to had told me it was the best course of action. The best way forward was to turn myself into an orphan, and now so many of the people I once called family hated me for it. All of them except for her. That...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Nadir” by Haley Connolly

Submitted to Contest #253

Warnings- suicide, gore, self harmNadir- (n.) the worst moment, or the lowest point of something.Brielle wants to be a forensic psychologist. It has been her dream for years, But Brielles best friend, and aunt was also a forensic psychologist but she went crazy caused by the trauma of her experiences, which not long after she went crazy she was killed. The murder unknown. Brielle wasn’t too sure if she should continue with her dream or not because of what happened with her aunt. It was all short-lived as the nadir of her life came. Her lowes...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Vibrating Skin ” by Eunice S

Submitted to Contest #253

*TRIGGER WARNING* — Story includes representations of poor mental health and self-harm. June 6th, 1955 I met him at the library. That’s where grandmama told me that she could always “snag” one, a good one. Unfortunately, that’s the place where I find a lot of peace, a kind of peace I want to remain undisturbed. Of course he said hello to me, I don’t know why, but it just seemed like fate. An awful, bittersweet fate, like some sweet licorice wi...

0 comments 0

Read story

“A Mother's Disappointment ” by Bec Newton

Submitted to Contest #253

Michael hung the carcass on the meat hook with a grunt, the sound echoing in the windowless concrete room. He eyed his prize with a distinct sense of accomplishment. His catch was an absolute beast and, at Michael's best guess, would weigh in at roughly 250 pounds. It was a worthy prize. Made more so by the effort he had to put in to wrangle him. He had stalked this prey for far longer than ever before, ever mindful to remain unseen. Spooking his target would have ruined everything. It would have ruined the days he spent on the hunt, th...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Wedding Ring Quilt Inspiration” by Sharon Kirby

Submitted to Contest #253

Wedding Ring Quilt Inspiration Kate shut her laptop as gently as she could considering the shock of finding out that the last available slot on the missionary building team had been given away to someone else. Kate had been fund-raising for her expenses and studying Spanish in preparation for the opportunity to make a difference to the children in Cité Soleil, Haiti. All that planning and work came together just moments too late to claim a place on the missions team. Kate stood and paced from her desk to her bed and back again. Clearly her ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Sky” by Alan Hancock

Submitted to Contest #253

The Sky – Alan Hancock 2024With thanks to the illustrators of the cover to Ian McEwan’s novel ‘Saturday’ – this image inspired my story1, 150 words He doesn’t go and make that coffee, he doesn’t check the NASDAQ and the Dow Jones Index, the DAX and the FTSE, the Brent Crude spot prices or US dollar exchange rate forecasts, not that day, or ever again. Because he lingers at the bedroom wondow and watches Venus beaming down on North London, next to her the Post Office Tower lit by its electronic and neon beacons that outshine any star or plane...

0 comments 0

Read story

“From the Bottom of a Bottle” by Z.J. Blight

Submitted to Contest #253

“I’m sorry, Aubrey, but I changed my mind.”The idea painted itself in a mesmerizing scene: A starry night out in the city, the ecstasy of letting that party animal out, and drinking to the highest, inner echelon until I could drink no more. Neon lights and the blaring pulses of the club, getting on the dance floor and not caring about what anybody thinks… The vague memories I made along the way in a boozed-up haze were ones I’d never forget. The prospect itself always sounded like a rush I could never stop sprinting for given the chance.&nbs...

0 comments 0

Read story

“STD” by Joan Earley

Submitted to Contest #253

The first email of the morning said, “Morgan, where are we on the fully executed STD? We were expecting it yesterday evening. Please can you circulate asap this morning so that we can fund?” Morgan sat at her desk. She too had been working yesterday past midnight. This morning, for self-comfort, she had bought a glazed pastry and now chunks of sugar speckled her desk. She wiped them carefully into her palm and dropped them in the bin. She minimised the email without responding and logged into her account at British Airways. She w...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Is The Love of a Brother Strong Enough to Subdue His Father’s Torment?” by Asa Conroy

Submitted to Contest #253

"I'm sorry. I can't. Not tonight" Six words. And it was over. Any argument of confusion or concern cut short with a succinct beep. It wasn’t a lie. He couldn't. Or at least that's what Beau told himself. He made his choice against his mother’s wishes. He sighed, dropping his phone to the ground, and running a hand over his face. BUZZ! Colten again. Beau let it ring. No voicemail, but another call. And then a few more times after that. At some point, Beau stopped looking. He knew that it was Colten, but his eyes fell on the dirty walls of the...

0 comments 0

Read story

“To Pull Off a Vanishing Act” by Eric Muller

Submitted to Contest #253

Francis found it peculiar that the man had not moved from his spot at the bus stop. The traffic around surged in constant flux; the man sat perfectly still. Each time a bus pulled alongside the curb, the groups of waiting people would be recycled and whisked away; the man, centered on the bus-stop bench, would remain dutifully in place. He had been dropped there as a stone in water, constant ripples in the sea of movement all around, in the street and sidewalk, all seeming to emanate from the man, the inert center. His face still as a statue...

0 comments 0

Read story

“CANCELLING OZ” by Kathy Haaga

Submitted to Contest #253

By December 1, 1985, I had cancelled everything—I had quit my job, broken my lease, sold my car, and flown back home to Memphis, hoping it was not too late. I’ll forever be glad that it was not too late. I had moved from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Lincoln, Nebraska in January 1985, in the middle of a blizzard sweeping across the Midwest. I’d quit my job as a theater professor at a small college in a huff, handing in a six-page handwritten diatribe which used the phrase “…and another thing…” far too often. I’d disliked the job from the beginn...

0 comments 0

Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

Character – 56 stories

Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Narrative – 94 stories

Write a story that contains the line, "I wish we could stay here forever."

Dialogue – 89 stories

Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

Fantasy – 71 stories

Contest #253

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Slow Down

$250

Prize money

335

Contest entries

118

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 07, 2024 EST

Won by Maria Adamkiewicz 🏆

Title: One thousand and three wishes

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start your story with a character canceling their plans.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 26 stories

“The Splintered Looking Glass” by Marley Monroe

“Nadir” by Haley Connolly

“The Vibrating Skin ” by Eunice S

“A Mother's Disappointment ” by Bec Newton

“Wedding Ring Quilt Inspiration” by Sharon Kirby

“Sky” by Alan Hancock

“From the Bottom of a Bottle” by Z.J. Blight

“STD” by Joan Earley

“Is The Love of a Brother Strong Enough to Subdue His Father’s Torment?” by Asa Conroy

“To Pull Off a Vanishing Act” by Eric Muller

“CANCELLING OZ” by Kathy Haaga

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Write a story that contains the line, "I wish we could stay here forever."

Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

Contest #253

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

335

Contest entries

118

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: