Write a story about a problem with no good solutions.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 32 stories

“The Problem Is” by Dena Linn

🏆 Winner of Contest #127

CW: terminal illness It was day four hundred and fifty-eight for Paul. He weighed in at fifty-eight kilos, down from a strapping ninety-three. He was also fifty-eight years and counting. His doctor prognosed it and Paul felt old, sick, and wasted, his body no longer his own, and tomorrow would be 1999, another absolutely nothing new year. It was years now, he’d asked Matt what Silence equals Death meant. He’d be the first to admit to being a simple guy, the one whose IQ matched his shoe size - a running joke back at...

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“Death By Sharpie” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #127

Lori Greene was needlessly cruel and we were afraid of her. “Please don’t slice and dice other students with your sharp tongue, Lori,” scolded Ms. Attaway, our 7th grade drama teacher. “Everyone deserves your respect.”When Ryan Wiggins laughed at her rebuke, Lori Greene decided to cancel him on the spot. “You’re a pervert, Ryan,” she loudly announced to the class. “I’ve seen what’s on your camera roll, and you are a creeper.” The entire first period class, except for Ms. Attaway and Ryan, burst out into laughter. Of course Lor...

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“Coma” by Linda Hershman

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #127

CW: suicide, child deathThe first thing you notice is the noise. It assaults like rain beating on a tin roof, or a group of restless teenagers chattering in church. You hear voices, but the words are indistinct and whispery. You start to differentiate machinery sounds; the soft hum of a floor buffer, the buzz of fluorescent lights, and, behind your left shoulder, the steady beeping of the electrocardiogram unit.Your body begins to demand acknowledgement. You are cold, very cold. This is not the chill of a brisk winter walk. You have not retu...

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“Pestilence ” by Eric D.

Submitted to Contest #127

Jonah opened his eyes and found himself driving in a rusted old station wagon in a foreign part of town. As he passed the luscious overgrown trees, and antique wooden houses, he searched for a purpose. Then, something caught his attention, a man shuffled alone towards the long infinite stretch of road. He looked to be in his forties, and the glimmer in his eyes had been sucked out of him, leaving an empty void behind.After smelling oil burning, Jonah noticed an engulfed pickup truck hauling lumber several feet ahead.He pulled over. "Are you ...

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“Through the eyes of a child” by Marie Cunningham Davidson

Submitted to Contest #127

Through the eyes of a childI’m cozy and warm in my bed, dreaming that I’m sailing on the ocean with my Dad on his twenty-foot yacht, the “Blue Lagoon.” The sun is twinkling like tiny diamonds on the water, and the fierce wind is billowing the sails. We are well in front and look a dead cert to win the Race. Lifting my face to the sun, I drink in Its velvety warmth. In reality, I’m not on a yacht, I’m in a hospital bed with rails at each side, and I’m in a vegetative state. I think that’s what they call it. Or medically known as “Locked-insid...

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“The Reckoning” by Timothy Merritt

Submitted to Contest #127

After an enormous weight loss, it was disgusting how much loose skin was left over. Walter Manning pulled his hospital gown back down over the flaccid mass of flesh that used to be his stomach, and then he pulled the blanket high up under his chin. He'd always been a big man, but that never bothered him. The luxury men's suits he was accustomed to wearing were almost perfectly designed to disguise the girth that came naturally with age and wealth. Still, the steep decline to his present condition revolted him. “Are they ever going to feed...

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“The Setup” by Haider Rizvi

Submitted to Contest #127

Riz couldn’t understand why his parents were making such a big deal. A co-worker of Riz’s father was coming over for dinner with his family. Taha…Bakri, Riz believed. He hadn’t paid much attention when his parents had told him over a week ago that they would be having guests, but now he wish he did; maybe he had misheard and there were much more people coming, because his mother was in shambles trying to make sure the house looked perfect. Even Riz’s father, who usually helped but with a much calmer demeanor, was panicking as much as hi...

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“Stowaway” by Grace Gerrish

Submitted to Contest #127

In life… there were never good solutions, only compromises. Problems that could only be solved with an amount of given sacrifice. It was something Vex had come to understand at a young age. Sacrifice. For the people she loved- the people she would willingly give her life for. But now… Vex didn’t want to sacrifice herself. Not for anything in the world, because - for the first time - she had something she didn’t want to lose. &nb...

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“Potential ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #127

What could I have put on the report? “Use dirty praise,” the school executive instructs. “Dirty praise” limits possibilities. But I can understand why we’ve been told this. After all, these final reports will be seen by potential employers. No point in making things difficult for the boys, or the school, with comments about unfinished homework, or their tendencies to talk back, or an obsession with I-Pads, games, or mobile phones. Attendance statistics will tell that employer about punctuality. It’s not my job to make that comment. Not some...

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“ONLY I CAN SEE THEM ” by Del Gibson

Submitted to Contest #127

Three months ago, we moved into the house in Ascott Lane. When we pulled up to the house, I thought we had finally found somewhere nice to settle down. A tingle of anticipation coursed through me when I first lay eyes upon it. Our forever home, I thought. I couldn’t have been more wrong! My husband Dillon works 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and I look after our baby boy, Joey at home. Dillon got a promotion at an accounting firm he works for, so we had to move from Christchurch to Wellington; to a small quaint town called Newtown, out in the suburbs. I...

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“Rest Assured” by Adam El Nabli

Submitted to Contest #127

On a cold winter night in the middle of a deserted street walked a wrinkly-faced man emitting an eye-watering odor. His muddy black boots warmed the pair of overworked feet. The outline of his well-defined thigh was visible through a circular hole below the right pocket of his ragged jeans. A coal-colored filth hid a pair of hands previously holding no less than a smooth touch. Atop his elongated neck was a slim face, a slender nose, greasy black hair and an uncommonly calm gaze. But, one look at those glistening blue eyes revealed that this...

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“Hunger Wins Out” by CJ Rodgers

Submitted to Contest #127

(Trigger warnings for gore, semi-graphic murder, and cannibalism. Unreliable narrators, out of order sequences, and possible time loops abound as well.)Emma coughed, her eyes fever bright. When Matthew touched her forehead, she groaned at the touch and he nearly yanked his hand away. She was burning up."Come on." He carefully tipped water into her mouth. "Stay strong.""Matthew." Klara was crouched in the tent door.He followed her out and zipped up the tent behind him."Mattie." She looked at him with unflinching black eyes. "We're basically o...

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“Hiking Club” by Anne Sellers

Submitted to Contest #127

"I don’t really want to get involved. I mean, I don’t know the woman personally, and I don’t know how she went missing. Ok, not missing but murdered, whatever."I think that will be enough information to get the cops off my back. Doesn't work though. It'll only take a few minutes, they prod. Let us come by your place to talk, they push. A woman was found dead and you were one of the last people to see her alive, they charge. How do they even know this? I call my psychiatrist to get me out of this mess. Dr. Perry is on vacation until the ...

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“No Easy Way Out” by Cody Waltman

Submitted to Contest #127

Running for his life through the woods, Eric glanced back to see the wreckage of his truck ignite into a ball of fire. He pressed on, knowing he was exposed and the danger was closing in on him. During the day, the trees were colorful with fall beauty. But in the night, the yellow, orange, and red leaves were coated with an unsettling blackness. Rabid growls chased him. In the distance, he spotted a lifeline—a lonely cabin with the lights on. The fire crackled and popped when the pressure of another log dropped onto the pile. Chad stab...

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“The Sultan's Daughter” by Kon G

Submitted to Contest #127

There lived long ago a sultan of a great kingdom-on-the-mountain. But it happened that the kingdom entered war with another, and the tide of the conflict threatened to take everything from the sultan. In order to survive, the sultan sought help from three powerful princes. The sultan first sought help from the prince in the north, whose subjects called him the vain prince. The vain prince sent many beautiful cloaks, furs, and boots to warm the sultan’s soldiers. In return, the sultan promised the hand of his eldest daughter in marriage. ...

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Won by Dena Linn 🏆

Title: The Problem Is

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Write a story about a problem with no good solutions.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 32 stories

“The Problem Is” by Dena Linn

“Death By Sharpie” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“Coma” by Linda Hershman

“Pestilence ” by Eric D.

“Through the eyes of a child” by Marie Cunningham Davidson

“The Reckoning” by Timothy Merritt

“The Setup” by Haider Rizvi

“Stowaway” by Grace Gerrish

“Potential ” by Karen Lethlean

“ONLY I CAN SEE THEM ” by Del Gibson

“Rest Assured” by Adam El Nabli

“Hunger Wins Out” by CJ Rodgers

“Hiking Club” by Anne Sellers

“No Easy Way Out” by Cody Waltman

“The Sultan's Daughter” by Kon G

🌟 Similar prompts

Begin your story with a character having a gut feeling they cannot explain.

Write about a character whose intuition is always right — until one day it isn’t.

Write about a character learning to trust their intuition.

Your character makes a living faking psychic powers. One morning, they wake up with real ones.

Contest #127

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

221

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: