Write about a character who’s never encountered a problem they couldn’t buy their way out of — until they do.

Posted in Angst on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 25 stories

“ONLY FOOLS ARE POSITIVE” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #159

Only Fools Are Positive"How much is this going to cost?""Thirty. Ten in advance, twenty after the job is done.""Jesus! Are you . . . and you guarantee you can do this, just like I said?""This something you want to shortcut?""No, no. I'm in. I'll get the money. So, how does this work? What happens now?""The hard part is over. Now, it's off your plate and on mine. You get what I need, a picture, an address, a calendar. We meet again, I give you date and time. At that point, you pay me the upfront and then get scarce, and leave everything to me...

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“No Chips Without Sparkle” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #159

Maurice “Mossy” Graves belches loudly, sitting back in his chair. The couple at the next table glances at Mossy disparagingly, then look away when they realize who he is. Tall, with hard, vulpine features, snow white hair, and unblinking ice blue eyes, Mossy intimidate others through appearance, as well as his financial clout. With a pockmarked, porky face and slits for eyes, big-bellied henchman Mario Grimaldi is uneducated and crude, but transparent and loyal. The third man at the table, handsome, dark-haired Simon “Skeeter” McSherry, is...

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“Perfectly Priced ” by Falynn Almeda

Submitted to Contest #159

Perfectly Priced The perfect level of fame is hard to pull off unless the right people know your name. You have to carefully walk the line between being in and out of the public eye. The best way to do that –from my experience- is to be the only and orphaned child to wealthy parents and grandparents who were also only children. My name is Belle and just like in the book, I was genetically very pretty. Actually, my name is ‘Annabelle’ but that gets associated with scary dolls. Thus, I put ‘Belle’ on everyt...

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“Money Can't Buy Sleepiness” by Ryanna Arnett

Submitted to Contest #159

One hour. The blonde stood inside the doorway to the subdivision home, frozen in place. The house was silent. Outside, she heard the Toyota Corolla slowly pulling out of the driveway. Emily’s hazel eyes scanned the house. The living room was painted in subtle tan colors and looked overly tidy. She noticed that all of the outlets had safety covers, and there were no furniture items with pointed corners in sight. Her attention shifted to the hallway. Down the hall were three white doors, all closed. One had a few floral stickers...

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““Tears of Green”” by Nova Clark

Submitted to Contest #159

The following story contains brief mentions of death and hospitalization. 1960. Frank Baxter lived for wealth. He based his career on it, chose his friendships based on it, and sacrificed his dignity for it. In fact, he even went to sleep each night and dreamt about it. It was par for the course for a Manhattan stockbroker. He wore the best suits, had the best company dinners and took the best business trips. He could still feel the jealous grips of his coworkers’ hands when ...

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“You forgot to ration time” by Justin Casian

Submitted to Contest #159

"Are you ready? We need to leave in fifteen minutes!" The sound of that voice was just enough whose pitch and tonality I had become so familiar with over three years of my life, wafting as casual as you please, all the way from the kitchen of my tiny two-bedroom flat. A screech wrenched itself out of my lips, and my body plummeted to the floor from my perch on the window seat. The fall knocked the wind out of me, leaving me gasping, wheezing, and breathless. Razor debris of thoughts flung to every nook and cranny of my mind. An endle...

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“The Back of the Line” by Cassi Rasmussen

Submitted to Contest #159

Henrietta Maystone always hated being at the back of the line. Hundreds of people stood ahead of her and yet she knew with absolute certainty she deserved to be in the front. As her father said, “If they can’t pay double for it, they can wait.” The mass of people all wore dirty gray cloaks, raggedy dresses, and other varying degrees of scraps. She looked at them all with annoyance. Though she had to admit, their attire fit the overall mood of this place. On either side of the crowded line, tall gray rocks blocked her view and an in...

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“The Root of all Evil. Money. Really?” by Brian Bywater

Submitted to Contest #159

The Root of all Evil, Money. Really?? “Has the jury reached a verdict?” the sombre baritone voice of Judge Percy Edgeware echoes through the deathly silent courtroom. “Yes, and no your Honour.” “I do not recall offering that as an option Mr Foreman. Please explain.” Judge Percy is mildly amused by the response, only mildly. Humour is not his strong suit. “We, the Jury, believe the accused certainly did the crime. However we do not think it was her fault.” “Then your verdict is guilty as charged, you cannot have it both ways Mr Foreman.” “W...

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“It's Just Money” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #159

Ellen closed her eyes and massaged her temples. When she looked at her desk again, she had to resist the urge to laugh hysterically. The mountain of paperwork had not gone away. Staff evaluations to do, three meetings on the calendar for today, one nurse out sick and another due to go on maternity leave any day… She shook her head and took a swig of coffee. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten, gazing at the serene landscape picture that her mother had advised her to hang in the office. Feeling slightly better, she turned on her computer...

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“The Time He Couldn't Buy” by Miller Davis

Submitted to Contest #159

When Carter was 17 he totaled his best friend's car. It was the car that his friend, Will, had worked hard for. Three years Will spent saving his money and dreaming about this car. It was worth it, too. The car was cherry red with black rims. The screen inside was huge. It was like a laptop was propped up on his dash. Will was obsessed with the car, which Carter found obnoxious. It wasn't like Carter understood, though. He had never had to work for the things that he got. Will's parents wanted to go away for the weekend to have a family bo...

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Write about a character who’s never encountered a problem they couldn’t buy their way out of — until they do.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 25 stories

“ONLY FOOLS ARE POSITIVE” by Susan Catucci

“No Chips Without Sparkle” by Michael Jefferson

“Perfectly Priced ” by Falynn Almeda

“Money Can't Buy Sleepiness” by Ryanna Arnett

““Tears of Green”” by Nova Clark

“You forgot to ration time” by Justin Casian

“The Back of the Line” by Cassi Rasmussen

“The Root of all Evil. Money. Really?” by Brian Bywater

“It's Just Money” by Bettina Karpathian

“The Time He Couldn't Buy” by Miller Davis

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character accepting a bribe.

Set your story in a world where the currency isn’t money — or at least not money as we understand it.

Write about somebody down on their luck who unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money.

Your character checks their balance at an ATM and is surprised by the number they see.

Contest #159

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

216

Contest entries

88

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: