Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who yearns for something they lost, or never had.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 111 stories

“73 Seconds of Black and White” by Marc Andre

Submitted to Contest #120

Manila really is a busy place. The streets, the people, the vehicles.How noisier can these people be? If only I could yell that out — waiting for the traffic lights to turn green so I could finally cross the street and rid my ears of their misery. 73, 72, 71, 70. The red traffic lights count down. I feel annoyed. By my side stands a random woman tense and shouting at her teenage son about his failed grades. Her voice is so loud that even the trained-to-be-deafening yells of the jeepney barker, she topples off. For goodness' sake, the sun has...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Grandma's Wake” by Connie Elstun

Submitted to Contest #120

My name is Constance O’Dell, and I grew up in a typical suburb of Denver, Colorado, in the early 1970s. Typical in the way all the houses on my block looked somewhat the same. Ranch-style homes with attached garage, brick halfway up with painted wood on top. Everyone chose pale blue or white or some mundane color so you wouldn’t stick out. Our rooftop was sloped, as were they all, to assure the winter snow would run off, as running in would have been an entirely different matter. We all had a driveway, and a double-width sidewalk connected u...

2 comments 2
Read story

“My twinflame bruise” by Valentina Nigrinis

Submitted to Contest #120

CW: Death, grief, loss of a loved one.The stars no longer shine since you’ve been gone. They hide behind the clouds and twinkle faintly, like the fire in my heart, which sputters and dwindles. Your absence is more noticeable with each passing day. The bookshelves that once held your favorite books are now empty, and I no longer see your favorite mug lying around with a drag of coffee still in it. Your clothes I keep still, but they lie untouched in the bottom drawers, where I hope they will retain your scent.The nights are cold without you t...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Escape from the Yukon” by John Minnaar

Submitted to Contest #120

My first introduction to the area was during my school career. It was one of the thoughts that flashed through my mind as I surfaced on this cold, autum morning. The other was the dream I had just managed to extricate myself from - the way things were – in the days of yore. There was something missing in my life and when I reviewed how I felt – I was happy to be in the country and rough it in Nature but the modern world had disintegrated all my dreams of those wonderful thoughts right there with my waking musings on life. I had spent that ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Center of the Universe” by Gerald Lanning

Submitted to Contest #120

“Woof!” Sarah said, approaching the snarling mastiffs, the huge dogs dwarfing the baby girl. “Doggie…Woof!” Sarah bent hard at the waist as she pushed out the words. She knew doggies when she saw them, and these were the biggest she had ever seen. Their bared fangs glinted menacingly in the sunlight. She was only a few feet from the bronze beasts guarding the house. They were motionless, but poised to attack. The twin statues glared ferociously at the diminutive intruder. Holding onto a metal leg and pushing herself up with her knees...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Overdue Beginning” by Mariah Heller

Submitted to Contest #120

Her form-fitting red wrap dress was designed to be sexy and alluring. She knew she could attract just about any man here this evening but she didn’t care. Monica D'Angelo already knew what, or rather who, she was after. If Logan Carver was married, she’d simply congratulate him and wish him well. Only then, would she know he was never meant to be with her. However, if he were single, she’d lay out the plan she’d spent the last year preparing. She’d increased her visits to the gym, found her center spiritually, w...

3 comments 3
Read story

“My Dear Papa” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #120

It was the second evening of 2006. The evening was cold and dry. Colder than it usually was during this time every winter in southeast Wisconsin. The snow was light but you can still hear cracking when stepping unto them.    As my brother, mother and I walked on the sidewalk to my grandparent's front door, we were greeted by my dad. Behind the door, my entire family were there all gathered at this one place in Milwaukee. The house had a big enough living room but not quite as much anywhere else unless you got to the basem...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Snow Globe (Mild reference to abduction/murder.)” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #120

Memories fill my mind as I gaze at the glass ball in my hand. As the late afternoon sun slowly dwindles into dusk, I am reminded of another winter’s afternoon like this one. Three years ago, my sister was murdered, on a dark December day when the sky was full of snow and frost glittered on branches and windowpanes. The weather then was crisp and cold, much as it is today, and the expectancy of Christmas hovered in the air. I remember looking out of my bedroom window, hoping that Sophie had worn her scarf and mittens, waiting impatiently fo...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Different Dimensions” by Linda Steven

Submitted to Contest #120

The cloak of brume was lifting. Once released from its shadows Greta was afforded a clearer view from the dew-damp park bench. Ah! Yes, that’s better. She absentmindedly scratched the ears of the chubby little black and white dog on her lap, her fingers settled upon a gnarly patch of hair. She gently worried it back into smoothness while watching her grandson Dillon’s elastic smile grow wider as he was projected higher and higher by daddy. Observing their game filled her with sunshine. The mood seemed to transfer to Sushi too, who jumping do...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Mother and Her Lilies” by Mela Rzepka

Submitted to Contest #120

(trigger warning: hatred, war, death) When she held her hand, she felt the ridges of her palm, the cracks of stories past, of struggles overcome, of pain and love. Her eyes were the ocean sucking her in and welcoming her home. And the creases traveling from her eyes to the corners of her mouth showed the unbridled laughter of years spent living life to an extent few knew how to experience. Until the blood spilled and her spirit went with the tide.  She remembered that laugh, the one she heard coming down from the white house sitting...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Plan B ” by Lucille Maria Priolo

Submitted to Contest #120

This story contains sensitive material about the loss of a child. The world completely stopped, everything was spinning. I was finally where I wanted to be in life. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what I have done to deserve this. Everything was going through my head. I was a good kid for my parents, never got in much trouble. I went to college, was good there too. I mean I had some questionable nights but nothing crazy. I graduated and started my career first like everyone told me. I'm independent and a good person. It took me forever...

7 comments 7
Read story

“The Hill” by Anoush Hovnanian

Submitted to Contest #120

It’s funny, isn’t it? All of it. Those minutes making moments. Those sounds making words. Those lights making images; images making people. Then people are crowds, crowds have voices. And all of those crowds and voices, they had to be here now, didn’t they? Funny. Is there anything more bleak than dying in a hospital bed, on a busy day? ‘Who are you talking to, granny?’ Asks Emily. Have I been saying all those things out loud? Am I still… No, my lips are touching. Better keep it that way. ‘What does bleak mean?’ She asks. And just like tha...

9 comments 9
Read story

“In the Halls of Ebony and Gold” by Quincy De Vries

Submitted to Contest #120

When I walk through the obsidian halls of my family’s home, I keep my eyes on the floor as my siblings pass by. Some leave trails of light behind them while others creep by like shadows, and I shiver as their fingers brush my shoulders. I leave no traces as I make my way down the hall. No one will smile at my light or recoil at my presence. The soles of my bare feet should echo and slap against the hard surface but instead my tread is silent. My sister once told me that my siblings are jealous of my ability to silently approach, to curl...

2 comments 2
Read story

“....But Not Forgotten” by Shirley Brand

Submitted to Contest #120

On the far left of the multi-matted frame, the sweet face stared back at her. Remembering, his eyes, the color of single malt whiskey. Such a strong contrast to the gray fur. He had shown up on new years day 1999, they had just purchased a small farm, after their return from Texas. Had spent the first day of the year doing the final clean-up, brought the horses, groceries, and a bed, movers expected early the next day. Sara pulled the shall gently back over her shoulders as she leaned back in her chair, the fire crackled on the viewscreen...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Same Bait, Same Fish” by Susan Grant-Suttie

Submitted to Contest #120

Same Bait, Same Fish. By Susan Grant-Suttie belgone2001@gmail.com Word Count: 2,908 Bartel came over to my desk at work.  “What are you doing Friday night?”  Although he was the breath of fresh air in the stale office, it was not the rescue I wanted.  I looked at him, giving him the second look through a different set of eyes.  He had dark haired, long eyelashes, shorter than myself, Harry Potter style glasses, and he looked very much like an accountant in his university-style sweater and jeans with his stiff white shir...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the line ‘Back in my day…’

Adults – 28 stories

Write about two characters’ different perspectives of the same past event.

Middle School – 36 stories

Start your story with a character looking through an old family photo album.

Fluff – 44 stories

Your character has always viewed the past with rose tinted glasses. Write about what happens when they’re finally confronted with the truth.

Angst – 25 stories

Contest #120

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Nostalgia

$250

Prize money

244

Contest entries

163

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 19, 2021 EST

Won by Rebecca Loften 🏆

Title: Meditation

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!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢