Include a scene in your story in which a character's body language conveys their hidden emotions.

Posted in Character on Sep 15, 2023

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✍️ 25 stories

“Walking to California” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #216

Kendra finished her search in her deceased grandfather's quarters. She went to relieve 'Lena leading the oxen pulling the wagon. “I'll want to look a little deeper through some of Pappy's things but I found enough for tonight with the wagon master. I'm gonna let you start on the bread and anything else you plan for supper. Hope it's okay I leave that up to you.” “Dat be no trouble 't all. Yu uns havin' such a day. Whys ya so worry 'bouts wha' dis man says?” 'Lena wanted to know. “Our future depends on if he'll let us stay with this train. Gu...

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“You Can’t Find Me” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #216

You are called to the Roxy Hotel at 10:13 pm on a moonless Thursday, on reports that Maeve Rhidian has been missing for 5 days. The first thing you should know about me is that I am a New York Times bestselling author of my debut novel, “The Last Check-In.” The second thing you should know about me is that you cannot trust anything I say. The last thing you should know about me is you can’t find me.The last person to see me alive was a Delta stewardess from Italy named Octavia who met me to catch a showing of Django Unchained ...

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“Mr Bombastic” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #216

I have chronic flatulence. Now, before you peel away giggling at the images that declaration may have produced in your head, let me be perfectly clear. It’s not something to be ridiculed. Throughout my life, it has been an extremely difficult and embarrassing affliction to deal with, limiting my social engagements to almost zero, resulting in many nights spent alone without romance, without friends, and without doubt – longing for companionship. As a child, I was put through so many treatments and studies at the hospital, they mentioned in j...

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“One More Shot” by Sean Packard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #216

One More Shot by Sean Glenn Douglas Packard Show-and-tell is a sacred thing for young boys. There is nothing more dopamine stroking to a five-year old than a stage all his own, the attention of his fellow carpet crawlers, and nothing to talk about but himself and his favorite object in the world. I was a revved engine when my name was picked from the hat. And I knew exactly...

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“The Monsters Of The Lake” by Sara Margolis

Submitted to Contest #216

The sun was just beginning to set over Wa’l’ta, casting the golden pillar across the water that the Wa’l’tani, the people who lived in Wa’l’ta, revered so. It was a chilly evening now that they found themselves firmly in autumn. Alijandra, a Wa’l’tani warrior, stood in front of a mirror, tying her hair up tightly. Wa’l’ta had grown immensely in the past few generations, but it remained a small village compared to others of the land. Its warriors were not gleaming, silver-clad knights like those found in distant kingdoms, but rather a r...

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“The Coil of Snakes” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #216

The road was absent of all life aside from her own. It had been as such for going on half an hour now, and, though she had her thumb stuck out in a bid to hitchhike, she was hardly looking at the road, instead taking in her surroundings again. The road she was on was cracked, and the yellow divider line was faded, and along the edges where the asphalt stopped and became gravel and dirt, there was a noticeable dip that led lower, if only slightly, onto the edge of the forest behind her. Her eyes could not adjust to the level of darkness in th...

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“The Boy In The Woods” by Timothy Rennels

Submitted to Contest #216

The Boy In The Woods Kane Cooper sat on a boulder surrounded by a carpet of yellow balsamroot blooms. He stared into the nearby forest guarding the edge of the Oregon meadow. The rise and fall of the insects’ droning cries set its own time. The seconds lingered, hesitant to let go of the moment; fearful that the next will be less. Kane remembered finding this isolated spot with his brother Kyle. One day they would be explorers scouting out the forbidding forest from their own mountaintop, the next pirates at sea riding their sh...

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“Needing More Time” by S. M. Lewis

Submitted to Contest #216

After checking her watch for the second time in five minutes, Ramona grabbed her third breadstick.“I know we’re eating soon, but I’m starving,” she remarked before snapping off a piece of crispy Grissini. “I don’t know why; I had breakfast this morning. Maybe my period’s coming or something.”Her best friend, Tanya, giggled from across the table. “It's okay to be hungry. And these breadsticks are amazing, so you may as well enjoy them.”“Right? Thank you!” Ramona agreed between bites. “I know they tell you—whoever ‘they’ are—not to fill up on ...

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“Checkmate” by Pauline Milner

Submitted to Contest #216

Checkmate Shannen Taylor kicked a stone along the dirt road as he made his way toward the asphalt that would be teeming with heat as the temperature was already in the low nineties. Soon the stone was transformed into Bettle’s head and Shannen stopped to mush it into the dusty sand. It only made him feel better for a moment. Shortly after he arrived, Bettle would likely be at his desk with the perpetual mocking or ridiculous antics that often started his day. As Shanne...

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“The Game of Xarion VII” by Bitsy Tandem

Submitted to Contest #216

The smell of old wood and cheap alcohol filled me as I pushed back the tattered metal door, a fusion of instruments and sounds that no single race could claim dancing in my ears. I smiled my signature toothy smirk and slid my hand into my back pocket. Satisfaction filled me as my fingers brushed against something hard and papery. I pulled out the small weathered box and was greeted by glances ranging from curious to menacing. I navigated through the crowd, my destination a lone table at the far end. I let my right elbow lean into t...

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“The Melody of Secrets” by Emmanuel Bright

Submitted to Contest #216

In diddles of time, in the quaint coastal town of Harmony Bay, nestled between towering cliffs and the endless sea, lived a reclusive musician named Eliza Finch. Her home, perched atop a cliff, seemed to touch the heavens, and her garden, a paradise of vibrant flowers, was the envy of the town. Yet, Eliza seldom ventured into the village, her heart carrying a symphony of secrets that only her piano keys could decipher. Every morning, Eliza would sit by her grand piano, a beautiful antique passed down through generations, tracing her finger...

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“Lena and Millie” by Holly Sadowski

Submitted to Contest #216

Millie sits on the rickety wooden chair before me, trusting that I can transform her into one of the flappers we both aspired to be with a simple haircut. I had managed to cut mine into the infamous bob a couple of weeks ago and since then, Millie has been focused on nothing else. Plus, there was the added benefit of sending her mother into a fit with the short style. We had grown up together, spending days together at each other’s homes and...

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“The Broken Mirror” by Casey Tammaro

Submitted to Contest #216

This story is Mature themed and contains sensitive content including mental health and substance abuse Scarlett rises before dawn, during the still of the early morning, ahead of the shrill ring of her alarm. She stares out the window to her right, attempting to predict the time through the darkness of the closed blinds, without the assistance of her cellphone. She knows the blue light will disrupt her circadian rhythm and then she will never be able to get back to sleep. The night is mostly silent. It is too early for the birds and too ...

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“Speak Now ” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #216

Anticipation swirled about the church. No one remembered the last time it had filled to capacity. This would be no ordinary wedding, if there ever is such a thing. Not merely a gathering of family and friends, this was a major social event for the town and the state. People came from all over. Half the church contained people hoping to see the celebrities, whom they had never met. Local news trucks had parked outside. Two hometown luminaries were planning to wed. Tommy Carlson, the groom, was this year’s L.A. Dodgers’ number one draft pick....

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“The Siren” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #216

“She’s just sixteen years old, leave her alone they said…”THE SIRENMr. Harris’ English class assembled at the bell. There was a thin paperback placed on each desk with a sailing ship on its cover. Mr. Harris sat straight-backed wearing a tartan vest out of charity to whoever had given it to him. Among teachers he was one of the most respected by students, in fact he had just diffused a fistfight in the last period by dr...

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Include a scene in your story in which a character's body language conveys their hidden emotions.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 25 stories

“Walking to California” by Mary Bendickson

“You Can’t Find Me” by Jonathan Page

“Mr Bombastic” by Chris Campbell

“One More Shot” by Sean Packard

“The Monsters Of The Lake” by Sara Margolis

“The Coil of Snakes” by Cade Holter

“The Boy In The Woods” by Timothy Rennels

“Needing More Time” by S. M. Lewis

“Checkmate” by Pauline Milner

“The Game of Xarion VII” by Bitsy Tandem

“The Melody of Secrets” by Emmanuel Bright

“Lena and Millie” by Holly Sadowski

“The Broken Mirror” by Casey Tammaro

“Speak Now ” by John K Adams

“The Siren” by Len Rely

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story in a coffee shop without using obvious words to describe it (e.g. barista, coffee cup.)

Write a scene in which a character’s behavior or reaction to something is affected by a past experience — without saying what that experience was.

Include dialogue that shows that a character is socially awkward.

Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Contest #216

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

114

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: