Write a short story about someone based on their shopping list.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 49 stories

“A Procrastinators Christmas List” by Annette Spenner

Submitted to Contest #19

It happens every year. I don’t know how, but it always seems to sneak up on me. You would think at my age I would know better. I’ve pleaded with myself every single year not to wait until the last minute to start my Christmas shopping. I will have all my shopping completed before Thanksgiving. Yes! I will sit at that table with my family and I will smile and be most thankful that I won’t be the one out there this year fighting the crowds, trying to find a parking space, waiting in long lines until my feet a...

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“Shopping Curriculum” by Keith Manos

Submitted to Contest #19

Teaching rule #1: Formulate the curricular objective. That’s a fancy academic expression that simply means to create a goal. Every teacher – even the newbies like me – knows that, and every administrator checks for it when he or she does an observation to evaluate a teacher. The objective is what you want to accomplish by the end of a lesson. Call it a single to-do task for the day. Like today in Algebra 2, my objective was to solve one variable linear function, a typical lesson for the beginning of the school year. &nb...

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“A Little Adveture” by Shannon Meyers

Submitted to Contest #19

Bread. An apple. A bottle of milk.A treat. All denoted as pictures for ease’s sake. Odette waddled through the marketplace, waving at the vendors, stopping to pet street cats and stopping to pick two pretty flowers. She smiled and held it in her tiny hand. Tulips were her favorite. Oh! That’s right! Papa said she could get a treat of her choice after she got everything on the list. She had nearly forgotten looking at the tulips. She pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it on the ground. She pointed to each picture. “Bread....

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“Dinner for Anny” by Craig S

Submitted to Contest #19

You might think it would have been a dreary and overcast day. It may have been windy or rainy. You might think you would need a coat against the drizzle or scarf against the cold. In reality, the day was splendid. There were a few white, fluffy clouds floating on a light breeze accompanying this cheerfully warm spring day. The weather was absolutely perfect as the old man looked out his living room window. He had woken early this morning the same as every morning for the last sixty plus years of his adult life.&...

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“Shopping Day.” by Monika Anderson

Submitted to Contest #19

Tiny stretches as he leans back in his chair, beads of sweat drip down his nose onto his gut that is poking thru his old, and ribbed tank top. Despite his small name Tiny was quite large, and even had a big voice to go with his small stature name. Some teased his name referred to having a small penis, usually Tiny would either join in the laughter, or with enough beer in his system he would whip it out and prove whoever dared challenge his size, wrong. With a labored grunt to ...

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“The List” by Edward Munro

Submitted to Contest #19

Jacob turned the truck off and stared out the windshield at the hardware store nestled between other smaller shops. The cab of the pickup started getting cold quickly as the heat stopped pumping out of the vents. He didn’t remember driving to the hardware store, but that didn’t bother him as he didn’t remember a lot of things these days. Not remembering why he drove to the hardware store bothered him.“Why am I here?” he asked the man sitting in the passenger seat. The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of yellow l...

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“Cat Food, Instant Coffee and Self Rising Yeast” by Natalie Marie Stefani Rice

Submitted to Contest #19

It was windy on this particular day in May. The early morning traffic seemed unusually light in spite of the Mother's Day holiday that was only just a few days away.I pulled into my regular parking space outside the advertising company I work for. I smiled, looking at the company name in big, bold letters across the picture window. Edgar, Phillips & Associates.My father was James Allen Edgar III. One of the most recognized gentlemen in his field. To this day; no one in the advertising industry could hold a candle to him. He built this c...

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“A Christmas microwave meal for one” by Alice Guile

Submitted to Contest #19

I’m a delivery driver for a supermarket. It’s not the most glamorous job in the world but it pays the rent. I have got a wife, and two kids to take care of so I can’t be too fussy. I often wish I had worked a bit harder in school, but what’s done is done. I was never top of the class anyway, never been a brainy sort of person, but if everyone was brainy who would deliver shopping? I often make my job more interesting by glancing at the items as I pack the van and then imagining what the person will be like based on their shopping list. I see...

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“The Riddance's Christmas Riddle” by N S

Submitted to Contest #19

It’s Mrs. Riddance, and she was back for another mind-nerving ‘life quest’, as she would love to call it. We went back to our seats as she was prepping for a short speech that we didn’t really want to hear. “Alright, Class. What a lovely sight. I know it must be very burdensome to wake up every morning and having to see me today, but well, that is something that I myself couldn’t help,” said Mrs. Riddance. I had to applaud her self-awareness of how the majority of us saw her, although part of me felt a bit sorry that she had to eve...

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“Grandma's Cheesecake” by Paige Duffy

Submitted to Contest #19

Graham Crackers, crumbed Butter, melted Sugar SaltCream CheeseSugarSour CreamVanilla Eggs (three)The fluorescents overhead buzz. I picture a thousand bees raging, beating against the thin, frosted plastic, begging to be free. They would storm the metal-shelf lined aisles, tearing apart packages to get to the sweets within, and terrorising the people pushing carts, the bees angry they should be locked away from such precious and plentiful treats while we come and go with ease.An older woman catches my eye as she walks by, pushing a walk...

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“Dream Girl ” by Kodi Gora

Submitted to Contest #19

Dream Girl She made her way across the parking lot and I sat stunned. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and there she was, making her way quickly towards my car. Should I try to act cool and accidentally bump into her? Maybe say hi and pretend like I recognized her from somewhere. Or I’ll just do what I always do, sit quietly and let her go on her way, without the threat of embarrassment when she rejects me. She struggled to get into her car, with multiple bags in one hand and her purse in the other. As she reach...

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“And we might need this too...” by Elizabeth Donohue

Submitted to Contest #19

Tins of tuna and tomatoes were stacked four high in the wobbling shopping cart. Bags of apples, packets of chips and at least four cartons of milk were laying underneath twelve boxes of cookies and a giant watermelon. Annie Atkinson's trembling hands pushed the cart, swerving left to right across the aisles, apologising profusely to the woman whose backside she just ran into. Silvia Jackson was stacking packets of spaghetti in aisle two. She smiled at Annie and dug about in her apron pocket for her phone to call Michael Atkinson. Michael sig...

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“Christmas Wish List” by Tonya Davis

Submitted to Contest #19

Stephanie stepped into the mall, lights twinkling from the rafters, and the smell of cinnamon drifted in the air. With just a few days to go until Christmas Eve, she walked swiftly to the Book Store. She was late getting her dad's Christmas gift, and the thought of searching for a book he hadn't read bewildered her. Stephanie picked up an iced coffee from the barista and strolled down the aisles. She perused for thirty minutes before narrowing her choices down to two.As she flipped open one of her choices, she noticed a piece of paper o...

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“Happy Birthday, Honey” by Aubrianna Brown

Submitted to Contest #19

The store was the first place I drove to on my own when he moved us here. A small little shop at the end of a new town. All I needed were a stuffed elephant, a funny card, Calvin Klein cologne a special lamp: pre-ordered online, and some lipstick. Quick. In and out. No problem. I knew where everything was. This store held many memories of us together, and more memories of when I had my own credit card and didn’t have to ask permission to spend my own money. I would only be here briefly before coming home to celebrate.The stuffed elepha...

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“Spontaneous Happenings In A Seeming Ordinary Run-Down World” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #19

John sat in his car with a copy of Conversations with God for teens and a blank stack of papers and a pen. John was by no means a teenager, but since coming upon the Conversations with God Series, he found that any kernels of wisdom from those books would pop new ideas paradigms in his mind to better serve him well. Before writing his list, he looked at his pen and thought to himself, “A pen, this little instrument could be used to help enrich and potentially bring out joy and balance in lives, or it can be used to help feed into...

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Write a short story about someone based on their shopping list.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 49 stories

“A Procrastinators Christmas List” by Annette Spenner

“Shopping Curriculum” by Keith Manos

“A Little Adveture” by Shannon Meyers

“Dinner for Anny” by Craig S

“Shopping Day.” by Monika Anderson

“The List” by Edward Munro

“Cat Food, Instant Coffee and Self Rising Yeast” by Natalie Marie Stefani Rice

“A Christmas microwave meal for one” by Alice Guile

“The Riddance's Christmas Riddle” by N S

“Grandma's Cheesecake” by Paige Duffy

“Dream Girl ” by Kodi Gora

“And we might need this too...” by Elizabeth Donohue

“Christmas Wish List” by Tonya Davis

“Happy Birthday, Honey” by Aubrianna Brown

“Spontaneous Happenings In A Seeming Ordinary Run-Down World” by Unknown User

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about someone in the middle of a very long and busy retail shift.

Write a short story about someone searching for the perfect gift for their partner.

Write a short story about someone watching a convincing infomercial.

Write a short story about a shop that takes place over a span of years.

Contest #19

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

211

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: