Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

Posted in Character on May 31, 2024

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✍️ 55 stories

“Alice” by Betty M Reeves

Submitted to Contest #253

For thirty-three years, Alice had loved teaching various mathematics in the local junior high school. Classes began at 8 am and continued until 4 pm, with a short lunch break and a conference period. Because she wanted to help students outside of class time, she had tutorials several days a week with a few eighth graders before school, beginning at 7:15 am., and some seventh graders after school, until 4:45 pm.When she went home, she usually set about grading papers. She took a break to have her evening meal and watch the news. Lately, the n...

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“MorningStar’s Advice” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #253

‘Twas the night before I lost my right arm.Ok that might be a slight exaggeration but for all intents and purposes the exact truth.I sit with a stuffed turtle given to me by a feral young woman who pulled it out of her backpack and insisted I needed it.We had never met before but she told me she’d dreamed about me and that she was told to give me her turtle. She told me her name was Morning Star and that it was time for me to listen to her turtle and that his message was, “Slow down!” We both cry as I hold her in my arms. We each u...

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“After the hour ” by Romayne Pavan

Submitted to Contest #253

Linda Parson walked into the Walker Building at a fast pace and sipping her second cup of coffee. Walked at a fast pace through security and didn’t greet the guard, stood at the elevator door frustrated. Kept punching the lift door, wondered why the elevator door won’t open faster. Entered the elevator and sipped her coffee and wondered why she had to share the elevator with everyone. People entered the lift to go to their office and got frustrated. Wished she had her own elevator, which would have taken her straight to the office. When the ...

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“Thirty Feet Tall” by Daniel Dundin

Submitted to Contest #253

You learn a thing or two being thirty feet tall. Like for one, to properly hide behind a building, it needs to be at least two stories high. A ranch won't do. A barn is a decent place to sleep as long as it has a dirt floor, but wooden floors cannot be trusted. And if you ever save a magical wood nymph, and she grants you a wish, be very clear with what you mean when you ask to be taller. I suppose that last one happened before I became thirty feet tall, but it still applies. The silly thing is, I didn't really mind being short. I ...

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“Behind the Tile” by Maisie Castro

Submitted to Contest #253

The end of another day. Mary sighed deeply as she undressed and stepped into her shower, the warm water meeting her cool skin causing goosebumps. She closed her eyes as she let the stream of droplets land on her face. Thoughts raced through her mind; the never ending list of tasks to get done, the problems that arose that day and the subsequent possible solutions for those problems, and so on. She never thought she would end up here; running a non profit organization that she built from the ground up, helping people and the planet by providi...

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“Change of Life” by Traci Dietrich

Submitted to Contest #253

Kat felt her phone vibrate in her briefcase. For once she didn’t immediately grab for it; she uncharacteristically let it go to voicemail. She was in a daze. What the hell did Janine mean? I needed to ‘go back to my roots and reset my life if I wanted to have a life? I do have a life. Granted it’s full of take out boxes on the coffee table and a pillow under my desk at work, but it’s a life. I built this life on my own. I should be freakin’ proud of that. I don’t have to let her infiltrate my mind with her judgments of how I choose to live. ...

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“Sounds relaxing” by S.C Sanborn

Submitted to Contest #253

I could say that it all happened at once, but really it had been a lifetime of decisions that had led to this moment, an avalanche of stress that had inexorably ravaged the mountain, a cascade of water pouring… …you get the picture. I had been lost for a very long time. And when I say lost, I mean exclusively in my own head. Everything had seemed peachy-keen from the outside. The business, the wife, the house, the kids, the cars, the toys, the dog, the friends, the clubs, the projects… the dream. It was the American Dream. I had ...

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“ON BOA CONSTRICTORS, TOWELS, AND MARCEL PROUST” by Kajsa Ohman

Submitted to Contest #253

ON BOA CONSTRICTORS, TOWELS, AND PROUST Look at the time! The sun’s up and I’m not! Good God, and my to-do list is longer than a boa constrictor—at least I think they’re pretty long—but I should Google it, because then I’d know how long boa constrictors are—not that I really care, but still, now that I’ve wondered about it—and knowledge is power— No no no, step away from the computer. Some kinds of knowledge are just a waste of time. Anyway, I promise we can look up length of boa constrictors tonight or on the weekend, b...

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“Pete Vs. Paris” by S Yakimovich

Submitted to Contest #253

Pete vs. Paris Pete has lived mainly as a bachelor, except every other weekend when he has his 9-year-old daughter. His job keeps him on the go as a top sales rep, visiting doctor's offices up and down the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states for a big Pharma company. Most weeks, he is on the road Monday through Thursday, coming home on Thursday to either his weekend with his daughter or on his own. He has been in the sales business for 20-plus years and doesn't know how to relax and just "be present." On weekends alone, he is in h...

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“Flesh of the Duck cloth” by Safiya Kezzim

Submitted to Contest #253

"First, you'll need to select your textile. A heftier material like canvas or duck cloth is preferable for novice sewers."Golden sunlight streams through the expansive loft windows, dancing across the spectrum of textiles spread out before me. I sift through several bolts of fabric, finally deciding on an unbleached duck cloth. It was a rustic textile, one that reminded me of the cartoon characters that Sara used to watch in her childhood. The country rabbit mother, in these animations, would intricately stitch her children's initials into f...

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Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 55 stories

“Alice” by Betty M Reeves

“MorningStar’s Advice” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

“After the hour ” by Romayne Pavan

“Thirty Feet Tall” by Daniel Dundin

“Behind the Tile” by Maisie Castro

“Change of Life” by Traci Dietrich

“Sounds relaxing” by S.C Sanborn

“ON BOA CONSTRICTORS, TOWELS, AND MARCEL PROUST” by Kajsa Ohman

“Pete Vs. Paris” by S Yakimovich

“Flesh of the Duck cloth” by Safiya Kezzim

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Start your story with a character canceling their plans.

Write a story that contains the line, "I wish we could stay here forever."

Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

Contest #253

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

334

Contest entries

117

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: