Write a story in which a character achieves a new level of clarity about how they’re really feeling.

Posted in Character on Dec 22, 2023

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✍️ 57 stories

“Jude” by Isla Iversen

Submitted to Contest #230

I had never believed I was truly deserving of love. I didn't even know the meaning of the word. Love was like weeds growing around my heart. They strangled my lungs and cracked my ribs until all that was left in my chest was a gaping hole. That was until I met Jude. I first met her in a speakeasy in south Manchester. She was wearing a midnight blue pantsuit that fit her perfectly. I was pulled to her through the crowd. I hate that I was too drunk to ask for her name then. She spent the night with me drinking until we couldn't speak. When ...

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“An Infestation of Tigers” by Zachary Thomas

Submitted to Contest #230

It was near the city of Jaspur, not twenty miles from the outskirts, where a small village had suddenly found itself infested with tigers. They were not real tigers, of course. For years now, the real tigers could only be found in the wildlife parks. And mostly fallen into history were the sad accounts of people taken while working in the fields or sleeping in their beds. But these tigers–the kind that infested–were not capable of man-eating. Why? Because they were so small.It was believed that they had reached the village by hitchhiking in ...

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“One Single Tear” by Val Nom

Submitted to Contest #230

I looked at my phone’s screen for the 100th time that day, writing and deleting the ‘I’m done.’ text but never brave enough to hit send. He had promised he’d call. What a fool I’d been believing this time he would keep his promise! If I had any self respect left, I’d be ashamed. But I was all out of respect. For me or for us. The phone beeped in my hand and my traitor heart squeezed painfully. It was not him. He’ll text, hours from now when he wakes up, and I can already see his words…sorry babe, fell asleep. And I’ll cave,...

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“Laura” by Christine LW

Submitted to Contest #230

Laura liked to do to others, how she herself would like to be treated? Today she had taken her new phone to Phone Plus Store off market square. Smiling she entered the store such friendly nice young men these tec guys. What it was to be talented? The world at your finger tips. "Twenty pounds to set up the new phone. Transfer every thing over from the old phone." "Go ahead." Said Laura, the money they would allow her on the old phone, would cover the cost.Smiling Laura left the shop she would pick up some cans of pop and cakes for the tec gu...

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“The Shape in the Mist” by Jennifer Newton

Submitted to Contest #230

A low cloud had coiled across a barren landscape with nothing but the black scars of trees and the shed husks of stone to define it. The rolling fog had both graced the weeds and fearfully scattered the light, banishing both shadow and clarity. Then stumbling through came a figure. The wisping cover obscured everything but the vaguest of shapes - humanoid with a limping gait, one arm clutching another as if that was all that was keeping them together. Perhaps it was, for at that moment another thing filled the land to accompany the fog - w...

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“DEFCON 1” by Rodrigo Juatco

Submitted to Contest #230

His finger hovered precariously over a RED BUTTON. Blinking crimson lights and alarm sirens blared in the bunker in a display of utter chaos and madness. It took all his effort to ignore the alarms, the knot in his stomach, the tightness in his chest, as well as the panicked thumping of his heart. He had to remind himself that the Men in Black prepared him for this situation. It was the reason they stationed him to this remote, isolated place. With eyes wide open, he gawked apprehensively at a monitor on a control panel, hoping beyond hope t...

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“Do you remember” by Shashi Tuteja

Submitted to Contest #230

Sensitive content: The story mentions the current wars in the world. Do You Remember? My best friend, my beloved husband, Today, I woke up with the memory of our visit to your parent’s home. Your mother had made your favourite foods and spoke of your naughty childhood days. She narrated the story of the stray puppy you adopted when you were six. You fed him, played with him and named him ‘buddy’. She said you cried for days when he was hurt in a street fight with bigger dogs. Our eyes were moist when we looked at each other. A soldier a...

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“I didn’t get the job!” by Allan Marshall

Submitted to Contest #230

He remembered his job interview last week, it had been the big hope, if he got this job it would solve so many problems. He had spent days working on his resume, it gelled together almost word for word with the position description. Education requirements were a problem but they were optional for the position. He had tons of experience relevant to the position from his army days. He wasn't good with words, he looked smart in his discharge suit and cropped haircut, perhaps looking a little too military. He sat nervously but bolt upright...

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“Free Bird” by Nick Baldino

Submitted to Contest #230

The road is eternally paved, and the sky is eternally blue, and I’ve been sitting next to her forever. She has staple-sized dimples and green eyes and coarse red hair.An old rock song is playing, something with no bass, mostly guitar, so familiar that it irks me. The air is broken, and we sweat, a smell that contests my Black Ice pine tree. The smell is victorious. Her head turns, her lip quivers- I can see it in the window’s reflection. I won’t touch her because I don’t want glass in my car.It’s these highways that kill me. My urban plannin...

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“The Wasabi Farmer” by Kayla Clark

Submitted to Contest #230

The farmer’s only companion is a nuthatch. Its warble is mournful in the early morning, conjuring an indolent mist that is slow in its descent along the mountainside. Soil cakes the farmer’s forearms and clings to the frayed edges of his shirt. A bundle of wasabi rests on the yellowed blanket beside him, plucked from soft earth after nearly two years of maturation. They do not look like newborns, wet dirt obscuring their rough, patchy green skins. They look as old as the farmer feels. Today is different, although he does not know why. He con...

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“Albicant” by CoCo Lee

Submitted to Contest #230

TW: gore, domestic violence Dark, red, cake. Chocolate cake slithers into my nostrils, wraps itself around my brain. Giving it a hug, then squeezing, squeezing, I can't breathe. I can't- "Cheryl, this cake is amazing!" His business partner exclaims, zoning me in, something Mr. Andrews. "Cheryl you must listen when a man speaks to you, it's not right you always day dreaming, especially when work is due." He chomps cake, frosting drips from the corners of his mouth. "My apologies, I hope you admire the cake." I retort, shyly staring at my ...

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“A Boy and His Monster” by Chloe .B.

Submitted to Contest #230

I would often wonder about the smiles on people's faces. Whether they were real or if they were all simply pretend. “Father,” I said. “What is it, Toru?” “When they pretend, does it hurt?” “Pretend what?” “When they pretend to smile?” I watched my father's expression slowly contort as he brought his hand to his face and rubbed at the stubby hairs on his chin. “Why would it hurt Toru?” my father asked. “Wouldn’t it hurt if you tried to be something other than yourself?” My father never answered my question. I was ten...

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“She stopped loving him one day......” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #230

His wife stopped loving him one day. Vance tried to understand. At first he thought it was a stage Linda was going through. She had colored her hair, trimmed her figure, and started making fitness coaching sessions on Youtube. Overnight, Linda became an 'influencer' for mature women. Vance was left wondering why. Linda told him she no longer loved him, and he took a hike from the family home. No, his wife no longer loved him unconditionally. Where had his teenage bride disappeared, now he was bulging and grey? He blamed it on his truck drivi...

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“Life's Lemons, God' Lemonade” by Gary Labbe

Submitted to Contest #230

Life’s Lemons, God’s Lemonade By Gary Labbe I firmly believe that everything that happens is a part of God's plan—but the limitations of our internal paradigms keep us from understanding the entire picture. In the rare instance where we can, over time, get a glimpse into His design, it is a wonderful feeling. But on one such occasion for me, it didn’t feel like a gift at first. I was having lunch with a very good friend who, in my estimation, has a better understanding of who God is than anyone I have ever known. He truly has the heart o...

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“The Lottery Ticket” by Joanne Parsons

Submitted to Contest #230

My husband and I agreed not to spend money on Christmas gifts neither of us needed for the sake of having piles of wrapped presents under the tree. He complied, but couldn’t resist filling my stocking with bags of M&Ms and holiday themed lottery tickets. It was a thoughtful gesture and efficient at the same time. One Christmas Eve trip to CVS and his holiday shopping was done. I cursed him for buying the M&Ms, knowing I’d be plowing into the bag after dinner. He ignored me, dug a dime out of his pocket, and told me to get scratchin...

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Write a story in which a character achieves a new level of clarity about how they’re really feeling.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 57 stories

“Jude” by Isla Iversen

“An Infestation of Tigers” by Zachary Thomas

“One Single Tear” by Val Nom

“Laura” by Christine LW

“The Shape in the Mist” by Jennifer Newton

“DEFCON 1” by Rodrigo Juatco

“Do you remember” by Shashi Tuteja

“I didn’t get the job!” by Allan Marshall

“Free Bird” by Nick Baldino

“The Wasabi Farmer” by Kayla Clark

“Albicant” by CoCo Lee

“A Boy and His Monster” by Chloe .B.

“She stopped loving him one day......” by Julie Grenness

“Life's Lemons, God' Lemonade” by Gary Labbe

“The Lottery Ticket” by Joanne Parsons

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story framed by a single scene: something happens, a flashback or inner monologue intervenes, and then the story ends with the rest of the original scene.

Start your story with someone uttering a very strange sentence.

Write a story that hides something from its reader until the very end.

Write a story in the form of a list.

Contest #230

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

362

Contest entries

108

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: