Write about a character discovering a surprising strength in either themself or another.

Posted in Character 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.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 56 stories

“The Buzz” by Hansika Korivi

Submitted to Contest #146

The Buzz The television always stayed on whenever my grandparents visited our home. Vibrant commercials danced across the screen as they watched, nibbling on biscuits like squirrels. The furniture creaked as my grandfather rested his beautifully wrinkled arms and shifted his weight on the chair. I loved being around them- not saying much, but simply completing my homework or reading a book. Engrossed in the imagery of a thrilling novel, I laid on the sofa next to my grandparents when suddenly – a buzzing sound caught my attention. I look...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Flavia and the Party Flutters” by Lara Robinson

Submitted to Contest #146

Flavia is going to a party! At first, she didn’t want to go because she doesn’t like crowded places or loud talking or bright colors or sharp smells that come charging around corners and run up her nose. But most of all, she doesn’t like the Party Flutters. The Flutters always start in Flavia’s stomach like an enormous pot of popcorn that zips and crackles. They fill up her insides, and the popping and crackling get so loud that the Flutter Bees wake up. They stretch and wiggle their wings and bump into each other. The ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“WE CAN BE RUNAWAYS TOGETHER” by Sikholiwe Manikela

Submitted to Contest #146

I wanted to walk fast but I could not. Each time I took a step, a sharp pain struck as if shocking me with my teeth clenched hard, sure they would shutter. It had been three hours of walking, a walk that normally took me an hour stretched to hours of agony and pain. My hand was raised, wiping away my tears with the back of my shaking hand. Ask me how I was still standing and I would not tell you, but I kept moving until I saw the school gates. I moved a bit faster, knowing I was in no way presentable for school, but what could I do? It w...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Strangers” by Emma Diliberto

Submitted to Contest #146

I sit in silence as I examine the peculiar surroundings, watching people like a fish floating within a deep tank of water. Through the reflections of the moving water, I observe fragments of human exchanges–laughter, arguing, crying, hugs. The foggy images parallel the tank's glass full of children's cloudy handprints imprinted on the glass. The glass, a separate wall between their existence and mine, yet the remains of their life engraved within my vision forever. The water like a lens for my perceptions of how it flows and gleams, only all...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Strength I Could Never Have Imagined” by Caitlin Cusack

Submitted to Contest #146

The letter that followed the manuscript was in a familiar script, but one I hadn’t seen in 30 years. He reached out for my help, and for the first time, I was in the position to give it. And so, this is his story, summarized from a memoir carefully constructed. It’s sad and true and needs to be heard. Every loss in my life has been tied to that moment. And that sound – right before the flash. Most people will never experience it up close. It’s like gun shots. When I was eighteen years old, I was a soccer phenom. All-American, top recru...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Life and Times of June Parker-Jones” by Emaley Rose

Submitted to Contest #146

“Did you know,” said the girl, “ that octopi can unscrew the lids from jars?”“No, I didn’t,” I replied, even though I did. “Where did you hear that?”“I just read it.”“Oh.”, I said.“It says here that a human brain has eighty-five billion, five hundred million more brain cells than an octopus brain. Brain cell is another word for neuron.”“It is.”Her eyes narrowed. “You know the word neurons but you don’t know about octopi opening jars?”, she asked.“On second thought, maybe I have heard that somewhere before.” “Interesting.”I cleared my th...

1 comment 1

Read story

“They called it a near Miss” by Jennifer Braveheart

Submitted to Contest #146

They called it a near miss, but I called it a direct hit as years of pent-up anger surged through my veins. The porcelain coffee cup sailed through the air and smashed directly where I was aiming it; just next to my husband's head. He had been quietly reading the Desert Sun Newspaper while he sat on the barstool in our breakfast nook. It shattered with a loud bang against the wall. I had made my point. He recoiled in shock and disbelief as he looked at the pieces of the white cup scattered on the floor beneath his bare feet. The ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Draw” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #146

Houck, Arizona May 1892 “You really think you’re going to get away with this?” Calvin Roach asks. “You’re not even wearing masks. I know who you are.” Lothar Hoke pokes his shotgun through the teller’s window. “Well, Cal, if you know it’s me, then you know I won’t hesitate to blow that spittoon you call a face off your shoulders.” “Give them the...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Assistant Quality Control Coordinator” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #146

Johnson had never noticed how large Lourdes’ eyes were until they narrowed at him, filled with fire. Her voice, deeper than Johnson expected, skipped over any polite discussion of ‘maybe a mistake was made’, and erupted in fury. In the Factory break room, with an audience Lourdes didn't even notice, she described the sexual proclivities of his mother, the despicable vices of his father, the poor character of his ancestors, all in such colorful language that Tommy, the General Manager of the Factory, had no choice but to move her,...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Choose your Ghosts Wisely” by Rama Shaar

Submitted to Contest #146

She looked at me for a few seconds and then said, “I think you’re old enough now to hear the full story.” I was a little taken aback. My aunt Nadia had told me stories of her late brother many times, and they were all wondrous. She was the head of my father’s side of the family. Being much older than my father, she was more like a grandmother to my siblings and me. I, however, had a special connection with her because I, apparently, looked very much like her when she was young. But the real reason we got closer was that I moved schools to ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Changeling” by Melissa Woods

Submitted to Contest #146

"Come on, Aoife. Please!" "It’s Eva, here. And, no. Out of the question," she shook her head. "You know that's not how this works." "Number one: no one can hear me but you, and the names are pronounced almost identically, anyway. Number two: what do you mean? That's exactly how this works!" She'd spun away from him, under the guise of checking her equipment, but Tadhg was having none of it. He jumped around her, invisible the moment he stepped out of the giant oak’s shadow. The blanket with her photo equipment remained undisturbed on the g...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Station” by Jai New

Submitted to Contest #146

The room shakes as the trains chug past. It’s loud but i barely notice it anymore. The floors rattle and the pictures tap on the walls but i don’t look up from my work. If I did, i know what i would see, the barn-loft style flat with its wooden A-frame rafters stretching away long and narrow, somewhat like a train carriage itself. The whole place would be shaking. Maybe I would see the dust dancing in spotlight beams of afternoon sunlight. And if it were dawn, the light would be muted and cold, the sun having to reach right across London to ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“The Lady in the Mirror” by Kimberly Seyboldt

Submitted to Contest #146

"Do you have a big mirror in your home?" she said to me on that fateful morning. She spoke with soft comforting words as we walked into my bathroom. I knew that she could see my tear- stained face and puffy red eyes. I knew that my loving neighbor had sent this Angel to me. There she was with beautiful white hair and an aura that radiated love. There she was to assess my crumbling world; a world with six small children, a soon to be absent daddy and a big old home I could no longer afford to buy. She was so kind. I can still remember her exa...

2 comments 2

Read story

“She Called Him Al” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #146

SHE CALLED HIM AL. Gin had many scripts that fleshed out her fantasies about a life with Harry.One of her fondest ones had their lives played out according to Paul Simon’s “Call me Al”.So we shall take some poetic license now and script this story to Paul’s song.Gin will become ‘Betty’ and Harry? Well, we will just call him ‘Al’. We find Al walking down the street, muttering, bitching and complaining, “Why am I so soft in the middle? The rest of my life is so hard.”Betty sighed.Al’s soft middle held her attention more than on...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Alone ” by VICTORIA HALTON

Submitted to Contest #146

ALONE Do you not fear being alone? Imagine dying and coming back to life. After saving the one you thought loved you As they left you to recover by yourself. Better yet Let's say it was 2 days after your 18th birthday. Looking at 5'o clock on your screen as you're sitting inside of the RTA bus stop. Waiting for the number 6 bus to come at 5:30. Feeling happy Because you're about to take another step forward in the right direction of life. Yor started the first year of college to be a chemical engineer after having early college courses sin...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Character – 70 stories

Write about a character attempting to meditate or do something mindfully.

Narrative – 38 stories

Set your story in an unlikely sanctuary.

High School – 34 stories

Start your story during a team building exercise.

Adults – 17 stories

Contest #146

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Getting to Know You (And Me)

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

134

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 20, 2022 EST

Won by Michał Przywara 🏆

Title: 10 Days to Mindfulness

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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a character discovering a surprising strength in either themself or another.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 56 stories

“The Buzz” by Hansika Korivi

“Flavia and the Party Flutters” by Lara Robinson

“WE CAN BE RUNAWAYS TOGETHER” by Sikholiwe Manikela

“Strangers” by Emma Diliberto

“Strength I Could Never Have Imagined” by Caitlin Cusack

“The Life and Times of June Parker-Jones” by Emaley Rose

“They called it a near Miss” by Jennifer Braveheart

“Draw” by Michael Jefferson

“Assistant Quality Control Coordinator” by Marty B

“Choose your Ghosts Wisely” by Rama Shaar

“The Changeling” by Melissa Woods

“The Station” by Jai New

“The Lady in the Mirror” by Kimberly Seyboldt

“She Called Him Al” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

“Alone ” by VICTORIA HALTON

🌟 Similar prompts

Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Write about a character attempting to meditate or do something mindfully.

Set your story in an unlikely sanctuary.

Start your story during a team building exercise.

Contest #146

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: