Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who’s always thinking of things they’ll say to people, but who ends up saying very little when they finally get the chance.

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.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 219 stories

“Fire crackles in my heart, autumn leaves crushing beneath” by Syeda Fatima

Submitted to Contest #76

You make small circles and cross them out on the window. It's foggy and you love playing with the vapors. The warm breath blurs the view again and you continue. But there is something deep in your heart that pinches you. why! You clench your fists. Why would you love a murderer!! You wish you could pull out the soul and throw it away, it makes you angry. Angry or … upset? You don’t know. Maybe you don’t want to. Then you swirl around and return back to the cozy corner near the fireplace. Thunderstorms and it rains heavily as you feel yoursel...

14 comments 14
Read story

“Something To Say” by ℤ ℍ☮️

Submitted to Contest #76

I come home late at night. The door opens with a groan. Mom is sitting on the table, her brown hair tightly held in a utilarian bun, her eyes watching the clock tick. I close the door and her blue eyes pin mine. The intense blue colour is a scolding itself. I crush the cigarette in my fist and drop my sack at the door. The lightbulb swings. I stand. She watches."1?" Her stare is vacant and her eyes are glazed like marbles.I stay silent and squeeze the cigarette harder, the ashen warmth burning on my skin."I thought 12 was late. What do you?!...

5 comments 5
Read story

“A Promise to Auntie Trish” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #76

It’s not exactly a New Year’s Resolution because I’ve stopped “doing” New Year Resolutions. I’ve never been that intense or rigid about them but finally realised last year when I had a shot of Baileys in my coffee on the 2nd of January and got a cab home on the 3rd even though it wasn’t raining and my bags weren’t heavy that it was a pretty futile exercise. So I’m going to call it an “intention”. Okay, maybe that’s just semantics. And that’s ironic as this particular intention is to be more direct and not to pussyfoot about. I suppose someth...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Questions You Might Ask” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #76

Lavinia was having one of those days. A day where every step was a search of its own, a confusion, a stumble or trip-up that never quite happened. It was one of those days we all know are necessary, yet fear. One of those days we all have occasionally, when our thinking is invisible, when we feel just a bit invisible of body, yet are aware that we might be clunking through well-worn streets like an enslaved elephant. No elephant should be forced to live with chains around its feet, and no human is ever happy struggling to put one foot in fro...

2 comments 2
Read story

“When The Weak Cry” by Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #76

Remnants of phlegm and salty pools of moisture create a path on my forearm as I hurriedly wipe my face with shaky movements. The footsteps increase in volume with each belligerent step. I stare at the shadow beneath my white-washed door. I practice turning up the corners of my mouth, endeavouring to rid myself of this tear-stained face. I should’ve known it was no use.  Aggressively, my door is flung open to reveal a middle-aged man with a protruding beer belly and furrowed eyebrows standing in my doorway. My dad steps in and I try -...

12 comments 12
Read story

“Wishing on Green Eyes” by Kelly Ellen

Submitted to Contest #76

                                     Wishing on Green Eyes “You can tell me anything, you know that.” Man, if only that had been a possibility years ago. How would my life be different now? Would I want to change anything, or did my whole life lead up to this point. I'm staring at green eyes. My god! Those green eyes, I have wanted to tell him since I can r...

8 comments 8
Read story

“The Silent Women” by Izzy Bavaro

Submitted to Contest #76

Silence. It’s almost as if she’s obsolete. No one pays attention to what she says, only what she looks like. Anyone who truly knows her, understands that her silence has a purpose. She sits, she listens, she nods along, she hums the beat to herself, she does what she is told. He thanks the proper people for their hospitality and she embraces the warmth of his hand on her back as he leads her back to the old 1969 Pontiac Firebird,  “Are we going home?” she asks hopefully, “No, I have to speak at an event.” “Where at this time?” He does n...

3 comments 3
Read story

“She will not live long” by Melissa Louise Murdoch

Submitted to Contest #76

This story belongs to the author, and although we share the same name, she will not be telling her story. She was born not of this world but up there, somewhere – I don't know where. In my days, she walked the earth. She lived a stone's throw away from me. Her parents weren't home often so, she spent most of her life in her bedroom. You could see her seated at her desk; overlooking out the window to roofs and chimney tops. I lived on the opposite side of the street and from my window, I could see her there. She only had a few friends that ca...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Strings” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #76

He starts his day with a shot in his coffee. I pretend not to notice. “Good morning, Dad,” I say. “Morning, baby,” he replies. He fries the eggs. I toast the bread—two slices for him and one for me—and wash the strawberries. We eat in silence. I remember the way he used to pick me up when I was little, bundle me tightly in his arms, and drop me onto the couch. I would giggle and try to escape, only for him to scoop me up again and kiss on the top of my head. I remember pillow fights, tickle wars, chasing him around the house. I r...

10 comments 10
Read story

“Words” by Hope Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #76

She felt like a piece of trash. When a friend needed her after a break-up. And she actually was reaching out for connection, she did not know the blasted words to say (beyond the basic "I am here for you. That is not true").I just asked her questions, like I was an interrogator. Why don't I have the words? Why can't I be more encouraging?Maybe it is because she didn't believe in saying pretty little nothings she didn't really mean (most of the time, anyway; and not because she was harsh, unkind, or abrupt. Just as a matter of honesty and lov...

65 comments 65
Read story

“The impostor Among us ” by Harley Quinn

Submitted to Contest #76

Hello I’m bananas3000. I’m a really shy guy and do not talk to people much. I’m yellow in color. I wear a banana peal on my head as a hat. My body is just a bone covered with rubber, and I carry an oxygen tank everywhere weather it’s in an office, HeadQuaters, or a spaceship….Can you guess who am I?...Yes you guessed right, I’m a crewmate from among us……WAIT!....Isn’t among us just a game …Well yes, it is a game but not “just” a game. We, the crewmates have a whole life behind the game….And yes, there are real parasite creatures called impos...

9 comments 9
Read story

“Behind Those Blue Eyes” by Aubrey Maria ✌

Submitted to Contest #76

By Aubrey MariaSympathy was a rare thing for Lucy to experience. But on that chilly morning, as she sat in on a study group, she felt no different than any other day. Lucy didn't expect anything to be different – nor should it have been. But there was a newcomer sitting the farthest seat away. He had tousled red hair swept to the side. His smile could be seen a mile away and Lucy couldn't help smirk to herself and think, 'who does this kid think he is?' Inside her, she felt a pang of jealousy. Was it the fact he was happier than sh...

4 comments 4
Read story

“orange” by Auspicious Echo

Submitted to Contest #76

I wanted to go home and tell Mommy about everything. I wanted to tell her how Ms. Stern talked about colors at school today. I would ask her “why oranges are called oranges? is it ‘cause they’re the color orange, or is the color orange called orange ‘cause the fruit is that color? and how come you say fourteen instead of tenty four when twenty four and threety four and forty four are pronounced like that? it doesn’t make any sense.” I wanted her to smile at me and tell me all of the answers. I wanted her to laugh and say, “Darling~” with a h...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Paper Cranes” by Kansas !

Submitted to Contest #76

        I was ten years old when I saw him for the first time. He was sitting at my lunch table, bent over a piece of paper. His dark brown curls fell over his face, so I couldn’t see his eyes. I set my lunch down in front of him and sat down at the table. “Hello,” he said, looking up at me with big brown eyes. I wanted to ask him what his name was. I wanted to ask what he was doing with that paper in front of him. I wanted to ask him so many things. “why are you sitting at my table?” I asked instead...

5 comments 5
Read story

“That's What He Said (he thinks)” by Daryl Oliver

Submitted to Contest #76

Inside his mind, Gerald was a hero. He was the kind of man that everyone wanted to be. Everyone wanted to be his friend and to him they all were. Gerald had the ability to charm any woman and make priests blush. He was the guy that everyone else wanted to be. At least he was in his mind. Gerald Lemon stared aimlessly into the waste receptacle that was part of his cart. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be seen wasting time doing things which were not part of his job description. When washing windows, he would look out into the distance. At other...

2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story told exclusively through dialogue.

Dialogue – 349 stories

Write about two people who just can’t seem to understand each other, no matter how clearly they think they’re speaking.

Sad – 79 stories

Write about a character who is incapable of telling even the smallest lie or half-truth.

Character – 80 stories

Write a conversation that takes place between two people who refuse to say what they mean.

Dialogue – 58 stories

Contest #76

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: He Said, She Said

$50

Prize money

787

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 15, 2021 EST

Won by Rinnie Leigh 🏆

Title: Him

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!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢