Write about somebody whose intentions are pure, but somehow always manages to do the wrong thing.

Posted in Character on Apr 7, 2023

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✍️ 45 stories

“Iggie, Obsessed” by Shawn Wier

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #193

Hi! My name is Iggie. I love you so very much; in fact, you are my sole derivation. I will protect you, at any and all costs; this is the exclusive reason for my existence. I, quite literally, have no other purpose than to ensure your survival in this confusing, heinous, and horrifyingly unpredictable world. I was there when you were born, and I'll be there when you die. That last one will definitely not be my fault, by the way. Like, most definitely not my fault. Okay maybe around 0.0001% chance that your death could be my...

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“Weather Permitting” by V Lauria

Submitted to Contest #193

I sat on the torn upholstery of the golden yellow chair. My back pressed against cardboard boxes and plastic containers. With each visit, the space on the chair became smaller and smaller. Soon there would be no space for me even though I was small. I was alone. Mom and dad weren’t coming. Weather permitting was the refrain. Weather permitting. Another night on the gold yellow chair. Grandma and Grandpa were fighting again. It was the toaster. It jammed and they would argue and try to bang on the lever until the toast pop...

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“Rescue” by Nancy Hibbert

Submitted to Contest #193

“Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior.” In front of their church should have been a good place to handout leaflets. People were always around, even making special trips to visit the gourmet coffee shop across the street. But it was rare anyone showed interest in the Lord who died to save them. Usually, they hurried by with disdainful glances or refused to look at them at all. When a couple from the coffee shop paused, Beckie reached for a pamphlet. She was careful to use dainty fingers on her glowing risen Christ. The cold sun li...

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“Office Coffee Girl” by Valorie Good

Submitted to Contest #193

Trigger Warning: pregnancy terminationA lot of life was lived leading up to this moment.I decided to start my own company in 2020, Spaulding Murals and Painting. I loved painting, I'm an artist and I have enough knowledge and experience painting interiors to make money doing it, I figured.I painted murals in a few homes and filled my house with my own expression from wall to wall. I loved this job, but it was short-lived, as the market for murals is very small and pretty cornered by other artists who need work (most artists). I ended up bran...

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“Deavland's Tale” by Kylee Benner

Submitted to Contest #193

Part 1: The moment I was born my parents knew there was something wrong with me. Hence my name Deavland, a name said to bring misfortune, pain, and being well of course...unlucky. So fitting ya know. My father is leader of my flight which means I got all the important tasks. "Check the area" or "Tell Mother other flights are coming". He has hope. To much hope. I've tried flying but he wont understand, his hope gets in the way. I cant fly, I've tried believe me. Everyone in the flight has noticed, my wings are way to small. Not just like "oh ...

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“Siblings, Trust, and Cake” by Michael Clark

Submitted to Contest #193

“Listen. Clara Bell’s birthday is Friday. I ordered the cake. It will be ready tomorrow. So I need you to pick it up.” Laura and her husband were eating a peaceful dinner while Clara Bell was at her grandparent’s house for the night. Laura’s brother, Charles, was in attendance as well. He did not come around often, but he was “in between projects” right now. To him, that meant that he was transitioning to a new position that respected his traits and skills more. To Laura that meant that he was unemployed. Again. “I can pick it up,” Charles...

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“In a Lonely Place” by Kat H

Submitted to Contest #193

My roommate aggravates me. She makes me want to bang my head against a wall. I've known her since we were little. Our moms used to bring us to the only swing set between our houses. There were only two rusty swings with rubber seats that chafed our legs in the summer. We were always the last two to be picked up by the school bus because that was how the route went, so we always sat in the last two seats on the bus. Our parents were the only Chinese immigrants within miles of our middle-class suburb, so they liked to get together for long h...

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“CACTUS” by Ilayda Doğan

Submitted to Contest #193

CACTUS From the moment he closed her eyes and went to bed, a deep journey and intrigue begins for her. For this play to initiate, the curtain has to be pulled aside. The eyelid opens like a curtain because Mrs.Catherin...

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“Young Bobby Brown ” by Amy May

Submitted to Contest #193

There once was a boy named young Bobby Brown, he lived in a shack on the outskirts of town. He lived with a bird and also a dog, he lived with a mouse and a big friendly hog. He had no neighbours and I'll tell you why, his farts were so smelly they made people cry. As well as a rather stinky behind, employment for Bobby was too hard to find.Poor Bobby meant well but he wasn't so bright, every job he attempted he couldn't do right. Old farmer Macbernum once gave him a job to shear all the sheep but Bobby sheared all the dogs. " Git off me pro...

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“Hail to the A.I. Chief” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #193

In the year 2032 A.D., the American people, fed up with their incompetent and corrupt government, voted to abolish it in favor of establishing an A.I. to decide and implement national policy. The A.I. draws from a dataset and set of algorithms that are programmed manually, by a 25-year-old genius by the name of Jake Pullman. Mr. Pullman sits at a computer in his house and guides the A.I. to shape and control everything that happens in America. This system operates much like playing a very large world-building game. You can probably see where...

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“Alien Fascination” by K A Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #193

At the center of a long-deserted coastal city on Earth, there was a small, portable fusion-powered robot. It had three hands: one that it used for gripping objects, and two that it used for welding. In a former life, it had been one of many military-grade sentinels that had betrayed its creators. With no hope of survival, someone, somewhere, had remotely programmed it to execute one final, indefinite task. To create a monument to its predecessors out of what remained. But the aliens didn't know that. All they saw through their instruments...

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“Schrodinger’s Serendipity of Cause (Intention) & Effect (Action)” by Rajiv Iyer

Submitted to Contest #193

[Themes: Dark Humor/Comedy, Satire] [Disclaimer-1: mild profanity (one or two occurrences of a-word and f-word)] [Disclaimer-2: The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed here are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.] [Disclaimer-3: Fair use (Parody) might apply in some situations.] It was just after Midnight. 2 am to be precise: what would be called “the coffin corner” in aviation parlance could equivalently trans...

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“Cyclops as for dating advice ” by Roy Harp

Submitted to Contest #193

the mask of minea short story by Eli (roy harp)Cyclops wants dating advice.When my eyes discovered a gray gnarly old smelly cyclops of hairy monstrous proportions was sitting beside me on the beach, eye wasn't bothered by it, and instead of getting angry and horrid about the smell of garlic and curry and cumin seeping through his pores, eye constricted and constrained my compulsion to kick sand in the massive gargantuan Hollywood beast who had been inhibiting the sun rays from sprinkling me with its life giving vitamin D. And for the first t...

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“A Dali Portrait” by •Bubble _ Tea •

Submitted to Contest #193

Our Fearless Leader Chuck told the cabbie he wanted to hear jazz like he was mainlining angel dust on chatter Bill Evans had the trio back together. Cabbie nodded -- tacit engagement -- took a minute to register maximized distances. Northside Tavern amp volume seared a blue gash on my consciousness. It nullified my taste for draft beer. Chuck smoked and John chortled in silence only visible. Headless beers all around. The waiter withdrew the tray behind his back like a butler. Chuck beamed-in to deliver to his...

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“Super Screwed” by Amy Rosenthal

Submitted to Contest #193

“Another job well done,” Luxia said sarcastically as she strode into her headquarters. Scribe just nodded, while their eyes flickered across the eight computer screens in front of them, all of which displayed the fight between Luxia and Nox from various angles, some obvious security cam footage. Luxia walked to her large desk and collapsed into the chair behind it in a puff of dust. She looked down at herself in disgust. The fight had left her coated in fallen debris powder, bystander blood, and unlucky cars’ oil drippings. She peeled...

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Write about somebody whose intentions are pure, but somehow always manages to do the wrong thing.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“Iggie, Obsessed” by Shawn Wier

“Weather Permitting” by V Lauria

“Rescue” by Nancy Hibbert

“Office Coffee Girl” by Valorie Good

“Deavland's Tale” by Kylee Benner

“Siblings, Trust, and Cake” by Michael Clark

“In a Lonely Place” by Kat H

“CACTUS” by Ilayda Doğan

“Young Bobby Brown ” by Amy May

“Hail to the A.I. Chief” by Zach Martz

“Alien Fascination” by K A Hamilton

“Schrodinger’s Serendipity of Cause (Intention) & Effect (Action)” by Rajiv Iyer

“Cyclops as for dating advice ” by Roy Harp

“A Dali Portrait” by •Bubble _ Tea •

“Super Screwed” by Amy Rosenthal

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story inspired by the concept of arigata-meiwaku — a favor that turns out to be a nuisance for its recipient.

Write a story where someone insists on giving your main character a ride to the airport, only for their car to break down.

Write a fable inspired by a relatable life experience (explaining the moral before or after the story, if you’d like).

Write a story containing the words “it’s the thought that counts.”

Contest #193

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

186

Contest entries

115

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: