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!

#100: Breaking Bread

One of the most intimate things you can do with someone is sit down to eat together. The idea of friends and foes, families and strangers breaking bread has been a recurring theme in art and literature for a very long time. It’s something that can bring us together against the steepest of odds; to quote Oscar Wilde, “after a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations”. But things don’t always end quite so harmoniously — food fights, anyone?

This week, we’re reflecting on the joys (or pains) of eating together or making a meal. Whether the dinner table is a place for communion or conflict for your characters, I look forward to sitting down to a hearty portion of food-themed stories with you. Bon appétit!

This week's prompts

Start or end your story with two characters sitting down for a meal.

Middle School – 264 stories

Write a story where a meal or dinner goes horribly wrong.

Thanksgiving – 201 stories

Write about a group of strangers — or people who know each other, but may as well be strangers — eating together.

Fluff – 152 stories

Write about a character preparing a meal for somebody else.

Fluff – 157 stories

Write a story that involves a secret or magic ingredient.

Halloween – 116 stories

Stories

“The love between a parent and their children is always and forever.” by Rebaona Morule

Submitted to Contest #100

Just as much as this story is for me, it’s for all of those who have an absent father. My voice is yelling for all of us. It may be cracked and hoarse, but it will never stop until we’re all heard. There is a girl named Lerato Molatlheni, who is 15 years old in grade 9. Her father’s name is Kagiso Molatlheni, who was absent in her life for the past 9 years. Her mother’s name is Mmapule Molatlheni, who was supporting her the whole life, trying to balance the role of being a mother and a father. It was tough at times, Lerato could notice the c...

Read story

“The Beautiful Hunt ” by Silver Fish

Submitted to Contest #100

The Beautiful Hunt We woke up before sunrise to hunt. I walked out into the cool, gray day, in that strange time before the sun rises but after the light has seeped into the air. It was quiet; even the frogs and the crickets seemed to still be asleep, and the tall, naked elms were like white bones sticking up into the sky. Everything was still. Charlie walked out behind me; his soft footfalls on the dead leaves the only sound around. We didn’t need to speak. We knew what we ...

Read story

“Another Hand” by Eric Holdorf

Submitted to Contest #100

Another Hand After they both ordered salads, John crossed his arms, tucked his hands behind his biceps, and leaned back. He wanted to hear Bob talk his way out of this. Dawn, his wife, was worse. John was hurt by Dawn, and tired of Bob preaching patience. Results are what he wanted. He didn’t like being vindictive, but he was ready to remove Dawn or send her to Memory Care. John was paying the money, so he didn’t mind seeing Bob squirm. “You had some concerns whe...

Read story

“The Truth From My Father ” by Shevach Obahor

Submitted to Contest #100

I can tell you with assurance the food in prison was revolting. As I sat down with my father I felt his pain as he tried to eat his food. With every mouthful a look of despair entered his face. I must say I did feel sorry for him even if he did put this on himself. No matter what though, you did you should still be able to have nice food.What did my father do you ask? Stole from banks. Lots of banks in fact. So many that it landed him a 25 year sentence. My heart sank every time I thought of it. My own father. A criminal. He hid a lot of hi...

Read story

“Inside Joke” by Barlencia Clement

Submitted to Contest #100

They always tell you, “Love is patient and doesn’t hurt”, so how long will I have to wait for this pain to go away? I turned around after staring out the window for who-knows-how-long the moment I heard a clanking of pots in the kitchen. “What are you doing in there?!” I yell out from the living room. He’s always up to something, in fact, that’s what I used to love about him. He had a drive to wake up each and every day and just do something. He was a man of numbers, always calculating new discoveries as he continued to feed his insatiab...

Read story

“Mission 12235” by M M

Submitted to Contest #100

I watch the father and son duo sit in silence at the dining table. My presence seems to be infringing on their privacy, yet I have to be here. They are having a serving of roast pork, mashed potatoes and some wine. “These are your favorites, dad,” the son thinks. Judging by the state of kitchen, the son had a busy morning preparing this meal. Mr. Roderick looks at his plate, his eyes watering, thinking, “I hope it’s as nice as mine.” The son dips his head, eating quietly. The kitchen feels too quiet without his father’s radio blari...

Read story

“Starting Coversation” by Rainn Brenner

Submitted to Contest #100

Rowan looks up from setting down the second plate, brushing his hands off on his jeans before heading to the door. A nervous habit obviously…could vampires even sweat? He shakes the thought from his head, clicking his tongue piercing against his teeth as he thought to move back to that later. Who was at the door, and what was happening now was more important. Opening the door, he has to remind himself vampires don’t need to breath, and that’s why he was breathless. He knew this was a lie, the figure in front of him still as stunning as t...

Read story

“How are you?” by Dede K.

Submitted to Contest #100

Jane had been swiping left on her dating app for months. It had only been a year since she broke up with her boyfriend. Ding ding. Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Gasp! NOPE! Can’t do it. Men can be so nasty. Jane was always so shocked by the type of attention she got from men. Neverending pictures sent through social media messages. Ding ding. “How are you today?” She quickly browsed his profile and she saw that he volunteered at the humane society, and was a lawyer. He looks perfect. “Wow, thanks for asking! I’m d...

Read story

“Last meal” by Tonatiuh Duran Meza

Submitted to Contest #100

The scent of delicious food filled his nose as he started waking up, the sound of chains rattling on par with every move he made. The entire room was shrouded in darkness save for where he was seated, an overhanging chandelier at the exact center of a table casting just enough light for both ends and every tray and plate on to be illuminated. While somewhere inside there of the room the sound of classical music came out of unseen speakers, the quality of each piece far too tarnished by the poor quality of the loudspeakers and the rebound of ...

Read story

“I am a Mafia Hier?” by Mayank Saxena

Submitted to Contest #100

A dreadful silence remained in the room as we ate our dinner. My dad sat beside me, it's really hard for that to happen. We don't eat together often. "Andrew," My dad called. "Yes? " "Have you decided or not? " It's the inevitable fate that I have been evading for too long. "No father." My voice was firm. "Take your time son, take your time." After dinner, I went into my room and locked myself in. Bzzzzz....bzzzzz... "Hello?" "Hey, Andrew! What are you up to?" Claire asked? "Oh hey Claire, nothing much. You can say I ...

Read story

“Soul Food” by Allen Wilkinson

Submitted to Contest #100

Every direction showed me the same monotonous view; gentle waves reflecting bright sunlight. How long had I been on this boat? There had, supposedly, been food and water on board to support two people for a week and that had been gone for? I tried to remember and couldn’t. What I knew for certain is that my lips were dry and cracked while my stomach was a constricted knot in my gut. I was sunburned and my bones ached from lack of movement. Not long into this solitary voyage I had tried swimming a little an...

Read story

“Rosewood” by Zelle J Christian

Submitted to Contest #100

Hidden out of sight, I peeked between the slats of the closet doors to find flashes of an unwinnable fight. It seemed to last for an eternity while I anguished.Suddenly I heard a heavy load tumbling down a flight of stairs.Shattering glass as a body crashed through the sliding glass doors at the bottom.Footsteps leading towards the slamming of the front door.And the rage smoldered away, leaving only a boy fractured in the yard and tire smoke forlornly curling off the driveway.In his darkened bedroom a puddle of orange lamplight spread across...

Read story

“The soulmate” by Ionela Radu

Submitted to Contest #100

Sarah was standing at a table, looking at the man in front of her. A handsome man, with eyes so blue, that she could see the sky in them. She was playing with her hair and she had in mind only one thing: „Come on, let me see your wrist!”. In the middle of January, she could find a fancy restaurant and she expected that the man who she will date, will wear something sleeveless. Sarah wasn't very lucky, because she couldn't find the perfect man and she turned 30 years old last week. She found a lot of nice men, but she didn't think any of t...

Read story

“Date Number Four ” by Toni Johnson

Submitted to Contest #100

I turned, stretching to reach for the glass on the top shelf in preparation for pouring another cocktail. I felt the heat of his body behind me before I even turned around. When I did, his face was inches from mine and our eyes locked in intense eye contact, which drew me in even more. This was date number four. This evening, we opted to stay in, laughing, talking, getting to know each other more. We lost track of time as we chatted about past relationships, failed marriages, our own flaws and those we found in others tha...

Read story

“|Blood = Related| but |Loyalty = Family|” by Fatin Najwa Fadzli

Submitted to Contest #100

“I’m honoured that you agreed to have me for dinner, darling.” “You mean take pity on a lonely old jerk? You and mommy dearest raised me better than to leave the sad and pathetic out in the cold.” “In cold blood, dear. We also raised you to own your action- well, she’d say that if she and your brothers weren’t six feet under.” Nicholas Baudelaire looked into the young woman’s eyes across the table, seeing only the indifference in her eyes. Not an ounce of remorse, of guilt. Empty? No. Pride. The warmth wafting from the freshly prepared mea...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

891

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 02, 2021 EST

Won by Rayhan Hidayat 🏆

Title: mie goreng

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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 ⭢