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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#20: Quite the Character

Between 1887 and 1927, Sherlock Holmes appeared in a total of four novels and 56 short stories penned by Arthur Conan Doyle. Since then, the stories have been adapted countless times, earning Holmes a Guinness World Record for "most portrayed movie character." And while Doyle's mysteries were widely lauded, it was the character of Holmes that had readers coming back time and again.

This week, your challenge is to write a story that highlights a single character. The premise is up to you — just give us some small understanding of this character by the end of the story.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who starts out as a pessimist and ends as an optimist. (Or vice versa.)

Character – 46 stories

Write a story about a character experiencing anxiety.

Character – 83 stories

Write a story about a character who would be described above all else as "logical."

Character – 31 stories

Write a story about a day in the life of a mother.

Narrative – 55 stories

Write a story about a character experiencing independence for the first time.

Teens – 59 stories

Stories

“I hate socializing” by Nurul Aqilah A.Rahman

Submitted to Contest #20

I can feel me being suffocated, choked, squashed, and any other overreacting words I can never think of. Being unable to breathe properly, with my heart beating really fast, it is as if I just come back from an extremely long marathon without getting any rest. My hands are shaking, I am trembling. My shoulders are shuddering as well. Even my legs are shaking and quivering, they feel too feeble to even stand up. I cannot seem to be able to take control of my own self, like my brain tells them to stop functioning ...

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“The Tower, a true story. ” by Nick Dalrymple

Submitted to Contest #20

It starts somewhere deep. I can feel it grow, a soft oooh, oOoH, followed by a full scream by a stranger inside me. My wife startles and is terribly frightened. She shakes me and I laugh. I am no longer afraid of it, once I am awake. There are circular mounds in the rice paddies of Vietnam. This one was just big enough for an antenna field circled by bunkers, circled by wire, circled by claymores, circled by a clear field of crossfire from the mounted M60’s.In the center of all this was a tower. Not a living soul ever bothered us.Most nights...

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“The Inside Of My Head” by Ash Pandea

Submitted to Contest #20

I’d always paid much attention to where I was. The tiniest, most discrete sound always got my attention,even when I was asleep. This habit seems to have become more than just that; it had come to be deeply rooted in a corner of my brain, sometimes screaming at me to be alert at times of exhaustion.My life has started out as being monotonous, on the verge of unbearable boredom. At the age of 9, I had already learnt six different languages. When I was 12, I had submitted a thesis to my father, a professor, on existentialism and transcendentali...

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“The Anatomy of a Worrier” by Debbie Rae

Submitted to Contest #20

The teacher’s left strap was crooked.Peter’s eyes were fixed on the anomaly. It was off her shoulder. He didn’t fancy himself an expert in women’s clothing, but he had seen his fair share of off-shoulder sleeves. When they were intended to be asymmetrical, they had an acceptable weirdness to them, like a synthetic diamond – fake, but good enough for a child’s tiara, so not entirely useless. It was different when they were unintentionally lopsided. With Miss Jones’s every movement, the sagging sleeve twisted, with such growing persistence tha...

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“ Choked in a Chalk Mine.” by Mason Bushell

Submitted to Contest #20

“I must be dead.” Samuel heard a thunderous bang echo in his mind. He sat up and slammed his head against something wooden adding his discomfort. “Nope, I’m alive. Angels don’t crack people over the head every time they move.” Sitting up again, Samuel almost hit his head again before grasping and throwing the table askance. It hit the old barbers’ chair and fell with a crash. Samuel coughed in the dust he created. The thought of an angel brought another to his mind. “Holly!” the footballer’s words echoed around the underground chamber. He fe...

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“The Records and Explorations of Billy Doelen ” by Rach L

Submitted to Contest #20

The Records and Explorations of Billy Doelen I wasn't sure if I'd ever be successful. After the first dozen attempts, I started to give up hope of discovering anything new. But I kept continuing with my experiments because I was sure that eventually, I'd be given the opportunity to make a name for myself. I knew that if I tried a little bit harder each day, one day I'd achieve my wildest dreams. And once I did, I'll record everything and spread the word, making sure that everyone knew the name Billy Doelen.My name is Billy Doelen, ...

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“Oh Mireille!” by Emilie Conroy

Submitted to Contest #20

Jamie dealt with a lot of snickering behind his back. He had a bad enough time being so handsome among a student body where such things are of optimal importance. Other males, or so his friends imagined, were jealous of the attention he excited among the women. He was chased, quite literally, then ridiculed by the people in his department for disliking all the amorous attention. Mireille d'Auriville thought a lot of the snickering was her fault, because she was female. Jamie never made any secret that he an...

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“Rise of Azrael” by Jason Yeboah

Submitted to Contest #20

-Nova -Azrael -Aspen -Phoenix -Hydra -Eon -Raven “Now that you have all finished signing the document, accommodations have been prepared,” said the squire. “Very well,” replied Eon. I knew creating you would serve me well. Eon was an excellent creator. He was the master of time. He could see the future and the past, but he didn’t often because it drained him of his energy. He was the one who had the idea of a treaty. “Well, is that everything?,” asked Phoenix. The gods had just finished signing a treaty t...

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“Of Numbers” by Yair Ron

Submitted to Contest #20

This world of numbers. Simple laws of physics and biology playing themselves out, determining every outcome. Every question ever asked was answered millions of years ago when the universe made its one and only decision in an explosion of heat and energy.This world is of numbers, for it is mine, and I am of numbers. Many of those beings with need for gods and names and words believe I made it, but the truth of that does not matter. All that matters are the numbers - math and physics, biology and astronomy, and her.Even now, after all that hap...

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“Winter Wonderland” by Diane Martin

Submitted to Contest #20

Winter Wonderland On Christmas morning, Alice was startled awake by the sound of her own wheezing. The cold had moved into her chest, it seemed. She strongly suspected that it was no longer simply a cold, but hadn't the money to find out. There was a $200.00 deductible on the insurance provided by the law office for which she worked. She had just been dreaming that she was skin diving, but every time she tried to breathe through the snorkel, she choked down water instead of air. She awoke at the point of panic, the initial stages of drownin...

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“Once More...” by Sanqunetta Boyd

Submitted to Contest #20

ONCE MORE…She jerked to wakefulness, eyes wide, breaths coming in heaving draws. For a moment she was still on the battlefield inhaling air heavy with death and the steady staccato of gunfire echoing in her ears. Bi-colored eyes raked wildly over the room; sleep-addled brain unable to recognize her present surroundings.Then, like a light switch, the battlefield disappeared, and her brain reset itself to the present. Her heart slowed and she realized she was back in her tiny bedroom. She was safe.She wiped the cold swe...

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“MOTHERHOOD ” by Eunice Ndoh

Submitted to Contest #20

‘Mummy I want more sauce’, Kemi prodded me on my arm to get my attention.These days he ate like a hungry lion more than what a little child of his age should be eating. This was his third helping and the sauce left in the pot was for his father. He would not understand unless I showed him the empty pot. ‘Look, there is none left for your father to eat again. See, the pot is empty now’, I said as I tapped the empty pot to show him. He shrugged his shoulders and left with his plate. In as much as I wished often for my children to be on holiday...

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“The Wait” by T. L. Hanigan

Submitted to Contest #20

Sipping her coffee, Kate Baker mindlessly scrolled on social media. All the while checking the time and waiting to hear her daughters' door open for the first time this morning.She'd gotten her three daughters up about twenty minutes ago, so they should be dressed by now - doesn't mean they were, of course. With her husband, Daniel Baker, away, Kate was struggling to keep herself together. It wasn't fair to her that he was gone for this long. Though she knew he was safe, it still kept her up at night.Kate didn't know the ...

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“Baby Watches Over The Nurse” by Jennifer Tedrow

Submitted to Contest #20

The makeup from last night’s shift still lies on my tired eyes. The distinct smell of hospital and old people rests in my greasy messy bun. I lie in my bed and reach for the phone on my nightstand. It was Wednesday, July 18th, 2019. I reread the date and tears filled my eyes. I rubbed my belly, wishing that I could still feel the hard kicks and uncomfortable squirms. My due date of my first baby girl was today. I looked over at the ultrasound sitting peacefully on the wall next to me, hanging by a pink thumbtack. The image put a fire in my h...

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“Empathetic Diaspora ” by Mary Ann Lluch

Submitted to Contest #20

Preface: A letter I wish I was given that retells the events of a corrupt government and permanent longing. A day that will haunt both a mother and her child eternally.Dear Daughter, I assume that once you've read this, you would be vaguely aware of the origins of your birth. Your birth is when I started to live fully and unapologetically. Even when I was just surviving, I still felt alive, because I had you. Firstly, I want you to know that giving you up was the most painful decision a mother could make. A decision that no mother sho...

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$50

Prize money

274

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 20, 2019 EST

Won by Amy St. Pierre 🏆

Title: At Home

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!

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