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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

“Bare Trees” by Samantha Hartford

Submitted to Contest #20

10. We must take care our robes are always one breadth from the floor.17. We are always the first to greet a crowd when entering a room.19. We never shout from one room to another. 26. When someone says ‘thank you,’ we may say ‘you are welcome’ or ‘it was no problem,’ but we do not say ‘it was nothing.’ 27. We apologize once and, if forgiven, let the unpleasant matter end there. The monks of the Order of Honor were a family. They had survived the tumultuous rise and crushing defeat of their city like it was just another stormy...

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“Pia's Ultimate Sacrifice” by Avril Riano

Submitted to Contest #20

She dropped down to her knees, her eyes swollen red; she did not want to accept the news. The person she loved and depended on the most had passed, right in front of her, what was she going to do now that she was gone?She stood there, unable to move, all she could do was watch, watch her mother being taken away by an ambulance. She felt astonished, one thing she knew they were just having a harmless argument, and next thing she knows she's lying on the floor, helplessly, waiting for Pia to do something, something to help her live, but shew w...

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“Independent ” by Maddie S

Submitted to Contest #20

It was Evelyn’s first day as queen. With her mother and father’s untimely death only a month earlier, Evelyn was on her own for the first time in her life. She had little experience in way of running the kingdom, but Evelyn had studied hard and knew her kingdom better than her parents had. “You will need to send a representative to the kingdom of Atlantis, and you have received a letter from the kingdom of Arndell.” The new queen’s adviser told Evelyn. &...

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“Ambrose' nose glows...by Walt” by Walt Landers

Submitted to Contest #20

Well, it's that night again, Santa was thinking. He was studying his grooming in the bathroom mirror, little scissors in hand. Then he leaned close to the mirror to trim his eyebrows a little. He didn't like it when his eyebrows got too long. He wiped his hands on the towel and stepped out. "I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to get, Agnes. Can you help me with my coat?" Agnes Claus took the red coat off the hanger and stood holding it. Santa leaned left to push his arm through, then had his...

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“The Mystery Painter” by Desiree Leeper

Submitted to Contest #20

He painted the walls layered in a thin sheen of cold water droplets, I sat behind him just beyond the line of light coming from the towering street lamp, masked in the dead of the night while his artwork glowed beneath his paint stained knuckles. Tilting my head slightly to my right a strand of my dark hair fell across my face and I stared not at the beauty of his creation, but rather the mysterious wonder and intent of those curved lines and bright colors he used to convey his developing message. Of all of the people i’ve watched to make a ...

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“ THE CURE by MARTIN EASTLAND” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #20

It was his skill they coveted, above all else. He had been revered, being likened to a surgeon cutting out a cancer. Michael Rivers was the best contract killer in the nation, and his career as a Marine Gunnery Sgt. ensured that position. He had taken some of the most unenviable assignments with frightening precision, cementing his legend among the Chicago underworld as he waded through the countless corpses he had created. Crooked Senators, rival narcotics overlords, predators (for a considerably smaller, more affordabl...

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“I Don't Know Where This Is Going ” by Karina Urista

Submitted to Contest #20

People always say it gets better. Every time your on social media, someone is posting some inspirational quote like keep dreaming and reach for the stars or some sort of shit like that. The fact is it’s not that easy. You’ve tried and you keep failing (really, you just think you’re failing). For the past few years, you’ve been struggling with mental health issues including but not limited to: severe depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This spices up your life and makes you a whole new breed of exotic. People aren’t this exotic on purpose as it co...

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“The Truth About Alvery” by Brandon Reyes

Submitted to Contest #20

The young man got down from the branch that he was hanging from a few seconds ago. He looked sideways, making sure there weren’t any of those creatures called Nightmares around. Hairless creatures with gray wolf-type of body. They’ve been having no boundaries when it comes to all the queendoms being divided. Most part of the Dark Forest is part of the Mirror Queen’s queendom, Spiegel, and it looked like she didn’t care that they were crossing those boundaries. The b...

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“A True Plumbing Story” by Suzanne Petersen

Submitted to Contest #20

The bathtub faucet had developed an unnerving leak. I watched helplessly over the coming days and weeks as the endless fat droplets evolved into a menacing stream . . . with teeth.I knew it was time to call a plumber. But the thought of the hefty bill i would soon receive filled my heart with desolation. That is why (eureka!) I decided to try my hand at plumbing. Like any good do-it-yourselfer I decided to start by watching a You Tube plumbing video. I clicked on the first one. I was greeted by the sig...

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“A51” by Morgan Kuhn

Submitted to Contest #20

“Im Exhausted.” exclaimed Curtis gasping for air. “Where were u, and why what happened?” Sam, Curtis’ mentor, asked concerned. “I was doing our daily check on the asteroids by planet 1, 2, and 3. All of the sudden something startled me, a flash so bright flickered from a satellite that I've never seen before. It blocked my vision and I ran into the damn thing. Then I had to chug here only going 100 mph.” Curtis’ shaky voice explained his concern for the situation. “You sound you have had quite a day. Lets get some sleep.” Sam lays down ...

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“Tiny Red Rose 13” by Joan Paula Mabulay

Submitted to Contest #20

The pain was like electricity that flowed through my whole being. I could almost taste their betrayal in my mouth. It's been many long years of trying to endure everything... Their wanting to keep me at the mental institutions, forcing me to drink those lurid antipsychotics. Everyday that passes by kept me on both feet somehow. But the side effects are really starting to get to me. It took me a while before I've realized the cold feeling against my face. My hand automatically shot up and felt the wetness of tears on my cheeks. I was crying w...

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“Feasts and Flowers” by Kate Seger

Submitted to Contest #20

The room was too warm and far too loud. Arianette felt as if the press of bodies were closing in on her, threatening to crush and trample her. She was a creature of the forest. She hadn't been raised in halls like this and the cramped pressure of all these people with their prying eyes and booming voices filled her with anxiety. Her heart felt as if it were fluttering too fast in her chest and she felt like it was a struggle just to breathe. Heat rose in her cheeks as stars began to sparkle in her field of vision. She glanced around desperat...

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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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“Box of Ashes” by Amanda Smith

Submitted to Contest #20

Sam Burns heard there would be snow, but that was the last thing on his mind this December. The radio was whispering quietly in the background, forecasting a storm for Chicago, but being states away ignored the radio cast. Sam was currently busy, enraptured by the cardboard box that lay half open on his dining room table, a Newport dangling haphazardly from the fingers of his left hand to hear much of anything. A part of him knew if he moved an inch it would jump off on its own regard and start telling him the latest. It seemed an outright ...

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“The Good Doctor” by Vaibhav Sharma

Submitted to Contest #20

Anxiety is like an orange penguin.If I tell you to sit in a corner and not think about an orange penguin, that would be all that you will think about.Same with anxiety—the more you don’t want to think about it, the faster it envelopes you. Which is why I was sitting in the waiting area of Dr. Harvey Brown, MSc, MBACP. I had spent the last night perched at the end of my bed, still dressed from work. I had had minor panic attacks earlier, but always ignored them with the excuse of being overworked. But after last night, it couldn’t be pushed a...

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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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