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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

“A day for Alexandra and her little sun” by William Davis

Submitted to Contest #20

The pitter-patter of small feet woke Alex from here sleep but she didn’t open her eyes knowing what was coming, with a small smile she felt a dip in her bed a few moments before little hands began to press on her shoulder,” mommy time to get the sun is shining.”Opening her eyes Alex looked at her three-year-old son who rose with the sun ironic seeing as she named him Elio. Making a exaggerated groan she rolled on top of Elio pinning him to the bed,” I don't wanna the bed is warm, the house is cold and I have my little sun right here.” giggli...

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“Riding the Cyclone” by Jane Pait

Submitted to Contest #20

“What! Triplets! Really!” Both parents were stunned. After years of trying to get pregnan...

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“A Mother's Life” by Ali Hagag

Submitted to Contest #20

Wake up. Eat. Work. Sleep. That's all I do. My body yearns for relaxation but my mind forces me to stay on track. Wake up. Eat. Work. Sleep. I help everybody, but I never help myself. Wake up. Eat Work. Sleep. Will the cycle ever change? I'm stuck here, but still happy. Mixed emotions always rush through me. I have to try to make myself happy. My kids always need me, but I feel I need them more. Through all my work and agony, I still have something to come back to. I was always salivating for their neverending joy and comfort. When I start...

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“Something about Milk” by Janet Hernandez

Submitted to Contest #20

My parents kicked me out. Why? I think they ate something bad because I am simply a fifteen year-old. I was sleeping comfortably on the couch when they had the audacity to tell me to go buy milk. That is the equivalent of kicking me out. I stared at them and they stared at me. Me being the nice person smiled and sarcastically said, "Milk. The one used for breakfast things and comes from cows. The one that people go buy at stores?" What a tragedy that I had to say the word store and lower myself to such standards. I had no cho...

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“The Microwave” by Mike Olsen

Submitted to Contest #20

I placed my hand on the sliding door of the bathroom I had been occupying for the past thirty minutes. With a towel wrapped securely around me, I closed my eyes and listened. I have become an excellent listener. I wasn’t used to having a bathroom door. The door itself brought me anxiety. I made a point of ensuring all three locks on the front door were locked before taking a shower. This apartment only came with one deadbolt lock. I had two more locks installed before moving in. Still, a part of me feared the unknown. That's why I've learned...

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“Home, Alone” by Sophia Evans

Submitted to Contest #20

An innocent ponytail bobbed back and forth as the girl pranced down the deserted path. A fluffy pink scrunchie topped her head, matching the colour of her shirt. She looked up towards the sky and knew the sun would set soon by the way the light filtered through the leaves of the giant fig. She looked at the same tree every day but today the leaves seemed to radiate and reach into the sky with hopeful yearning. The girl knew she should really get home as soon as she could, but it had been the best day of her life. The giant fig in the park h...

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“Rain” by Liz Figueroa

Submitted to Contest #20

I steer behind the wheel in my cozy, compact Toyota Yaris on my way to work. The heat is cranked on high on this cold, blustery day, ensuring that all the frost that decorated my windshield minutes before had melted away. I look around and gaze upon what I would every day: people in grey, black, and tan businesswear scurrying their dress shoes and heels across the road in hopes to catch the next train, cabs parked illegally in the fire zones, and a line of soon-to-be passengers stringing outside the nearby Dunkin’. My all-time favorite band,...

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“Useless, Upgraded Or Integrated” by Richard Hartmann

Submitted to Contest #20

“Dr. Philips, we understand futurists are driven, impatient if you will, racing others and themselves, to reach for,” she looked at her fellow panel members, only to find them shuffling papers. She continued, “But we have a responsibility to consider legal and ethical considerations that can’t hope to keep up with technological advances.” “My work is in the early stages, I too want to approach this cautiously.” &nb...

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“Mama mia goo goo lady gaga poker face mother dearest and manchild finally free” by Matthew Harris

Submitted to Contest #20

(Otherwise known within esoteric circles as pop's slop Potchki pastiche thicker than Pudd'nhead Wilson). Analogous to a baby suddenly aware with inquisitiveness, puzzlement, unbridled world wide webbed wonderment regarding his immediate physical world for the first time, I too felt (not ironically enough) silenced, slack jawed, and spellbound upon initial lifetime behind bars. Youngest ever locked up prisoner released after being sequestered away in solitary confinement (consequent being conceived inside uterus teen mom prior to her mist...

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“Jenna's freedom song.” by Judy McIntosh

Submitted to Contest #20

Jenna turned the key and pushed open the wide door. Sunlight streamed into the loft apartment. It shone onto wooden floors, then bounced to the cathedral ceilings. A bare brick wall led to a slightly raised platform that was the bedroom. The kitchen off to the right was tastefully equipped with stainless steel appliances and a wooden prep table. The antique fixtures and red checkered back splash added a whimsical touch.Jenna leaned her guitar case against the wall. She ran towards the huge windows and marveled at the corner park below. Old s...

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“Markers On Paper” by Jessica Stone

Submitted to Contest #20

Markers on paper. Markers on paper. Drawing everything she knows. From the way her dolly sits and stares at her to how the bathroom door can never close. Her space consists of walls and door, her space is what she calls home. She never learned how to write so instead she draws.There’s the stained mattress on the floor to sleep on. She’s never tired though, what could wear her out? There’s the picture with green trees and lilac flowers on it. The picture seems so real to her like someone made it with their eyes, and it’s the only way she...

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“I am a Grey Horse” by Tanha Tarannum

Submitted to Contest #20

I am a Grey HorseBy Tanha EmitaI was born in a rambling barn. A place so filthy, where even a horse like me would spit in disgust. As I was coming out of my mother's womb, I felt the earth-shaking. An emanating purr of the surroundings welcomed me in a gewgaw manner, and I slipped from the fanny with a soft thud and loud grunt. Mother described me the peculiarities afterward when I was a little grown-up. She said the humans knew they had a foaling mare in the truck, but that didn't persuade to stop the vehicle. The makeshift cabin jerked wit...

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“Augury” by Lillabeth Daep-Poe

Submitted to Contest #20

And when they look at me, it’s like they’re staring into my soul, overbrimming with secrets they can never know. A weighted silence covers the room like the sheet that was placed over my mother when she died. They don’t know what I know, but they know it’s there. I’m not telling them anything. One of them has eyes that are a stunning shade of green. Like grass covered in dewdrops during early sunrise. I don’t trust him. I don’t believe any of them. I don’t plan on breaking the silence. I’ve been here forever, I know how it works, a battle of...

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“Baby Doll's Blues” by Jenita Lawal

Submitted to Contest #20

Growing up, she just wanted to wear pretty dresses and sing the blues. As she sat on the train with her four children, the youngest in her lap and the other three sitting across from her, that girl from Hollandale, Mississippi felt like a complete stranger. Her life playing out like the old familiar tunes of the Delta Blues.“Baby Doll!” Mama Sull yelled from the back porch, the rickety boards creaking in protest as she walked to the side of the porch. “Baby Doll!”“Ma’am!” Baby Doll called in response, hopping off her perch on the wooden fenc...

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“First Flight” by Paige Duffy

Submitted to Contest #20

I open my eyes, and the world is bright. The sky, a pale blue, is stamped with white wisps flowing by at such a reduced speed, I watch them carefully to ensure they are, in fact, moving. I look about and note something unusual. The walls are still the same: tan and brown, various shades of the same bland colour, but secure and safe, protecting me. The soft brown carpeting, flecked with white and black broken shards of something—still the same. Everything is as it should be, except I am alone. Mother and father are gone. Sister and brother ar...

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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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