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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#216: Show, Don't Tell

As autumn marches on, we once again find ourselves back to work and study, hopefully filled with renewed energy and the desire to write. But before we start typing away, why not revisit some craft fundamentals?

"Show, don't tell," is age-old advice that encourages writers to tell stories through sensory details, actions, and images, rather than exposition. But that’s easier said than done. The best way to incorporate it into your writing is to practice.

With that in mind, you might enjoy our free 10-day email course on Show, Don't Tell, along with this week's prompts, which are inspired by it and invite you to refine this foundational storytelling skill.

This week's prompts

Start your story in a coffee shop without using obvious words to describe it (e.g. barista, coffee cup.)

Narrative – 69 stories

Write a scene in which a character’s behavior or reaction to something is affected by a past experience — without saying what that experience was.

Character – 51 stories

Include dialogue that shows that a character is socially awkward.

Dialogue – 28 stories

Include a scene in your story in which a character's body language conveys their hidden emotions.

Character – 25 stories

Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Narrative – 111 stories

Stories

“Duck” by Nick Haynes

Submitted to Contest #216

I served as Tony Two Shoe Junior’s driver for over 25 years, and I drove his father before him. I saw a lotta things in my time driving for those two but nothin I couldn’t handle. The odd night trip or two, court dates, Hell I even drove senior’s hearse to the burial, and then junior back home after. More than anything else though I served as a hunting partner. See both Junior and Senior loved to hunt birds and went every Saturday morning. You want to know what he asked me my first week driving for him? He asked why I thought that Mall...

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“Bizarre Tuesday Café” by Alexey Dirigo

Submitted to Contest #216

Sophie, a city girl, accompanied her mother to the countryside for a month due to her mother’s urgent business matters. As she settled into her rural life, Sophie quickly grew bored due to the lack of internet. She decided to find a job in the town. Her effort was almost fruitless until she met Mr. Henry, who was wiping a coffee cup, at his counter, in a café in the middle of nowhere. There was nobody except for Mr. Henry, and a young male worker named Kyle, who was sweeping the floor.Mr. Henry had a meticulously groomed moustache that grace...

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“Project Un: Jeffery” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #216

TW: Violence and gore. Disturbing imagery “Many have left religion to the wayside, claiming intellect is all one needs. But without religion, where is the solace for the damned?” - Captain’s log, R. Gunson, Paradigm Prime [Subject: A.T.A.03] [Bio: Test Subject 03 of the Aexian Trials] [Vital Status: Stable] [Chamber status: Sufficient] [Archive LT: Live] [Designation: Protocol 03_Solitary Confinement] Jeffery woke to a gust of cold air. It was always cold in his room. His feet stuck out over the edge of the bed and his bed sheet was...

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“THE COACH IN THE MIST” by David Holmes

Submitted to Contest #216

THE COACH IN THE MISTThe crew was exhausted. It had been a long hard, 5-day slog to get what they wanted. And they were ready for landing at their home and home comforts; looking forward to wives, girlfriends and long cool drinks; not caring by this time about the quality or integrity of their individual and combined efforts. Those had long been discussed and conjectured about hours earlier during their buffeting and uncomfortable journey back.Suddenly, dragging each one of them out of intermittent bouts of sleep, there was an electronic cli...

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“Ziena's Choice” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #216

Grand Regent Ziena, stood on the viewing deck of a regime ship. It dragged a shadow that blocked out the sun for the forces below in the trenches and gun positions and turned more heads than the enemy. The artillery shelled, and scorched landscape was a depressing sight to Ziena. At this point, this valley should have been in full fall bloom like the small bit of her planet that they still resided on. Whatever I decide, these will be our final days, she thought. Her eyes carried up to the emperor. He was l...

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“The Vanishing: The Enigma of Willowbrook's Woods” by Francisco Valdez

Submitted to Contest #216

The small town of Willowbrook was known for its picturesque charm, nestled amidst rolling hills and surrounded by dense forests. It was a place where everyone knew everyone else, where children played freely in the streets, and where life moved at a slow, steady pace. But beneath its tranquil facade, a mystery loomed that would shake the community to its core. It all began on a warm summer afternoon when Sarah O'Connor, a 32-year-old schoolteacher, went for her usual hike in the woods. She was an avid nature enthusiast and had explored eve...

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“Tempted, by the fruit of another...” by Hector Luna

Submitted to Contest #216

A stunningly gorgeous blonde opens my office door and leans in to whisper, “I have to cancel tonight and this weekend.” I smile as I lean across my desk and quietly ask, “why are we whispering?” Jill, my wife, starts to giggle. “Oops, thought you were on the phone. You typically close the door when you’re on speakerphone.” Ugh. I forgot about the door again. “Yeah, that call was an hour ago. What do you mean you have to cancel?” I try not to let my disappointment show as I straighten up. She points at a calendar on my wall behind h...

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“Lily and the White Stuff” by Pines Callahan

Submitted to Contest #216

Lily and the White Stuff There was something sweet, white and sticky all over my face, and I never wanted to stop eating it. The paper tube it came in was empty, but I could still taste a hint of pure joy when I licked the inside. I decided I should probably eat the tube, too. Not as tasty, but I liked the texture. Four out of ten. The human with the soft hands and voice, my new human, didn’t like that. She took the tube out of my mouth. Confused, I grudgingly allowed it. “Bad dog, that’s not food!” Bad dog? Ugh, it was hard...

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“Why Don't You Visit?” by Jacob Chagoya

Submitted to Contest #216

My head droops, eyes fighting for their life as I try to stay awake. I will remember; I will be aware. I repeat the words over and over as my eyelashes flutter, but just as soon as those words trail away from my mind do I snap awake and shake the square table with my knee. The noise of casual chatter hits my ears before the smell of energy hits my nose. I wrinkle my face, wondering why I am here. I hate studying in places like this, and I hate studying late, and I haven’t been here since he left me. I gather my bearings as I try to re...

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“The Sun of Ipanema.” by Emanuel Diaz

Submitted to Contest #216

Amidst the searing brilliance of a world where the light itself seemed to dance in fevered ecstasy, Antonio Morales Gimbel sat, his gaze fixed on the swirling, molten currents of life that stretched as far as the eye could see. He was Kuat, the sun god of the Mamaiurans, an Amazon Indian tribe nestled deep within the heart of Brazil's lush wilderness. In this fiery domain, where the very concept of temperature lost its meaning, Antonio waited, for he knew that here, in this celestial furnace, the boundaries between time and space were as e...

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“A Done Deal” by R. B. Leyland

Submitted to Contest #216

There she sat, the tickling sensation building into a crescendo as the sweat bead finally reached the end of her nose and dropped in to the cup of horrific black liquid beneath her. She didn't even bother wiping the next bead that began its trek, knowing that the sign of discomfort would be seen as nothing more than a weakness by the being she had come to meet. Around her, people bustled and shoved, slaves to the modern day need to have routine in the blandness of their lives. Many waited in line, the ones at the back turning in disgust as ...

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“Enid's Recklessness” by Pasqueline Agostinho

Submitted to Contest #216

(TW// self-harm, alcohol abuse, illness and death) Enid had woken up from a coma with her daughter holding her hand tightly. Her daughter became overjoyed in relief that she was finally conscious and hugged her firmly, but Enid hastily punched the back of her head. At that instant, Enid’s daughter jumped right back up, staring at her mother in shock with her eyes wide-open as well as her eyebrows frowning, taking a few steps back. Enid released her oxygen mask powerfully and glared at her daughter in trepidation, vigorously shaking her hea...

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“Ordeal of Unknown Origin” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #216

He was an odd bird. Everyone was sure his military file was as thick as a preacher’s Bible, but no one said a thing about his ordeal from the war, because his thin face would become haunted and spooky whenever someone mentioned it. Everyone in town knew something was seriously wrong with Oliver Prichard after he was discharged from the army, because you’d have to walk on eggshells around him. “I think he was a POW.” Reginald Manning, the proprietor of the general store on Main Street would remark whenever he saw Ollie exit...

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“The Concert” by Clare Horwood

Submitted to Contest #216

The Concert Amid the noise of the excited schoolchildren, she got out her phone and saw there was a text awaiting her. “We are here too, in carriage one”. Getting up from her seat she weaved her way through to the front carriage and there were Julie and Sandy . Greetings all round , gossip catch up and then arrival at the terminus. There was a decision as to whether to take the lift or the stairs up to street level, but determined to prove t...

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“Imagining Alison” by Cathy Shipos

Submitted to Contest #216

I almost don’t hear the knock. I’m in the kitchen, Pandora playing loudly as I chop onions and grate ginger. The second knock is harder, faster. Clearly not part of Phil Collins’ drum solo.“Just a minute,” I call, trying to imagine who’d be at my door. The young woman I spy through the window doesn’t clear it up for me, but she does look vaguely familiar. Her long legs shift from side to side, one bony hip and then the other thrusting out of threadbare jeans. Her eyes dart, taking in the manicured lawn, the garden pond, the high peaks of the...

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$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

115

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 22, 2023 EST

Won by Hazel Ide 🏆

Title: Long Live the King

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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