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#238 Aposiopesis

An ancient figure of speech, literally meaning “becoming silent,” aposiopesisis a very fancy word for a very common predicament. Aposiopesis occurs when a sentence breaks off and is left unfinished, suggesting the speaker is too overwhelmed to go on. Think “I’m so angry, I could —”, “You don’t think they…?”, or “I just thought…”

This week’s prompts are inspired by unfinished utterances, communication catastrophes, and those times when you just can’t quite...

This week's prompts

Start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion.

Angst – 88 stories

Write a story in which a conversation takes place where the true subject is only implied.

Dialogue – 39 stories

Write a story including the line “I can’t say it.”

Dialogue – 56 stories

Write a story in which an important message is cut off, leaving characters to wonder or puzzle out what was left unsaid.

Mystery – 48 stories

Set your story at a silent retreat.

Angst – 44 stories

Stories

"It"

Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #238

“It”Tormented by the thought, dreading the moment, awaiting the inevitable, peace evades me. Morning, noon, and night, here, there, and everywhere, the specter haunts me. I’ve always known the Why. It was the What, When, and Where that disrupt my life’s journey, and of course, the fear of the great unknown, a/k/a “it”.“It”- used with many verbs as a direct object with little or no meaning- Merriam-Webster.“Timmy! If you do that again, I’m going to… well, you’re really going to get it!”“When your Father gets home, he will… well, you’ll see. Y...

35 likes

Our Dear Defarted

Submitted to Contest #238

“Wot are you implying, Vicar?” “You tell me.” “Tell you what?” “What do you think it’s about?” “I dunno. You tell me.” “Look, I know it was you. We all know it was you.” “You’re implying it was me. It could have been anyone around me.” “Then why did your row part on either side of you, as if Moses had just turned up at the Red Sea?” “You’re pointing your finger at me.” “Does it suddenly create the urge to pull it?” “I’m not crude like that.” “Crude is crude – whether demonstrative or not, and this whole conversation of who-did-what-when, and...

34 likes

Cece Spills

Chelsey B

Submitted to Contest #238

Cece rose with the sun. She bounded into her parents’ bedroom and leaped up on the bed. “Hi, Mommy!” she chirped. Cece pulled back the covers. She was confused to find that the bed was empty. Dad was probably at work, but where was Mom? “Mommy?” she called out. Cece jumped off the mattress and landed with a thud on the floor. She ran down the hallway. “Mom? MOOOOM!” she cried. Cece kicked the bathroom door open and peeked inside. “Mom?” she shouted again. Her voice echoed in the empty room. Cece heard a door open behind her. ...

34 likes

The River of Vipassana

Submitted to Contest #238

I have an allergic response to woo-woo stuff, so the last thing I want to do is spend a week and a half wooing around with a bunch of woo-woos in Peru. But things are going completely off the rails. Everything is on the table.“Alexa. Brew espresso,” I say, shouting at a receiver down the hall of my luxury canal-side flat on Orsman Road in Shoreditch, London. My DeLonghi Magnifica espresso maker hums and whirs. Pulling the sheets over my head, I reach to the other side of the bed and grab my iPhone. What have we here?The notifications from th...

33 likes

Expression

Story Time

Submitted to Contest #238

She kept pretending to look as though she wanted to talk. Everyone around her was clearly struggling, and here she was, finding no difficulty at all in staying silent. Whenever someone around her opened their month, she could see the red light registering behind their eyes. Oh no, I mustn't speak. When Charlene opened her mouth, it was only to convey an expression. Of shock. Of surprise. Of putting together a mathematical equation. It was not to speak. It was never to speak. Charlene had not spoken around other people for a few years now. On...

32 likes

Prodigy

Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #238

As if running a gauntlet, a night train speeds on gravity tracks between crumbling high-rises. Flame scarred brick apartment buildings stand like forgotten tombstones. Rubble spills onto wet black streets, a dream-like sheen. Graffiti streaks by spelling out bloated warnings, the train moving too fast to decipher the message.With rhythmic shudders, the train slows and enters a tunnel beneath the Hudson. Soon, a landing platform appears in stark white lights. The train breaks to a stop, the Grand Central Complex.A young man and woman de-board...

31 likes

A Quiet Weekend

Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #238

Giving me a conspiratorial smirk, Emma says, “If you are dating Jasmine, there’s something you need to know—”. “ — Shhh!” A Buddhist monk hushes her, a finger at his lips. Emma’s now strained smile hints at her want to have told me something of consequence. Under the watchful gaze of the monk, she drifts off toward breakfast. **Upon our arrival the prior morning, our devices and laptops were taken away by orange robed monks. Honestly, it felt as if we were in a Buddhist led mass kidnapping, rather than attending an expens...

31 likes

Eagles Sky Dance

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #238

Eagles dancing in the sky help inspire threads of connections, weaving together the lives of an Oregon Coast lighthouse keeper and a woman on the East Coast.A copy of the 1898 Matrimonial Bazar publication for personal ads sat on Elias's desk.Below the heading, it said,”Our aim is high: To increase the number of home firesides, increase the happiness of other people, in short, to do what we can in mitigating woe and loneliness in any sphere or grade of life. To cultivate the aims of life and help men and women into a state of bliss. Yours re...

30 likes

A Life Without Donut Holes

Brianna J. Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #238

She can feel her heart pounding. Under nervous, knotted brows, Claire’s eyes are glued to a box of untouched donut holes sitting on an oak-top kitchen bar. The frosted pastries stare mutely back as she takes a shallow breath and admits a truth that could ruin everything, “Ethan, I don’t want donut holes.” There’s a stale, drawn-out pause. Tentatively, she peeks up to see his reaction. Surprised and confusion sweep across his face. She can see his mind processing behind his dark lashes and dancing caramel eyes. After what feels like...

30 likes

Choices

Nicole Ashcraft

Shortlisted for Contest #238 ⭐️

“I’m just too tired to…” Her eyes landed on his face as she rolled over. She saw the expectation that lingered there in the lines between his furrowed brows. It traveled up into the creases of his forehead, pointedly asking, ‘Well?’“Either way, I might die,” she said quietly, flipping the pillow to lay on her back. She stared at the spot where the ceiling met the tattered rosebud-patterned wallpaper she once loved. They picked it out for their wedding registry at that little shop on South Houston St. while arguing playfully in the tiny aisle...

30 likes

Fated.

Lara Deppe

Submitted to Contest #238

Lily is the woman I have been looking for my entire life. She thinks we met two years ago. Almost four years ago, I saw her from the window of a tiny café, across from her gym, as she burst out the door with workout bag in hand, another day bag thrown over her shoulder, hair thrown up in a partial bun with trailing strands of hair (curling by her ears in tiny sweaty ringlets), phone in hand trying to plug an earbud in her ear with her right hand, fumbling for her keys with her left hand in the side of her bag while trying to hydrate from ...

29 likes

The Silent Killer

Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #238

Running through the woods, I was in a mad panic. Damn. Lydia was going to have my head for this, that’s for sure. I couldn’t believe I overslept on the morning of her weekly staff meeting. Get ready, girl, it’s about to hit the fan. I entered the staff building and ran down the steps two at a time saying a little prayer that I didn’t fall and break my neck.Entering the dark cramped room, I found the staff lined up in their uniforms with their hands behind their backs. Lydia, walking back and forth in front of t...

29 likes

Expiration Date

Kristina Hopper

Submitted to Contest #238

The sky was pitch black. The air was still. There was no distinguishing reason foreseen. It was a vast desert land; the lack of life was not visibly suspicious. The only oddity was the time of day. The watch on Cassidy’s wrist read three in the afternoon. The flashlight, that normally resided in her backpack, was in her hand, lighting the way. She had also shone the light on her watch, to determine the time. She trudged through the desert land, step by step. It did strike her for a second that the sky being pitch black was a concerning event...

28 likes

The Writers Workshop At Lake Manitoba

Marty B

Submitted to Contest #238

A grin exploded across his face as Harold Jones walked through the rows of desks to the front of the class to receive his award for the best story of the day. He could be a great writer, knew he had amazing stories stacked up inside him like shelves in a library, but just couldn’t get them them. He had always known this Writers retreat, held at the historic Arts Building at the University of Manitoba, would be the key to unlocking his success, and he finally was on his way. The writers gave up technology to create stories...

27 likes

The Fulfillment

Nicolle C

Submitted to Contest #238

Swathes of red and blue intermittently flooded my vision. Beneath the flimsy plastic, my limbs still pulsed with adrenaline. Initially, the barrage of sirens and shouts was an audible assault, but now my thundering heart drowned most of it out. An officer loomed over me, his mouth forming words that failed to reach my ears. The paramedics seemed to retort, much to his chagrin. I cast my gaze upon the modern structure ahead, an incandescent glow piercing the night. Panels of glass stared back like watchful eyes, knowing the truth of what lay ...

26 likes

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Contest #239

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

275

Entries

91

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 23, 2024 EST

Won by Weronika L 🏆

Title: Five Turns of the Hourglass

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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