Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#280: Talk That Talk

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyTalk to share your stories (and potentially get featured on our social accounts)!

As an aspiring author, one story element I constantly struggle with is dialogue. Writing realistic, engaging dialogue is no easy feat — but when done well, it can help readers get to know your characters better, advance your plot, and improve the overall pace of your story.

This week, let’s challenge ourselves by composing stories focused on dialogue. Who knows? You might discover something new about your characters based on what they say (or don’t say)!

This week's prompts

Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!)

Dialogue – 185 stories

Start or end your story with a character asking a question.

Dialogue – 78 stories

Write a story in which two or more people have a conversation — without using any quotation marks.

Dialogue – 36 stories

Center your story around a character who overhears others talking about them.

Dramatic – 37 stories

Write a story that includes someone (or something) saying, “No, don’t!”

Dramatic – 44 stories

Stories

“Whispers from Thunder Valley” by TruthSeekers Ministries

Submitted to Contest #280

"Marshal, got three riders approaching from the south. They're flying Union colors." "Any sign of the gold shipment with them?" "No sir. Just the riders. Moving fast too." "Open the gates. Something ain't right." "Marshal! Marshal Harrison! They hit us at Thunder Pass!" "Slow down, Lieutenant. Catch your breath. What happened to the rest of your unit?" "Ambushed. The whole convoy. Never saw them coming." "The Confederates?" "No sir. It was Shaw's gang. At least thirty men strong now." "Impossible. Shaw's dead. I put him in the ground myself ...

Read story

“That or This” by Alex Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #280

“Nothing is better than a gentle breeze that makes your body feel like it belongs in the air, soaring with the wind across the sky.” “Yet, nothing is worse than harsh winds that make you feel out of place and suddenly disconnected.” “This difference reveals the truth about us: even a gentle breeze shows our true essence.” "Listen... listen to this." "Hear what? I don't hear anything." "Oh god! Oh, here it comes again, listen!" "You know what? I'm getting out of here now!" "No, no. Just stay and wait!...

Read story

“Was It Worth It?” by Maudie Daun

Submitted to Contest #280

Content warning: Strong languageWas it worth it?Was, what—worth it?Was it worth losing the friendship and your family?I don’t know…what kind of question is that?It’s a simple question, John. It’s not hard.Well—I don’t know how you want me to answer that, Sarah—Now, please lower your voice…I don’t want to wake the kids—Ha—Wake the kids; they already know! Sophie wants to know why she can’t play with her best friend, John.God—I fucking hate when you do that, Sarah…Do what—? If you can’t lower your voice, I don’t want to continue on with t...

Read story

“The Clerk, The Snob, The Key” by Rebecca Corbeil-Schleicher

Submitted to Contest #280

By Rebecca Corbeil “Hi. How can I help you today?” “I’m here to get my dry cleaning.” "Do you have your claim ticket?” “Are you kidding me? Let me look in my purse. I’m in a real hurry. This is so stupid… Look, I can’t find it, just get my clothes. They’ll be easy to find, they’re probably the nicest clothes that have ever been in this store.” “Ok. I’ll need your name and some kind of photo identification.” “Kimberly Thompson. Would you hurry things along, ’cause I really don’t have time for this? Do you really need ID?” “Yes I do.” “Just go...

Read story

“Bafts!” by Chloé LaGreve

Submitted to Contest #280

*contains profanity and alludes to violence*~~~ - I don't think you should. - ... - I really don't think you should. - Get your anxiety under control. - Do you know the consequences of doing something like this? - Do you know the consequences of not doing it? - We could die. - ... - We could die. - So many more can die if we don't. - You're not thinking. - You're being selfish. - Selfish?! - Did you ever consider that we're here because we're heroes? - ...

Read story

“Speaking to You, While You're Speaking to Me, and Wondering About All the Things That Might Have Been” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #280

A: Hello.B: Hello.A: You…what are you doing here?B: Visiting.A: Huh.B: My dad…he’s…A: Oh. Oh, right. I heard. I’m sorry.B:…yea.A: How’s he doing?B: Not great. It…it could be any day now.A: I knew he was sick. But I…I didn’t put the pieces together. I mean. I should have, but-B: Do you want to get a coffee?A: Now?B: Yea.A: I should pay for these first.B: Right. Of course. Me too. But after?A: Um. Sure.B: Great. That’s…Good. Ok. I’ll meet you outside.A: Ok.B: You look good.A: So do you.B: This coffee is as horrible as I remember.A: The worst.B...

Read story

“BJ in the Park” by Ralph Emery Barhydt

Submitted to Contest #280

Sexual encounter Hi, I really like your dress. Oh yeah. Are you a dress maker? A designer A playboy? What? None of the above. I’m just a guy with an eye. Aha. I am going to let that one ride. Thank you for the compliment. Have a nice day. Wait. I have more. You’re beautiful, I can tell you are quite intelligent. Clearly you dress and I noticed that you are an elegant walker. And I can leap over tall buildings in a single bounce. God man, are you obtuse or what? Well, look, it’s not my fault that you are so beautiful. I just...

Read story

“Warp speed, Mr Chekov” by Alex Marmalade

Submitted to Contest #280

Welcome to Horizon Utilities. For quality assurance, this call may be recorded. Please tell me how I can help you today. I want to speak to a Representative. I understand you’d like to speak to a representative. To better direct your call, please briefly describe the reason for your inquiry. Representative. I’m not describing anything. Just get me to a person. I’m here to help you save time. Are you calling about your bill, a service outage, or something else? I just said I want to…Billing. Thank you. I’ll connect you to our automated billin...

Read story

“Visits” by Pei Pei Lin

Submitted to Contest #280

What are you doing here?I could ask you the same thing.I mean, you didn't tell me that you're back.Well, I don't need your permission to visit our dead Father's grave.That's not what I meant.What are you doing here then?I thought I'd bring some fresh flowers.Funny how you care so much about it now.Really?! Remind me who it was that took care of him during his final days?If you can call that taking care of somebody.You weren't even here!Because I have a job to do! Because we trusted you!I reported EVERYTHING to you! You didn't fly back then, ...

Read story

“Manzanillo Nights” by Ty Thompson

Submitted to Contest #280

“Que cojones está pasando, Mariko?! Que pasa si ellas regresan?” “If they come back then I might be able to tell you what the hell is going on. But they’re not coming back. Unfortunately.” “Los mataste?” “One of them, yes. But it was kind of his own fault.” “For attacking you?” “What? No. For shooting the gas tank of the boat I was hiding in. There was a small explosion as I jumped clear, and then it fell off the lift and onto him.” “Ay Dios mi, that’s terrible. And the other guy?” “He ran off when he saw the boat rampage.” “So you’ll go loo...

Read story

“A Conversation About Nothing” by Karen Gregory

Submitted to Contest #280

You’re a Gregory, my father said as he took another swig of his old fashioned. That’s the problem. You’re just like me. How’s your drink. Do you like it?I looked down at my glass filled with what can only be described as a bastardized old fashioned: three ounces of expensive bourbon mixed with maraschino cherry juice, topped with Sprite, and two bright red cherries. It’s sweet and sticky, like a quarter-machine gumball. But I don’t often get to drink with my father. Yeah, it’s good. You know, kid. I wasn’t sure if you were going to make...

Read story

“Christmas Dream” by Isobel Cunningham

Submitted to Contest #280

CHRISTMAS DREAM?Isn’t it great to have the park right at your doorstep? It was true. The park close to Holly’s new condo was a great consolation. As her daughter had put it so persuasively, “It’s very convenient, Mum. To your right the shopping center and to your left the lovely park for your nice walks.:Like coaxing an old dog, Holly had thought, “Walkies girl, come on!” They were all right, of course. She couldn’t quite manage her house and the garden any more. The condo was close enough to her daughter’s place – but not too close fo...

Read story

“It All Comes Undone” by Katie Sayers

Submitted to Contest #280

I never walk into a room hoping that someone will show me every single mundane detail of their home. Yet here I am, trailing behind my new ditz of a coworker, feigning interest in her kitschy mementos from unremarkable trips, and poorly done DIY renovations. Unless you have a stack of gold bars in your basement or a clone of Elvis Presley in the living room, I don’t care. We flit from room to room until we end up at her office, her “pièce de résistance” as she calls it. I think it’s a pièce of garbage. The room is small, only about 100 squar...

Read story

“What Others Have Forgotten” by Raye McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #280

“What does ‘hardihood’ mean?” Glen’s voice carried softly through the great cave to where Steelio sat on a fur seat, dozing. Steelio Windfacer hated children. He hated crying and giggling and kid-germs and everything else about them. As a rule, he wouldn’t even talk to someone unless they were old enough to grow a beard. But despite his disdain for younglings, this one was his own. The child, Glen Copperfield-Woods, was not Steelio’s child by blood. He was the son of a young couple of musicians who liv...

Read story

“Mr. Blue ” by Elisabeth Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #280

“What are you thinking about?”He looks at her, his eyes clouded with confusion. For a moment, he examines her, as though Ramona were and abstract figure whose shape he could only discern by squinting.“I’m just… hoping the fishermen are okay.”“Why wouldn’t they be?”“Because of the weather. It’s really cloudy. If it rains, it could be dangerous for them out on the open sea.”Ramona considers his response.“They’ll be fine,” she says. “They’re professionals. They know what to do when the weather’s like this, right?”Her father looks at her again, ...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

380

Contest entries

138

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 13, 2024 EST

Won by Jay Wayne 🏆

Title: 45 Seconds

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢