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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

“Conversations between a wolf and a deer” by R S

Submitted to Contest #280

-I knew I'd find you here.-The birds stopped singing. It's too quiet now. I can hear you watching me.-What?-The birds stopped singing. -Is it my fault?-Maybe. What happened to your face?-What's wrong with my face?-You have the eyes of a predator.-No I don't.-Yes you do. Whose eyes are you wearing?-My own. -Those aren't your eyes. I know what your eyes look like too well. Whose eyes are you wearing?-What do my eyes look like? -What?-You said you know my eyes well. -Too well.-Yes. What do they look like?-You don't know? -You seem to know bette...

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“Believe” by Jay McCoy

Submitted to Contest #280

“I don’t know if I can do this, Mom. Not without him. And the kids—” “Shh. I know it will be hard, honey. The kids will get through it, and so will you.’ “I just. Why? Why him?” “Only God can answer that question, Becca.” *** “Andrew! Jacob! Hurry or we’ll miss Santa!” “Coming, Mom! Come on, Jacob. Mom’s downstairs waiting.” “Okay, Andy. Is Grandma coming with us?” “I think so.” “Do you know what you’re going to ask Santa for?” “I don’t know.” “I know ‘xactly what I’m gonna ask him for.” “Yeah, what’s that?” “I can’t tell you, Andy, or it wo...

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“Sonata No. 33 in E minor, Op. posthumous, “Tail Light”” by Drew Herman

Submitted to Contest #280

– You’re late.– I was composing.– Decomposing.– Bah. You make this same joke every time.– You’re late every time.– And now you will make the “late” joke. This joke makes no sense.– Because your English isn’t that great.– And you will not use German. Or French or Italian.– You don’t like it when I pick stuff out of your mind. Besides, I have to concentrate on driving.– Concentrate? You missed the exit for 278.– We’re taking 87.– 278 is faster.– Not southbound. You just like it because it’s the “Bruckner” Expressway.– Anton is a genius. He und...

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“ETERNITY” by David D'EttoreUser

Submitted to Contest #280

ETERNITY “The ambulance is here for you.” I heard a voice and there was a bright light, but nothing else. “What do you mean?” I asked. “I don’t see an ambulance and there’s no one around.” “That’s because you’re dead,” the voice replied. I was stunned for a moment until I realized that I had no feeling. &...

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“An Adventure of Zacharia Zook III” by Graham Toseland

Submitted to Contest #280

“Zack? Are you there?” Deena’s high-pitched voice crackled with static. “Grrnnnn. What is it?” I croaked into my comms as I strained. Shipboard rations played hell with my digestive system, and it had been a couple of days since the last time I’d gotten to the head. I could feel my ass going numb from sitting so long. Soooo long. “You need to come to the bridge.” “Hrrrrnnn. Why? Awwhhhh.” I sighed long and loud. The sense of relief at finally achieving splashdown flooded my body. “Just get up here… now.” Deena’s silken yet panic-stricken vo...

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“The Abhartach Comes to Visit” by Rory O'Dell

Submitted to Contest #280

‘Where are we going?’ Cora asked. ‘Put your shoes on.’ Theodore dropped a pair of pristine boots at her feet. She began to shove her feet through the holes. Her mind drifted to a trip to the town which might end, if she begged enough, with a stop at the sweet shop.‘I have an errand to run.’The afternoon was blustery even in the sheltered rolling hills. The carriage rocked over bumps and dips in the gravely road, as they descended into the exposed valley towards the sea. Cora’s hopes were slashed. They were headed far away from town, dee...

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“Maybe” by Anthony Saint

Submitted to Contest #280

“Are you dreaming?” she asked.“I can’t be,” I said. “I’m sure of it. We’ve spent the whole day together. Haven’t we?”We hadn’t. That would be impossible. Only possible in a dream. My dreams are cruel. In them, I am always the last to know I’m dreaming. I stupidly accept the pleasant impossibilities before me only to bump into reality. I never learn. I jumped on the lucid dreaming wagon years ago and fell off after so many months. My journal entries to induce the lucidity devolved into a collection of memories I’ve never had and words I never...

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“The Girl With the Monkey Tattoo” by Lara Lenhoff

Submitted to Contest #280

TW: Mature and misogynistic contentI met Larissa on the evening of her thirty-first birthday. I was on a date with her friend Karen who I met on Match.com, and even though I was slightly apprehensive about going to this girl’s apartment that I didn’t know, on the phone Larissa had convinced Karen to come by and say hi and have a few drinks with her other guests. She had just gotten back from the tattoo shop with her friends Ben and Steve and wanted Karen to see the tattoo of the monkey she got on her back. Cute.Karen and I were at the F...

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“Gloria” by Christee Fontanez

Submitted to Contest #280

Content warning: Substance abuse, sexual encounter, self-image issues“Hey, Gloria, last call. You want another?” the bartender glances at the clock and calls out to the woman perched at the end of the bar. Her head swirling in a blue-grey cloud of cigarette smoke as she exhales.The jukebox crackles with a Laura Branigan tune, “Gloria”; the sound of the '80s echoing in a bar that hasn’t seen a renovation since that time. The dark wood interior, faded beer signs, and outdated light fixtures feel like a specter of a forgotten place.She looks up...

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“What Lies Behind Her Mirror” by TruthSeekers Ministries

Submitted to Contest #280

Detective Sarah Chen stared at the ornate Victorian mirror, its silver surface reflecting nothing but shadows in the dim light of the abandoned mansion. Three days, three women missing, and all connected to this house. The mirror seemed to mock her with its emptiness. "Find anything?" Detective Mike Rodriguez's voice echoed from the hallway. "Just another dead end," Sarah replied, but something about the mirror kept drawing her attention. The curved floral patterns along its frame seemed to shift in her peripheral vision, but when she looked...

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“Will You Ever Forgive Me?” by T J

Submitted to Contest #280

“How do I even begin to apologise for something like this?” The words tumbled out in a hoarse whisper. The pen trembled in Nathan’s hand as he stared at the dining table, cluttered with crumpled drafts. He forced his hand to move, pressing the pen's tip to the paper. His hand unsteady, he wrote: You don’t know me, but I know who you are. My name is Nathan Caldwell. I was there the day your daughter died. He pressed the heel of his hand against his temple, squeezing his eyes shut as memories crashed over him—his thumb on a detonator, then an...

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“Spelling bee ” by Em Everheart

Submitted to Contest #280

Balancing a plate of cookies with one hand, I knocked on the heavy wooden door with the other. For a long moment, silence reigned, broken only by the faint shuffling of feet from the apartment next to the Millers. Thinking the young woman I’d only seen in passing might not be home, I sighed in disappointment and turned to leave.The other families in the complex had mentioned that she was a beautiful young woman, often seen only in the early mornings or late afternoons. She barely had conversations, even with the people working at the conveni...

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“ Contagious ” by Steven Sommer

Submitted to Contest #280

My name is Chadwick. And I have a question for you? Is it possible that a single act of kindness can be contagious. I’m here in my office on the 9th floor. Looking down on the hustle and bustle of the street below. when an old movie I had watched a few months ago popped in my head. The movie was called “invasion USA” made in 1956, I think. It was one of those “what if” type scenarios. Even though it was about the war effort. I was thinking how that scenario could play out in everyday life. So, in My head. I ran one pos...

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“THE QUESTION” by Frances Goulart

Submitted to Contest #280

THE QUESTION I’m serious, George. What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s not so silly a question. Don’t just shake your head like that! Yes, we are different. But we are together, you know? You have your life and I have mine and I don’t share everything with you, either, but you are small and young and have your whole life ahead of you. I can’t help but wonder how you see yourself as a grownup, you know? I should be able to read the answer in your eyes. I love your eyes,...

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“The Fifth of November” by Max Gabriel

Submitted to Contest #280

Hamza The fifth of November? Yes, I remember. There was a small get together. I stayed in my rooms at the far end of the left corridor there’s a bedroom, bathroom and separate living area from morning until the guests arrived closer to dusk. I put on a blazer I found in one of the closets. It was gray, corduroy, surprisingly nice fit, with a yellow handkerchief. I digress. Who was there? There was Josephine, Esther, of course, Merlin, and myself. Although, I have only been residing here since the end of summer. Oh, and Henri, a black cat. Th...

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$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!

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