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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

“Capital Punishment: The Game Show” by John Rafanelli

Submitted to Contest #280

*** contains curse words “Helloooo America, are you ready for Capital Punishment?” An eccentric man screams into a gold plated microphone. He’s standing on a vibrant stage in front of a live studio audience.The audience uproars with excitement and glee. “Okay, okay everyone,” the charismatic person continues, calming everyone down. “I’m your host Felix Baldwin.” His silver hair is slicked back. He's the prototypical attractive and cheesy game show host.“Ohh Sandra,” he calls out, extending his arm to the curtain behind him. The crowd go...

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“SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, JOHN ALDEN” by Les Clark

Submitted to Contest #280

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, JOHN ALDEN ByLes Clark Sarah. Hi, it’s Lenny. I know that. I have Caller ID! Lenny, hello. How are you? Not bad. I’m lying. I need a shoulder, couch, and a confidante. I was wondering if you had a few minutes? Only a few, Len. I wish I didn’t I’m working on supper for Marvin and the girls, but I can talk and stir at the same time. Hint! Take the hint! Listen, you’re busy and I’m imposing. Oh, sure, I need help and she’s busy. Can I call you back? Lenny, that’s a better idea. Amazing you got a clue. How about calling back ...

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“The Cobra's Power” by Dastan Blades

Submitted to Contest #280

2004. The moon was hiding behind the clouds as a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class and a dark gray Range Rover Sport approached an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of Vicary City, Kansas, USA When he arrived, a tall man in his forties with blond hair, blue eyes, and slight stubble, leaned out of the Mercedes. He wore an elegant dark suit, and after resting a hand on the lowered window, he slowly stepped out of the car. That was Johnny, the leader of the Cobra clan. Not far away, a thirty-five-year-old man with shaved hair and dark eyes had a...

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“Weathering” by Epiphany Moucka

Submitted to Contest #280

Have you ever stopped and listened to the rain? I asked, looking over at you. Your blonde hair was tousled, your body covered by a striped blanket and a superman t-shirt. Long and lean and reminding me of a cirrus cloud that lay across the sky. Of course I have, you replied in that sleepy voice of yours. The blue in your eyes was darkened by exhaustion. Who hasn’t? I shrugged slightly. You’d be surprised, is all I said in reply. But what I meant was, You’d be surprised how much people miss because they aren’t paying attention. I ...

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“Burn the House Down” by Dita Dow

Submitted to Contest #280

Did you hear what happened to the old house on Birch Street?No, what?It burned down.Burned down? How?Nobody knows for sure. People are saying it was arson.Arson? That place was empty for years. Who would bother?That’s what everyone’s asking. But there were lights on the night before.Lights? You’re serious?As a heart attack. I saw it myself.You were there?Well, I was passing by. Took a shortcut through the park.And you didn’t think to tell anyone?I didn’t think it mattered. Thought maybe the city finally sent someone to clear it out.The city?...

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“dropping eaves on a hospital floor ” by Jasper Edwards

Submitted to Contest #280

Jonas reluctantly plunged his fork into part of his sausage and stuffed it into his mouth. It tasted like rubber. If only he knew what rubber tasted like? He knew the feel so he knew the texture and if he knew the texture he could sort of know the taste or what chewing on it would be like. David had been chewing on crayons the other night so chewing on rubber might obviously not seem so far fetched to some of the patients here. Jonas had looked over at his social worker Amy who had been sitting with him and she had returned his look of horro...

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“You Know the Real Story” by Addie Cox

Submitted to Contest #280

“H-hello everyone. My name is Liz Landers. And goodness, there sure are a lot of you. I’ll try to make this quick but as my mama always says when I get started nothing can shut me up again.Like one time at my Granny’s I– “Okay, I see that look you're giving me ma’am. I’ll stay on track. So about five months ago I came home from my first year of college and I was broke poor. My parents said they were gonna kick me out if I didn’t start making some money and the streets didn’t sound too comfy so I went around town looking for work. “It took a ...

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“She Digs, He Digs” by Sonia So

Submitted to Contest #280

“She Digs, He Digs” In the nightclub's oppressive embrace nestled in the heart of Paris, the air swells with a stifling weight, as discordant music pulsates with a mocking rhythm—Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” featuring Jamie Foxx. The lyrics twist and turn like a desperate plea, their shadows capering erratically as if ensnared in an infinite maze, echoing through the dimly lit space. I, Hugo, meander through these serpentine streets of Montmartre, a fragile insect caught in a tempest, a forsaken soul clutching a nearly empty bottle, spinning ...

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“"Sayemontess: The Musty Dungeons." #ReedsyTalk” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #280

Trigger Warning: This short story contains Mature Themes, some Strong Language, Sexual Content, Nudity, brief Suicidal Ideation, Alcohol Use, and Violent Content.“Sayemontess: The Musty Dungeons.”I thank the Lord for saving me from the dungeons. I was there for less than a day caught up in the labyrinth. I became heartbroken at the sight of many tortured corpses. I prayed. I prayed for my God to help me. How long must I stay here? Then I remembered I had absinthe. A gift. The perfect gift. I ingested the entire bottle straight. I could not f...

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“Through the door” by Oceane Lonneux

Submitted to Contest #280

“She’s so obedient. We never have to repeat anything. She’s not like the other kids, it’s so nice”. The first time I heard others talking about me, I was around seven years old. They seemed happy with me, with what I was doing. I liked it. I liked how their voices sounded when they were talking about me. “You need to get her into control! She’s going to fail if this continues. Do you not care about what she becomes?”.Voices started changing when I was ten years old. I wasn’t the obedient little kid any more, and it drove people c...

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“There's Not A Ghost in My House” by JC Forrest

Submitted to Contest #280

"Sally, Sally, are you running from me, Sally?""I'm not running, Jessica.""You tried to leave before I could catch you.""I'm busy, Jessica. I work.""Meaning I don't work?""Let’s say you don’t do a 9 to 5?""Oh, I work, Sally. I work plenty. I work around the clock working.""If you call what you do work.""So that's another rumor you've been spreading about me? I’m a bum now?""I don’t spread rumors, Jessica.""My name is Jesse, and you know it, since you throw it around a lot!""You’re paranoid.""Oh, really? I’m paranoid? That’s why the whole con...

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“Matt and Jack” by Dastan Blades

Submitted to Contest #280

2006. While the Cobras and Spyders were fighting their underground wars for total control of Vicary City, a family had recently moved from London to Lionwest: the Prince family. Among them was Matt, an eleven-year-old boy with dark brown bowl-cut hair and hazel-green eyes. He was a quiet kid who had a solid bond with his grandpa, Jack, who totally got him like nobody else.Jack was a psychiatrist in his seventies, rocking gray hair, blue-green eyes, and a nicely groomed white beard. The love they both had for food brought them even closer. It...

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“Quoth the Raven, "No, Don't!"” by Maria DiFranco

Submitted to Contest #280

Once upon a midnight dreary, sat myself and fair Lenore upon a bench, from a long walk we both were weary. Tenderly, our hands against one another’s, did we hold each other, hers so soft and warm. Alone we sat, on that cold night, with stars and moon above, and alone we spoke, so quietly it would not seem the hearing of our words we were capable of. Yet distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December when I asked her for her hand. “Fair Lenore,” I softly spoke, “oh, rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—may I ask of you a fa...

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“THE SUICIDE SHOP” by Gary Gallant

Submitted to Contest #280

The suicide shop When I first saw Kevin Trask, he was almost naked. Perhaps fully naked in my mind's eye, but he was wearing the skimpiest of bathing suits as he got out of his pool, stretched, and toweled himself in the noonday sun. He could have modeled for any underwear ad; he was that chiseled, with long angular lines from head to toe. I was both disappointed and relieved when he put on a purple silk robe. How appropriate, I thought, for the king of his world. He had yet to speak despite acknowledging my presence with a brief nod. H...

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“What a Kid” by Patrick Foley

Submitted to Contest #280

When I saw my son for the first time, I was at a loss for words. That didn’t stop my brain from giving it a shot anyway. “What a kid!” The words came out of me forcefully, like a bullet out of a gun, looking for any way out. What I had said in no way reflected the swarming mix of emotions I was feeling. This one kid was the production of my lifetime. I had lost everything I had ever cared about in exchange for him. I took him into my arms and cradled him with more care than I thought I was capable of. The midwife looked at me ove...

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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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