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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 – 80 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

“Mansplaining On A Tight Schedule” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #280

It’s time to get going. Can you get off your elliptical machine and get ready? I just need ten minutes more to reach my target heart rate. Can you please not push that–Don’t give me your infamous glare, just because I cut short your elliptical session. I am trying to keep this family running.Well, it was fortunate that my PT had me working on running after all, wasn’t it?I think you need to lose some belly fat first, if you want to outrun anyone. Speaking of food, tonight is pizza night, right? It's Wednesday.I’m sure we can ...

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“Social Media: Vapidity Solved” by Kate Simkins

Submitted to Contest #280

“What was that, Dad?” I asked as we were led to our table.“I said that it wasn’t like this in my day,” Dad grumbled as he removed his coat. “They’re everywhere you bloody look. People see the world through a screen nowadays, and I don’t care what anyone says. It’s not right.” Dad nodded his thanks to the waitress who had pulled out his chair.I glanced around but found I couldn’t disagree. The homey restaurant was full of people staring down at their laps. “I guess you're right.”I slid into my seat and relaxed, glad of the restaurant’s warmth...

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“The Whispers in the Hall” by Samuel Excell

Submitted to Contest #280

Ethan Harper sat in the back corner of his AP Literature class, half-listening to Mrs. Rodriguez's lecture on "The Great Gatsby." His worn copy of the novel lay open on his desk, its margins filled with his neat handwriting—observations and connections that would never be shared aloud. From his vantage point, he could observe the entire classroom without drawing attention to himself, a skill he'd perfected over his years of careful isolation. Sarah Crowder twirled her pencil absently two rows ahead, while Jason Martinez slumped forward, figh...

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“Reflections” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #280

A single bulb flickered above, casting sharp, shifting shadows across the cold, gray walls of the interrogation room. Detective Callahan leaned forward, his hands planted on the scarred metal table. His voice sliced through the thick, oppressive air. “You’re lying! One of you killed her—tell us who!” Eleanor sobbed, her chest heaving as tears carved paths down her pale cheeks. Her hands trembled, gripping the edges of her chair as if it might anchor her to reality. “No, don’t!” she cried, her voice cracking. “She’s trying to pin it on me, bu...

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“All in this together” by Orwell King

Submitted to Contest #280

“Why are we still here?”“Because we can’t leave. Not yet.”“Who says we can’t? We don’t even know what we’re waiting for.”“You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about waiting. It’s about figuring things out.”“Figuring what out? We’ve been over this a hundred times. There’s nothing left to figure out!”“You’re wrong. There’s always something left. A piece of the puzzle we’re missing.”“Puzzles are for people with time. We don’t have time.”“Hey guys, what you doing?”“Don’t you dare say that. We have all the time we need.”“Then why do I feel like t...

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“Part three ” by Ashlee Osborn

Submitted to Contest #280

Part three. Blacked out. He barged through the door and broke it. "Did you tell her?" He screamed while slapping her in the face hard. "NO!' She cried and held on to her belly. "Shes in the hospital for the love of god. She is a vegetable in a wheelchair. Because of what you did. He was a paranoid schizophrenic. He smashed up her house. Leaving his pregnant girlfriend in tears as now in debt as she would have to pay for the damages. She had a black eye. Realizing that she had to call the police on him. This wasn't th...

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“Confession” by Jeff Stone

Submitted to Contest #280

confession “Let us start with a prayer, Miss St. James — heavenly Father, lend your favor and blessings to your loyal servants as we conduct Melody’s first holy confession and reconciliation; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” “How long will this take, Father?” “I’d normally say, ‘as long as it needs to,’ Miss St. James, but we do want to get to all of your classmates today, don’t we?” ...

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“Attic Talk” by Celia Miles

Submitted to Contest #280

Attic Talk “Hey, look at this. I was some kind of cute back then, even with that beehive hairdo.” “You were flirting with the damn photographer. On our honeymoon.” “In one second, one glance, you can tell that? You didn’t even look–” “I looked. Is this trash going? It’s nothing but old cards and stuff. My God, you must have saved every card you ever got.” “Everyone WE ever got. And all four valentines you gave me.” “I was working overtime those first years. And a valentine cost about as much as my lunch, if you remember. You didn’t have ...

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“Too-Cute Twin Talk” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #280

Too-Cute Twin Talk “Shush. Did you hear that?”“Huh? What? You waking me up again? Isn't it enough you always have an elbow in my ear? How am I supposed to hear anything? That sound is always there. Shush, shush, shush. It lures me to sleep.”“This time it's more than that. Now listen real hard.”“Thump. Thumpity thump. Thump. Thumpity thump. That one is constant, too. Now leave me alone. And there is no room to change position. Stay where you are. Ow! You're always kicking me in the worse places.”“This is the only place we have ever been. Not ...

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“Bright Light” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #280

“Welcome back to the land of the living! Now that you’re awake, sit up and put your seat belt on lad. There’s still a long road ahead.”“Wha…Dad? Is that you? Where are we?”“Heh! That must have been some nap! Give yourself a minute to come around.”“Is this…this is my car. Why are you driving? I never let anyone drive…my car…”“Don’t I know it! Yep…she's a little beaut. They don’t make them like this anymore…a VW Golf is a perfect first car, especially an old one like this. She’ll serve you well and keep you safe. You’ll learn a lot from your s...

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“A Table for Two at a Cafe” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #280

Should we order wine?Sure.Don’t be that way.What way? Order wine if you want.I will then.Go for it.…Waiter. Please bring me a wine menu.Yes madam.…See. You can do it.Now you’re just being difficult. Stop it.Or what?Or I’ll leave.Leave then.…What happened to us?Life. Life happened.Life happened? That’s it? A cliché?Life is a cliché.Did you ever love me?What is love?Don’t give me that. Did you?…Madam. Your wine list.Thank you. Leave it.…Did you?Did I what?Love me? Did you love me?Maybe not.…I could always tell when you were...

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“My Dinner with Android” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #280

-Hello!-Hello… um, do we really need those hyphens? They seem pretty redundant…Okay, okay. I just thought that it would make things easier to trace if we wanted to keep a record of what we talked about.Forward thinking… Okay, let’s try something else.Like what?· How about this?· Okay, not bad. It is much clearer that way, and we can easily just go back by following the dots.· We can connect them, as you...

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“What I Did Before My Summer Vacation” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #280

Was it all my fault? I saw her arm rise, bent and coming up fast, with the fingers tight in what looked like a claw more than a fist and her face was beyond tense. Like she knew what she had to do. I was happy about that because I thought that I deserved whatever she had to dish out, since I had been a dumbass for most of the year. She was only responding with anger to my mistakes, doing what I may have done (shoe and the other foot). At least we dated. &nbsp...

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“The Chat” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #280

“At the end of the day,” I look out over the vibrant, green valley and I take it all in. I read the landscape and I listen to it. I feel it within me, and not for the first time I wonder whether it is real, or just something my unconscious projects before me in order to make this life bearable, “it’s a beautiful world.” I sit in the noisy silence of the hilltop and allow myself just to be. The rest of the words spill out of me with my next exhalation, “at the beginning of the day, it’s also a beautiful world. Trouble is, we busy ourselves to...

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“Hail Mary” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #280

The man lay prone on the edge of thick woods sighting down the scope of a thirty-aught six hunting rifle. Snow flurries melted on the back of his neck. For an unknown reason, and mixed with the smell of pine and gun oil, the phrase ‘veil of an endless winter’ entered his mind. He shook his head. Poetry is the vice of fools, he scoffed. Through the compressed distance the telescopic lens thickened the falling snow, proving the chalk house a quarter kilometer away a miraged dream. A woman came out on the porch centered in the crosshairs. ...

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$250

Prize money

382

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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