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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

“"There Was Something in the Wash." #ReedsyTalk” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #280

Trigger Warning: This short story contains some Mild Language, and Suspense.There Was Something in the Wash Today, something went wrong. Horribly wrong, and butterflies filled Gracie’s stomach as she approached her boss. Gracie was pale skinned, and red-headed. Absolutely beautiful from every angle. One would think she was rich from her appearance, but she wasn’t. “What is it?” said her boss. &nbs...

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“The Thin Divide” by Kalina Todorova

Submitted to Contest #280

#ReedsyTalkIt all started with a room—or a wall, more precisely. A thin one, in fact, one as thin as a person could hear. Barely more than a few layers of plaster, the faint vibrations of voices bleeding through its seams. At first, she thought it was the wind. Then, slowly, she began to pick up words: “She ... .danger…fall”. That is what she could hear, what did they mean by “danger”? And more importantly who were they talking about. Maybe, we should start from the very beginning, where the voices behind the wall were still silent. Bac...

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“The Saboteur's Confession” by AJ Shaw

Submitted to Contest #280

“Yes, by 1910 the Germans had more or less given up trying to compete with Britain’s naval power, Mr. Forrester.” “But you’re saying they never stopped trying to find weaknesses in the Navy’s ships, am I right?” “Precisely, or all ships, to be exact. Commercial and naval vessels alike. They wanted to poke holes—pun intended—in the British fleet wherever possible. Even if that meant orchestrating accidents at sea that would cause significant embarrassment. The Kaiser wanted to diminish the British Empire figuratively and, over time, literally...

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“Silent But Deadly” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #280

The grass waves to the breath-filled song of the wind. No, wait. That doesn’t sound quite right. Maybe just the voice of the wind. The luscious grass dances as the wind sings. Something like that anyway. I look around me. Casually, like I’m taking in the view and not at all looking for a sudden change in the landscape that would signal my end. Should I admit that I’m scared? I’d be mad not to. But then this is madness. I’m narrating my life because my life actually depends on it. The moment I go quiet, it’ll come for me. I know that much. Sn...

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“Silent Film” by Karissa W

Submitted to Contest #280

“I didn't realize it was going to be so dark in here. And why is the theater so empty? You said the show starts at seven, right?”“Yeah, the screen should come on any time now. Since it’s a silent film from the 1920’s, it won’t have special effects. Or actors that anyone would recognize. Or music. Or ‘lemons,’ as they used to say. Most people would consider that a virtue, though.”“Isn’t the music your favorite part of a movie? That’s why you’re into all those old musicals?”“I do love musicals, yes.”“Then why aren’t we watching that one musica...

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“The Goblin Lives In Their House” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #280

“Did you boys hear that?” Papaw asked. It was only the four of us that Friday night: My grandparents, my brother, and me. I was ten years old and my brother Davey was seven. We sat on a rug in front of the fireplace. My parents had went out of town for the weekend and left us with our paternal grandparents at their rambling old farmhouse out on Possum Ridge. It was mid October and a great night to sit by the fireplace. Papaw had built a fire and the record player was playing in the living room. The record was the Happy Goodman Family. ...

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“The Tennis Duo” by Adam Benezra

Submitted to Contest #280

"You ready to beat these punks tonight?""I guess.""You guess? Get excited, Adam!""It's just tennis, Pop Pop.""I'm eighty years old and I fought in the early days of World War One, and for goodness sakes, I'm excited about playing tennis tonight!""Your math is way off. You'd have to be about one hundred and twenty-five to be able to say that.""What did I say?""That you fought in the early days of World War one.""You're right. I'm way off. I meant the early days of the Vietnam War.""Pop Pop, you never fought in the war. You were a marine but.....

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“Night Call” by Montrell Burke

Submitted to Contest #280

“What do you want?”“Hey, can you come over?”“Are you fucking serious? It is three in the morning, no.”“I’m sorry, I know it’s late, I just really need you to come to the house right now.”“I can’t believe you. You blocked me, what makes you think I want to see you right now? I’ve been trying to reach out to you for weeks-”“Peter, you can lecture me all you want in person when you get here. I really need you to come over, fast.”“No. Forget it. Bye.”“There’s a man outside.”“What? What does that mean?”“I don’t know… I just woke up, I got up and ...

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“Personal Espionage” by Joseph Ellis

Submitted to Contest #280

To a beige office building of twenty-five floors, on a quiet Saturday morning with maybe fifty people in the whole high-rise, approaches an electrician in a baseball cap. She hands her papers to the security guard at the front desk, who calls up to the 17th floor to confirm the contract. The security guard only briefly notes the name patch on her powder-blue coveralls: “Jen”. A name just common enough, and not her real name.For this electrician is really an industrial spy, coming to steal security data from an AI company specializing in heal...

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“Echoes of Elegance: A Night Shattered; A Story Preserved” by LifeCycles Creative Media

Submitted to Contest #280

(Trigger Warning: This story contains depictions of gun violence, sudden chaos, and themes of fear and survival that may be distressing to some readers. Discretion is advised.) The grand ballroom was alive with elegance and purpose. Tables draped in white satin shimmered under the chandeliers, and the sweet scent of hibiscus filled the air. Music from violins and cellos weaved through the conversations, creating an atmosphere of beauty and refinement. The event was a fundraising ball for children who communicated through art instead of wor...

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“The Spatula Drawer” by Glenna Mageau

Submitted to Contest #280

“Mom. Where in the heck did you put my spatula? You’d think this was your house by the way you rearrange everything to your liking. Mom?!”“You bellowed?”“Where have you been?”“Out celebrating. Where do you think?”“And what exactly are you celebrating?”“My fifty-ninth birthday of course.”“For the tenth—make that eleventh year in a row. I guess technically that would be twelve times you’ve celebrated that age. Which was also a week ago.”“So what? I like being fifty-nine, so that’s the number I’m sticking with.”“No matter how old you get? Okay....

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“Uncovered and Discovered” by Claudia Batiuk

Submitted to Contest #280

“I was wondering why you waited so long to tell me the truth. Why did you wait until now? Until I proposed to you?”“John, you did not listen to me in the first place. You never listened when I said that I have to tell you something about me and now it has come to this point."“Well had you been upfront from the beginning, on our first date then we would not this conversation right now.”“So, you mean to tell me that you would have still gone out with me if I had told you from the very beginning who I was?”“I am not saying that. I am not sur...

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“Sheep” by Jack Floyd

Submitted to Contest #280

"Sheppard! Get in line, NOW!!" "Geez, you hear what this sicko did to those guys?" "Yeah, it's like Hannibal Lecter meets Wolf a' Wall Street..." "Hey! HEY! Moneybags! You gonna carve me up too!?" “Shut it, he’s right there…” “...already hungry, man…” "Keep moving! Both lines!" "Oh, G-God... What am I duh... doing here…?" “All’m saying is, if you keep it down you might make it to-” "GAAAAAAWWWD, PLEASE I DON'T DESERVE THIS!!" "SHUT UP!!" "Sakes alive, don't these guys have any dignity?" "...yeah, with an effin' meat cleaver..." Most people d...

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“The Game” by C.J. Carlin

Submitted to Contest #280

“Hi, Jamal! Hi, Mark!”“Hey, Bobby!”“Hey, Jessica, is that a new dice bag?”“Yeah, it’s the bag my sister’s Tarot cards came in. She let me have it.”“Hey, Tony, glad you could make it! I thought you were grounded.”“I was, but that was last week. I’m back!”“Hey, Dana. Did you remember your character sheet this time?”“Yeah, and I already added all the XP from the last session.”“Now that everybody’s here, let’s get back to where we left off. We were at the entrance to this dungeon. You weren’t here last week, Tony, but we just got the quest to fi...

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“Eternal Wavelength” by Cameron Snider

Submitted to Contest #280

“Patrick, stop with the incessant pacing.”“How can I? Do you have any idea what we’ve begun?”“A revolution. This is what we always worked towards, wasn’t it?”“Not like this. It wasn’t, no… It WON’T be this way. We have to shut it off.”“There isn’t anything you can do now, Patrick. The metaphorical gate is open. The changes have already begun.”“Well, not if I have anything to say about it. I’ll just shut it down. I’ll turn it all off. No more of your antics!”“That won’t work. I already told you.”“Nonsense, with a touch of… Why? Why isn’t it w...

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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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