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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

“Floral Deception” by Farnaz Calafi

Submitted to Contest #280

*Trigger Warning: This story explores themes of eating disorders, particularly binge eating and sugar addiction. Ella stood by her parents' kitchen counter, her fingers grazing the edges of the large tray as she arranged the petit fours one by one with meticulous precision. The tiny confections, with their geometric shapes and glossy sheen of icing, looked almost too beautiful to touch. Yet she moved with purpose, positioning each piece just so. She paused, inspecting the tray for the smallest imperfection. Her gaze lingered on the rows of ...

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“Turkey, Absconded” by Jessica Warren

Submitted to Contest #280

"The best thing after Thanksgiving is the seven pm turkey sandwich.""Ooo, I want one, too.""Mhm. Grab plates and the bread. Did you see which container your mom put it in?""The white Corningware with the lid.""There's just a leg and a wing in here.""That's where she said the leftovers were . . . get out the way. Huh. Oh, maybe it's—Ew. Why did they leave the deep fried turkey?""Wait, she didn't take it? That was her goddamned turkey. Why the hell didn't she take it? I don't want that shit. I want my perfectly roasted leftovers.""At least we ...

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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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“Revisionist Mystery” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #280

I was seven miles down the road when I heard my destiny. “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Some poignant truths take a while to detonate, and the missive I wrote earlier on my steamy bathroom mirror was finally coming to fruition. “It all stops and starts here,” said Levar, my hyperbolic Lyft driver with a flair for the dramatic. “One might say, ‘commences.’” Close enough, I guess. I’d told him about it at the beginning the ride, and I wasn’t going to fault him for paraphrasing my words. Bu...

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“The Bloody Ghost of Magdalena” by Poe M

Submitted to Contest #280

Trigger Warnings: This story contains references to but not depictions of underage drug/alcohol abuse, inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature towards a minor, and suicide. “There’s supposed to be a sword down there.” “A sword? In the well?” “Yeah. Way at the bottom.” “Like, a choppy, stabby – ” “Yeah. One of those.” “ – King Arthur dealies?” “Yeah. Like Excalibur.” “Or Ice.” “The Sword of Omens.” “Oath Keeper.” “Uh, Master Sword.” “Needle.” “Is that the only show with swords you’ve watched this century?” “I’m reading the books, give me a ...

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“The lights will go out but love will always shine” by Jessica Zong

Submitted to Contest #280

On a stormy night, I got off work and arrived at the gate of my new home. The wind was blowing hard on the road. The whole world was gloomy. Only a lighting store not far away had lights on. I walked in, hoping to find a place to keep warm in such an environment, waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up. "Hello, do you want to buy a light bulb?" "No, I'll just take a look." "Really? There's nothing you want here. Go away." "Wait a minute, do you know me?" "I know everyone." "How long have you lived here?" "Mo...

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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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“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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“The Conversation” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #280

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Cillian and Finn relax as they sip beers in their favorite pub, The Red Rooster. Cillian gazes out the window to watch the clouds float gently past. The silence is broken when he poses a question.“Answer me this, Finn. Why is it that if a man donates a kidney, everyone loves him and thinks what a wonderful soul he has? But, if that same man donated five kidneys, he would be considered the prime suspect in a crime investercation?”Finn blinks at Cillian and sits a little straighter in his c...

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“A Big Night” by Ellie F

Submitted to Contest #280

[CW - mild language]Hey Soph, do you have any paracetamol?There’s some in my bedside drawer, help yourself.Thank you so much, my head is pounding.You had a good night then?Oh my god. So much drama, too much tequila, I need to tell you everything. Can I sit here?Sure, just move the books off the pillow.Urgh they’re so heavy, did you carry them all the way back from the library? Yeah, I thought my fingers were going to drop off.“Dynamics of Plate Tectonics and Mantle Convection”, what even is mantle convection?It’s when-Nope, I changed my mind...

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“A Dark Horse (Part 1)” by Keila Aartila

Submitted to Contest #280

***“No, don’t!” I shouted as he threw his arm back with the whip for another lash to the black coat. I saw him hesitate before taking the next swing, leaving another welt upon the flesh. The young horse half reared and jumped sideways in order to avoid the blow, but his head was still forced into the circle by the boy’s grip on the long-line. He couldn’t get away. I ran up and grabbed the kid’s wrist, forcing him to drop the whip. It slid to the ground. The lead fell from the other, hitting he sandy surface of the floor with a muted plop. Th...

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“Others, They Speak of Solitude (Ha!)” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #280

They tell us not to write of dreams, don’t they? as though we all had friends, and lovers and enemies; as though I had an elaborate kit of oil colours, tubes squished and squeezed, some neglected entirely awaiting acknowledgement. Oh, the privilege to have connections.But I lack even the primary colours. If anything, I’ve got a lead pencil, an eraser, and a sharpener that bites too hard. Snaps the lead off if I’m not careful. What I mean to say, dear reader (with all this nonsense!) is that I will write about my damned dreams for they’re all...

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“To Listen or to Talk.... too much” by Paul Tyree

Submitted to Contest #280

To be or not to be, is this really the actual question? This can be more than just an unanswered question, yet it can be the beginning of something more pressing. This is where our story starts at, two people speaking to one another about this or that. so why would it have to be or not to be? because I said it is and it was and it will be, that's why. But if that is the questions how can you define an actual answer? I may have to make it up as I go along, even though I do not wish to lie, even to my own self. Does that make sense? No it does...

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“Inevitable” by A. Torrecilha

Submitted to Contest #280

Content warning: Strong language and references to physical intimacy and emotional distress.- Everything will start in February- I’m going to pick you up in my car- You’ll get the address wrong- But we’ll find each other and laugh trying to make the anxiety go away- You’ll look really nice- I will get us to the bar you choose- You’re going to pick up the first round of beers- And the second one as well- The nerves slowly disappear- I’ll wonder why it feels so natural to talk to you- I’ll tell you all about the hospital- You’ll be ashamed of ...

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“Story” by Vid Weeks

Submitted to Contest #280

“Siofra?” “Yep, silk and good sex turned her into a heathen slut.”The abbot watched him dipping bread into his soup, with dirty nails. He checked the adjacent tables but saw no one paying them any attention. The place was full of travellers, not many locals came here. Why did this awful man choose this tavern? He scrubbed his spoon with his kerchief till it resembled something clean. “Siofra? The daughter of Danand, Siofra.““Yep, a heathen slut now. As far as I can tell.” He spoke with his mouth full of bread. Wielding his spoon l...

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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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