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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

“The Library of Profanity and the Palace of Shadows” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #280

“...To have acquired this place you must be both cunning and rich. A rare combination, though not an impossible one.”“I appreciate the flattery. What is your name, sir?”“Mortimer, my lord.”“I see that this place is windowless. You have been here for... how many decades?”“Four I believe, my lord: ever since I was a teenager. And are you here alone?”“My sister and my wife live with me in the floor above. I appreciate that you did not ask my name. Your last name must be ‘Discretion.’”“I generally do not ask the name of the persons who step out ...

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“A Solitary Man” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #280

Ewan liked watching people, eavesdropping on conversations when he could, extrapolating from the revealed puzzle pieces of other lives to distract himself from his own.Lately, as the days got colder, he just liked being inside and warm. Sleeping in the woods beyond the town was not going to be sustainable when winter arrived. Spring and summer had literally been a walk in the park in comparison.The sole waitress in the small café did not begrudge him lingering after his fry up breakfast since it wasn’t a Market Day. His eyes tracked her as s...

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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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“Slipped Through the Cracks” by Rebecca Holbrook

Submitted to Contest #280

Slipped Through the Cracks I didn’t think much of it at first. There is a stone wall beside my small table where I sit to write in the mornings. Wisteria vines have forced cracks in the mortar, letting in fingers of light to fall across my pages. The barista, Celeste, brings me coffee and a cinnamon bun every day, a dance of familiarity we’ve done for years now. The light was different today somehow. I noticed the larger of the spaces between stones was closed off, probably the doings of a squirrel tucking away some treasure. Pushing my fi...

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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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“Frog Legs” by Connor Pickard

Submitted to Contest #280

“Lucy, did you take an edible before we left the house?” “What? No. Why?” “I feel like you’re floating above the restaurant right now. You have that look that you only get when you’re either deep in thought or stoned.” “Sorry, babe. The first one. I’m just thinking.” “About what my love?” “Well… Josh, I got invited to the Atelier des Lumières Provençales. The letter just arrived this afternoon.” “Wait, hold on, that’s the really famous program in France, right?” “No, the Atelier des Lumières Provençales is in England....

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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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“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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“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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“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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“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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“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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“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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“Exorcist Needed” by Masha Kamenetskaya

Submitted to Contest #280

“I am looking for an exorcist,” Martha says to her friend Sandra, when they’re having their nightly phone call. “What?” “Someone who exorcises demons out of a human, you know? There was a book, popular as hell. Remember?” “I do. I do remember the book, and a movie, too,” Sandra says. “I am not sure though if they still do it.” “Why not?” “I guess, the demand is low,” Sandra suggests in a mild, comforting tone. “I haven’t heard of anyone who would need an exorcist.” Martha sighs: “But I do.” She twists the telephone wire around her finger. “...

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“Three Months, Maybe Four” by Dalal Abu Diab

Submitted to Contest #280

The question hung in the room like a crooked photograph on the wall, its imbalance gnawing at the edges of comfort. She hadn’t meant to ask it. It had slipped out in the way truths sometimes did—clumsily, with all the grace of a bird flying into a closed window. Now it was out there, flapping awkwardly between them. She stared at the mirror as though it might take pity and answer for her, but the reflection only offered judgment: mascara smudged like ash, hair tousled into something between a warning sign and a flag of surrender, eyes ...

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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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