Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#49: Worth the Wait

Mrs. Dalloway follows a woman running errands in preparation for a party she's hosting that evening. A Single Man depicts a day-in-the-life of a professor. Molly Fox’s Birthday features one friend housesitting for another. 

 

Of course, these novels are actually about much more than their mundane premises may imply. That's the wonderful thing about fiction: something as ordinary as running errands can turn into wildly different stories at the hands of different authors.

 

This week, we're working with a similarly mundane premise (on the surface, anyway): waiting. It's up to you to dig beneath the surface of banality to reveal the interesting story happening underneath! 

This week's prompts

Write a story that takes place in a waiting room.

Thriller and Suspense – 256 stories

Write a story about a person waiting for an answer to a question.

Thriller and Suspense – 171 stories

Write a story about waiting — but don't reveal what's being waited for until the very end.

Nonfiction – 323 stories

Write a story about a relationship where one person is always running late and the other is constantly kept waiting.

Romance – 108 stories

Write a story about two strangers chatting while waiting for something.

Dialogue – 196 stories

Stories

“Jimmy and Jenny” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #49

 Jimmy sat on the front pew in the church, fiddling with the unaccustomed bow tie, resisting the temptation to fiddle with the white carnation in his lapel, which was not as indestructible as the bow tie. He had never been keen on suits, but his mother left him in no doubt that he would wear one for his wedding. He glanced sideways and saw her sitting there, looking as pretty as a picture in her daffodil yellow dress and neat little pillbox hat. He felt an enormous surge of love and gratitude for her. She was a woman...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Last thing to do” by Kanchan K

Submitted to Contest #49

Finally, someone heard us. “I reckon we won’t die here today.”His head nodded imperceptibly, passively bolstered against the elevator wall.“ Sir, How many of you are there inside, ” yelled the security guard from outside.“We are 2, please let us out fast." “ We are trying sir. There’s a major technical fault. We need some time. Is any of you suffocated? Do you need any medical support.”“ We are okay until now. Can you just hurry up."I crouched back on the metal floor on the spot cleaned by my expensive pants for the past 10 minutes, wit...

9 comments 9
Read story

“Intermezzo” by Keren Gummadi

Submitted to Contest #49

"This way please!" said an aircrew member , as she ushered Brooke to the waiting lounge. After a fourteen hour lay over , the foyer seemed swarmed with people who couldn't wait to reach home . Right in front of her was a class of students,in a vigorous discussion about their excursion. She passed by them and without noticing,entered into a confraternity of smokers . Brooke paused a second to push away the cloud of smoke blinding her sight. Her left ear picked up the confusion of architects and her right, the clashing of economists. She took...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Stay” by Catherine MacKenzie

Submitted to Contest #49

The room in which he sat was burned with activity. People zipped by in the hustle and bustle of the busy time-slot, but he saw none of it. His hands supported his head, the heels of his hands digging into his eye sockets, though it didn’t stop the tears leaking, dripping slowly down his arms.As he sat the noise blurred out until he could no longer hear it, his mind slipping further into the recent past.“Don’t do this, Jack,” he pleaded, his voice breaking with the swelling of a myriad of emotions, ready to take him under as the wave finally ...

8 comments 8
Read story

“Knock On The Door ” by Parul Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #49

It was a usual morning at the Sebastian’s. John was irritably looking for his glasses while he grumbled and squinted to read a new text message and Martha was arranging the table for breakfast while ranting about how the neighbor's dog again littered her walkway this morning. “Why are the words so small and why does he have to message? Can’t he pick up the phone and talk, your busy son! And why do you misplace my things always?” “You didn’t talk to Nori when I told you to, now see, every morning I have to witness this unsightly rubbish. ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Last Ticket” by Kate Enoch

Submitted to Contest #49

        Dark. Cold. Emptiness. That’s all I felt as the life flowed from my submerged body and mingled with the frosty water that surrounded me. Those last moments of life were sharp and vivid in my mind. The cracking of ice, falling, thrashing, screaming. How the frozen water seemed to claw at my clothes and hair, drawing me further and further into its cold embrace. It was only a matter of time until my life gave out, like a fragile chair supporting too much weight.      &nbs...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Laundry ” by Sam Roulston

Submitted to Contest #49

Sachin scuffs his beaten up converse trainers along the pavement, empty laundry bag in hand. The overhead street lamps light his concrete catwalk as he steps in time to the music humming through his headphones. He feels invisible every time he escapes the illumination of the street lights and mouths along to the lyrics of the songs lingering in his ear. To be consumed by the orange hue is to be visible. The summer evening is thick and sticky. Sachin’s jean shorts and tank top are an attempt to provide relief from the oppressive humidity.&nbs...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Promises Are Just Words” by E.F. Peterson

Submitted to Contest #49

"He promised he would come," I cried as I looked through the crowd of parents. "He told me we could go get pancakes after." "Sweetie, he isn't coming," Mrs. Donovan assured me. There was an air of melancholy around her, but it wasn't something that appealed to me at that certain moment. I remember the other mothers and fathers hugging their children, the fathers giving their daughters flowers-- enormous bouquets of roses that seemed larger than the children themselves. The mothers were each holding the hands of young ballerinas, proud of th...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Why Won't Anyone Listen?” by Maya Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #49

Tap. Tap. Tap. “Dad!” “Not right now, son.” Shrugs his shoulders to avoid his son’s patting hands. A few seconds later…Tap. Tap. Tap. “Please, Dad!” “Son, I’m busy. Not right now.” Turns his chair away. Tap. Tap. Tap. “Come on, Dad, I have to ask you something!” “Ask me later. I’m busy. Go play or read a book.” Rolls his chair closer to his desk. Sadly trails off with a downcast face. Mutters to himself under his breath. Why is Dad always so busy? I just have to ask him a question. Dad doesn’t love me. Dad doesn’t care. I wonder where...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Waiting for a life change” by Soji Asaye

Submitted to Contest #49

Mary had just arrived in an unsettled and unkempt state, hair sticking out from the bun she had styledher hair into, her make-up was just weird she was an awkward sight for all beholder her heels weren't spared one had broken off and the shoes looked worn out; She had probably been in rush for her place of work cause she wore a three piece suit and was still straightening out her clothes. All eye's on her she took her seat luckily the last one left, she looked by her side and she got a wry smile she didn't return she was there for her own in...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Where did Aurora go?” by Utkarsh Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #49

“Today is not an ordinary day for me. I am thrilled. I have been waiting for something very close to my heart, and it is coming to me.” Aurora had just put on her status on her social media handle and gulped her Lemonade in a hurry as she had to run behind a robber. Her eyes were continuously flickering in excitement and glinting with joy. The sun throwing his radiating threads on her like he also wanted to be a part of her happiness. However, the thick dark cloud had departed so she couldn’t expect a delay. She imagined how it would smell l...

10 comments 10
Read story

“An Anticipation of dream” by Abarnaa P

Submitted to Contest #49

Waiting for something in life is a novel experience. Particularly, answer to a question of which will change your life upside down. We wait for the moment and hoping for the answer! Kamali, a girl from a lower-middle-class background, wanted to achieve her dreams. Her dream is to build! Yes, to build actual buildings. Home to the homeless is her dream. God blessed her with total supportive parents and a lovely sister. Poor Kamali was born in a family where girls could not go to other countries or states to study. Because they live in a fearf...

7 comments 7
Read story

“The Ten Commandments” by Rita Janela

Submitted to Contest #49

I woke up with my head throbbing and an unfamiliar pain on my chest. Looking around I realized I must be in a church, but a really dark and empty one. There were no stained-glass windows filled with important biblical illustrations, no fancy shrine. As I clumsy got up from the stone floor, a seductive voice snapped me out of my thoughts.“Mr. Solis would you mind waiting for a brief minute? Father Osiris is just finishing with your wife.” I glanced up and found a younger version of Sharon Stone addressing me. Sinful women like her should not ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Waiting For Words Unsaid” by Charm Elizabeth Merchant

Submitted to Contest #49

My life spiraled out of control because I waited… …for those words that every kid deserves to hear from the ones that brought them into this world. I often asked myself, why can’t she see me? Once in drama class, the teacher posed the question: If you could have one unusual ability, what would it be? One girl said to make herself invisible. I already knew what that was like. From a young age, my bones harbored the writing bug, starting with my first journal, then short stories, and even poetry, that by the time I transitioned to high school...

29 comments 29
Read story

“Merely a Madness” by Courtney Haynes

Submitted to Contest #49

5:13...5:12...5:11Grayson grieves to see what he has revealed behind the paneling in the elevator.In the meantime, Patty is trying to wriggle her way around his broad body, “What? What is it?”Postponing the inevitable, he turns to her with a broken look. Her eyes, he notices are like a haunting work of art - portraying hidden sadness. This makes his job all the more difficult as time is ticking away.“Sorry," he says gently. "You weren’t supposed to be here.” His masculine features do a little work in assuaging her sense that something i...

0 comments 0
Read story

$50

Prize money

1054

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 10, 2020 EST

Won by Courtney Stuart 🏆

Title: When The Northern Lights Finally Reach You

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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.