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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#76: He Said, She Said

Is there anything more satisfying for a writer than that moment your characters suddenly come alive in your mind? For me, this often comes in the form of a conversation — I know I finally understand them when they start talking to each other without any effort on my part.

From witty banter to subtle conversations packed with unspoken threats, there’s so many ways dialogue can drive a story forward. As you craft your stories this week, really think about what your dialogue is saying about your characters. What are they willing to admit to each other, and what are they trying to keep hidden?

And in case you need a little help crafting the perfect retort, here’s a few resources to get your characters talking:

🥇 Winner

“Him” by Rinnie Leigh

🏆 Winner of Contest #76

I’ve made thinking about him an art form. I’ve had plenty of time to practice and perfect my craft in the years we’ve been together: I paint his profile into the swirling, maze-like shapes that draw themselves on the backs of my eyelids when I shut them tight; I compose music that sounds like the brown of his eyes, so deep and mesmerising that looking into them can feel like drowning. I’ve written odes to his lips, hymns to his hands, an elegy to the feel of him leaving the bed every morning, the loss of that sacred warmth. I think about him...

169 comments 169

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Speechless, Breathless, Useless” by Jean Young

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

WinterSadie is an overthinker. Sadie spent all morning deciding whether to wear the blue blouse or the green sweater. She contemplated too long on which shirt would make her look effortlessly casual and after much internal debate, she settled on the blue. As she walked out of her apartment, it just felt wrong so she turned back to change into the green sweater. She’s behind schedule now but she feels better in green so it was worth it.Hi, I’m Sadie, the internal monologue rushes her along the street.It’s a beautiful day isn’t it. I’m sure yo...

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“Ray of Light” by Tom .

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

“Father Daley, Father Daley, it is me, Ray Meehan.”“Hello Ray.”“You're not Father Daley.”“Ray this is the confessional. You do not have to introduce yourself.”“Sorry, Father Michael. I am tryin' to find Father Daley.”“The confessional is for the Sacrament of Penance, a cornerstone of our faith. Not for locating individual members of the clergy.”“So you don’t know where he is?”“I did not say that.”“Oh.”“Are you here for the Sacrament of Penance?”“Not really. I have looked everywhere for Father Daley and this was the only place I had not check...

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“Oil Paints” by Frances Reine

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

I guess it’ll be rainy. I think the sky should either make room for the sun to smile or it should just cry it out. Okay, it’ll be rainy. On wet days it blooms umbrellas. And I have four. There’s this lady who stands underneath the grey awning everyday and she paints the world. At least I think she paints the world. In front of the art supplies store with orange smears on the walls like blurry suns as big as my thumbs. So she’ll be there again, and the raindrops will crawl down the slope of the awning that might’ve been blue a long ...

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“cankerous” by R E

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

The girl at Starbucks spelled my name wrong on the coffee cup she handed me. It's a normal name - Beth. But she's spelt Bett. Who’s named Bett anymore? I can't even think of a current Bett in mainstream pop culture. It's a small thing, but the sore on my tongue starts to tingle. I burn it with my half caramel, half vanilla latte, decaf espresso. The girl must notice my expression, twisted up in confusion and simultaneously let-down. Poor Starbucks girl. She's maybe 19, cute, clearly hungover. Probably just wants to hang out with her cat or s...

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“Empty Encounters” by S.N. Beale

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

This is not what I want to be doing right now. How did it get like this? All I want right now is to be alone. It used to be so much fun. So, comfortable. But now my skin is crawling. I cannot even think of a conversation, a word to say, a statement to make, other than: When are you leaving? When can we call this? Do I need to order the car, or can you get it yourself? But all I can muster is, “Can I get you another beer? Oh…cool, bet, yeah, this song is dope.” To your, “Yeah, thanks, you know them? I keep telling you, ya gotta ge...

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This week's prompts

Write a story told exclusively through dialogue.

Dialogue – 349 stories

Write about two people who just can’t seem to understand each other, no matter how clearly they think they’re speaking.

Sad – 79 stories

Write about a character who is incapable of telling even the smallest lie or half-truth.

Character – 80 stories

Write a conversation that takes place between two people who refuse to say what they mean.

Dialogue – 58 stories

Write about a character who’s always thinking of things they’ll say to people, but who ends up saying very little when they finally get the chance.

Character – 219 stories

Stories

“Him” by Rinnie Leigh

🏆 Winner of Contest #76

I’ve made thinking about him an art form. I’ve had plenty of time to practice and perfect my craft in the years we’ve been together: I paint his profile into the swirling, maze-like shapes that draw themselves on the backs of my eyelids when I shut them tight; I compose music that sounds like the brown of his eyes, so deep and mesmerising that looking into them can feel like drowning. I’ve written odes to his lips, hymns to his hands, an elegy to the feel of him leaving the bed every morning, the loss of that sacred warmth. I think about him...

169 comments 169

Read story

“Speechless, Breathless, Useless” by Jean Young

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

WinterSadie is an overthinker. Sadie spent all morning deciding whether to wear the blue blouse or the green sweater. She contemplated too long on which shirt would make her look effortlessly casual and after much internal debate, she settled on the blue. As she walked out of her apartment, it just felt wrong so she turned back to change into the green sweater. She’s behind schedule now but she feels better in green so it was worth it.Hi, I’m Sadie, the internal monologue rushes her along the street.It’s a beautiful day isn’t it. I’m sure yo...

Read story

“Ray of Light” by Tom .

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

“Father Daley, Father Daley, it is me, Ray Meehan.”“Hello Ray.”“You're not Father Daley.”“Ray this is the confessional. You do not have to introduce yourself.”“Sorry, Father Michael. I am tryin' to find Father Daley.”“The confessional is for the Sacrament of Penance, a cornerstone of our faith. Not for locating individual members of the clergy.”“So you don’t know where he is?”“I did not say that.”“Oh.”“Are you here for the Sacrament of Penance?”“Not really. I have looked everywhere for Father Daley and this was the only place I had not check...

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“Together” by 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐿𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓌𝒶𝓃

Submitted to Contest #76

I stared at the street waited. And waited. What was I waiting for? My friends. It was book night again, and I was the host.”Celeste! I’m here!”It was Luke, decked with books in his arms and clutching a bulging backpack. I already knew he had Ayn Rand’s ‘Altas Shrugged’.”Come in! Oh, is Mira coming?””She’s behind me! And Jennie, Nainika, and Kate!”I felt relieved that they didn’t forget. I would be weeping if that happened.Everybody arrived with books and papers, and we settled down on the carpeted floor. Then my annoying sister comes in.”CEL...

474 comments 474

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“Drowning in Fire” by נιмму 🤎

Submitted to Contest #76

“I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, Or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, In secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms, But carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; Thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, Risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; Therefore, I love you because I know no othe...

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“The Uprising” by Dafe Avwunufe

Submitted to Contest #76

Story Title: The Uprising Author: Dafe Avwunufe In the beginning, our people did not understand the enormity of their drastic decisions, hence they sold all the oil wells the community had, John pointed out. It was not the decision of the people, it was the decision of those who wield power, Pius corrected. The people chose those in power, John is not far from the truth, Peter interjected. That doesn't mean the people were privy to the sale of the town's major natural resource, Pius buttressed. Besides, the royal cabinet did not seek t...

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“I Don't Like Your Hair (Inspired by George Orwell)” by . .

Submitted to Contest #76

SHOUTOUT TO COCO LONGSTAFF SHE'S AMAZING!!!! CHECK HER OUT AT https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/author/coco-longstaff/When James woke up in the morning, he did not speak to his fellow Workers. No one spoke, because to speak your mind is to sin. James tried to keep his mind as blank as he could but the unspoken sins kept rising up to meet him.There were 100 people in the room, their beds lined up in columns. James' was on the column closest to the right wall, so he saw the beds of everyone else. He wanted to tell them to go bac...

1071 comments 1071

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“Oil Paints” by Frances Reine

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #76

I guess it’ll be rainy. I think the sky should either make room for the sun to smile or it should just cry it out. Okay, it’ll be rainy. On wet days it blooms umbrellas. And I have four. There’s this lady who stands underneath the grey awning everyday and she paints the world. At least I think she paints the world. In front of the art supplies store with orange smears on the walls like blurry suns as big as my thumbs. So she’ll be there again, and the raindrops will crawl down the slope of the awning that might’ve been blue a long ...

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“Immaculate Reception” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #76

“There you are,” he said, making his way through the crowd, walking over to kiss her.“The fans are very loud today,” she replied, laughing amid the clamor, folding herself into his bear hug. Luckily, she had secured the last two barstools. “It’s the playoffs. They’re entitled to a little noise,” he remarked and looked around the cozy, wood paneled bar. Television screens were affixed to every flat surface, beaming in games from around the globe. It was a friendly crowd, yet even decades after his stint in the U.S. Army, he found himself...

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“Silence is Golden and Duct Tape is Silver” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #76

“Have you ever walked into a room and found a vampire? Not the sexy kind, but a foul creature that has bony limbs and ashen skin? The kind that snarls as you enter, like a beast about the pounce? The kind that roots you to the spot with it’s sunken, hypnotic eyes, rendering you unable to flee as you watch the hideous thing uncoil from the shadows? Has your heart started to race although your legs refuse to? Have you felt time slow as the creature crosses the room in the darkness of a blink? Have you shuddered with fear when it places o...

132 comments 132

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“Die A Log” by Rayhan Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #76

Put your hand down.Why?Because you might get the answer wrong. And that is assuming Miss Garcia picks you out of everyone else that has got their hand up.But I know what the answer is.Is that so? What is it, then?It’s… um… forty nine.Are you sure?Uh huh. I finished memorizing my seven times tables last week, and seven times seven makes forty nine.Really? Are you sure seven times seven doesn’t make fifty six? Or was it forty two?No, it’s forty nine. I think. Um… I’m not so sure now.Of course you’re not. You never were sure to begin with. Woul...

129 comments 129

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“Nainika's Story” by . .

Submitted to Contest #76

Atlas was my only friend. My computer keys, worn and scratched with the pain of a martyr, were my link to happiness. Now that my keyboard was somewhere in the dumpster, my happiness was too. The darkness surrounded everything here at the Fawkes, but you could still see the outlines. Alcohol hung in the air, a smell that had never vacated its position. No one that found their way here forgot the experience, that was for sure. The glasses gave an escape, a door that we all strived to find in the bottom of the barrel. The Fawkes wasn't my home,...

108 comments 108

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“Please Understand” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #76

By the time work lets out, dusk has already descended on the city. The hazy shadows slip between narrow alleyways and under the awnings of buildings. Flooding the streets with dusty darkness.I speed up my pace as I hurry to catch my bus home on time. It is seven in the evening by now, definitely later than I expected to stay at the office. I always found the streets unnerving in the dark, like any number of things could pop out in front of me as I turn a street corner. I pick up my phone and dial Elias, my long-time roommate, and best f...

207 comments 207

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“A True Kind of Fantasy” by Amiable Sorceress

Submitted to Contest #76

“Tell me a story Damir.” “Jebba, I don’t know if I have many of those left in me.” That’s what he’d always say. Damir would coax me onto the couch, and he’d tell me a story anyway. Sometimes, there’d be a “once upon a time” and always a happily ever after. Tell me a story. I’d ask, over and over until he’d throw his hands up in defeat. Sometimes, we’d even go out onto the dew-heavy grass to sit under the moon, and somehow, the moon always looked bright and full. “How’s today?” “Annoying...like...eraser shavings.” Damir gestured to al...

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“The Four Crystals of Aontacht - Part 1” by Kate Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #76

Oria, the nature kingdom.Aeros, the air kingdom.Aithne, the fire kingdom.Limus, the water kingdom.These four kingdoms make up Aontacht, but there was once when everyone lived together.Long ago, our Ancestors gave the world magic crystals. They looked like every other stone, small and unpolished, but the contents of them were far greater.There were four in total, one for fire, water, air, and nature. They provided magic to the inhabitants of the kingdom, to help make their lives easier. Everyone was happy, children would run around on the cob...

251 comments 251

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$50

Prize money

787

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 15, 2021 EST

Won by Rinnie Leigh 🏆

Title: Him

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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