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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:

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

“A Human-shaped Companion” by Sankara Luna

Submitted to Contest #76

“What would you like to do in the winter break?” “Sleeping.” “Just that?“ “Maybe some reading.“ “You’ve finished After Dark, haven’t you?“ “Yeah, rereading. Or throw a new one in the mix.“ “We can’t go around killing people in festivities.“ “Nope.“ “Then we’re stuck together.“ “Not my first time.“ “But our first together.“ The Dark Wings took the shape of a male human. The Golden Wings still a fuzzy white cloud of soft glow emanated from the centre of its core. “Why must you take the form of a male Homo sapiens?“ “Because, apparently, my...

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“Walls Could Talk” by Hikmat A

Submitted to Contest #76

“Thank you all for your patience, staff, seniors, and of course our esteemed guests. Finally, I am proud to present our final speaker for our Career Day. An alumnus of this school, who went on to work as our librarian and, in a wonderful twist of events, became one of the world’s most coveted directors at just 30. Known for her directorial debut, Walls, may I present Jenna Dylan!” “WHOO!” “That was my best literature student!” “Go on, Miss Jenna!” “Stop yelling, Kennedy!” “We’re all yelling! It’s free real esta...

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“That's exactly what I'll say ” by Armentina Loved

Submitted to Contest #76

As she dressed for work that day, she looked in the mirror And told herself " If they don't give me what I want ,I am just gonna quit. I'm will let them know that I don't need this job,, that I work too hard, been here too long and I am tired of being passed up!" This was the 3rd time and just as many months as you applied for a different position in a company that she had worked for for 15 years. She knew she had all the talent they were looking for on all 3 positions she knew that she was better suited for the job she knew that she could m...

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“Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect” by Brianna A.

Submitted to Contest #76

Cautiously, Hanna picked her way through the crowded hallways of her high school. Keeping her head down and her eyes trained firmly on the floor, she mumbled barely audible excuses to her peers as she crept past. None of them seemed to notice her, but at least with her head bowed she couldn’t see how they stared at her with their haughty expressions. Above her head, the school speakers crackled to life with the overly-enthusiastic voice of Carol Reems. “Fellow Lincoln High students! Remember that the cast list for the spring musical ...

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“3 AM Thoughts” by Elrize Brouwers

Submitted to Contest #76

Psst. Hey you. Yes you. I wanted to give you a little sneak peek into my destructive mental health, if you're interested of course. So let me start out simple shall we, by using my schedule as an introduction. It goes as follow... My scheduled appointment with insomnia usually lasts from 12 AM to 3 AM every two weeks. Sometimes my appointments reschedule themselves, I personally think that it's due to the fact that I'm so very guilty of being a procrastination expert. Don't worry my multiple personalities and I were just arranging an inte...

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“Obsidian Ledge” by Robin Biggs

Submitted to Contest #76

I always do my best thinking before four in the morning. As I nod in and out of weightless thoughts in the driver’s seat of my car, I consider that might be a curse placed upon me by my ancestors. My fingers absentmindedly tighten around the steering wheel, squeezing until my palms ache. How am I supposed to explain my sudden disappearance? My alleged death? The people who once adored me searched restlessly for my body in the river beneath the ledge. They will despise me now. They will expect an explanation, but I have none. I ...

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“My high school class” by Violet Matthews

Submitted to Contest #76

I sit silently at the back of the classroom, observing.I remember the days back in elementary school when the teachers used to go around the building sending every single one of us outside to the backyard, to play throughout the breaks, to not just sit around and do nothing. Gosh, how much I hated that, how much I wanted to say “I don’t want to” to their faces. But instead, I just tried to hide in the bathroom several times to get away with it. I went through so much bullying in primary school, which is a surprise, as kids like me usually su...

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“A sign, a second chance” by Taylor Zimmet

Submitted to Contest #76

Ever since I was little, I was told to act a certain way. I've been told what to do my entire life, what to say, how to act— basically, how to live. 'Alicia, don't talk too loud since people don't want to hear you. It's rude'. I wish I had the courage to say, 'how can you think that it's ok to say that to me, to minimise me into someone I don't want to be. Someone who doesn't like themselves. Someone afraid'. But I didn't say anything. 'Alicia, when people ask how you are, they don't care. Just say you are fine, don't tel...

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“Rumours” by Juliana A-Z

Submitted to Contest #76

I wasn't born shy. I was made so by people who didn't understand me. "Do you want to be my friend?" I would ask any kid I met. The answer would always be yes, until one day it wasn't. That was the time when a snotty girl, who knows for what reason, instead of answering as I was expecting, decided to stick her tongue out at me. I was shocked. I didn't know how to react. I looked at her, questioning. She shrugged and walked away, back to her parents, who were talking animatedly to mine. I kept staring at her. "How could she not want to be my f...

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“You who smiled” by Solar Star

Submitted to Contest #76

It was a breezy day. Someone once said, ‘When I called her name, she came to me like a flower.’ Would you too? One morning, like any other, I walked down the same road that we used to go as high school students. It was heading towards the school, which I had already graduated from a few years ago- but, it felt as if you were walking with me. I think- it was around spring? The tree I just walked past, you dropped your bag on the floor around there. I remember just confessing to you, and your cheeks flushing pink, like the colour of ...

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“Thundering Silence” by Jessica Crosby

Submitted to Contest #76

As it happens, she stands there having nothing to say and doesn't react at all for a minute. She then pulls out the cigarette from his mouth, wraps her arms around his neck and says, "Well, I hope it was good." The arm was wrapped a little too tight and her face probably showed a bit of anger, which alerted the bar security. She puts the cigarette back in his mouth, thinking afterward that she should have put it into the pitcher of beer. She looks at the skinny blonde, with her abdominal skin showing under her short half shirt, and imagines ...

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“MALCOLM IN THE MIX” by Tonhi Brizha

Submitted to Contest #76

Malcolm stood barefooted on the dewy grass gazing towards the sky, his eye balls rotated uniformly with precision it almost appeared as if he was a Painter and the sky was the world’s largest canvas, thoughts lingered across his mind but deep down he knew the only way to conquer the demons was to introduce them to heaven, Malcolm quickly ran down the hilly –mountains found his way through the dreaded corn farms oblivious of the peril he faced from the wild jackals who dwelled in the old coal mines of Kentucky, he arrived at his father’s cott...

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“I can only take so much” by Lubelihle Mlalazi

Submitted to Contest #76

Stephenie sat in the head master's office, biting his fingernails hoping it will ease the anxiousness he felt. His mother has been called for the meeting too."Oh you stupid boy! What were you thinking? Are you out of your mind?" His mother yelled as soon as she entered the room. She put her bag on the chair and remained standing."I'm sorry mom" was all he could get out of his mouth. In his head he was prepared to tell her the 'facts' but as soon as his mother walked in spitting venom, his essay flew out the window."You're sorry? You know... ...

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“It's my time now to..” by GIANINA RUGINESCU

Submitted to Contest #76

She is doing it again. Yes, of course. Talk as much as you want. I wonder if you even hear yourself? How ungrateful you sound always! I wish I was disrespectful enough to tell you that you are rude and you need to calm down and let other people talk when it's their turn. Or at least learn from me when to shut up and when to talk. I feel like in high school all over again. Why do I listen to her? Is it me that keeps attracting the attention of jabbering folks? I hope not. Yes! Keep talking. Get all that air out of you while you can. -I was su...

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“Marina Kersey's Journal” by Sadie Black

Submitted to Contest #76

Saturday 27th September. There is only one stop sign in Paris. Everything is chaotic. People are always in a rush. The middle-aged man that sprints through the streets, meandering in and out of the way of people, cars, market stalls. Skinny latte in one hand- gripped sternly in a desperate attempt not to spill- newspaper in the other. He wears a long, beige trench coat, stiff black trousers ,and shiny black shoes. Typical, I mutter. The time reads 8.39 and, ordinarily, he is late. The older woman in the blue Renault Clio. It is not the ordin...

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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.

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