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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#78: Keeping Busy

I’ve noticed that hobbies often get overlooked in fiction. Unless it plays a major role in the plot, many main characters don’t even get a hobby — supporting characters, even less often. Yet hobbies are an important part of many people’s lives, especially in lockdown. They’re the things we bond with our friends over, the pastimes that refresh our spirits over the weekend, and the activities that give us some of our greatest joy.

So this week, hobbies are going to take center stage. From mainstream to obscure, let’s analyze our character’s most interesting quirks and explore the many things they can obsess over!

This week's prompts

Start your story with one character trying to convince another to take up their favorite hobby.

Fluff – 177 stories

Write about someone who keeps an unusual animal as a pet.

Teens – 178 stories

Write about someone who still practices a skill that used to be necessary but has long since been replaced by technology.

Fiction – 133 stories

Set your story at a convention for a hobby most people have never heard of.

Fluff – 70 stories

Write about someone who keeps picking up different hobbies but never manages to stick with them.

Character – 176 stories

Stories

“Arts & Letters” by Mary Corbin

Submitted to Contest #78

Finding that handwritten note from my mother was like a resurrection. My brother Frank and I were in the bedroom of her house the day after she died, sorting through all the stuff. I pulled open the top drawer to the dresser she’d had since we were kids, the one she’d moved across the country just once. I found a book tucked in between some scarves, one of the mystery novels we’d passed back and forth between us. I pulled it out and looked at the cover and smiled. I cracked it open and a slip of paper fell out and landed on my foot. Setti...

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“The Small Things” by Ellie Keierleber

Submitted to Contest #78

Emma flopped on her bed, dejectedly throwing her bag on the floor as she did so, tears threatening to spill over. It was worthless. All worthless. All her hard work that she had slaved over for the past ten months down the drain in a matter of minutes. All the late nights, event cancelling, and pages upon pages of essays were pointless now. She had sacrificed so much, for it to all come down to this. Rolling over, she curled herself into a tiny ball as despair washed over her. She hated that she had given up so easily. That as ...

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“The Rice Farmer” by Steam At 5

Submitted to Contest #78

"One day, a man walked down a bridge, and dropped a rice seed he got from an old wise man. He told him to drop it in water, and add a cup of dirt in the water each night. The man came back every night to drop a cup of dirt in the lake. Then, in a week, the lake was covered in rice plants. The man came everyday to collect rice. He sold it to all. As he got rich, he became greedy. He put many out of order. Many people lost their money and homes. So one night, the old wise man returned, snuck into the man's mansion, and killed him in his sleep!...

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“Letters From Home” by Suzanne Toruk

Submitted to Contest #78

Blair backed her SUV into the double-wide driveway. The tail lights blazed red, and it lurched to a stop. She opened the door with such force, it snapped back on her leg. Using her foot, she pushed it open until it held. Her arms loaded with her computer, messenger bag, and lunchbox and her morning coffee cup in her hand, she used her shoulder to shut the door.The hatch on the rear of the vehicle and the garage door levitated in unison. Blair shuffled through the interior door, greeted by the aroma of chocolate chip cookies. For a momen...

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“The Pink Dresses” by Beatrice Wingenbach

Submitted to Contest #78

There are websites upon websites of clothing stores online. Any piece of clothing you can think of is right at your fingertips from the moment you type in yellow sundress to the moment you press enter and results come rushing in.2,620,000,000 results in .48 seconds.Packages come in, in as little as 4 days. You can even have them arrive earlier if you subscribe to prime. A dress that would cost 20 dollars in-store now costs $10.95 with free shipping!The world is moving in fast motion and nothing is going to slow it down, no matter how ha...

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“The Gift of Storytelling ” by Amy Jayne Conley

Submitted to Contest #78

The beauty of the tiny corner of the town was lost on most modern-day citizens. So many were lost in their own worlds, glued to social media, stuck in their own bubble of Twitter of Facebook, hungrily scrolling through Instagram the very second they didn’t need to concentrate on the world around them. Whether a five-minute wait at the bus stop, or an hour to kill waiting for a friend... the younger generations of the day simply lacked the mental resilience to enjoy being disconnected from the Internet. It wa...

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“Sleep” by Alexandria Klys

Submitted to Contest #78

Ding! The faint, muffled sound of a text alert resounds throughout the cold room. I wake to the howling winds. The branches of my garden tree knocking against the thick glass of my window. Another day of living. Perhaps, I shouldn't get up just yet. The skies are cloudy and the wind is cold - a wonderful day to stay in bed. I check my phone for approval. Maybe, I was sent some random spam message or something. 'New case. See ya!' I sigh. Looks like staying in bed won't be an option. They need me today. Maybe I can stay in bed t...

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“WITCH AND WATCH ” by Mike Williams

Submitted to Contest #78

Brian purchased the small four room house in west Texas in 1983. It was equivalent in size to a two-bedroom apartment, but it came with three conjoined half-acre lots, a large storm shelter, numerous pecan and pear trees and a water well. The ground was rich and productive. It was a dream for Brian, a single male in his late twenties and a farmer at heart. “It took me five to six hours to cut the grass yesterday,” Brian remarked to his new neighbor. “The original house stood on this far lot. In 1953, a tornado ...

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“The Breakthrough ” by Emmanuel Aiyepeku

Submitted to Contest #78

"Griff, you got talent, am not gonna lie to you. But this....I can't market this." said Vince still trying to find the right words that can communicate both rejection and encouragement. "I mean you are good, really good, but come one, no one listens to this anymore." he continued "Look Vince, you are my man. I really need this bro." begged Griff. "I know man, but Jazz? This is the 21st century man. No one is gonna want to listen to this. Technology has changed music my friend, all you need is some piece of equipment not that sax you keep car...

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“A Stitch of Magic” by Breahna Lesemann

Submitted to Contest #78

Ophelia took great care in choosing the types of threads that she used and the ingredients for her fabric dyes. She kept all of her threads and fabrics at the front of the shop for all the customers to see. Wooden drawers of sewing tools lined the wall behind the counter. The different threads were lined up in spools on a wall display. Bolts of fabric on rolls went up to the ceiling while the shelves beneath them displayed handkerchiefs, scarfs, and small purses with spells infused in fabric and thread. Ophelia’s Grandmother would always sco...

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“Book Worms in the Apple” by J.B. Dixon

Submitted to Contest #78

“I keep telling you to switch to the Net for this, but no. You insist on coming here every time.” “Because here are resources, I can trust not to be changed every two days. You should try browsing here once in a while instead of Wikipedia.” “Wikipedia’s verified.” Matt shook his head. “Not always, honey. How many times have you come across a page that said, ‘Needs verification’?” Becky huffed as she set the stack of books on the table. “More times than I can count, I suppose.” “My point exactly.” He sat down and opened his notebook...

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“Bygone” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

Submitted to Contest #78

1930. That was the year the first symposium took place. Wrist watches had already overtaken the market, but true gentlemen still knew elegance and sophistication could only be achieved through the ownership of a pocket watch. They came in many sizes and many shapes, some made of gold and some made of silver, yet all of them had one thing in common: they bestowed upon the buyer a spell of refinement, an enchantment rooted in the mystical qualities of more fashionable days. Gentlemen adorned with pocket watches were warriors, guardians who s...

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“THE ROBOT” by Mousumi Biswas

Submitted to Contest #78

THE ROBOTSid made a robot for his school exhibition. He wrapped it up in newspapers and kept it in the corner of his room. At night , before going to bed Sid practised his speech . " Good night Zen , " he said , looking at the robot . Yes , that's what he had named his robot , Zen' .Next day Sid took Zen to his school . Zen was the centre of attraction . Sid won the award for the best project . He returned home and showed his trophy to his parents . Then he kept Zen in the corner and went to change and have his lunch...

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“Mikka Bouza” by Beng Im Tan

Submitted to Contest #78

MY SPECIAL MIKKA BOUZUHuh?? what is Mikka Bouzu? This is the first thing that would be in your mind, right? Well, it simply means in Japanese, someone who gives up easily on something or does not complete a project or work. I know of a person like that. Let's call her Maxy.A little introduction of my friend. Maxy is a fun & crazy person with a wide interest in lots of things. From craftwork to astrology, cookery, aromatherapy, archeology, nature, traveling, photography, literature, computer games, chemical engineering, and many more. Her...

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“The Closet” by Sylvia Lucas

Submitted to Contest #78

''Steve ! Steve ! Will you put these confounded golf clubs in the garage, or the loft or somewhere ? I am sick and tired of having them fall out every time I open the closet !'' Amanda pushed the hair back off her face as she stood the golf bag upright and stuffed three or four clubs back into place. ''Sorry love, but I can't really put the clubs away, I still want to work on my swing, but I haven't had much time lately.'' Steve said as he descended the stairs. ''No, not since you took up fencing.'' Amanda said in an ominously quiet and reas...

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$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 29, 2021 EST

Won by Christina Marie 🏆

Title: Life's Leftovers

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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