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Write about someone who still practices a skill that used to be necessary but has long since been replaced by technology.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

“Hitting hard” by Jaymie R

Submitted to Contest #78

What I love I cannot go back to. I don't have the heart to face it again but as soon as I saw Everett walk in I knew he would try to convince me. I built a stone wall down the center of my bed and straightened my shoulders to deflect his empathy.“No.” I glared at him with guilt.“Come on, man!” The agitation in his voice leaked across the room. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.” He tried to look at me but I wouldn’t budge. “You can’t quit forever. This isn’t like you.”He was right. This wasn’t like me at all. I used to be so dedic...

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“Karate-Ballerina Master” by Julia W

Submitted to Contest #78

“No!” “Yes.” “I will not go in there.” Stella argues. “Yes, you will. Payback.” “Oh, for what?” Stella sighs. I raise an eyebrow at her. Really? “For making me take dancing classes with you.” “It wasn’t that bad. And you totally enjoyed it.” “Whether I enjoyed the classes or not -which I definitely did not- just imagine how embarrassing it is to tell your friends that you took dancing lessons. Dancing!” “Listen, Alexander. I won’t participate in your stupid Karate.” Stella argues. I eye her outfit. She was already d...

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“Our Garden” by Elliot G

Submitted to Contest #78

It felt strange to have somebody else in my garden. It was a rather special and intimate place between only nature and I; but now there was somebody else. I wasn’t angry nor was I scared that he was in my space, it just felt...different. It was a warm and beautiful day. The sun shone down brightly onto my growing plants and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The birds shared in the joy, singing sweet melodies that merged and mixed together creating one big masterpiece. It was beautiful.Richard was his name, and I thought that it...

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“Jini and Ryan, an unusual friendship” by Aradhana Singh

Submitted to Contest #78

One day as I sat and watched TV, I remembered an incident of a rather unusual friendship which many of you wouldn't have heard of perhaps. It was an experience I had 20 years ago when I was just 18. I used to stay in a rickety, dilapidated old building in Singapore when I heard a sudden noise like a thud and lots of footsteps. I ran across the room, opened the door, and looked at the staircase. I saw this young guy perhaps my age, thin, wearing spectacles, quite tall and well dressed holding something which looked like a bottle in his hand c...

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“Fish” by Renika Anand

Submitted to Contest #78

The lady next to me was staring, but not actually staring. She was looking at me through the corner of her eyes with darting glances, just quick enough that I would not catch her in the act. I shifted the large Tupperware container on my lap to block the view, but that only made it easier for people on the other side to stare. For the hundredth time in my half hour journey, I wished that I had booked a cab instead. That way, I would not have to sit in a smelly train filled with annoyingly inquisitive peopl...

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“Butterflies” by Taliah Melur

Submitted to Contest #78

Butterflies. Large, colourful wings painted like murals beating nonstop against the glass terrarium walls. Flap-flap-flap go their wings, never ceasing, be it the darkness of midnight or the weak sunlight of dawn. Just the sound of their wings are bringing me back to my dark place, where it smells of nothing but mud and emptiness.“They’ll grow on you,” Brandy says, dropping a tiny collection of flowers into their home, along with a bottle cap filled with sugar water. She claps her hands delightedly like a child, while I am staring flabbergas...

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“Katie's pet Neko ” by Emily Mullins

Submitted to Contest #78

"Katie, come down dear" called Katie's mother, seconds later, a stampeding herd of elephants was heard as Katie ran down the stairs. "Yes Mom?!" she asked loudly as she entered the kitchen, her eyes falling on a golden hair boy that had cat ears and a tail, whose blue eyes were fearful and locked on Katie's green one's. "Mom, what's this?" asked Katie, quieter this time. "This is your new pet neko, his name is Luke," said the mother as the neko approached Katie. "M-mistress?" It stuttered out in a cute voice. Katie responded with "Call me Ka...

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“The Beast” by MJ Hancher

Submitted to Contest #78

The inside of the house is quiet except the constant tick tock of the grandfather clock in the main hallway. It is quite the nuisance, I only kept it at the request of my late mother. It has been in our family for quite some time and it’s the only thing she left behind when she died. It was the only worldly possession that mattered to her. I would always rue the day it was rolled into my house. Was it because of the relentless reminder of time or was it the memory of my mother that I hated to think about? I paced the halls of the mansion, a...

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“Welcome to the New Age” by Simona Erminaite

Submitted to Contest #78

I was walking through the crowded streets. The lights of electric billboards were flashing at every corner of the city. It looked as though nothing had happened, as though the city had already recovered. Unfortunately, the countryside didn’t look the same. It was still a wasteland that was going to need a lot more years to restore its natural landscape, to the scenery I used to see while growing up and loved to this day. I live in the countryside and was actually headed there right now but I got lost in my own thoughts. Suddenly a light bree...

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“The Falconer” by Brandy Kerrigan

Submitted to Contest #78

He stood under the scorching desert sun surveying the windswept dunes of the competition grounds. It wouldn’t be long before the first round started; he could sense the nervous excitement surging through the air. For some, it was their first time challenging the years of training and dedication they required to get to this point. Young, fresh-faced challengers anxiously fidgeted at their positions while stealing glances at the crowd of onlookers and the other stoic old hands that have been doing this for decades. It was refreshing to see new...

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“Three days to Christmas ” by Gerald Ewa

Submitted to Contest #78

Day 1She hears the rough bang on her metallic door, the sound like peals of thunder. Taking the flight of stairs, she trudges gracefully down, clenching on the shiny wooden banister by her right and strolls towards the door. All the while Laira remains undisturbed, as she curls around her neck like a scarf. Prisca kisses Laira in the mouth, turns the key in the keyhole around three times until the squirting sounds greet her ears and she releases a reassuring smile and nods. Three days ago, she had that hole lubricated given the annoying...

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“Sharptooth” by H Noss

Submitted to Contest #78

For generations, hounds had been an essential part of family tradition. Whether as hunting companions or simply for companionship, each had chosen a pup and reared it as their own. Fealearn had never been exceptionally fond of hounds. Certainly, she would pet them and toss bones to please them. But she had no inclination to own a hound of her own. Between training the whelp and providing for one, neither seemed particularly tempting nor worth her time. Her parents often asked when she would want a pup of her own. Their hound bred yearly, s...

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“'DOUGIE.'” by Frances Benjamin

Submitted to Contest #78

Visiting his grand father every weekend was the highlight of little Timmy's existence. Herbert Willow also called, 'Willy' was who one would deem eccentric and distracted. Yes, maybe the world was full of people fitting this description, but Timmy knew better and why. He wanted to be just like his bemused grandfather and was keenly aware of the 'alien' factors responsible for his grandad's extended maladjusted behavior. Willy's eccentricity had propellers and possessed super powers and he had seen it come to life in the old barn behind the h...

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“Anole Other Story” by Timothy Lawver

Submitted to Contest #78

I did not like Mr. Bruce. I needed Mr. Bruce. To be more specific and needed in listed as my resource teacher for 4th period. On paper, this meant a period in which I could be given extra support with challenging subjects, like a directed study hall. In practice, this meant I hung out in the computer lab, just myself and Mr. Bruce. On this particular day, a Tuesday, I trudged in, slid my backpack across the floor and flopped into a seat. After staring blankly ahead for a few minutes, just to ponder my general hopeles...

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“Expectation vs Reality” by Yashshree Kasare

Submitted to Contest #78

I was going through my school yearbook, where I came across this chubby face girl’s picture by the name of Shalini Pinto. I remember her as this girl who was crazy for animals and who would also take care of the street dogs and make sure they got adopted. I recall a day where she was brutally scolded for kissing a dog on the street out of love. She ended up getting a lot of rashes on her face and an injection for her infection too. Now, after all these years I really got curious, which made me wonder what she might be up to these days. So I...

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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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