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Write about someone who still practices a skill that used to be necessary but has long since been replaced by technology.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

“Roux and Rue” by Maya W.

Submitted to Contest #78

“A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring the soul to the recipe.” Sage - 1 bunch, leaves picked I would pluck off the sage leaves and throw them into the pan with the browning butter, carefully watching to make sure it wouldn’t burn. Across the stove the water would come to a rapid boil, my older brother throwing in the pasta. “Come on, Clem!” He would shout, the mess of mashed potatoes from yesterday’s frits turned into today’s gnocchi. “Turn the heat off.” I would barely be done picking off the leaves and letting them crisp ...

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“He Bites” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #78

It’s a Saturday afternoon when Rover asks me to let him go again. Silly Rover. “No, Rover,” I say. “I can’t let you go. The neighbours’ll complain if they see you loose.” “Please,” he says. There’s a sheen of sweat on his brow and a hint of desperation in his voice. Well, of course there is. He’s celebrated two birthdays in this basement of mine. “Please,” he says again. “I-I won’t say anything.” His tongue darts to the corner of his mouth. His eyes glance for an exit, but there isn’t one. And even if there was, he’s chained up down here...

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“Carry Me Away” by ◦•●◉✿ 𝓑𝓵𝔁𝔁𝓲𝓲 ✿◉●•◦

Submitted to Contest #78

I live alone. Not with anyone else. I live alone in my comfy little cottage, which is always warm and cozy. No one lives near me, I have acres of land that I don’t use. I like to sit in my cottage while drinking hot coco by the fireplace. It’s where I best come up with my ideas. My ideas for what, you may ask. My ideas for writing. Now, one particular day, I was sitting by the fire, drinking hot coco and typing on my laptop whilst a snow storm raged outside. It was a small sound that made me turn my head. Perhaps a peep or a squeak, bu...

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“A Bear Should Dance of its Own Volition” by Mollie Rodgers

Submitted to Contest #78

Warning: Violence and Adult ThemesFiesl rotated the spit over the cookfire, watching the flames snap at the rabbit's pink flesh.He spoke a quiet prayer for the animal and the forest rustled as if whispering his prayer back to him. Fiesl shuddered and wrapped his cloak tighter around his tunic. His father used to say these woods lay at the edge of the world and that, sometimes, other worlds bled in.The rabbit’s legs flopped as the spit completed its spin. Fiesl remembered how frantically they had scrabbled at the air as his uncle’s fist held ...

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“Maybe...” by Agnes Ajadi

Submitted to Contest #78

I walked into the kitchen with the hope that she will finally stop with her nagging. But no, she followed right after me." You should seriously consider taking up writing as a profession, Erica. Your work at the cafe is crap." She said, settling into a chair behind the island.I sighed heavily. What's it with her and my writing anyway? At least, I'm okay with it just being a hobby." Maybe this is the right time to make that decision, y'know? She added." I appreciate your concern Mia, but I'll prefer to leave writing as a hobby." I replied.She...

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“It Is Better To Have Loved” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #78

Loneliness is a difficult emotion to deal with. So it's only natural to want companionship, whether they're human or animal. Humans call them “pets” and they usually choose one that's no larger than themselves. They don't mind if the pet can't speak their language; it's the bond that they share that counts. The perpetual disadvantage is that it's more likely that the human will outlive their pet, and thus time and again they're forced to choose another pet. However, when one of my species chooses a pet, we tend to prefer one that we can co...

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“What Will They Say?” by Nyla N

Submitted to Contest #78

Chris was tall, but not too tall, slender with dark hair, and sharp features. He was a millionaire. Though not like the kind you see on T.V., he was unknown. He had never worked a day in his life, instead inherited everything. Maybe that's why he turned out sick.Not his body, no. He was in seemingly perfect health. It was his mind. The twisted, demented fellow had everything and yet nothing.Maybe it was because he was alone, utterly and truly alone. He had no family, and no friends. Only his pets... if you could call them pets.Chris never le...

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“From Misfortune to Fortune” by Aman Fatima

Submitted to Contest #78

It was going to be a fateful day even if Asli hadn’t realized it yet but at the moment her face was turning red from embarrassment. She is wearing an off shoulder floral summer dress with her newest high heel, she looked taller and more graceful than usual. She had curled her hair and let her red locks flow with the wind and to make the look perfect she carried a small baby pink purse. By profession Asli was suppose to be a fashion designer but ended up being a secretary to the Rays Martin the most famous stylist and designer. Getting back t...

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“The Early Bird” by H L McQuaid

Submitted to Contest #78

The banner flaps wildly in the wind, threatening to free itself from the flimsy poles that hold it in place. ‘Welcome to the ANNUAL WORM FARMERS CONVENTION’ it proclaims in muddy brown text, though ‘WORM’ is composed of squiggly letters, some of which have eyes. I open my notebook, adding an item to an ever-growing list, Q: Do worms have eyes?As I snap the notebook shut, I remember a conversation with my Dad when I was ten years old. I was sitting listlessly at the kitchen table, staring at a blank piece of paper when he walked in.“What's up...

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“Evensong” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #78

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine,secundum verbum tuum in paceShe hums as she works, her thin calligraphy pen tracing the contour of her voice onto the page of the manuscript. The notes, perched daintily onto the lines and the spaces, feel as ancient and essential to her as the prayer itself.It is futile, she knows, this strange desire to preserve that which cannot truly be saved. She is one of the last at the abbey who finds the work of a scribe worthwhile. Now that everything can be copied in a tenth of the time or less using the printing ...

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“Recyclable ” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #78

“Well, who’s laughing now?” I say to myself. I don’t say it to them, because they can’t understand words. At least, I don’t think they can.“Hey. Hey you. Yeah, you there. You’re ugly.”No response. None that I can tell, anyway. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I say as I remove the shaft from the one’s head. I have to put my foot on its neck and pull quite hard. I turn my head away — even though I’ve got a face mask on and a pair of ski goggles. You can never be too sure. They like to spray and splatter. Even though the blood should have congea...

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“The Sinned Beneath my Stings” by Tom .

Submitted to Contest #78

“The first rule of Bug Fight Club: is you don’t talk about Bug Fight Club. The second rule of Bug Fight Club: is you don’t talk about…”“Joe, are you for real?”“I’m sorry, Officer Fletcher," Joe said, "I'm only messin’, I've been waitin’ to say that to someone all night. No hard feelin’s.”Fletcher smiled at the huge Samoan doorman. It was impossible to argue with him. It had nothing to do with his hulking size or his politeness. He hypnotised you with a child-like softness to his voice.“Very funny, Joe.”“I haven't seen you at one of these bef...

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“Dear Diary” by Kelly Ellen

Submitted to Contest #78

Trigger Warning: This story contains non-explicit depictions of physical abuse. Dear Diary, The counselor said I should keep a journal or diary or whatever you call this. He thought it may be good for me to write out my thoughts and experiences. How many experiences could a 13 year old kid have in the suburbs? I guess this all started when I came to school last week with a bruise on my arm. It wasn’t even a big one. My mom's fist is much smaller than my dad’s so the bruise was pretty small. They noticed it anyway. Mrs. Hafeez notice...

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“Distractions” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #78

Aaron planted his butt on the chair, feeling energized and determined not to get up until the day’s work was done. He had gotten up early, as he managed to most days now, and gotten through his morning ritual of workout, visualization, contemplation and a big yummy breakfast. He sat down, fresh out of the shower, ready to kick ass and take names. They say that it takes three weeks to build up a habit and stick with it. Well, Aaron discovered that’s not the case. For him, it took at least 90 days to make something permanent. Today he’d reach ...

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“Successfully! Started her career.” by Rimsha Azeem

Submitted to Contest #78

“A question asked from every child: what do you want to be in your future?” My elder sister every time happily answers that she wants to be a doctor. And people used to appreciate her, she kept on working hard to score good grades in her school and college life, MashaAllah she was successful in her every task. Once she cleared her FSc in pre-medicial, her mind changed she desperately wanted to be a fashion designer nor a doctor. Every child faces this problem, she came to me and said; “I don't want to be a doctor, but the fear of anger is no...

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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.

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