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Write about someone who still practices a skill that used to be necessary but has long since been replaced by technology.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

“What Next?” by Cynthia Brennan

Submitted to Contest #78

What Next? Cynthia Brennan Martin pursed his lips and tried again to coax the desired sound from his trumpet. It failed to cooperate for the nearly hundredth time. Oh, it was emitting a note, but it was certainly not the one he was hoping for. In fact, it was so far off key that it prompted his neighbor Larry to interrupt his nightly news program and come over to investigate. He rapped on the front door, but Martin couldn’t hear him over the racket. Larry waited for a pause and knocked again. The noise finally stopped, and he heard...

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“Write What You Know” by Tony Murtagh

Submitted to Contest #78

John burst into my office on Monday morning “I’ve thought of a great new hobby” he said walking up to my desk, wearing a huge grin. “Not only is it going to keep me busy, it will earn me loads of money!” “Oh yes,” I sighed “and what are you going to do now?” “I’m taking up writing. I shall start by writing a few short stories then move on to my blockbuster novel” “That’s great, but what makes you think that you will stick with this? You were going to make a load of money taking up philately and trade in buying and selling stamps. Befor...

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“Baby Steps” by S. A.

Submitted to Contest #78

The third time my boyfriend dumped me his parting blow was, "I'm sorry, babe, you're just... boring.""Boring how?" I asked him. "Like, in terms of compatibility or how interesting I am."He titled his head to one side, fingers on his chin like he was in deep thought. My ego wilted in preparation for his answer, like an ant cowering in the presence of an overhead foot."Both," he said because crushing my ego was easy as pie for him. "It's both.""How?" I challenged him. "I'm an interesting person. I do things. I like art. I…"He gave me a pitying...

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“Friends ” by Gloria Puente

Submitted to Contest #78

“Alright, let's start from the beginning,” said the counselor. He was a young man, no older than 30 from the looks of it. His black hair slicked back made him look like he could be part of Grease, and his physique was well to carry him a mile or two. His voice was reassuring in a caring yet serious tone when he asked us how this all started. I observed this while sitting on the far end of the black leather couch. On the other side a good three feet away was my husband, James. “Jane, I know you have been partaking in m...

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“In Pursuit ” by Cindy Z

Submitted to Contest #78

The first thing anyone would notice upon arriving at Felicity’s studio apartment was her eclectic collection of stuff. The walls were decorated from floor to ceiling with an assortment of books, artworks, musical instruments, sports equipment, and various other objects. There was no such thing as unused real estate. Felicity had a designated spot in her apartment for herself and it was her bed. Her queen size mattress was multifunctional. It served as her workspace, her couch, her dining space, and of course her bed. Half of her matt...

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“Jeremy” by Victor Flute

Submitted to Contest #78

Writing Contest #227 Prompt 5 JEREMY Jeremy’s father was a master-baker and confectioner, and therefore in a reserved profession, so was not called up to fight in the second world war. He volunteered all the same and was rejected as he had flat feet. So he decided to take up a post as Baker and Cook at a Reformatory School (Juvenile Correction Centre). He would be baking for the school and the village nearby and dealing with, and cooking meals for, boys who had been committed to corrective and job training, for breaking the law. ...

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“"'Why do you want to learn.....''” by Emmanuella Ben-Ogbaini

Submitted to Contest #78

''Try to show me the middle C" I say to Micah my student for the day. The teachers at Music School are out today so we the older students, by 4 weeks, are to help teach the new comers. My student for the day Micah, who I found out is 12, is older than I am by 2 years. He seems to be more interested in my face than what I'm teaching him on the keyboard. Micah stares at the keyboard and then at me and then back at the keyboard and goes ''Where was that again?'' he asks, " You know what, let's take a break, I think we're both tired''. ''Emmanue...

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“It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game” by Michelle Dimoski

Submitted to Contest #78

I drop to the floor in pain. I didn’t think my first class would be this brutal. Maybe kickboxing isn’t for me? I pick myself up off the floor and get back into my fighting stance, sweat dripping down my forehead and into my eyes. The saltiness of the sweat stings and I blink to refocus. My partners hands are up and ready for me to unleash the combo - Jab, cross, left kick…jab, cross, left kick – I did it! I look to my partner and she seems impressed, maybe not impressed, maybe more fascinated by my coordination (or lack of). I stand in fron...

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“I can't pay attention (story of an ADHD person struggles)” by Katie Woodard

Submitted to Contest #78

My name is Annie and I have ADHD and ADD and OCD and bi polar. My parents want me on meds, but I don't want to be. Meds might help me find a hobby. I am hoping I can find a hobby to keep my mind busy. I have tried coloring and can never focus long enough to finish a task. ADHD is hard to overcome at this point. I am eager to find a way to keep myself focused not involving meds. I am failing in school due to my ADHD, ADD, and OCD. My teachers say I am distracted easily. One minute I can be doing something and then move to a different task, I ...

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“Jack Of All Trades” by Shayla Linden

Submitted to Contest #78

What do you think about when you see a painting? Jack has been looking at paintings all day at the museum. Their favorites are the abstract ones, created by a beautiful accident. Jack thinks that they could make something like that, no problem. At home Jack takes everything out of their room and covers the carpet and window with tarp. They bought buckets of random paint on the way home. Without a seconds worth of though Jack grabs a bucket of Stormy Blue and splashes it on every corner of the room. They make sure to toss it close to the ceil...

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“The complete trio” by Meenakshi Malhotra

Submitted to Contest #78

One bright sunny morning, Myra, Shreya, and Mahika decided to go on a girls trip to celebrate the beginning of their 10 year old friendship. All three were bonded with loyalty and admiration for each other. Each of them stood by the other’s side in ups and downs of their lives. Myra was a chirpy girl who had no boundaries when it comes to talking. Shreya was quite the opposite, calm as a lake whereas Mahika was well balanced between the two. They were a perfect trio because of their complementing temperaments. Mahika wanted to be an an...

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“If I gave you the moon, you'd grow tired of it soon.” by Jessica Mijnssen

Submitted to Contest #78

Suz and her husband took turns infecting one another with "earworms". When a song suddenly pops into her head or she begins to mindlessly hum or sing a tune, she will inevitably hear him in the other room chuckling pointedly in response: another successful transfer.One song that chronically infects her subconscious, but that never seems to contaminate his is “After You Get What You Want You Don’t Want It” by Irving Berlin. It’s a go-to in the shower or when chopping vegetables for dinner or while searching for where she’s locked up her bicyc...

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“Jack” by Serena Green

Submitted to Contest #78

He looked at everything in front of him on the cutting board: the herbs and garlic were minced, the veggie sliced, the lemon quartered. He raised an eyebrow, sure he was forgetting something. ‘Right,’ he said to himself, before turning around to grab one last thing from the fridge: a handful of cherry tomatoes. He rinsed them throughly before placing them on the cutting board. Then proceeded to place them one at a time on it in order to dice them. All of this done while he quietly hummed to himself. “Jesse?” he said, halfway through. He wa...

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“The Man With Many Hats Whose Head Was Still Cold” by Jaime Faulkner

Submitted to Contest #78

Dylan was going through the mail one day after getting home from work and he saw a letter from a local magician, offering to do children's birthday parties. He'd been wondering what to do for their son's upcoming party, and the idea intrigued him - right up until he saw the cost. $200 for one hour! Wow! That was a lot of money to spend on top of the presents and the food and drink for the party. And then it struck him. Why not do a magic show himself? He had no idea where to start, but he was sure he’d seen a shop in town that sold...

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“Hobby of changing hobbies” by Sara Johnson

Submitted to Contest #78

Me and my best friend Samantha, have been friends for as long as I can remember. If you ask me I'll say we were friends before we were even born. My mother tells me it's impossible that we were friends before our creation, but I don't agree with her. Me and Samantha do everything together, you hardly ever see one without the other. Samantha has lots of wonderful qualities wonderful things about her. She's not afraid to try anything and she's always following her dreams. I admire that about her I admire her she's my best friend. But there's o...

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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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