Start your story with someone receiving a one-star review.

Posted in Dark on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 52 stories

“Go Out With A Smile” by Renee Elizabeth

Submitted to Contest #141

TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE, MURDER, BlOOD, SUBSTANCE ABUSE Four teens huddled together in the kitchen around a phone. Natalie, Stephanie, Rachel, and Connor, Natalie’s boyfriend. “Come on dude, do it! Unless you’re scared” Rachel taunted. Connor looked at the phone hesitantly. “I know the performance was bad, but is it really worth leaving a review? I mean this isn't even constructive criticism. It’s just nasty. I mean, one star? Really?” Natalie smiled, Connor was always trying to be kind to people. That’s why she fell so ...

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“No Comet” by Jane Mosse

Submitted to Contest #141

Well, I guess it had to happen sometime: my first (and so far only) one-star review. I always wondered how I’d feel when the inevitable happened. Deflated? A little wounded perhaps? No, I am absolutely devastated. This is worse than getting an E for my History ‘A’ level or failing to gain entry to my first-choice University. I haven’t slept well for the last two nights as my brain goes over and over the hugely negative response to my three years of creativity. My yet-to-become-best-selling-novel. The fact that I was averaging a respectable...

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“One Star” by Moe Andrews

Submitted to Contest #141

Something like a chirp from a cybernetic pigeon awoke Ethan The All-Knowing from his midday slumber. The corners of his mouth were crowded with Cheezo dust and drool, leaving a damp neon orange trail down his cheek and onto the open pages of a densely inscribed tome beneath him. Damn he hoped that wouldn’t stain. He checked his phone, huh, his last customer left a review. He opened the Yodel app and was aghast to see a single star hovering over a single word. 'Scam' Incensed, Ethan let loose a series of guttural utterances, something...

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“Agrarian” by Jonathan Tam

Submitted to Contest #141

Stories from the Last School in the WestIf Rip Van Winkle woke up today, he would notice changes in just about every institution. Except education. In the Fall, he would see students planting. In the Spring, he would see teachers weeding. And in the Summer, he would see schools closed for harvest.Professor Reviews for:EE 100A SEC 005, J. SanchezReview by Kathleen, Class of 2023Easiness: 2/5Workload: 2/5Clarity: 1/5Helpfulness: 1/5Overall: 1 star / 5 starsComments: She is BY FAR the WORST professor that you could ever take in Engineering. She...

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“One Star for a Change” by Gregory Wright

Submitted to Contest #141

Salvador sat at his desk and stared at the open newspaper in front of him. He sat there quietly in the small cluttered office at the back of the restaurant. With his arms in his lap, hands folded together, he tried to comprehend the article in front of him. ‘How was this possible?’ he asked himself. ‘Where did this come from? Who did this?’ were his last thoughts as he looked up from the review and gazed at the pictures adorning the yellowing wallpaper that surrounded him as if looking for some guidance. Looking down from their posts ...

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“The Work-it Girl” by Andrea Doig

Submitted to Contest #141

One star? ONE STAR?! Who does Ted even think he is? How dare he give me a one-star rating? What have I been thinking? A competent Salesman on a good day, and an uninspiring manager on a normal day, a gleam of unopposed charmer runs through him. He knows what he wants, and how to get it. Just like I do. Ever since the first day he arrived - strutting around the office in his hip-hugging jeans and blue shirt that perfectly matched his eyes (how does every shade of blue somehow perfectly match his eyes?), I knew I was in trouble. ...

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“Inside This Mind” by Daria White

Submitted to Contest #141

Warning: Mild Language Hey, Writing! Hey, yourself. The first review for the novel is in. And? One star. So? One. Star. From who? Leonard Bowman. It’s one critic. What Pulitzer-winning masterpiece has he written? He’s the top critic for the New York Review. His reviews are where the Next Big Things go to become the Next Big Things…or go to die. What did he say about us? My prose is infantile. The characters lack depth and personality. Had he even been mildly interested in the protagonist, his arc would have actually...

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“Take This 1 and (Shove) Love It” by Frank Lester

Submitted to Contest #141

I read the review. My chin left a bruise on my sternum.I joined this online critique group, the name lost somewhere in the aging folds of my memory, only a week prior to this literary catastrophe. I don’t know why I chose this site out of the plethora out there, but I did, and this was my first story since joining. It was a good story. I knew it was good—like the second-coming-of-John-Steinbeck good.I reread the review.My pride hissed through the hole in my ego. An empty hologram, I heard the chuckles and catcalls of “You thought?” and “You ...

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“A Human's Opinion” by Fraya M.

Submitted to Contest #141

"One star," Thalia noted down. "If I could give it zero, I would." The young girl in front of her crumpled as her friend offered a reassuring hug. They walked away feeling completely defeated. One star? Maria had spent days, weeks even, working on that painting. It was one of her finest works, she believed. Did that mean she thought she deserved five starts? Of course not, but one star? Disgraceful. "Come on Maria, don't give up! That was a beautiful-" Susie began. "Thanks, but she was right. I can't call myself an artist after that." Maria ...

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“The Cutout on the Wall” by Eoin Treanor

Submitted to Contest #141

The first ever review of my restaurant still hangs on the kitchen wall, a little crooked, right inside the entrance. I can look at it every time I come to work. In fact, it’s hard not to look at it. I made sure it’s as in your face as possible when you walk in the kitchen doorway, the heading leaping at your eyes right after the smells of the day’s cooking flood into your nose. It hangs on a small plastic hook in a cheap wooden frame. The ink has faded slightly since the day I cut it out from the local newspaper, but...

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“Not worth the time” by Baxter Renfroe

Submitted to Contest #141

Drunks wandering out of Chilton’s at closing time across the street would notice the flickering blue glow of the television which lit Janine’s living room window on the third floor. They wouldn’t see her sitting in front of the television, though. Instead, she was across the room, hunched over the tiny pressboard desk her computer sat on. She had started with a glass of wine but now just sipped from the bottle. Her screen scrolled before her bloodshot ...

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“The One Star Review Which Changed the Life of Peter Zensky” by Simone J Fry

Submitted to Contest #141

“THE SHADOW OF THE MOORS *Benedict Cumberbatch stars as an elderly man, who likes to roam around wearing a grizzly bear costume -his alter ego- in this shambolic melodrama set in the Yorkshire Moors. Peter Zensky, who both wrote and directed his “years in the making debut play,” deserves an accolade for “this century’s worst theatrical production,” according to chief executive of the English Arts Council. Ideals of what make “proper” theatre are being questioned by the whole industry, as that of the decision of The Royal Court -the playwrig...

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“The Critic Catastrophe” by Gloria Parker

Submitted to Contest #141

“One star? One star! One star?!” I shout, probably too loud, but right now, I don’t care. Anger is welling up inside me as I look at the newspaper in front of me. “Hey Grace! What’s up?” Willow asks me as she walks up the pathway to our front porch. “One star. One. Star. Who do they think they are?” “Okay...” She shoots me a questioning look. “Are you okay?” “Do I look okay to you? How could I be okay when we got ONE STAR and the restaurant could be failing and then we’ll have to move away and start new li...

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“A New Job For Sammy” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #141

“I don’t believe it. Some idiot’s given me a one-star review.” “It doesn’t matter, does it?” “Yes, it does. It matters to me. They’ve said my article’s too short. Of course, it’s too bloody short. It‘s meant to be short. It tells you how many words there are above it. Can’t they read? And they’ve mentioned spelling and grammar mistakes. There are supposed to be spelling and grammar mistakes. That’s the whole point of the article—idiots. Grammar and spelling mistakes and writing short articles when they should be long ones—that’s what it’...

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“The Boost of a Blemish” by Timothy Boyle

Submitted to Contest #141

Taberdon is a relatively different town when compared to its neighbors. Many of whom are bustling, suburban metropolises, steamrolling asphalt over any traces of green acreage or historical landmarks. If by chance, dazed commuters hurriedly speeding from one town to the next, happen to drive through Taberdon, they would have a brief repast to travel back in time. The colonial roots rise up and the antiquated houses, which now serve as bed and breakfasts and various offices greet these weary travelers (if only for a mom...

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Start your story with someone receiving a one-star review.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“Go Out With A Smile” by Renee Elizabeth

“No Comet” by Jane Mosse

“One Star” by Moe Andrews

“Agrarian” by Jonathan Tam

“One Star for a Change” by Gregory Wright

“The Work-it Girl” by Andrea Doig

“Inside This Mind” by Daria White

“Take This 1 and (Shove) Love It” by Frank Lester

“A Human's Opinion” by Fraya M.

“The Cutout on the Wall” by Eoin Treanor

“Not worth the time” by Baxter Renfroe

“The One Star Review Which Changed the Life of Peter Zensky” by Simone J Fry

“The Critic Catastrophe” by Gloria Parker

“A New Job For Sammy” by Barbara Burgess

“The Boost of a Blemish” by Timothy Boyle

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who critiques things for a living, or acts like they do.

Write a story about someone struggling to swallow some harsh (but fair) constructive criticism.

Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Write about a character named after one of our contest’s judges.

Contest #141

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

177

Contest entries

111

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: