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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Start a story that begins with a character saying “Speak now.”

Posted in Dialogue on Mar 17, 2023

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✍️ 88 stories

“A Bride in the Hand is Worth Two in the Books” by Michał Przywara

“Speak now,” said the clergyman, “or forever hold your peace.” Silence. Nothing moved in that tiny church save for the dust motes in the beams of golden noon light, and for just that moment all eyes turned from the bride and groom, eagerly watching if anyone would dare. And then, just as everyone was about to exhale, the creak of the door opening juddered through the air. And a man entered the church, his shadow l...

64 comments 64
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“The New Girl” by Laurel Hanson

The new girl was saying cheerfully, “Speak now. ‘Tis your cue." ‘She has got to be kidding,’ said the voice inside my head. “Umm,” said my actual voice, demonstrating my extraordinary ability to throw a wet blanket over any conversation. In my defense, I should mention that I am the lucky victim of a scholarship for an elite education to this boarding school. My parents said it was an opportunity for me to “improve” myself, and it probably was. What we didn’t know when I st...

43 comments 43
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“I Swear I Loved You” by Amanda Lieser

Author’s note/CW: this is the third story in my trilogy on marriage. I specifically found myself musing on all the ways matrimony impacts our society these past few weeks. I found myself wondering what I would have done had my husband come out of the closet to me right before our wedding day. This is that story. There’s some degrading language and a whole lot of anger, but it’s all used to hi-light the complexity of the human heart. “Speak now or forever hold your peace,” I mumble under my breath. I had thou...

12 comments 12
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“An Artificial Admission of Sins” by Chris Campbell

Joel Lieberman patiently sat in the AI confessional booth at his local Catholic church feeling like a foreign invader. Born a Dublin Jew, he had often envied his Irish Catholic friends for being able to wash their sins away during their weekly ritual of confessional cleansing. So, on this random Saturday - when he should have been at Temple, Joel decided on the spur of the moment, that he needed to rid himself of the great burden of guilt that had held him down for such a long time, changing his mood and damaging his mental health....

30 comments 30
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“SPEAK NOW!” by Viga Boland

***Are you ready for more bickering between that loving couple, The Banters? Well here they go again!***“Ok. Speak now…”SILENCE“Martha? Are you there? I need you to speak now.”“Oh, sorry. I was reading.”“You’re bleeding?”“No, READING!”“You don’t have to shout!”“Yes, I do or you don’t hear me. What did you want anyway?”“Well, I’m trying to adjust my hearing aid and I just...

46 comments 46
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“The Silver Spear” by Edward Latham

Izzy grasped her silver spear with both hands and barred her teeth at the sphinx. From behind the glass of the display case it yawned, crossed one of its large front paws over the other, and didn’t appear in the slightest bit bothered by the girl approaching it.“Speak now, demon,” Izzy growled, “or forever hold your peace.” She hoped she sounded threatening enough, she was sure she’d heard people say that in the movies.The sphinx deigned to look at her and gave one slow blink of its sandy-grey eyes. Its...

19 comments 19
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“Introverts Therapy” by Richard E. Gower

“Speak now.”Well, why not? I thought. The truth can now be told.The statute of limitations has long since expired (I’ve checked), and anyway, society tends to go easy on youthful offenders these days.I was thinking about how to start when, Cyrus – he’s the resident counselor here – gave me the verbal nudge – “Speak now” – and asked me to lead off the session. Actually he didn’t ask, he instructed. There’s a difference, but he’s a good ...

26 comments 26
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“High Note” by Kendall Defoe

“Speak now…”            “What?”            “It’s just something I say when I go to the shows. ‘Speak now or forever just hold your…’”            She was just staring at me after that, but I knew that I got to her.            We had just had dinner at Alfreddy’s when I told her about the show, so it was a good meal…for a little while. She said that she didn’t even like the music, but I ...

14 comments 14
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“Justice Takes the Piss” by Graham Kinross

TW: swearing, duh “Speak now or forever hold your pee,” said a judge made of flame and the burning feeling that you have when you’ve just vomited samples of every meal for the last week. “Don’t you mean speak now or forever hold your peace?” asked the defendant. He was the memory of a middle aged Caucasian man wrapped in a body of smoke and forgetfulness. “No, Saint, I do not. Every punishme...

18 comments 18
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“ON THE VERGE OF SPEECH” by Susan Catucci

“Speak now, Bock. Speak, and you can have this treat.”Oooh . . .why, human, why tease and torture me? I wiggle my butt, isn’t that good enough for a cookie? See my tail? I’ve been wagging forever! Please, please, please! Give me the damn treat!“Speak! Come on, Knickerbocker. You can do it!”Of course I can, but it’s humiliating, human mom! I’m not a circus dog!“Speak? Speak! Well, if you really do...

33 comments 33
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“Speak to Me” by Frances Gaudiano

Speak to Me “Speak now,” Virginia said to the photograph of her sister. She waited patiently. She had always been patient with her sister, an emotional woman who had been married five times, always to assholes. Virginia has sat through many midnight phone calls with her sister, Elizabeth, sobbing on the other end of the line. Virginia had waited till the sob...

11 comments 11 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“"Me Too"” by Jessica Lunn

This story mentions different types of abuse, self-harm, and speaks about mental health. “Speak now,” I thought to myself. I took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then opened my eyes. I was standing on a small stage with stage lights pointing down on me, encircling my being. My sweaty palms held a microphone. I looked around me, noticing “TEDx Talks” written on the wall to my side, and an audience g...

5 comments 5
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“Somewhere, Someone Must Have Seen Something” by Sharon Farnsworth

"Speak now." She felt her husband's nudge at her elbow, but the cameras' glare kept her attention on the flashing lights."Go ahead, Monica, speak now," someone said.She drew a breath and twisted the hankie in her lap, trying to gather the courage to speak."My name is Monica Hawkins, and this is my husband, Thomas. Our little girl Mandy is missing. It's been two days now, and I miss her so much." Monica took a deep breath in. Her tongue dragged across the roof of her mouth. Breathing through her nose made it worse...

10 comments 10
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“To love is to lose your mind, and Amanda Grace lost hers.” by Gigi Leonard

“Speak, now.” I demand through gritted teeth.  My entire body is shaking, never in my life would I picture myself in this scenario. “ Please…” The voice trembles, tears fall from his eyes as he lays helplessly on the floor. “ I told you I don’t know anything!” He yells. I bite my bottom lip, trying to contain the very little amount of patience I have left in my body. “ I don’t believe you.” I say. I’m praying he c...

8 comments 8
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“Resistance of Posterity” by PK Love

"Speak. Now." The shadow cast over Hogarth's bowed head reared into full view, bearing eyes of luminescent violet and full lips, pressed into a grim line. Framed by shimmering silver tresses, the eyes bore into the top of Hogarth's blond head as the silence in the chamber grew. "What do you want me to say?" came the response, the melodic voice trembling. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Tobias. He ins...

2 comments 2
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