Start or end your story with a character asking a question.

Posted in Dialogue on Dec 6, 2024

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✍️ 80 stories

“It All Comes Undone” by Katie Sayers

Submitted to Contest #280

I never walk into a room hoping that someone will show me every single mundane detail of their home. Yet here I am, trailing behind my new ditz of a coworker, feigning interest in her kitschy mementos from unremarkable trips, and poorly done DIY renovations. Unless you have a stack of gold bars in your basement or a clone of Elvis Presley in the living room, I don’t care. We flit from room to room until we end up at her office, her “pièce de résistance” as she calls it. I think it’s a pièce of garbage. The room is small, only about 100 squar...

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“Behind The Door” by Savannah Hoover

Submitted to Contest #280

"What’s behind the door?" It was Elise’s first question as she toured the creaking house on Hollow Ridge. The realtor, a wiry man with darting eyes, a sweat mustache, and fingers that fidgeted with his tie, hesitated before answering.“That?” He forced a grin, but it came out brittle, like a shard of broken glass. His gaze lingered on the door: a crooked, time-warped plank at the end of the upstairs hall. “Just a crawlspace. Best leave it alone. There’s plenty of storage throughout the rest of the house, you won’t need that dusty old thi...

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“It's A Murder But Not A Mystery ” by Dina H

Submitted to Contest #280

Who is watching me? That is a question in the back of my head at all times of the day. It's like my life is an open book and someone is reading it right before me. It's an eerie feeling. But there isn't much I can do. Hopefully, it goes away. I was walking to the bus stop this morning for a ride to my office downtown when I got that feeling again. I turned around but saw nothing. Finally, the bus arrived and I stepped on feeling safer. Arriving at my office, I greeted my co-workers and grabbed a coffee, then sat in my little room with my clu...

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“Welcome to Paradise” by Elton James

Submitted to Contest #280

“Don’t you deserve a vacation?” A beautiful woman strides toward the camera, the TV-perfect epitome of a successful businesswoman. Dark hair gleams under studio lights in a styled shoulder-length bob. Crimson lipstick frames a dazzling ivory smile. Her tailored dark skirt suit and crisp white blouse are cinched by a black belt which emphasises her hourglass figure. Her piercing blue eyes seem to look straight through the viewer. “I’m Karen Rinehart, CEO of the planet of Paradise,” she says, her voice a rich, melodic. “And I would like ...

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“Blood Moon” by R.H. Magdalena

Submitted to Contest #280

“Please, can you find our son?” The couple on the other side of Mel had been crying for days based on the red-rimmed eyes staring back at her. They weren’t wearing anything with designer labels like past clients who were desperate for anything they could use in the divorce. A nice, normal family. At least on the surface. Melanie Carmody, private investigator of fifteen years, wanted nothing more than to take her vape from its charger in her desk drawer and take a long intake of its customized contents. Sure, cigarettes had been in her rear...

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“Escape Measures” by Wayne Brandenburg

Submitted to Contest #280

“Will you keep me safe?” her tiny voice echoed from the past.He flinched back from the memory and stared through the portal at the stars. Somewhere out there was Earth and everything he was escaping. He activated the external window shield.The solar system’s largest planet loomed in the void, a massive sphere of swirling gases. Its colossal red spot churned, a storm larger than the entirety of Earth. Amidst this chaos, a tiny metallic glint flashed above the swirling tempest.SPACESHIP: GodwinCLASS: Ibis Class HeavyMISSION: Jupiter Exploratio...

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“Closing Season” by Joceline Telfer

Submitted to Contest #280

“Where are you going when the shop closes?” Arora beams, flipping hair that’s been dyed to be blonde, but closely resembles a shade half rotted seaweed instead. I don’t know. “I haven’t decided yet.” I respond. Moving to my next roll of silverware. Arora hasn’t started her side work yet, but I’ll be the one blamed in the morning if they come up short. I sigh, and my ribs hurt. Arora pouts, but leans in, “I heard Steph is leaving town. Something about a new boyfriend down South.” She’s fishing, but I don’t bite, “Good for her.” I ...

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“The Abhartach Comes to Visit” by Rory O'Dell

Submitted to Contest #280

‘Where are we going?’ Cora asked. ‘Put your shoes on.’ Theodore dropped a pair of pristine boots at her feet. She began to shove her feet through the holes. Her mind drifted to a trip to the town which might end, if she begged enough, with a stop at the sweet shop.‘I have an errand to run.’The afternoon was blustery even in the sheltered rolling hills. The carriage rocked over bumps and dips in the gravely road, as they descended into the exposed valley towards the sea. Cora’s hopes were slashed. They were headed far away from town, dee...

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“Maybe” by Anthony Saint

Submitted to Contest #280

“Are you dreaming?” she asked.“I can’t be,” I said. “I’m sure of it. We’ve spent the whole day together. Haven’t we?”We hadn’t. That would be impossible. Only possible in a dream. My dreams are cruel. In them, I am always the last to know I’m dreaming. I stupidly accept the pleasant impossibilities before me only to bump into reality. I never learn. I jumped on the lucid dreaming wagon years ago and fell off after so many months. My journal entries to induce the lucidity devolved into a collection of memories I’ve never had and words I never...

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“The Girl With the Monkey Tattoo” by Lara Lenhoff

Submitted to Contest #280

TW: Mature and misogynistic contentI met Larissa on the evening of her thirty-first birthday. I was on a date with her friend Karen who I met on Match.com, and even though I was slightly apprehensive about going to this girl’s apartment that I didn’t know, on the phone Larissa had convinced Karen to come by and say hi and have a few drinks with her other guests. She had just gotten back from the tattoo shop with her friends Ben and Steve and wanted Karen to see the tattoo of the monkey she got on her back. Cute.Karen and I were at the F...

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“Gloria” by Christee Fontanez

Submitted to Contest #280

Content warning: Substance abuse, sexual encounter, self-image issues“Hey, Gloria, last call. You want another?” the bartender glances at the clock and calls out to the woman perched at the end of the bar. Her head swirling in a blue-grey cloud of cigarette smoke as she exhales.The jukebox crackles with a Laura Branigan tune, “Gloria”; the sound of the '80s echoing in a bar that hasn’t seen a renovation since that time. The dark wood interior, faded beer signs, and outdated light fixtures feel like a specter of a forgotten place.She looks up...

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“Will You Ever Forgive Me?” by T J

Submitted to Contest #280

“How do I even begin to apologise for something like this?” The words tumbled out in a hoarse whisper. The pen trembled in Nathan’s hand as he stared at the dining table, cluttered with crumpled drafts. He forced his hand to move, pressing the pen's tip to the paper. His hand unsteady, he wrote: You don’t know me, but I know who you are. My name is Nathan Caldwell. I was there the day your daughter died. He pressed the heel of his hand against his temple, squeezing his eyes shut as memories crashed over him—his thumb on a detonator, then an...

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“Spelling bee ” by Em Everheart

Submitted to Contest #280

Balancing a plate of cookies with one hand, I knocked on the heavy wooden door with the other. For a long moment, silence reigned, broken only by the faint shuffling of feet from the apartment next to the Millers. Thinking the young woman I’d only seen in passing might not be home, I sighed in disappointment and turned to leave.The other families in the complex had mentioned that she was a beautiful young woman, often seen only in the early mornings or late afternoons. She barely had conversations, even with the people working at the conveni...

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“The Fifth of November” by Max Gabriel

Submitted to Contest #280

Hamza The fifth of November? Yes, I remember. There was a small get together. I stayed in my rooms at the far end of the left corridor there’s a bedroom, bathroom and separate living area from morning until the guests arrived closer to dusk. I put on a blazer I found in one of the closets. It was gray, corduroy, surprisingly nice fit, with a yellow handkerchief. I digress. Who was there? There was Josephine, Esther, of course, Merlin, and myself. Although, I have only been residing here since the end of summer. Oh, and Henri, a black cat. Th...

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“ Contagious ” by Steven Sommer

Submitted to Contest #280

My name is Chadwick. And I have a question for you? Is it possible that a single act of kindness can be contagious. I’m here in my office on the 9th floor. Looking down on the hustle and bustle of the street below. when an old movie I had watched a few months ago popped in my head. The movie was called “invasion USA” made in 1956, I think. It was one of those “what if” type scenarios. Even though it was about the war effort. I was thinking how that scenario could play out in everyday life. So, in My head. I ran one pos...

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Start or end your story with a character asking a question.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 80 stories

“It All Comes Undone” by Katie Sayers

“Behind The Door” by Savannah Hoover

“It's A Murder But Not A Mystery ” by Dina H

“Welcome to Paradise” by Elton James

“Blood Moon” by R.H. Magdalena

“Escape Measures” by Wayne Brandenburg

“Closing Season” by Joceline Telfer

“The Abhartach Comes to Visit” by Rory O'Dell

“Maybe” by Anthony Saint

“The Girl With the Monkey Tattoo” by Lara Lenhoff

“Gloria” by Christee Fontanez

“Will You Ever Forgive Me?” by T J

“Spelling bee ” by Em Everheart

“The Fifth of November” by Max Gabriel

“ Contagious ” by Steven Sommer

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!)

Write a story in which two or more people have a conversation — without using any quotation marks.

Center your story around a character who overhears others talking about them.

Write a story that includes someone (or something) saying, “No, don’t!”

Contest #280

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

382

Contest entries

138

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: