Start or end your story with someone saying “You’ll never know unless you try.”

Posted in Dialogue on Oct 25, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 57 stories

“Six Shades of Splendid” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #136

Saturday had already turned out to be six shades of splendid and it wasn’t even 9 A.M. yet. To begin with, he had rolled out of bed this morning with nary an ache or a pain throughout his entire body. Now that was a welcomed rarity at his age. Then there was the fact that he wasn’t feeling the least bit hung-over. Even after a fun-filled Friday night of heavy drinking and ingesting some cannabis edible in the form of a passion fruit flavored lollipop which purportedly contained a whopping 66 milligrams of THC. Next, after brushing his teeth ...

17 comments 17

Read story

“Coffee” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #136

“You’ll never know unless you try,” Tom places a wet kiss on my forehead. I feel my protests lodged in my throat, held back by the guilt of this brand new engagement ring that glitters in the sunlight and fills me with butterflies. “You could love her…” he trails off as he wanders into our kitchen and prepares his morning cup of coffee, “Or learn to.” His voice grows louder as he enters the room again. He chuckles when he sees me, poking—no, stabbing—no, annihilating—my pile of fluffy scrambled eggs. “That’s not Sam’s face,” he jokes and tak...

33 comments 33

Read story

“Of glints, and collecting fireflies” by B. Oyewole

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #136

When Alice confessed to John that she felt empty, there was static on the other end. It had taken her every ounce of her being to admit that. It had surprised her too, to use that word.Although when she said empty, what she really meant was, I came close to ending it last night. In fact, I still have the blade by the edge of the tub, and the water, once warm, is now cold, and the tub isn’t drained yet. I have climbed in and out of it a few times, and felt the coldness of the blade on my wrist. But I can't do it, John, and I don’t know why."O...

26 comments 26

Read story

“Dead Man On Train” by Valerie Vince

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #136

Dying is easy, and yet how my weary spirit clings to the world of the living. This is my funeral and I am amazed to see that I had so many friends. Friends, humph. They have come to eat and drink of my wife’s hospitality – cheap wine, meager food. A poor wake for a poor man. I know poverty like my grandfather’s grandfather knew it. It was bred in our blood and we never expected more. But there once was a time, in my youth, I had the fantasy of going to the western l...

27 comments 27

Read story

“Ignorance Is Bliss” by Sachi Shah

Submitted to Contest #136

“You’ll never know unless you try! Just one pill will take all your problems away!” The incessant cries of the street vendors fell upon deaf ears as Adamu Otieno raced down the busy road on his rickety bicycle, feeling the warm Mombasa breeze brush past his face. The cobalt blue paintwork had faded long ago, but the good-natured twenty year old did not mind. His bicycle got him to all the places he needed to be, and for that he was grateful. He had one more stop to make before he could finally call it a day and head home. As Ada...

14 comments 14

Read story

“The Guide to Being Yourself” by Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #136

"You'll never know unless you try." This coming from your friend Jorge, one of the lucky ones. Ever since he did it, you've quietly observed his metamorphosis from the sidelines: the bright fingernail polish, the rainbow pins decorating his backpack, the braces-bound smile that never takes a day off. He's emerged from his cocoon but forgot to take you with him. "Just look at me." You yearn to say those words too, breathe them in like your mother's perfume, taste them on your lips like warm horchata on a snowy day. Just look at me. ...

22 comments 22

Read story

“To the Crater's Edge” by M.C. Washington

Submitted to Contest #136

"You'll never know unless you try," the villager wearing tattered clothes shouted through an odd grin. He laughed mockingly, and his movements were deranged before his black eyes locked onto the traveler. The villager went still and became silent; now that his gaze was fixed, he was entranced. The villager's face was distorted and ugly, barely distinguishable from any other resident in the small fishing community. There was a pain to this man that made the traveler uncomfortable. The traveler could feel the villager reading his mind. The sen...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Walls” by Maggie Gibbs

Submitted to Contest #136

Young love. Whether it was something you said about a couple, or it was something an adult said about you, I’m sure you’ve heard that saying before. It’s how adults describe two teenagers who are infatuated with each other. Most young adults or teenagers experience this young love or even a first love and it shapes who they become as adults. It shapes how they handle relationships going forward. But what if, you never had a young love or even a first love? What if you spent the better part of your teenage and young adult years fashioning ...

12 comments 12

Read story

“Sampling ” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #136

“You’ll never know unless you try…” Corey loved his mother; he kept her words in his head as he stared at the dishes in front of him. The waitress was charming enough when she put the food in front of him, but was there something devious in her look? Was there a bit of a sneer? He had a little tick in his face that would not go away. It was growing from the spicy and steaming mix of items in the biggest and most beautiful bowl in front of him. Yes, mom, I will never know… And he was glad that he had made it. Taking a trip overseas when hi...

6 comments 6

Read story

“I Can't Say Good-'Bi'” by Shelby Rose

Submitted to Contest #136

Stuck in a loop is an understatement. You could consider me stuck in a box. I try, I make progress, then I hit a wall. Once I have found that wall to be hard and near impossible to get around, I turn then try again.I’m stuck in a very boxy loop.Let me start from the beginning; I was once in a happy, fulfilling, and genuine marriage. A marriage I- along with everyone we knew- reveled in, but that was a few months ago back when I thought that nothing could shake us. Then something small happened, a pebble hidden in the road sent us reeling and...

9 comments 9

Read story

“One Step Closer” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #136

Note: - This is a sequel to Chalk and Cheese. It can be read as a stand-alone story as well.“You’ll never know unless you try!” declares Anj sputtering bits of lettuce and onion with the mayonnaise dripping down her full mouth. I look sceptically at her burger and then at my bowl of spinach gravy. My sleepless face is reflected in the green oil. I tend to agree with her. Maybe I should have taken up on Anj’s recommendation of a Maharaja Burger. At ‘Naveen Fusion Food’, the only cafeteria on the hospital premises, oil is the lifeline that cou...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Nigel's First Ball Game” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #136

'I can't believe I've been subjective to this,' I said this to myself as I following Frank through the stands. I was practically begged into coming here out of all places in Milwaukee and wouldn't you know it was Miller Park or something. Apparently they changed the name of the stadium recently but Frank keeps on calling it Miller Park anyway. I never was a big fan of baseball or any sort of sport within the matter.All I was interested was money and business. My family owes the firm over in London. I was supposed to be the next big boss but ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Fated with Music” by Rita Valendez

Submitted to Contest #136

Georgina had been closing her eyes for almost half an hour, her consciousness was alive, yet she pretended she was sleeping. She can hear the noise from her background: the roaring chug and chuff of the train; the distant sound of the people around her; and the little girl from her right calling her mother's attention" Mommy, I am hungry." her cry blends with the shrill noise from the crowd and hearing the little girl's cry makes her feel like she can't indulge the foreign environment anymore. Georgina slowly opens her eyes and looks around ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“My Future Self Once Said” by Chenchen Du

Submitted to Contest #136

“You’ll never know unless you try.” She tried to convince herself as she stared into the pills in the container. All of them reflecting ghastly white light in the washroom. Her legs felt numb as she tangled them together to fit into the small space next to the shower. She didn't want to stand up and look into the mirror and see her own face. The motions wouldn't be that hard. All she needed to do was to crack open the lid and swallow those little white tablets, like how she swallows the brown marbles in a bubble te...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Dating After Fifty” by McCampbell Molly

Submitted to Contest #136

Sophie lay in bed with her 16-year-old daughter Kalei. “Hmmm, Mom. I want to show you something.” Her daughter looked at her tentatively. “Sure Baby, what’s up?” Sophie flipped the television channels, hoping to find the perfect mother-daughter movie. She had been working a lot of hours lately and hadn’t been able to spend as much time with the kids as she might have liked. She was looking forward to some bonding time. “Well, I think that you shoul...

8 comments 8

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about somebody who knows they’re probably going to fail at something, but does it anyway.

Narrative – 32 stories

Write about a character giving something one last shot.

Narrative – 51 stories

Set your story on a baseball field.

Middle School – 39 stories

Write a story where hard work doesn’t pay off.

Angst – 28 stories

Contest #136

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: The Old College Try

$250

Prize money

207

Contest entries

100

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 11, 2022 EST

Won by Howard Halsall 🏆

Title: Cigarettes: A Romance

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start or end your story with someone saying “You’ll never know unless you try.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 57 stories

“Six Shades of Splendid” by Stevie B

“Coffee” by Amanda Lieser

“Of glints, and collecting fireflies” by B. Oyewole

“Dead Man On Train” by Valerie Vince

“Ignorance Is Bliss” by Sachi Shah

“The Guide to Being Yourself” by Zack Powell

“To the Crater's Edge” by M.C. Washington

“Walls” by Maggie Gibbs

“Sampling ” by Kendall Defoe

“I Can't Say Good-'Bi'” by Shelby Rose

“One Step Closer” by Suma Jayachandar

“Nigel's First Ball Game” by Sean Sorce

“Fated with Music” by Rita Valendez

“My Future Self Once Said” by Chenchen Du

“Dating After Fifty” by McCampbell Molly

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about somebody who knows they’re probably going to fail at something, but does it anyway.

Write about a character giving something one last shot.

Set your story on a baseball field.

Write a story where hard work doesn’t pay off.

Contest #136

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

207

Contest entries

100

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: