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

Posted in Dialogue on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 57 stories

“Blue” by Ricky Poole

Submitted to Contest #136

“You’ll never know until you try”, the last words Dad told me before he got into the accident. He tried his hardest to get me out of this-this dark abyss my mind had come into. I was consumed by demons, intangible fungi rotting my brain from the inside out, he watched helplessly as he could do nothing. The feeling was rooted in my heart for months and it tore me to shreds, life was losing its meaning and I was sinking into the murky deep. Once he noticed he never left my side, he tried to softly remodel me as a skilled potter would, he took ...

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“Blood-Shed on the MOON!” by Harnehal Singh

Submitted to Contest #136

There it was, the final showdown. I was too scared to shoot my gun. I really felt for the zombie’s families. It was their planet after all. Was there any way we could make friends? The ISS missile was approaching. What should I do? Captain Star was dead. It was the worst expedition ever. I didn’t know what to do. It all started on a sunny morning on the ISS. In the ISS (International Space Station) It was a day meant for relaxation. Today was anniversary day. It was the 55th of the ISS flying over planet Earth. I was on the ship on t...

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“New Mexico In My Dreams.” by Ellie Blair

Submitted to Contest #136

When an unexpected event occurs in one’s life and particularly if it is associated with something you like, love, enjoy, and understand, you sit up and take notice. Travel has played a major role in who I have become. It has educated me, it has opened my mind and heart, it has shown me the most beautiful places and people, and most of all, it has taught me gratitude. Having a deep interest also in Spirituality, Mindfulness, Alternative Medicine and Healing, I took myself off to a London Mind Body Spirit Show, an environment that feels famili...

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“slow burn, overdone” by Cesar Gar

Submitted to Contest #136

"You'll never know unless you try"---he handed me the cigarette and I handily proceeded to light it, the air was cold and I couldn't remember why I'd decided to leave home, or how my night, or this moment, had come to be. She was sheltered by a million hands and not too far from the darkened corner where a burning barrel was our only heat. "Go on", he said, "what are you waiting for"...I looked around and saw white smoke every time I opened my mouth to breathe..."I don't know", I said. There was an icy stare upon her face, but I knew it coul...

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“A beautiful failure” by Ali LOUFOUMA

Submitted to Contest #136

My father once told me : courage is the absence of fear. And ever since then I have always measured my courage and that of my family against those words. The more time passed, the more absurd that quote seemed. Every time I was supposed to be courageous and fear came over me, I would tell myself that I had already lost at the exercise of courage. I would give up and the situation would take over. I thought that human beings who succeeded were superhuman. I still think so, but only since I met Basil something has chan...

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“My Grandad” by Jordan Williams

Submitted to Contest #136

"My grandad used to teach me about history, not in a lecture way or even in telling stories himself kind of way, but with books. He gave me the first Sharpe book, chronologically not in release order which was weird when I made it back around to Sharpe being in Spain cause Bernie C didn't fill out Sharpe's back story until after he'd finished the Peninsular War. Reading about Dick Sharpe and his riflemen really sparked my interest and from that I learnt as much as I could about the war, Napoleon and Wellington. After that he gave...

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“My Day as an Actor” by Patricia Reiter

Submitted to Contest #136

Let’s face it, the age of cute little attention-grabbing-selfies missed my fellow quinquagenarians and me. The “fish face pose” is lost on our wrinkles and gray hairs. (Search the instructions if you want to give it a try - yes, “fish face” is a real thing). Frankly, mirrors are not on my VIP list either. By no means am I hideous physically but those reflections jar me back to the reality of my age and stage of life and frankly, I prefer hard-core denial. The best parts of life are largely those fleeting moments when a song comes on in the c...

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“Where Where You?” by Lisa Bloch

Submitted to Contest #136

Where Were You? I had never made a therapist cry before. “Inappropriate” was the word Judith, my therapist, used to describe my father. I sucked on that word as if it were a lifesaver, but not the good cherry kind. This was a yucky green one. I had always known something was not right in our family. I had witnessed the interactions of my friends with their families and relished sleepovers where I could feel like part of another family, even if just for a night. At one sleepover, my friend Laura’s father had yelled at her, but then apol...

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“Hope.” by Evelina Strauss

Submitted to Contest #136

"You'll never know unless you try" is what they told me after I suffered a major injury in the two sports I loved the most. When the doctor told me I tore my ACL, MCL, and my meniscus, my world had began to spiral. I truly thought I was done for, never to play again. The mere idea of never being able to play again threw me into a deep depression. It was my third year wrestling and little did I know it would be my last. The doctors had very little faith I would ever be able to wrestle or play rugby again, two things I loved so deeply. Most pe...

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“Roses in Augsburg” by Catherine Douglas

Submitted to Contest #136

“You’ll never know unless you try.”Sergeant Plundell’s words echoed in Private Liebermann’s head as he looked across the sparsely populated tavern at a young woman gazing down at a book and absentmindedly stirring a cup of tea. She had been coming into the tavern for the last week or so, sitting at the same exact spot and ordering the same exact tea, reading the same book. The only difference was where her bookmark ended up. Her hair was short and the color of coffee. One could say she was rather plain-looking, but Liebermann disagreed.“She’...

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“Tug of War” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #136

Tug of war is a simple concept, usually the rope which is about six inches in diameter and made from rough hemp that chaffs and is rough on the skin. While length may vary, the rope laid out in the “Pit of Death” was approximately fifty feet long and would accommodate two teams of ten each. A red flag signifying the middle was hung over a large man-made mud puddle in which the losing team would most likely be swimming in. Since I was the largest member of our team, I was designated as the anchor and the small members of th...

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“Perseverance is Key” by Rebecca Stack

Submitted to Contest #136

She picks herself up off the floor where she has once again fallen flat on her face; she dusts herself off, attempts to stand tall in the face of adversity. She asks why she keeps putting herself through this when she appears destined to fail. This will be her thirteenth attempt for this day alone, unlucky for some. These legs take some getting used to. They are not her own, alien to her, they will not move the way she wants them to. Willing them does not seem to work, concentrating hard just makes her more and more ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 57 stories

“Blue” by Ricky Poole

“Blood-Shed on the MOON!” by Harnehal Singh

“New Mexico In My Dreams.” by Ellie Blair

“slow burn, overdone” by Cesar Gar

“A beautiful failure” by Ali LOUFOUMA

“My Grandad” by Jordan Williams

“My Day as an Actor” by Patricia Reiter

“Where Where You?” by Lisa Bloch

“Hope.” by Evelina Strauss

“Roses in Augsburg” by Catherine Douglas

“Tug of War” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Perseverance is Key” by Rebecca Stack

🌟 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: