Start your story with someone uttering a very strange sentence.

Posted in Dialogue on Dec 22, 2023

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✍️ 52 stories

“Cultural Stroke of Gibberish” by Kevin RRW

Submitted to Contest #230

CHAPTER 1 – WRONG REACTION Festive events suddenly become dire, as inexperienced friends attempt to uncover the meaning of a cryptic phrase.Frat House FrightWithin vintage two-story lime green Victorian architecture this Saturday night, sips of beer provide inadequate hydration for the souls within. Music is blasting while a crowd of young adults, generating clammy body heat, dance to retro boy-band tunes.Entry is by invitation, with attendees bringing appetizers for admittance. An overabundance of cold, under-appreciated Middle Eastern, Asi...

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“Migratory Creatures” by Trinity Penn

Submitted to Contest #230

“It was never really orange. Not like they said it would be.” Grandma wasn’t a liar. She sat in her antiquated rocking chair, fingers gargoyle gripping the armrest with a gentle ferocity of an aged angel, lovely, cracked. An aging senile beauty. Soft whispered words, sharp with an unfocused meaning. No one listened to Grandma, not the way they used to anyway. Not when her youth had already kicked off its shoes, dress hoisted up at the ankles, off into the cold wilderness with rosy, hot snowflakes like freckles melting against her flush...

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“The Telescope” by Livia Owens

Submitted to Contest #230

"You can make me bleed all you want. But I'll never scream for you." Chloe Stone heard her lover’s wife scream this bizarre declaration at him within days of moving into a rental house on a dead-end street. It was after midnight when the wife’s bleating awakened Chloe. She witnessed the wife stumble out the front door and stand in front of the floodlight illuminating the circle driveway. The wife clutched a half-filled wine glass and a burning cigarette in one hand. She was wearing a knee-length red nightgown and white fluffy slippers. Chl...

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“Eight Hours” by Kevan Valk

Submitted to Contest #230

"The Greeks stole everything!" He nearly tears the paper filter as he unfolds it and starts precisely measuring the grounds."Yes, you told me. They stole your art, your culture, your food.""Aşkım..." His finger waves at me and he clicks his tongue.The pot sizzles into place."You’re resisting, aren't you?" I tease him. "You can continue your rant.""You just want to hear me curse.""Maybe.""Belki." He repeats, amused. “Always, 'maybe' with you.”"I promise, I will never call it a gyro again. It is a döner.""Thank you, Bebeğim." He bends close, b...

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“MASHED OUT” by Debra Williams

Submitted to Contest #230

MASHED OUT. I stood transfixed in front of the supermarket freezer, nose pressed against the glass, where the glistening packets of frozen potato mash, adorned with beguiling artwork and colours, pulsated and blew sultry kisses at me. Come on, they said, you know you want us. “Yes!” I answered, heart thumping. “Yes! I do want you!” “Are you alright?” came a voice. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. The young shop assistant who had been stacking shelves on the other side was now behind me. “Oh…oh, I’m sorry,” I blurted out....

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“Receptions ” by Michelle Itehua Salas

Submitted to Contest #230

“Hi there! Name something that stays in pieces no matter how often you put it together.” I hadn't even heard the Cutlass Cierra pull up behind me as I was attempting to fish the lone circular out of my mailbox while avoiding the colony of red ants inside waving their antennae with interest in the direction of my fingers. The tiny telltale windows of cataract surgery scintillated through the lenses of her gold framed eyeglasses as my elderly neighbor regarded me turn the riddle over in my mind. While the riddle had me moment...

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“Sleep, Kells” by Marie Cataleya Edal

Submitted to Contest #230

N: You’ve been dreaming for a while; the birds are starting to leave their hiding places. K: ...mmmwhat? N: They’re going to start looking for us soon – well you, not me. K: …what happened? N: … K: …Hello? N: Yes. Hello. K: Who are you? N: An odd final question. I thought you at least knew me better than that. K: What’s going on? I can’t see a thing. N: Neither can I. K: Where am I? N: …That’s difficult to explain. K: This doesn’t make sense. I… where’s the lake? N: …the lake? K: I... Was that real? N: What are you saying? K: I don’t k...

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Start your story with someone uttering a very strange sentence.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“Cultural Stroke of Gibberish” by Kevin RRW

“Migratory Creatures” by Trinity Penn

“The Telescope” by Livia Owens

“Eight Hours” by Kevan Valk

“MASHED OUT” by Debra Williams

“Receptions ” by Michelle Itehua Salas

“Sleep, Kells” by Marie Cataleya Edal

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story framed by a single scene: something happens, a flashback or inner monologue intervenes, and then the story ends with the rest of the original scene.

Write a story in which a character achieves a new level of clarity about how they’re really feeling.

Write a story that hides something from its reader until the very end.

Write a story in the form of a list.

Contest #230

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

359

Contest entries

108

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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