Write a story entirely of dialogue. Nothing but dialogue. No attributives (he said, she said, etc.). No descriptions of scenes or gestures or movements (unless these things are presented in the dialogue). Just words between quotation marks. Pure, beautiful, untainted dialogue.

Posted in Dialogue on Feb 17, 2023

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✍️ 275 stories

“Heavy is the Cloak” by Tarnisha Tull

Submitted to Contest #186

“Um… Hey, Joleena.” “Oh! Joe! You scared me!” “Sorry, didn’t mean to. Mind if I sit down?” “… sure. Why wouldn’t I?” “You realize you only call me Joe when you’re mad at me right?” “Everyone calls you Joe.” “Except you. You usually call me Joseph.” “Okay then, Joseph. Joseph. Joseph. Joseph. Are you happy now?” “I can’t be when you’re obviously not. It must be really bad if you’re smoking out here in the open like this.” “I’m not in the open, that’s why I left. What are you doing?” “Hey, I’m curious. You seem to think it helps. Maybe it’ll h...

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“Cosmic Latte” by Jennifer Johnson

Submitted to Contest #186

“It’s colder than I expected.” “Who said that?” “I did.” “I couldn’t have. I am the only ‘I’ here.” “Well, I’m also an ‘I’. To me, you’re ‘you’ and I am ‘I’, and I guess I’m ‘you’ and you’re ‘I’ the other way.” “But then who am I?” “I’m…. not quite sure.” “But then if you expected it to be warmer, you must’ve expected to meet me.” “…. I suppose so.” “So where did you expect to be?” “I think I was expecting it to be bright and warm, not cold and… is that smell raspberries?” “What do raspberries smell of?” “I gues...

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“A Suspicious Phone Call” by Becca Yurok

Submitted to Contest #186

“Hello? He-llo!? Is anyone there? HELLO!”‘Uh yes…Good day…”“You’re lucky! I was just about to hang up! “It must be a bad connection, sir.”“Maybe…but I think that you must mean ma’am.”“Oh yes…I am very sorry for my mistake, please accept my apologies…ma’am.”“Whom am I speaking with?”“Yes, ma’am. This is officer Joseph and I am calling from the Canadian Revenue Agency, badge number 55- ”“Your voice sounds very familiar…do I know you from somewhere?”“No, I don’t believe so. As I was saying, I am ca...

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“Fodder” by Lizz Dimercurio

Submitted to Contest #186

“911, what's your emergency?” “Help! My crazy neighbor is trying to get in to kill his cat!” “Ma’am. Please slow down. You say your neighbor is trying to break in? Where are you now?” “In my house. He’s pounding on the door. You can’t have him, Frank! He’s mine now!” “Ma’am. Why won’t you give him his cat?” “Because. He's been chasing the poor guy around with a knife for an hour in nothing but boxers. Frank, not the cat. When he ran up to my door, I let him in. The cat, not Fran...

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“Judgment” by Sally Morem

Submitted to Contest #186

“First things first. I’ll tell you all straight out. This online convocation was not my idea. Tuussay insists.” “It is so. Humans learn about Liuapands. Intelligent or not? Beloved Jen choose. Beloved Jen good chooser.” “Right. Did everyone get the downloads?” “What size are these aliens? They look kinda like squids.” “Not squids, beloved Matt.” “Some sort of octopus?” “With eleven arms?” “Not octopus, beloved Anna. Liuapands. Not from Earth.” “Yeah, they’re aliens.” “How can we possibly figure out if they’re intelligent?” “Humans ask. Ask m...

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“Diametrically Opposed” by Jourdain Black

Submitted to Contest #186

“...What is that you’re holding?” “Connley Cabot? Ha! That’s so like you to have such an insufferable name—is that why you were scouted?” “My ID.” “And the rest of your stuff in this pretty little satchel you’ve got. I love the little flowers~” “Don’t shake it.” “Oh. Surely you don’t mean like this?” “You’re having fun now, but it’s gonna come back to bite you in the ass, tenfold.” “You mean…you’re coming back to ‘bite me in the ass’?” “No. I’ll be the indiscernible blur barreling toward you.” “Ah.” “With my arm cocked ba...

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“Betrayal” by Elizabeth Landon

Submitted to Contest #186

“And you knew how much that would hurt me!” “God, you are such a victim” “All I've ever done was be kind to you, you are so cruel!” “I”M cruel?? You don’t even know yourself. To call me cruel… you’re such a hypocrite” “And I never said what happened that day was your fault” “No, but you might as well have. And now you want me to feel sorry for you, after everything you’ve put me through” “Just STOP! Already, please… why is it never enough?” “Oh, I’ve had enough. I’m done with you” “Good! You are so draining to be around, imagine trying to be...

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“Interlude” by Jon Hanton

Submitted to Contest #186

“Good morning!” “Huh.” “Good morning!” “Who’s that?” “It’s me, silly.” “Who are you?” “Don’t be ridiculous. Don’t tell me you can’t remember.” “...” “We knew each other on Earth...” “Um…” “Well I guess when I think about it, we didn’t really know each other for that long. At least not from your perspective.” “Am I… uh... … missing something?” “No and yes. You are ‘dead’, as you Earthlings call it. You no longer have your human body. Do you remember your death?” “I don’t remember a single damn thing.” “Don’t worry, ...

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“We'll never have Paris” by Gabrielle Schoeffield

Submitted to Contest #186

“Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a nightmare.” “Good to see you made it in one piece. Come on, sweetheart, take a seat. Have you thought about where we should go on vacation? How about Paris? We've always said we'd get there someday.” “I just got here, Frank. Let me at least take off my coat and unwind, for heaven’s sake! ” “Fine, I’ll get the waiter’s attention.” “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Lucas. What can I bring you today?” “Good afternoon, Simon. I’ll have a glass of ice water with a lemon slice.” “I’ll have th...

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“TALK THE TALK” by Eshawnial Lowry

Submitted to Contest #186

"It's beautiful!" "What's beautiful?...Gene?" "The way you smile, the way you look at the world the-" "Spare me the B.S. Gene, sarcasm is not, your, strongest attribute!" "I'm no Mary Jo Smith, but you already know that. No one can live up to your title" "Uuuuh men!" "Uuuuug, women!" "When Pam told me to swipe left I should have listened." "..." "Did you just shake your head, and roll your eyes at me? I hate it when you do that." "You clearly saw me shake my head. And if I want to roll my eyes I will roll my eyes!..There...how's that?" "A li...

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“There is Always another Side to the Story” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #186

“I’m getting so excited about the marvelous Anniversary Party I’m organizing for my dear sister Kate, and for Fred. You’ll come too won’t you Selina? We‘ve invited all her friends and our entire family, minus kids. Fred’s parents Andy and Ally will be there as well. It’ll be grand. It’s at the new Crown Plaza. We’ve booked a suite on the top floor. Fantastic view. The lounge is massive and has its own bar. The gorgeous bedroom and en suite we’ve reserve...

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“FIVE YEARS APART” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #186

"Makayla get in here." "Camilla, what do you need? I'm on a deadline." "How well do you know Tristan Garcia?" ""Only from what I seen on T.V. Why? "Well I have it on good authority that you know Tristan Garcia very well. Tell me the truth Makayla." "Fine here's the truth. At one point in my life me and Tristan Garcia were friends but that was a long time ago." "Why do I get the feeling you are lying to me?" "Camilla, Tristan is my past. I don't want nothing to do with him. Why are you even asking me about him?" "Because we ha...

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“"You're Impossible"” by Irene Duchess

Submitted to Contest #186

“What are you doing?” “Me?” “Yes. Who else? That rock? A tree? You’re just… sitting. On the edge of a cliff. Literally about to fall off. Probably to your death.” “I’m just watching the sunset. What’s so bad about that?” “Nothing is bad about it. The sunset is nice, I guess, with the gold clouds, pink and orange and blue sky, there’s nothing wrong with it. Just where you’re sitting. On the edge of a ridiculously tall cliff. Seriously, Hazel? You’re going to fall.” “I’m not really the cautious type. You know that, Mateo.” “Oh, I certainly do...

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“I KNEW IT!” by Nadine N Francis

Submitted to Contest #186

“Mom, I love you.” “What do you want?” “What do you meeeeeeeeean? Why can’t I tell you that I loooooooove you?” “You usually tell me that you love me out of the blue when you want something. You’ve been asking to go to the mall lately. And you have… that LOOK.” “What look?” “THAT ONE! The one where you try to butter me up with your innocent-looking eyes!” “C’mon, Mom! I just wanted to let you know in case I don’t say it enough. I really do love you. I love all that you do for us.” “Seriously?” “SERIOUSLY.” “Wow. Thank...

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“A Letter Leading to Nowhere ” by Brooklyn Goossen

Submitted to Contest #186

“You don’t suppose she’s watching us, do you?” “No, it isn’t possible… Why do you ask?” “She was the one who sent us here, remember? It was in her last letter; the instructions were extremely specific. She even specified which tree, out of thousands. Isn’t that a little strange to you?” “No, she was always particular. It’s probably the exact center point of the forest or some weird math calculation. She was obsessed with calculating the center of everything, so it makes sense.” “I guess you’re right, but I still can’t help feeling li...

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Write a story entirely of dialogue. Nothing but dialogue. No attributives (he said, she said, etc.). No descriptions of scenes or gestures or movements (unless these things are presented in the dialogue). Just words between quotation marks. Pure, beautiful, untainted dialogue.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 275 stories

“Heavy is the Cloak” by Tarnisha Tull

“Cosmic Latte” by Jennifer Johnson

“A Suspicious Phone Call” by Becca Yurok

“Fodder” by Lizz Dimercurio

“Judgment” by Sally Morem

“Diametrically Opposed” by Jourdain Black

“Betrayal” by Elizabeth Landon

“Interlude” by Jon Hanton

“We'll never have Paris” by Gabrielle Schoeffield

“TALK THE TALK” by Eshawnial Lowry

“There is Always another Side to the Story” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“FIVE YEARS APART” by Melinda Madrigal

“"You're Impossible"” by Irene Duchess

“I KNEW IT!” by Nadine N Francis

“A Letter Leading to Nowhere ” by Brooklyn Goossen

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which each paragraph begins or ends (or both!) with the same sentence.

Write a story of fragments. Many options here: no verbs, sentence fragments, short sections, nothing but objects, etc. The fragments should relate to one another obliquely, hesitantly, subtly, ambiguously, preposterously, marvelously.

Write a story within a story within a story within a ...

Write a story that formally utilizes a mathematical sequence; e.g., the Fibonacci sequence could determine the number of words in each paragraph, or start with a number and work backwards. Make sure the formula is made clear, either within the story, or before or after it.

Contest #186

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

479

Contest entries

141

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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