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Center your story around a character facing a tight deadline.

Posted in Dramatic on May 23, 2025

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✍️ 40 stories

Writing on a Prayer

Submitted to Contest #304

"To write or not to write?" "Is that the actual question to have an answer?" "Or is that the answer to a question yet to be asked?" "Can writing be a way of escape or is it a way to go completely insane?" "Shall the one writing be the author or will someone else be the one who lays claim to fame for the writing of another?" "How does one know the idea(s) behind the writing of a drunk if they are the ones who are sober?" "How can we know for sure the writing that was written many years or decades or centuries ago is the actual writing of such...

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The Painting of Fleeting Time

Submitted to Contest #304

It was time to give up. Maria had poured thousands of hours of her life into her art, and now she finally had to come to terms with the fact that she would never amount to anything as an artist. She had excelled in art class in school as a kid, and that was why she made the decision to go to an arts college way above her budget. Her parents were skeptical, but Maria knew that as soon as she graduated, she would be successful enough to pay off her debts. The expensive degree was an investment in her future. Her professors said her work was te...

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Arrival

Submitted to Contest #304

Arrival The small silver craft careened through space in dead silence. The quiet exterior of its teardrop-shaped hull belied a serenity that was missing from the interior. At least five different sirens blared, and lights flashed all over the console and heads-up displays on the bridge. "X9, silence the alarms, if you would, please!" Endin yelled into the air. A moment later, the only sounds were the rustle of fabric, as he shifted in the console chair, and the ceaseless hum of the drive. That and his heavy breathing, as he did his best ...

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Canteen Full of Sins

Submitted to Contest #304

Content Warning: Mentions of drug use and child abuse.Ivy gave me three days to give her an answer.I couldn’t on the first day because it was too soon to consider anything. I had a lot of homework to do after school, not to mention the amount of beer cans and cigarettes I had to clean in the living room since Mom would have too much of a headache to do it herself. I told Ivy to let me think about it but she was adamant I give her an answer soon.Three days, she reminded me.I think she was trying to sound threatening, but nothing ever sounded ...

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A Writer's Schedule

Submitted to Contest #304

Okay, so I’m a night owl. So what. I can still have friends, go to church, eat breakfast on time, and write my heart out before I have to go to work in the morning. I’ve been doing this for five years now and so far I haven’t had any bad side effects. I think. Well, I’ve run through three boyfriends and lost contact with my cousin in Alaska, but, hey – who needs to know what’s happening in Alaska, right? I’ve traveled the world (in my mind anyway) and enjoyed learning about people everywhere. What a species we are! We communicate in meaningf...

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The Pressure of Time: Leon's Urgent Deadline

Submitted to Contest #304

Once upon a time, a diligent man named Leon lived in a bustling city where the streets never slept. He was known for his meticulous work ethic and ability to gracefully manage even the most challenging tasks. However, Leon's usual composed demeanour leads to the ultimate test on one fateful day. It was a typical Monday morning when Leon's inbox was filled with a new email. As he opened it, his eyes widened in horror. The subject line read: "URGENT: Report Due in 12 Hours." His heart sank. He had completely forgotten about the report hanging ...

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Collateral

Submitted to Contest #304

Casey kicks the swivel. Activating the ship’s directional thrusters as he hits 1,114 km. His ship shudders beneath the G's pushing on the chassis. The mask attached to his helmet pumps a cocktail of O2 and other chemicals called mist, keeping him conscious. “Catching up to Raule in third place as he blazes into his second lap, Casey punches it, blasting into the tunnel at record speeds.” The announcer, Misha, cheers from the safety of his booth, clutching the mic like it’s the only thing keeping him grounded. “Leaving Raule in the dust, taki...

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Morning Edition

Submitted to Contest #304

“You’re quitting?” It wasn’t a question. Erik’s face, normally discontented, morphed into an expression of consternation. He leaned forward, his elbows sliding from the cracked and aged green leather padding of his armrests to his knobby, bare and hairy knees. As usual, his ensemble was a mix of professional—a button-down shirt—and casual—a pair of khaki board shorts. Jenn had long since given up trying to persuade him away from wearing socks with his sandals–iconically velcro. The style was decidedly Erik, and at this point, endearing. “Thi...

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Hard Deadlines

Submitted to Contest #304

One piece of advice to my fellow new authors. Don’t work for a weekly magazine if you value your creative process! Hard deadlines are the worst!God damn I am tired. You would think that my ten years of experience as a published author would’ve prepared me for the high pace demand of my editor.“I want one story a week from you every Friday by eight o’clock, Benson! And no less than five thousand words! You are our main attraction for the next six months! Your stories better earn us some Pulitzers if ya wanna earn your paycheck from home!”That...

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Big Apple Takedown

Submitted to Contest #304

Publisher Joe Paulson laid it all on the line, “Dan, you either produce the next three chapters of Homicide on the Nile by the September 15 deadline or we will immediately drop you from our stable of writers. Paulson and his Magnifying Glass Publishing Company had released three New York Times bestsellers written by Dan Rodriguez in just five years. The Covid Pandemic brought everything to a standstill when the writer contracted a recurring case of long covid that played havoc with his immune system. Homicide on the Nile stood unfin...

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A Symphony of Blood

Submitted to Contest #304

With only six hours until his master awakens, the familiar Germ races against time to secure a suitable meal. It must meet the master’s exacting standards; anything less is rejected in disgust and cast aside. Worse yet, the meal must be delivered promptly, or the master’s performance at tonight’s grand symphony debut will suffer, perhaps disastrously. He’s been practicing for years for this concert. He is, after all, the main attraction.The master only needs to feed once a week, and Germ wouldn’t be under such pressure if the last two feedin...

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One second per second

Submitted to Contest #304

Nine Minutes remaining - the wrist watch on my hand is running in reverse. I know not why.I am standing in the world congress - where history was made. It took three global wars resulting in failed global governance and then a fourth one involving aliens - is it proper to say aliens now? - took all that for humanity to realize the need for a planetary government. One that could represent us as one in the universe, rationally. One that could answer questions like the one I have today.“Can you explain again, doctor? And this time in layman Eng...

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Krasnaya Pod Davleniem (Кра́сная Под Давлением)

Submitted to Contest #304

Pressure biting on hull. Metal groan like lamenting of preachers outside Leningradsky railway terminal. Depth gauge: glowing green, like mould growing in brain. We are past safe. Long past. It does not matter.Silence down below. It is heavy. Not peaceful kind, like sleep. No. This kind, it sit on your chest like dying dog. It settle in your marrow, thick, like dirty oil. Become part of you. Each breath, like last sigh of world.No light. Only glow green from console. Three buttons: surface, hold, launch. That is all there is. That is all ther...

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Digital Babel

Submitted to Contest #304

Mila forced herself to walk slowly through Chinatown market, her steps steady despite the pounding of her heart. The narrow lanes bustled with life; hawkers shouting prices in a blend of Hokkien, Cantonese, and Mandarin, the sizzle of chestnut carts mingling with the sharp tang of dried seafood. She’d always loved how this part of the city had resisted change and fought to keep its 19th-century shophouses and traditions. “Damn,” Mila muttered, catching herself glancing up at a surveillance drone cruising above the tiled rooftops. She grippe...

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You must type at least 1,000 words

Submitted to Contest #304

“The first challenge every pro writer must face is deadlines,”After class, Professor Markle put an inbox in the assignment tab and a description. “The most common excuse I here from aspiring writers who never have anything on their paper is that they don’t have the time. Between classes, supporting the family, a full-time job and kids, I can’t make it happen every day. I had all of these things before I was 30, and I made it happen.” Here he goes again with the gloating. “This assignment is a contest. Write a short story about a time, real ...

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