Start your story with someone admitting a secret and end it with someone telling a lie.

Posted in Dramatic on May 1, 2021

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?

✍️ 180 stories

“A Ballsy Proposition” by Lydi B

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #68

"What if I shared my most condemning secret?" Annette lifted her eyes from the dessert menu to meet those of her equally as decadent date. Ray had tapped into the essential plot element of intrigue with that line. His countenance had grown rigid, the humor of their previous conversation long gone from his otherwise glorious gaze. Every time she concentrated on those deep blue orbs, she felt a mixture of elation and enough jitters to about send her rocketing for the nearest toilet. Anxiety always made her nauseous. If she were a character i...

14 comments 14

Read story

“Voir Dire” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #68

'I once ran out of a restaurant to avoid paying for dinner. My date thought I was in the bathroom, but I had my handbag with me. Silly man. Very sweet, but not my type. And the food was terrible.'My face cracked. I knew that we should not be laughing in the court house, even in a separate side room, but they called us all in to deal with a case and I needed my laugh.It was my first time on jury duty, and Loretta was helping to make the day bearable. At least thirty of us had to show up on a truly miserable Monday to 'do your civic duty as ci...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Going Gray” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #68

Author’s Note: This scene begins the way scenes often do in theater or fiction: a character reveals a secret or tells a lie. One of the two options is so common in writing, but both can be highly problematic. They can also be a relief. Secrets revealed can be so liberating. Lies (also known as untruths for those who dislike the immoral position of many liars and find the euphemism more palatable) can also serve to free the teller and the listener in a very good way. Some lies are lifesavers and that is not an exaggeration. They kee...

5 comments 5

Read story

“The vicious mafia, Nakimura.” by Oyediran Esther

Submitted to Contest #68

Dylan's POV " I have to go Dylan, my boss needs me at the office"she said carrying her bag from the table. "Alright" I said moving towards her and pecking her lips. "I'll come to pick you by 2:00pm" I told her. "Yes sweetie, I should be done by then" she said getting out of the door. Hannah has been my girlfriend for two years now after I ran away from Thailand. She's the only person that knows me and why I have been in hiding. My parents and two brothers all did in a car accident with I being the only sur...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Making a Difference” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #68

“Jake, it’s no good, I have to tell you this,” Katrina said, her voice small and tight and yet seeming to echo and resonate. “You have to know. It’s – no good us pretending we have any kind of a future together if I don’t. And yet we might not if I do …..” Jake bit his tongue before he told Katrina that she was speaking in riddles. And the truth was she wasn’t saying anything that surprised him. He loved this quiet, kind, soft-spoken woman more dearly than he had ever loved in his life. He also thought she ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Secret's Aren't For The Keeping [Part 2]” by Trinity Womack

Submitted to Contest #68

“I killed my best friend.” Alea Newman glanced at the young man standing in front of her. She had expected to hear a secret about him having stolen money or cheated on his girlfriend, but not a confession of murder. Alea tried to hide her shock, but he noticed nonetheless. “You promised not to tell. You must remember that.” She nodded, angry that he would think she was going back on...

6 comments 6

Read story

“A White Lie Won’t Hurt Anyone But Me ” by April Summers

Submitted to Contest #68

“Stella...I‒I...I think I’m gay!” “And I need to go home and watch the next episode of my korean drama! Now will you shut the hell up and help me with this damn banner!” Stella yelled back as her usual self with no hesitation what-so-ever, as if what I had just said was just a normal thing to say like, “Oh, what lovely weather we’re having today?” Although I do think it’s slowly starting to be acknowledged and normalized, it still’s got a long way to go towards being accepted with open arms and no judgemental views. I don’t think judgementa...

2 comments 2

Read story

“I Have Something to Confess” by Annette Lovewind

Submitted to Contest #68

“Can I confess something to you?”, my friend Anglea asked me. “Sure, anything for you”, I reply. “I killed somebody.” My brain does a 180 at those words. She would never. “You're joking?” I say. Anglea looks at me, her facial expression hard to read. She stares at me. I wonder what she is thinking. Anglea opens her mouth but shuts it the moment she opens it. I can see she is trying to figure out how to say things. I just hope that those things are along the lines...

5 comments 5

Read story

“The Ouroboros Tale” by Saizen 🦜

Submitted to Contest #68

"Ophidum. That's what you're looking for." The old woman finally said.Piero pondered. He had never heard of that. Then again, his mind was no longer the same.Having completed his apprenticeship as an alchemist, Piero worked as a shopkeeper at one of the guild's shops several shifts a week.Outside of work, he frequented the workshops, researching different formulas.Countless patrons came to Piero each day, expressing their distress and frustrations. A growing dread loomed over the city.A mysterious plague was spreading quietly. It afflicted t...

8 comments 8

Read story

“Forgotten Stars” by A. S.

Submitted to Contest #68

The moon hung heavy in the sky that night. Smooth ivory silk that had been draped over a bulb, filtering the sparking, golden glow into something luminescent and unreachable. Stars were scattered throughout, drops of mercury splattered onto a canvas by an artist’s tired brush. The surrounding ink landscape was illustrated in such careful clarity that a single breath threatened to smudge it. Feather-tipped fingers lightly traced the edges of the open window. Clear eyes sa...

6 comments 6

Read story

“A Killer Secret” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #68

On the side of the tracks that no one bothers to wander except the homeless and the hopeless, JP and I sat quietly behind the burnt-out shell of an old Firebird. Were things ‘business as usual’, we would be halfway through a case of Coors right now, plotting our next longshot plan for fortune and fame. The past week had changed all of that. For a fleeting moment earlier in the morning, I’d completely forgotten about the murders that had rocked our block. I woke up happy as a lark, fished out some clean-ish clothes out of the sma...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Victim” by Jude E.

Submitted to Contest #68

The Victim “I killed him.” I smiled maliciously at my friend, who looked as frightened of me as ever. Clearly he wasn’t too comfortable associating with a murderer, but I couldn’t be bothered about it. He’ll leave just like everyone did, but that was okay. The ugly lone light bulb that was illuminating this garage made everything look a disgusting shade of olive-green. His face was already yellowed ever since I did it, but who was I to keep peeping around him? His metal chair screeched painfully as he inched closer to the lustrous ta...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Have It Your Way” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #68

“I go to the other.” “You go to the other and you do what?” “I ask for the number seven.” “Why the number seven?” “It’s the best value.” “You have so much money.” “I know.” “I come to your house and I see envelopes. Little blue envelopes everywhere that look like what you would use to put Easter cards in or Save the Date notices for a spring wedding. But I look in the envelopes and there are hundred dollar bills. All over your house.” “I know.” “Why would you go to the other?” “I sat down one night and nobody came over to...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Shake That Off” by Diana Reyes

Submitted to Contest #68

"I also like girls," you said while staring bluntly at the almost forgotten macchiato in front of you. It was past two in the afternoon. You are in the usual coffee shop. With the usual macchiato you got. This is what you always order all the time. You said this is your favorite but the truth is... you are just frightened to admit that you are afraid to try a new one.You are sitting next to the girl who you admire greatly. Just the mere thought of her makes your heart beat fast. You throw your eyes away, wanting to escape from the intensity ...

8 comments 8

Read story

“I Wasn't Joking” by Marina Y.

Submitted to Contest #68

“Can I tell you something about Elbert?”I was talking to Sarah with an anxious ambience, ready to reveal what my husband and I had agreed never to tell, not even to our kid, Elbert, himself. “Well …mm… he is suffering from MDD, you know? Major depression disorder”I paused to let her grasp the fact that this happy-looking 9-year-old child is in great pain. Surprisingly she was not as surprised as I expected. Perhaps as the mother of a struggling child, I feel greater pain than what she could ever experience.I have met Sarah only a few weeks a...

8 comments 8

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with two characters watching a sunrise and end it with one of them seeing the moon reflecting off a lake.

Adults – 301 stories

Start your story with someone robbing a bank and end it with two people driving on an interstate.

Dramatic – 86 stories

Start your story with the line, “This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” and end it with, “By then it was too late.”

Sad – 130 stories

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.”

Adults – 177 stories

Contest #68

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Meet in the Middle

$50

Prize money

874

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 20, 2020 EST

Won by FJC Montenegro 🏆

Title: Silence

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 your story with someone admitting a secret and end it with someone telling a lie.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 180 stories

“A Ballsy Proposition” by Lydi B

“Voir Dire” by Kendall Defoe

“Going Gray” by Kathleen March

“The vicious mafia, Nakimura.” by Oyediran Esther

“Making a Difference” by Deborah Mercer

“Secret's Aren't For The Keeping [Part 2]” by Trinity Womack

“A White Lie Won’t Hurt Anyone But Me ” by April Summers

“I Have Something to Confess” by Annette Lovewind

“The Ouroboros Tale” by Saizen 🦜

“Forgotten Stars” by A. S.

“A Killer Secret” by S. Closson

“The Victim” by Jude E.

“Have It Your Way” by Story Time

“Shake That Off” by Diana Reyes

“I Wasn't Joking” by Marina Y.

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with two characters watching a sunrise and end it with one of them seeing the moon reflecting off a lake.

Start your story with someone robbing a bank and end it with two people driving on an interstate.

Start your story with the line, “This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” and end it with, “By then it was too late.”

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.”

Contest #68

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

874

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: