Write a story about a character who is trying to share groundbreaking news, but isn’t being taken seriously.

Posted in Dramatic on Aug 4, 2023

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✍️ 30 stories

“The Enchantress of Numbers: Lady Lovelace’s Objection” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #210

“Ada: Forget this world and all its troublesand if possible its multitudinous Charlatans—every thing in short but the Enchantress ofNumbers, my dear and much admiredinterpreter.”– Charles Babbage to Ada LovelaceAlone in my study, I crank the gears of my prototype ‘thinking machine’ for the first time. There is only one question I need answered. Will it succeed? Will I have my answer? The grinding gears go: clang, chang, ching. And the rotating symbols turn—a wheel covered in a carousel of numbers—put in motion by not...

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“The Hob” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #210

This story was passed down by my father. At the time a great deal of Scottish folklore and heroism was not common knowledge to the outside world, for example when my great-grandmother saw uniformed men being enlisted for war in our town she thought they were “reivers”, land pirates. In 1940 when Da was a very young lad he came into the house one day to see a short little hob of a man, just three feet tall with a long white beard, sitting on the edge of the supper table conversing with his father. And to his astonishment this little man...

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“In the Meadow” by Kendra Ryan

Submitted to Contest #210

I’m cozy on the couch with my stuffies after quiet time, but my movie ends and I have to be done. Mom said no more TV before dinner, turn it off, please. “Mom, what if you came to check on me after bed and Elsa was in my room?” “That would be pretty surprising, wouldn’t it?” “Yeah but what if? What if it was real?” “Well honey, Elsa is pretend from a movie. So she wouldn’t be in your room at night.” “She was though. I swear. She was in my room last night.” “Ok hon.” Dad will be home soon. I wish he was home now. Sometimes Mom will cook a...

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“I Died Last Night” by Darius Vinesar

Submitted to Contest #210

I died last night. Sweat was pouring down my back, my heart thumping in my chest as I shot up in my bed. I had not come home last night. My body lying cold and broken at the foot of a cliff in the California desert. I had been night hiking, my go-to routine when my insomnia kept me up. I preferred, no, had preferred the nocturnal quiet, the dark solitude of traversing an empty landscape that the sun had left hours ago. No one around but me. My alarm clock was blaring on my phone, with each piercing bleep seeming more angrier than the last....

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“The Mysterious Disaster” by Alexa Pei

Submitted to Contest #210

The Mysterious Disaster By Alexa P. I woke up with a startle. There was a loud bang in my house in the middle of the night. I brushed it off, thinking it was one of my parents, but the noise continued. I was creeped out and pulled my covers over my head. I knew everybody had woken up, so I went out to look....

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“A Case of Exploding Pops ” by Mishka's Melody

Submitted to Contest #210

My father is a doctor and he’s always telling me about exciting and mind blowing doctor stuff. But on October 13th it was very different. It started as any regular day could. I took out my retainer in the morning, brushed my teeth, changed my clothes, and packed my backpack for school. I would come down our oak wood staircase and my mom would be in the kitchen making me two sunny side up eggs laid on two slices of sourdough. My father would be sitting in one of the three chairs in our breakfast nook reading the New York Times. “Amanda, ...

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“The Strangest of Nights” by J.J. Erwin

Submitted to Contest #210

Charles Mooncalf emerged from his cabin at nine in the evening on the dot, same as he did every evening, ready for his shift of walking the perimeter, and found himself lifting his hand to his eyes to shield them from a celestial brightness. Charles blinked twice and saw two moons sitting just above the line of evergreens that surrounded his tiny cabin. He was fairly certain that there had never been two moons before. His natural instinct was to try to get rid of the second moon (though he wasn’t sure he would be able to say which was t...

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“Nachash” by David Beason

Submitted to Contest #210

The fabric of her reality seemed to be ripping apart at the seams. She reached up and used her left hand to whip the steam from her bathroom mirror. Aisha gazed at her reflection, the almond-shaped hazelnut brown eyes, the caramel-colored skin, the freckles that were sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. It was all familiar, she connected with the image, she knew that it was her. She felt crazy, the need to ground herself like this. Her eyes started to well up with tears as she thought about the loss of her wife, her best friend. ...

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“The Jester's Discovery” by David Sanchez

Submitted to Contest #210

The court jester ran into the throne room of the castle. He almost burst with excitement over the discovery he had made the night before when he practiced his juggling. The year was 1465. “Your majesty, I have some news to share with you—” “Not now, Jonesboro,” King Oswald of Astoria cut in. “That can wait. While you’re here, do that dance that the queen and I just love.” “Well, sure, your majesty,” the court jester sighed. “But while I do this dance, can I tell you the news I need to share?” “First the dance, then the news, okay?” “As ...

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“Tuning the Static” by Ryan Nix

Submitted to Contest #210

At the end of a secluded gravel road, just outside a small Washington town, the Wohler siblings rolled to a stop in an old, hand-me-down, Ford SUV. Katherine peered over her steering wheel toward a cluster of tall, stately Douglas firs that marked the end of their drive; well, that and the dead-end sign staring back at them. Then, as expected, the cloud of dust trailing them for the last few miles overtook them, obscuring their surroundings.Katherine threw a glance toward her brother sitting in the passenger seat. He was staring blankly into...

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“I Told Them” by Chris Pye

Submitted to Contest #210

I Told Them by Chris Pye© 2023 Chris PyeNew Mexico 1950 'I told them, right?' Enrico snorted.He swivelled in his office chair and looked up into the large translucid eyes of the grey man-like extraterrestrial standing very tall beside him.'Ho detto loro, OK?' Enrico added in Italian, in case that helped.The Grey Man scratched what might have been its nose, had it been there, with a flipper-like appendage attached to what Enrico had come to think of as its arm. From their great height, the two luminous eyes regarded Enrico Fermi, one of ...

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“My Brother” by Salsabeela Alrehaily

Submitted to Contest #210

Guilt brought me here, and guilt is keeping me from ringing this bell. I am tempted to run back to the airport and take that 16-hour flight back to my life. She’ll forgive me. I’ll text her something about being held up at work. She will blame herself instead of me. And I’ll be off the hook. My thoughts are deafening. I ring the bell before I act on them. She opens the door. The smell of my childhood rushes out, “you’re here!” she leans in for a quick hug. Like I am a friendly acquaintance, not the daughter she hasn’t seen in years. ...

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“The Interloper” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #210

“You know damned well why I am not going to work at NASA.”Smoke filled the bar as people around her took notice of her tone. The wind howled outside on the northern slope as she sat closer to the stove. Besides the wind, there was the sound of his heavy breathing among the static caused by the unusually intense auroral activity.“Sammy, this isn’t about me or you; this is about something much more important.”General George Richards had not called his daughter by that name since before her mother died.“More important? Everything seems more imp...

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“I Tried to Tell the Stubborn Bastards” by Harper O'Connor

Submitted to Contest #210

I jabbed a finger into the pile of printed probability charts I spent all night preparing. I tucked that one dark curl behind my ear; the one that never stayed in the updo. “Look, Gary. He’s done this before. I’m telling you it’s a pattern.”Gary was shaking his head before I was finished. “And I’m telling you that it’s not. Your speculation on the house getting bombed was an educated guess, not a prediction. The General lost his whole family. Cut the man a little break.” He scowled at the sip of cool coffee.I pinched the bridge of my nose un...

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“A Single Moment of Seriousness” by Cody A. Chipman

Submitted to Contest #210

Thomas Heineken knew that as soon as he opened his mouth, nothing would ever be the same again. Thomas knew these moments made or broke a man’s character and reputation. Not always instantly. Sometimes when such pivotal proclamations must be made in defiance of the society one was bred, born, and brought up in, it takes some time for the dust to settle and one’s character and reputation to be brought back up to par. Thomas had long been known as a serious man—but there are two types of serious folks, you know? You have the blue-collar m...

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Write a story about a character who is trying to share groundbreaking news, but isn’t being taken seriously.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 30 stories

“The Enchantress of Numbers: Lady Lovelace’s Objection” by Jonathan Page

“The Hob” by Len Rely

“In the Meadow” by Kendra Ryan

“I Died Last Night” by Darius Vinesar

“The Mysterious Disaster” by Alexa Pei

“A Case of Exploding Pops ” by Mishka's Melody

“The Strangest of Nights” by J.J. Erwin

“Nachash” by David Beason

“The Jester's Discovery” by David Sanchez

“Tuning the Static” by Ryan Nix

“I Told Them” by Chris Pye

“My Brother” by Salsabeela Alrehaily

“The Interloper” by Scott Taylor

“I Tried to Tell the Stubborn Bastards” by Harper O'Connor

“A Single Moment of Seriousness” by Cody A. Chipman

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story after aliens have officially arrived on Earth.

Write about a character who has to grapple with something completely alien to them.

Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “We’re not alone.”

Contest #210

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

300

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: