Write a story about a tragic hero.

Posted in Dramatic on Jun 28, 2024

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✍️ 57 stories

“The Spoils of War” by Grayson Chilcote

Submitted to Contest #257

Dalmani felt his fingertips drown in the blood that flowed its way down the sword pierced through the boy's throat. He clutched the sword at its hilt and drew it back as the child clawed at his forearm in a desperate attempt to deal one final blow to his killer, an attempt that even he knew would be in vain. Dalmani stepped back as the corpse fell to the ground, above all the others. He breathed heavily, exhausted after the week of fighting in the forest. He hadn’t seen the sun in days, as the thick canopy combined with the endless rain kept...

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“Project Goofy” by William Siebold

Submitted to Contest #257

Adelbert Ambros Lajlos stood in silent contemplation at the podium. After a moment he warmed to the receptive audience—a defense industry crowd. His talk was entitled Game Theory and War: The Downfall of the Red Empire. He spoke quietly, confidentially, to these his special friends and colleagues.“It is us or them,” said Ambros. “There is no other way. It is inevitable.” He paused to put on his genuine sadness face. “Millions—no, hundreds of millions—will die. But they are the enemy. We must build this revolutionary bomb, which has been name...

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“Ashes” by Ada Wegner

Submitted to Contest #257

I hate being poor. I hate that we’re always sleeping in homeless shelters and sometimes on the streets. I especially hate how I never had the opportunity to finish high school, let alone go to college. Thrift store clothes, cheapest of the cheap. It’s normal to me now, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. We pretty much walk everywhere we need to go. School for my siblings, work for me and my mom, the store every once in a while when we can afford it. Sometimes we’ll take the bus downtown for things like doctor appointments. I'm seventeen and my...

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“Never Dark Again” by Madeleine Hall

Submitted to Contest #257

Spring had always been Mara’s favorite season. She liked the warmth and heady happiness of sunlight after a long, dark winter. She liked the subtle feeling of hope and life that permeated everything, that rushed into existence like a breath of fresh air; a reward for surviving the long days of darkness. She liked the bright colors of the flowers, the vivid greens of new leaves. Standing in a large meadow, Mara drew in a deep breath. The breeze was pleasantly cool, the sunlight pleasantly warm. The tall grass around her ran in the wind, whisp...

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“Ghosts Upon The Sea” by Marley Monroe

Submitted to Contest #257

It was all I had left of my mother. A piece of who she was but also the curse that took her from us. Growing up, I never thought a building could hold so much power over a life, but I was about to find out just how far past my limits I could be driven. And all at the hands of a lighthouse. A beacon of hope was to be my undoing. My mother had been a beacon of hope for many in our little seaside town. She was never shy about giving, both of her time and of what little financially we had to spare when it came to our neighbors.Only that gi...

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“Vengeance for the Dead” by David Jones

Submitted to Contest #257

Vengeance for the Dead Tom Jacobs was an ordinary man living an ordinary life. He had a wife, Sarah, and two children, Emma and Jake, both in high school. Every day, Tom woke up at 6:00 am, had breakfast with his family, and then left for his 9 to 5 job selling family burial plots. It wasn’t glamorous work, but it paid the bills and allowed him to provide a comfortable life for his loved ones. One Monday morning, Tom received an email from his boss about a week-long conference in a neighboring city. The conference was mandatory, and althou...

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“Loneliness Kills” by Grace Stone

Submitted to Contest #257

It was a cold blustery October evening and Gillian did not want to be outside. She would prefer to be huddled in her apartment on the upper west side watching the world go by. She had lucked out with her apartment. You couldn’t find a better place to live in New York City. She was close to the 1 train and delicious coffee shops. The apartment itself had gorgeous parquet floors and exposed brick. Gillian will never leave, never leave a cheap apartment in NYC. Even if the loneliness of the city was slowly killing her soul.Regardless how inviti...

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“Shattered Trust” by Steven Nimocks

Submitted to Contest #257

Chapter 1 - The Accident and RescueMajor Agus Santoso gripped the steering wheel of the UN-marked SUV, scanning the winding Lebanese road. As the late afternoon sun cast long shadows, his thoughts drifted to his family in Indonesia - Siti’s smile, his children’s laughter. Six months into his deployment, the separation weighed heavily.The SUV rounded a sharp bend. Santoso’s hands tightened instinctively on the wheel. The road hugged the edge of a steep ravine, with barely a meter of gravel shoulder between the faded lane markings and a sheer ...

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“Day 1 on the Grissom Case” by Danni Money

Submitted to Contest #257

November 14th, 20xx – Day 1 on the Grissom Case This report will outline the events experienced on my first day working the Grissom family case. The day will be a standard house visit in opposition to a proper full-time session. The family has agreed to the time change of 12PM to 3PM since Chrystal has been allowed a medical leave of absence from school. Today will only be an hour long. BCBA Rebeca Montes attended the first day with me to lead me through standard procedure, right up to the front door (as delayed instruction is her penchant)....

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“Her Juliet” by Isabella Hightower

Submitted to Contest #257

“Don’t let go,” she whispers, and Raina can’t think. She’s not strong enough to lift Juliet’s weight, and her side is pushed at a painfully odd angle against the windows edge. Juliet’s face is beautiful in the moonlight. The perfect picture of fear as tears that are not hers land on her cheeks, slowly roll down off her chin and onto the grass, far, far below. Raina gasps as Juliet slips a little further, but forget it all she’ll let her wrist snap before she lets Juliet go. Her hands are slick with sweat and falling tears.She hangs in the op...

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“Undoing: A Gallery” by David Lontok

Submitted to Contest #257

Where’s the funeral? I picture tears collaborating with the sad coos, which slide from a low register to a high pitch – like a child squeaking between sobs. Broken hearts, maybe?“So that’s why they call them mourning doves,” I remember saying with the youth of a seven-year-old.Riding my bike past the autumn leaves, I heard more of the mourning doves in the afternoon.They must’ve been the ones that slowly made the sky blue. Oh, the things I at seven could imagine.Then Clyde rode up to me. “Recrest Street corner Bastianne Drive, hurry!” he sai...

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“Tragedy of the Dead” by Conner Matthams

Submitted to Contest #257

Dark, dank, and drowned in rain, the town sat, cradled in the breast of the surrounding hills like a baby in its mother’s arms. Miserable grey clouds blanketed the gloomy sky and showered the town and its muddy avenues in a torrential downpour. The stink of waste and mud poisoned the air. Echoes of the townsfolk voices could be heard, bartering, drinking, and arguing amongst the maze of buildings. Adrik observed the town from but half a mile away. He stood amongst the trees and examined the print on the muddy, slippery, slimy path before him...

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Write a story about a tragic hero.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 57 stories

“The Spoils of War” by Grayson Chilcote

“Project Goofy” by William Siebold

“Ashes” by Ada Wegner

“Never Dark Again” by Madeleine Hall

“Ghosts Upon The Sea” by Marley Monroe

“Vengeance for the Dead” by David Jones

“Loneliness Kills” by Grace Stone

“Shattered Trust” by Steven Nimocks

“Day 1 on the Grissom Case” by Danni Money

“Her Juliet” by Isabella Hightower

“Undoing: A Gallery” by David Lontok

“Tragedy of the Dead” by Conner Matthams

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story named after, and inspired by, one of Shakespeare's plays. Think modern retellings, metanarratives, subversions, etc.

Write your story in the form of a script, complete with stage directions.

Write a story in which a case of mistaken identity plays a pivotal role.

Set your story during rehearsals for a production of a Shakespeare play.

Contest #257

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

79

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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