Write a story about an object that changed everything for a character.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 23, 2024

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?

✍️ 84 stories

“The Garden Key” by Marjorie Wood

Submitted to Contest #269

The hurt in Suzie Morgan’s chest made it hard to breath as she watched her Nina closed in the box. Everyone threw a hand full of dirt on her. Her mother gave her some dirt to throw on Nina’s box, but she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to help bury her in the hole. She hurled the soil on her mother’s feet and stomped off to the car. Her parents told her they weren’t going home. They had a meeting they needed to go to first. She didn’t understand why they made an appointment after Nina Jackson’s funeral. All she wanted to do was hold Mr....

1 comment 1

Read story

“Nuraghe” by Stefan Sofiski

Submitted to Contest #269

- Argh, - Mia groaned as her calf got caught by a prickly branch extending onto the dirt path. - How long, dad? These stupid thorns are killing me. And the heat… It’s unbearable... There’s no reception… Matthias turned around and looked at his daughter. He and Felix were ahead on their way up the hill. Mia’s mother was trailing last. - Oh, that’s a serious problem, - Matthias said with a half smile. - But I am sure your phone will safely store your pictures until you reach civilization and are able to post them. - He stood on top of a stone ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Green Lunch Box” by Kim Andreadis

Submitted to Contest #269

The Green Lunch Boxby Kimberly AndreadisSeptember 22, 2024 “You will not be happy until you find it,” Kim leaned across the breakfast table and looked directly at him. He frowned and shrugged. “It’s no big deal.” She knew that the lunchbox had been Themis' prized possession. And now they couldn’t find it among the many boxes she had packed for their move to their new home in Sarasota—their “retirement home.” She felt so guilty; had she left it behind? She and Themis had spent the past two days unpacking until they had emptied the very last ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Excalibur” by Kara Smith

Submitted to Contest #269

Four and a half chapters, filled with intrigue and adventure lay square and sullen beneath a stone paperweight on the oak desktop. A half-sentence of the last paragraph trails into invisible indentations between college-ruled lines. Next to the abandoned pages of escapades, a polished mahogany-wrapped, fine point pen lay coffined in its box, drained of its black blood, no redeeming vial of fluids in sight. “Jenny, are you finished with the manuscript? Book club starts in 45 minutes, and we need copies for everyone before they get here,” Mira...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Strings of Redemption” by Tina Harden

Submitted to Contest #269

A fire crackled, casting light on Sera Nader’s face. She poked the coals, watching sparks rise in the smoky air. Intone, silver-haired and kind-eyed, strummed his guitar, the rhythm soothing as Sera watched the fire. "Grandpa, when you sing, the trees lean closer." “Out here, there’s no city noise drowning the stars. Just nature’s sound... and a little heart.” Choir practice was over, but the stage she longed for still felt distant. Intone appeared with his guitar. He’d told her tales of singing under open skies, and now, he offered her the ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Sorano” by Shubham Ghodgaonkar

Submitted to Contest #269

Hana is a girl who lives in a New York penthouse with her mom and dad. Her mom’s name is Jenny and her dad’s name is Kiyoshi. He was a Japanese immigrant who came to the US to study engineering, and along the way ended up marrying Jenny and staying in the USA without returning home for a long time. Hana’s parents thought that now she had completed her 8th grade, they should take her to see his dad’s hometown which was in Shinjuku, Japan. Hana was not that excited as she wanted to hang out with her friends from school and have some fun,...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Mirror of the Enchantress” by Brianna Robinson

Submitted to Contest #269

Of all the things my Grandmother owned, her mirror was the only thing I ever wanted. I had been drawn to it since I was a child. It was as if it called to me, like a siren song, begging for just a gentle tap on its pristine, reflective surface. Grandmother never would let me touch it, but now here it sits on my thrifted, antique vanity. I wandered over to the Vanity and sat in front of the beautifully ornate mirror. It's frame was of swirling, gilded gold and looked as if it belonged in an old, Victorian estate rather than my industrial stud...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Where Magic was understood” by John Minnaar

Submitted to Contest #269

Where Magic was understood.Oriel stood on the slope. He was dressed is his favorite undergarments and cloak. There was thunder and lightning as the air pressure dropped and the winds from the highlands brought in the rain on strong gusts with more lightning.He returned to the garret where he was wont to spend his days writing of the things that have been. The old house was one he had inherited from his family who were minstrels and people of the road from a previous era.When things were different years ago the family was on the road with mus...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Vision of Terror” by Emma Thompson

Submitted to Contest #269

It’s been years since I set foot in this place, the ominous halls, the old ceiling caving in, I can still picture that fateful day. Back when I was just a girl, walkin’ to this school with a smile on my face and dreams in my heart, but it was gone all too soon. The dreams turned to nightmares on that day, none of hardly anything or anyone survived; except for one thing. I searched the halls in sight for something I could salvage, after all, they were going to demolish and replace this place with a new school, though it will never get rid of ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Fleeting Magic of Paper” by H.J. Moberg

Submitted to Contest #269

There it was, at last, like the late rosebud that finally bursts into bloom, long awaited and beautiful: the magical piece of paper with a number, and a wax stamp. The valuable paper informed every living creature, with the skill of reading, that it was worth five hundred pieces of gold. Finally, she could set the stone rolling. Of course, the paper wasn’t magical in the sense that it held any powers; it wasn’t of Markon’s school of magic, or of Jotunheim, but it would make wonders – yes it would. “You finally got it?” Esny asked, as soon as...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Living among shadows” by Sonia Młynarczyk

Submitted to Contest #269

Mary Jane wasn’t an adventurous girl. She rarely left her house and hardly ever without one of her parents or siblings. Not that she didn’t like to - hearing the chatter of all the people at the town market and feeling the sun on her face were her favorite moments of any week. No, Mary Jane liked the outside. The mysterious, unknowable space. It’s just that she could never find her way through the confusing world of shadows that surrounded her. She alone lived in it. Noone else in her family had to navigate the same everchanging ethereal lan...

0 comments 0

Read story

“A Faery Tale” by Josey M

Submitted to Contest #269

Maddy and Hanna wandered down to an old cottage at the corner of their wood. An aging woman had recently taken a few things in there.Shaila had loved the woods and the faeries and had returned to live there for what humans’ experience as the end of life.She placed down her favourite snow globe that had fascinated the faeries in her garden when she was a child and she hoped it would call in the faeries one last timeMaddy and Hanna saw the old lady put down the globe, understood they were being called and were happy to oblige.As they appeared,...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Last Chance” by Lucy Enworth

Submitted to Contest #269

Obnoxious, she thought. It’s the most obnoxious sound on the planet.The backup alarm of a dump truck on another gratingly sunny day harassed Mallory from her makeshift bed. Opening her left eye just enough to peer out from under her lashes, she observed for a moment the frenzied tango of dust motes writhing in the beam of sunlight that had wormed its way through the dirt and grime. The dance took place above a stage of aged laminate countertop, bubbling from exposure to rain making its way through rust holes in the roof, winding down trails ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Touchstone” by Chuck Thompson

Submitted to Contest #269

They came and took my flesh. Here for millions of their lifetimes, they came to me with anticipation, trepidation and an innate need to possess what was not theirs. Forty-seven plus pounds of Moon stuff was delivered to the NASA lab back in 1969. Those guys spent less than an Earth day on the Moon. They put all that Moon stuff into sample bags and then into their Special Environmental Sample Container that protected the samples from Earthlings’ contamination. Over the years, tons of Moon stuff have been picked up, core-drilled out ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Strawberry Kiss” by Yoana Krasteva-Pyuzantyan

Submitted to Contest #269

Magic is everywhere around us. In the way we sing, we love and we hate… How we create, dream and achieve. It's in that first cup of coffee in the morning. It's the kids that our parents give us when we scratch our knees on the playground. Magic is everywhere around us. But mine? Mine was in the back pocket of my jeans, in a pink, heart shaped bottle, and as I later found out, it was never ending. At first, it was nothing more than a little trinket a fortune teller had given me. And, well, it was a strawberry lip gloss, and I was right, so…...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Send your characters on an unforgettable quest to find an essential object.

Adventure – 37 stories

Center your story around a character who is obsessed with an object.

Character – 66 stories

Write a story about an ordinary object that becomes magical (either literally or figuratively).

Dramatic – 66 stories

Show how an object’s meaning can change as a character changes.

Dramatic – 59 stories

Contest #269

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Magical Objects with Tracy Gold

$250

Prize money

312

Contest entries

122

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 27, 2024 EST

Won by Gabriel Muers 🏆

Title: The Name of the End

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

Write a story about an object that changed everything for a character.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 84 stories

“The Garden Key” by Marjorie Wood

“Nuraghe” by Stefan Sofiski

“The Green Lunch Box” by Kim Andreadis

“Excalibur” by Kara Smith

“Strings of Redemption” by Tina Harden

“Sorano” by Shubham Ghodgaonkar

“Mirror of the Enchantress” by Brianna Robinson

“Where Magic was understood” by John Minnaar

“Vision of Terror” by Emma Thompson

“The Fleeting Magic of Paper” by H.J. Moberg

“Living among shadows” by Sonia Młynarczyk

“A Faery Tale” by Josey M

“Last Chance” by Lucy Enworth

“Touchstone” by Chuck Thompson

“Strawberry Kiss” by Yoana Krasteva-Pyuzantyan

🌟 Similar prompts

Send your characters on an unforgettable quest to find an essential object.

Center your story around a character who is obsessed with an object.

Write a story about an ordinary object that becomes magical (either literally or figuratively).

Show how an object’s meaning can change as a character changes.

Contest #269

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

312

Contest entries

122

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: