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

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 23, 2024

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✍️ 84 stories

“One Final Trip” by Imogen Bird

Submitted to Contest #269

It had started raining.Jodie hadn't actually realised it was, until the folds of her shirt had begun clinging to her stomach, rapidly chilling, sticky ice, now noticed- unbearable. It must have been a while since the sun had disappeared and the clouds had covered the sky, but more worrying than the precipitation was the expanse of sodden ground she had covered without notice. Jodie picked at her damp clothes, annoying sensations of gripping fabric mixing with her worried retrospective about all the roads she had crossed outside of cognisance...

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“The Man in the Maze” by Karen Serna-Jansson

Submitted to Contest #269

One of the most powerful symbols to the Piipash (Maricopa) and O’Odham (Pima) tribes of Arizona is the motif of “the man in the maze” The motif can best be described as a circular maze pattern, in which a small figure is standing at the opening of the maze. The significance of this symbol begins with firstly knowing the story in which the pattern was created. The man in the maze symbolizes the journey of life. Like all mazes, it takes time to figure out how to get to the center. The twists and turns and dead ends one face in ...

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“The Tailor and His Halloween Teddy” by Erodite Papapostolou

Submitted to Contest #269

On Halloween Eve, the veil between the living and the dead thins. Spirits roam freely, leaving trails that, if followed, could lead to either salvation or destruction. *** "Trick or treat!" a young boy in a cowboy costume shouted, his voice barely audible over the wind. Edwin, an elderly man with a weathered face, opened his door and grunted in response. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, adjusted his checkered suit, and stroked his bushy mustache. With a weary sigh, he dismissed the boy with a wave of his hand. As Edwin continued ...

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“Mondays” by Frances Hodgson

Submitted to Contest #269

Ever since that day at Whittleclose pebble beach with my father, I can’t get her words away from dancing on the fringes of my brain.He thought he had stopped me from hearing, that he had covered my ears fully; Coupled with the natural amnesic effects of fading youth and passage of time I believe he thought I had forgotten. Or he had hoped I had at least. Unfortunately her words had never left me, but as I grew older they had only grown clearer. That day had been as common as a grain of sand on the shore. Since mum had died my father and I ha...

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“The Legend of the Sword” by Georgia Daniels

Submitted to Contest #269

Part 1 Hearing my name echo through the cobbled streets as the town gathered in the square is a moment I will never forget. Penelope Winter. The staticky crackle of the voice sounding from the speakers atop the old buildings cut through the stillness, the sighs of relief were deafening in their unison, smothering me from every angle. Men, women, and children gathered in this very spot every 10 years, anticipating their future. Who would be so unlucky this time to be chosen for the trials? Nervous gossip had filled these streets for months,...

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“Not Enough Time” by LaShawn Baker

Submitted to Contest #269

Not Enough TimeBy LaShawn Baker It’s the day before nothing, nothing to do, nowhere to go, just nothing that can be more pressing than that nothing. Unless it’s something, something that requires time, energy, and nothing is no longer a factor, its time spent on others and not on self. In fact, throughout history life is never about the mother, the mom, the mommy, all terms used to move, control, and coax a mother to be, the savior. I am considered the finder of lost objects, the fixer of broken toys, and the earthly being that mainta...

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“The Hymenial Agreement” by Larry Feller

Submitted to Contest #269

As soon as she walked in the door Armand knew there was something unusual about her. The young lady wasn’t beautiful. Rather, she was arresting, inescapable in a way he’d never experienced. Her allure effected everyone. Elizabeth Montage was an average height, dressed with a broad-based calf length brown linen skirt and a wide dark burnished leather belt that accentuated her narrow waist. Contrasted against the skirt and belt was a light linen blouse with peach flower blossoms suggestive of an ample bosom. As she came closer, Armand not...

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“The Marker” by Aaron Van Gossen

Submitted to Contest #269

Aaron Van Gossen PO Box 2113 Fort Bragg, CA. 95437 215-756-3321 A.vangossen71@gmail.com 2075 words The Marker by Aaron Van Gossen Finally, after two years in the making, it was finally happening! Hundreds of YouTube videos, more money saved up than he ever had before and six months building it out. It had been quite a journey. Blood (literally), sweat and tears had been poured into this dream. Now, David was on his way! David had always fashioned himself a nomad. He tended to get bored easily and was always looking for new experiences...

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“Sister Sink” by Pink Argus

Submitted to Contest #269

I sleep low to the floor, collecting things on my windowsill. It too is low. I can lay on my futon and rest my chin on the dusty wooden ledge. This place used to be a convent. Nuns roaming the halls, kneeling in their blue-grey habits. Up the hill they walked to Saint Sophia's, the church and the school. They would have loathed the heir to their inheritance. Me, lazy and godless, staring blankly out the window. Me and my hoard of treasure. Alter to something ungodly. I count as I laze: thirty-three used Ikea tea candles in the...

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“The Fairy Pendant” by Joanne Lecuyer

Submitted to Contest #269

I wake up in a sweat. Not because I’m cold or afraid, but from a damn hot flash. Off go the covers, again! So annoying. As I try to cool down, I focus on my breathing. In for ten, out for ten. In for ten, out for ten. The heat slowly dissipates, the sweat begins to dry, and I continue to breathe normally. Now I’m cold. I grab the covers and pull them back up to my neck. I finally close my eyes and fall asleep. I suddenly feel that I’m being lifted out of my bed, through the roof, and up into the sky. I can’t tell if I’m still in my body or n...

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“Avocado Remedy” by Gil Harris

Submitted to Contest #269

AVACADO REMEDY Eric Hendricks settled in to his task in the genetics lab at Cal Tech. The CEQ8000 DNA sequencer was turned on and analyzing the samples that Eric was feeding into it. The Beckman Coulter CEQ8000 DNA Sequencer had just arrived at the lab. Cal Tech had been selected as one of three beta sites to test the latest and most advanced sequencer on the market. Eric, a biometric engineering student, brushed aside the long lock of his re...

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“Mint” by Kit K. Sune

Submitted to Contest #269

[Trigger Warning: Loss]A while ago, if you were to ask me how I feel about mint, I’d tell you:It has a nice color. The taste is alright. It does not bring about any memories for me. Happy or sad. None of crisp Christmas mornings nor freshly dug graves. It’s just an herb. Just a sweet green leaf. But if you were to ask me what I like about mint the most– I’d say I like the scent.That was all that mint meant to me—nothing more and nothing less.Until I met him. &n...

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“The Jade Bangle” by Ailyn Koay

Submitted to Contest #269

Trigger warning: mental health, abuse/ manipulation, violence The night Zoe went to bed without her parents, she wore her mother’s jade bangle on her left arm. She had turned eight that day, and the plan was to have a birthday party at home. Instead of balloons popping, there were gunshots. Instead of confetti, blood sprayed. All Zoe could remember was her holding onto the bangle during the chaos instead of her mother’s hand. Her mother was wearing it that morning before the party started. She could not remember much afterwards. “Perha...

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“Where Does The Magic Start?” by Allysa Agnes

Submitted to Contest #269

It all started when I won a laptop at the lottery… That’s insane luck, I know! When I found out that it’s the most expensive and the newest MacBook model… Well, it left me speechless! I’m a writer, so I thought “Cool, I will write my next novel on my new laptop!”. But then the package arrived, and I hadn’t expected this… Because it turned out to be a magical laptop! I swear! Magic started when I won the prize, but honestly… I saw sparks the moment I saw my new laptop… And I had a very particular feeling… I realized what it meant soon enough!...

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“Magical Object” by Ashley H.

Submitted to Contest #269

The breath saws in and out of my lungs as I watch my foot step over the red rocks. The burn in my legs is pleasant, lowkey. My lungs feel strong, my body limber. God, I love hiking. The humid, sweet smelling wind gently washes over my sweaty forehead, bringing some blessed cooling relief. “Ellie! Did you want a picture of the tank?” Jordan yells back at me. His blond hair has been bobbing up and down the red dirt hills as we make our way down to lower sigua falls. He likes to run ahead and sprint up the tall hills and then back down th...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 84 stories

“One Final Trip” by Imogen Bird

“The Man in the Maze” by Karen Serna-Jansson

“The Tailor and His Halloween Teddy” by Erodite Papapostolou

“Mondays” by Frances Hodgson

“The Legend of the Sword” by Georgia Daniels

“Not Enough Time” by LaShawn Baker

“The Hymenial Agreement” by Larry Feller

“The Marker” by Aaron Van Gossen

“Sister Sink” by Pink Argus

“The Fairy Pendant” by Joanne Lecuyer

“Avocado Remedy” by Gil Harris

“Mint” by Kit K. Sune

“The Jade Bangle” by Ailyn Koay

“Where Does The Magic Start?” by Allysa Agnes

“Magical Object” by Ashley H.

🌟 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: