Write about a character who sees a photo they shouldn’t have seen.

Posted in Dramatic on Mar 29, 2024

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✍️ 66 stories

“Snapped” by Glenys Yaffe

Submitted to Contest #244

SNAPPED If only I hadn’t rummaged in Carly’s handbag tonight, desperately searching for my keys that seemed to have disappeared. If I’d not had one too many drinks, and in that intoxicated haze mistaken her brown bag for my own. If I’d been more sober, I’d have never found that photo, a photo that was clearly intended for their eyes only. There they are, my best friend and my fiancé, their infatuation cruelly captured by the camera. Their faces glow. Their eyes, staring at me through the lens, say ...

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“The Unexpected Contestant” by Patricia Parent

Submitted to Contest #244

- The betrayal that wasn’t really one -I was at my mom’s house when my phone died. I took her ipad and started stalking my exes and frenemies as usual when an email notification appeared at the top of the screen: You’ve been selected to be part of Occupation Double Trouble in Sicily!Occupation Double Trouble is a popular dating reality show that’s been going on for about 10 years in my country. The goal of the show is to ‘find love’, which gets each couple a house, a car, and for some reas...

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“Captioned Photograph” by Shinga Shinga

Submitted to Contest #244

Contains references to sexual and physical violence. Also contains strong language. 1 You asked for it, Your Worship; So . . . Here it is. That was the caption. Even without the legs rendered by the photograph it accompanied, it was still a beast which could crawl on its own belly. Wriggling free from the shackles of prevarication. Of course, the photograph was vivid enough to tell the tale of a thousand sordid words. But that caption . . . it shifted the burden of proof to the accused. How do you deny that you actually meant to send that pr...

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“Stained” by Kim Meyers

Submitted to Contest #244

If my mother were a dog she would have been put down by now. I’m not saying that to be cruel. If you knew her before you would know this isn’t what she would have wanted. Instead, the vessel that used to contain my mother’s soul, is rotting away in a nursing home one town over. She doesn’t recognize me anymore but I still go visit. I want to maintain some semblance of a connection with my only living parent, even if that parent is no longer grounded in reality. In the Alzheimer’s caregiver support group there are differing opinions on ...

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“Holding onto the past” by Rachel Williams

Submitted to Contest #244

Marian hadn’t thought about Jenna Lewis for about four decades now. Not until her and Alison were sorting through boxes that were tucked away in the attic of her old childhood home. Her own mother had recently passed away, leaving the countryside cottage in the hands of her children. So, here she was with her own daughter, sifting through old memories that had been laying dormant under lock and key. “It’s like a museum up here”, Alison said as she took stock of the dusty old room and all its belongings. “You’re not wrong”, Marian chuckled so...

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“Picture Perfect” by Maisey Mansson

Submitted to Contest #244

“Hey, dinner is in the oven when you want it. Your father and I will be back around 10. Is everything okay at the house? Do you need anything?” Mother’s voice rings out through the phone. “Yes, I’m okay. Don’t worry. Is Grey coming home tonight?” “No, he’s having a sleepover at the Harrington’s house over in Pine Meadows. I’m going to have to let you go. We are picking up Mitch and Kaitlyn right now. Call me if you need anything.” Dixon scratches at the door. I slide it open, and he steps out into the night. “Okay, sounds good. I ...

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“Big sister” by Sophie Parmaby

Submitted to Contest #244

The train screeched as it neared the its final destination. "Froxville!" The conductor cried out, although he usually he didn't bother. Typically most, if not all the passengers got off at the preceding town of Tretle, but today, there was one person who remained seated. At first he assumed the girl was simply asleep. That, he thought, would be a plausible reason as to why she hadn't gotten off at the last stop, but he realized his mistake when she rose at the name of the town, patiently waiting for the halt of the train. “Perhaps she doesn’...

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“Garden Party” by Rachel Biederman

Submitted to Contest #244

CW: Hate crime-----“....and she dropped that on him without even a hint of a smile! I could never,” Aunt May interrupted herself, laughing, “could never understand how she could do that. Lay some of that, what do you call it,” she said, gesturing in Lexie’s direction.“Shade,” Lexie prompted her, to a round of laughter from the women seated around the picnic table in the little garden.“Yes, dear, thank you, shade, how she could cast shade…”“Throw shade, Aunt May.”May managed to finish, “....throw shade, as though she hadn’t said a thing. Not ...

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“Photo reminiscences” by Wendy Rappeport

Submitted to Contest #244

Aaarh..choo! I sneezed and sent clouds of dust scattering in all directions. I sneezed again and the force of it threw me backwards against my car. I was in the garage cleaning things out for the Council Clean-up. The dust and cobwebs in my brain were unsettled too.I sneezed and shivered and headed back indoors to grab a jumper and hot coffee. From my porch I could see the sunshine starting to loosen up the rigid cold air and two neighbourhood children scooting by. It was school holidays and my daughter had just called to pick up her son and...

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“Surprise Shattered ” by Marceline Snyder

Submitted to Contest #244

Did you know, in some species of spiders, after mating, the female will cannibalize the male? Funny isn't it? How betrayal seems to lurk even beyond the human race. The library is empty, it feels dead. A place once occupied with breathing and beauty now filled with existential dread. My phone continuously buzzes in my pocket. I don’t need to check it to know who’s desperately trying to reach me, or maybe I’m just too scared to check. The librarian scowls at me as I pull my phone out to silence the device.I can’t help but glance at ...

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“The Allard” by Daryl Kulak

Submitted to Contest #244

Aiden rounded the last turn to his grandfather’s acreage. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.He took another look at the photo sitting on the passenger seat of his red Kia Forte. Aiden had been at his parent’s house looking for his father’s baseball glove and had ventured onto a cardboard box full of photos. This one in particular had been the most, let’s say, interesting. Aiden had taken it to his own father who had looked at it briefly and then said “You need to ask Granddad about that one.” That was all he said.So here he was, only a few ...

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“The Division of Power according to the Constitution” by Ophelia S

Submitted to Contest #244

The man up in the pulpit embodied what a true intellectual looked like in Ana's mind. He did so because of his undoubtable ability in rhetoric, how he conveyed perfectly his ideas as if there was no distance between his mind and his lips and how he did it with immense ease. The Professor was hardly a decade older than her, he went to the same college as she did not that many years ago, and sometimes spoke of certain professors still with the reverence only a student would have. His face was nearly unwrinkled, not handsome and yet charming, f...

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“My Earliest Memory” by Fatima Aladdin

Submitted to Contest #244

I can remember being yelled at by a teacher for not doing my homework, but I can’t remember what she taught. I can remember my first trip to the hospital, but not the first time I hurt myself. I can remember the meal I had on my first date last year, but I can’t remember what mommy made for dinner two days ago. I’ve read that the emotions experienced within an event are what make it memorable, what make it stand out against all the other events and thoughts and stimuli our brains have to process every day. Shame and fear were there when my t...

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“Sally Smackdown” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #244

Rolling over, Sheldon Luckinbill clutches his head, wincing in pain. “Had to be the life of the party,” he mumbles. Sheldon stumbles to the bathroom. Turning on the tap, he inhales a bellyful of water. Sheldon glances in the mirror at his sunken, bloodshot eyes and sallow skin, disgusted that he looks like some rummy twice his age. Scanning his hotel room, Sheldon chuckles at the number of empty bottles, mangled plastic cups, and discarded clothes, and is glad he doesn’t have to clean the catastrophe up. He throws his knapsack in the trunk o...

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“Beware the Obvious ” by Anna Sauerbrei

Submitted to Contest #244

Rachel lies silently in her boyfriend’s bed, careful not to wake him. She watches the slight rise and fall of his bare chest, memorizing every feature of his body that she possibly can. It surprises her how hard it is to restrain herself from tracing every line of his sleeping body. The smell of his cologne fills her nose. Not too strong it’s gross but a very pleasant addition to her morning. She’s been dating Jasper for about 6 months now and has been happier than she’d ever thought possible. There were some dark times in her past, bu...

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Write about a character who sees a photo they shouldn’t have seen.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 66 stories

“Snapped” by Glenys Yaffe

“The Unexpected Contestant” by Patricia Parent

“Captioned Photograph” by Shinga Shinga

“Stained” by Kim Meyers

“Holding onto the past” by Rachel Williams

“Picture Perfect” by Maisey Mansson

“Big sister” by Sophie Parmaby

“Garden Party” by Rachel Biederman

“Photo reminiscences” by Wendy Rappeport

“Surprise Shattered ” by Marceline Snyder

“The Allard” by Daryl Kulak

“The Division of Power according to the Constitution” by Ophelia S

“My Earliest Memory” by Fatima Aladdin

“Sally Smackdown” by Michael Jefferson

“Beware the Obvious ” by Anna Sauerbrei

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story around a photo that goes viral.

Start your story with a character staring at a picture they don’t remember taking.

Write a story about a character who risks their life to take a photo.

Begin or end your story with a character taking a selfie.

Contest #244

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

239

Contest entries

91

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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