Write about someone whose desire to constantly improve something borders on obsessive.

Posted in Dramatic on Nov 25, 2022

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✍️ 25 stories

“Please Press Enter” by Benjamin Ginnett

Submitted to Contest #174

To Begin Program, Please Press Enter A new android is born. Apha opened his mechanical android eyes. It was hard to tell that they were android eyes, in fact one would have to take them out and cut into them in order to tell that they were not organic. Entirely organic at least. “Good morning Apha! It is 3:15 pm on Wednesday, January 10th, 2037” beeped the computer, cheerily, in a norwegian accent. “Oh. Um, good morning computer. What am I doing here?” “Ah, Apha.” came a nasally voice from the next room. A small man wal...

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“Just one more tweak...” by Tamarin Butcher

Submitted to Contest #174

Dr. Circe Adams paced back and forth, stalking between the lit and unlit parts of the lab, squinting every time she passed under the stark fluorescent bulbs glaring down from on high. The lights were unavoidable--this deep underground, natural light just wasn't an option. Technically, there shouldn't have been any unlit areas on the entire floor, but she was having to conserve her dwindling personal funds now that the last of her sponsors had ghosted her. "Just one more tweak, and we'll have it!” she muttered. “If they'd waited just a litt...

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“Century” by Russ Hussain

Submitted to Contest #174

Victor was no match for the huge machines that hurtled past, sending a shock wave that ripped through his knees, making him stagger. Thick, black smoke gagged him, stinging his eyes. The huge aftershock made the lens in his spectacles crack such had been the vibrations from the giant machines that had now receded into the horizon. He steadied himself, a pebble in the barren landscape, caught in a gloom of black and grey. As if it would still be here in a million years. He was about to wretch again, realisin...

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“The Diet” by Kimberly McFetridge

Submitted to Contest #174

The aroma of puff pastry, kalamata olives, tomatoes, and feta wafts from the appetizer the waitress has just set in the middle of the table. I hear my client Cindy marvel, “I swear, this is manna made in heaven,” as she savors a bite of the Mediterranean Pinwheels she and her husband are sharing. They’re enjoying the warm May evening at Brass Tacks, so I hate to interrupt them, but as Cindy’s nutritionist, I must. As I stride towards them, Cindy pauses mid-forkful, looks at me with daggers in her blue eyes, and says, “Sara, ...

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“The Things You Pass To Your Children” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #174

Trigger warning: Mental Health and Eating Disorders “One and two and three and four. One and two and three and four.” Cheryl shouts and squats along with the blond women on the television. She had subscribed to Samantha’s Twenty Minute Booty Blast for the past few months. She took before pictures of herself and has been taking progress pictures. These pictures were by the insistence on the Booty Blast method “in order to stay motivated”. Cheryl claims the difference is huge. Her husband, Mark, claims to ...

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“there's beauty in what's broken” by Aza P

Submitted to Contest #174

Until he breaks. Arched back, bruised knees. There’s nothing sexy about it, but it looks good on stage. Eyes like he’s going to fuck you tonight, but he doesn’t mean it. Never means it. Or maybe he does. He can’t do anything without meaning it with his whole heart. There’s truth in that look. But it’s like a daydream to reality. Slamming to the ground, wearing the wrong kind of shoes for this – the kind that don’t let him stand up fast enough. Falls down. Again. Arched back, bruised knees. Slamming to the ground. Falling down. Agai...

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“Nature Vs Nurture” by Kelly Jackson

Submitted to Contest #174

I had that dream again last night. Being chased, desperately trying to lose my pursuer, my legs painfully slow and heavy. I never manage to escape. I dare not look back, but I hear their footsteps, rapidly gaining on me, their hot breath drawing closer and closer, making my hairs stand to attention. I stumble in the darkness as the overwhelming fear floods every muscle, every tendon, crushing my burning chest. Then I wake. My body stiff and twisted, palms hot and wet, teeth clenched like a vice. My husband thought I was having a seizure the ...

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“A Morning Routine” by Dylan Taylor

Submitted to Contest #174

The piano keys felt like ice cubes on Henry’s fingers. It was a sensation he had grown used to with time, like stepping out of a hot morning shower in a cold house. He needed to warm up, but as the keys had reminded him, so did the piano. An antique mahogany spinet piano took only a gentle touch. They had been learning about each other for the last six years, starting on Henry’s fifth birthday, when this one made its first appearance. A piano for the brothel, his father had called it at the time. Henry hadn’t known what that meant, a...

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“Getting Better Every Day” by Malene A. Little

Submitted to Contest #174

Trigger Warning: "Mental health" and "suicide or self harm"It was the last Tuesday of the month, so I’m treating myself to Golden Rings, my favorite pan-Asian cuisine restaurant. As I bite into a crab Rangoon oozing with cream cheese and dripping with sweet and sour sauce, I think about how decadent it is. The couple in the booth to the right and a little ahead of me suddenly catches my attention. The woman offers the man a bite of her dessert. He evidently likes it as he asks her something and looks around. He must be wondering where she fo...

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“Father and son.” by Jack Sink

Submitted to Contest #174

The wind shook the tree branches creating a sound that had the same deafening tone as rain. “Windy day out,” The man claiming to be my father said, desperate to make some sort of conversation. “Sure,” I replied, unwilling to even offer him a look in the eyes. I don’t know why I’d agreed to go on this hunting trip with him. Nothing was forcing me to say yes, he just showed up out of the blue one day after being gone for twenty-three years. “Do you hate me?” he aske...

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Write about someone whose desire to constantly improve something borders on obsessive.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 25 stories

“Please Press Enter” by Benjamin Ginnett

“Just one more tweak...” by Tamarin Butcher

“Century” by Russ Hussain

“The Diet” by Kimberly McFetridge

“The Things You Pass To Your Children” by Madeline Honig

“there's beauty in what's broken” by Aza P

“Nature Vs Nurture” by Kelly Jackson

“A Morning Routine” by Dylan Taylor

“Getting Better Every Day” by Malene A. Little

“Father and son.” by Jack Sink

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story where someone says, “Everything is changing.”

Write about two old friends meeting for the first time in years.

Write a story about someone coming to terms with how different they are from their younger self.

Write a story about a brilliant scientist making a startling discovery.

Contest #174

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

96

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: