Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

Posted in Fantasy on May 31, 2024

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✍️ 71 stories

“The Hourglass” by Shreyas Anand

Submitted to Contest #253

NOTE : THIS IS MY FIRST STORY I'VE EVER WRITTEN AS AN AUTHOR, I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACKMay 1885: PrologueCurtis Brimstone, an aboriginal elder protested and revolted against the European settlers who wanted to take their tribe’s land. The Europeans didn’t budge but decided to send a message with a warning to those who come in their way. Curtis was killed, his body him burnt to a crisp, and his ashes were stored for display in an hourglass as sick showcase of dominance.PRESENT DAY: 2024 I’m close to finishing up with my shift for...

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“Seven million Mississippis” by Maria Alexandra

Submitted to Contest #253

What my mother had told me that day remained an unshakeable pillar of my life long after she was gone. “You can never, never tell anyone”, she emphasized in a gentle voice. We were leaving the park at sunset, and her face was bright and loving that day, a memory of us I would go back to now and then. “And you can’t use it again. Promise me. I’m sorry things have to be this way”, she had added. We never spoke about it again and I went on having a normal, relatively blissful childhood and adolescence. Sometimes during tests at school, it occur...

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“"Snap Your Fingers, Honey"” by Naya's A Writer

Submitted to Contest #253

Snap your fingers, honey. Roll your eyes at the world, its inhabitants (except you) and all their stupid antics. Be the you and don't care. You have the power to: Snap your fingers, honey. · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · Night fell and with it the darkness that enveloped Charlestown, a small, rather rural village put off to the side, and the people who lived there were outcasts of the hustling, bustling city, those who longed to escape and breathe. The streets were ill-lighted, the only source of illumination of the dingy streets being the dull ...

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“The First Rule of Time” by James Crofts

Submitted to Contest #253

The first rule was to never stop time. You weren't selected to join unless you had impeccable morals. The power we held was...incredible. There's seventeen of us, at least so I'm told, scattered around the world. I've only met Rashim, the one who recruited me. That was seven years ago...or was it eight? “Dr. Melrois, room seven has the pneumonia case. Young child.” “Thank you, Evi,” I said as I picked up the clipboard. I had established this clinic in Suri...

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“Saves Nine” by Erin Thursby

Submitted to Contest #253

“I can’t come into work,” I say, over long yowls coming from the cat carrier. “It’s–a family emergency.” The vet tech in pink scrubs has snuck up on me, her voice almost a whisper. “Come on, we can get you back.” An old woman with more rouge than advisable hugs her trembling Chihuahua to her ample bosom as though to protect it from the sound. I pick up the carrier and it increases, this keening despair and pain vibrating through the handle. I try not to jostle. But blood spatters out. One glob makes it onto my low heels. On the cream b...

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“Amadeus in Time” by Logan Lenz

Submitted to Contest #253

Amadeus discovered at an early age that he had a special gift when he clumsily knocked his father's cup from the kitchen table. In the moment of panic that naturally follows every realization of impending disaster, Amadeus was shocked to learn he could stretch that moment as long as he wanted. He was shocked even more when a ray of light seemed to move during this moment when nothing else could. The young boy’s nerves got the better of him and pulled him back into the regular flow of time. He convinced himself that his imagination had gotten...

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“Whispers of Witches” by Lindsay King

Submitted to Contest #253

The sky wept a mournful curtain of grey across the autumn sky. The air was heavy, thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. It was a day that clung to the soul, a day that echoed the fear that had settled upon Salem like a shroud. The usual bustle of the town had vanished, replaced by an eerie silence broken only by the patter of rain on the slate roofs and the howl of the wind through the skeletal branches of the trees. Whispers snaked through the shadows, fueled by paranoia and suspicion. The unseen specter of witchcraf...

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“LET THE WORLD MOVE AGAIN” by Brice Matte

Submitted to Contest #253

WARNING: This story has a slightly darker tone, and implies, but does not show, domestic violence. It also references gun use, but nothing graphic is depicted. John stared at the bullet that seemingly floated in mid-air. He had tried to get there before the gun went off, but he simply wasn’t fast enough. That’s funny, John berated himself. A man who could control time itself not being fast enough? Of course, that’s not really what John was doing at all. Time was a human concept that had nothing to do with how the universe actually work...

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“Eliza's Flight Confirmation” by Nathan Wright

Submitted to Contest #253

Confirming…Eliza…Confirming. As Eliza sat in an airport for the first time, she remembered little of the dream of the night before; the words, the feeling of a great static distance, and the rain. She had been in something like an airport then, too.Although it had been raining in the dream, it was not raining now. There hadn't been a cloud in the sky when they arrived.She looked up at her mother, whose profile, from her angle, was juttingly framed in a grid of grey-lined ceiling panels. Her mother’s head turned ever...

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“Mountain Time” by Kyla Rane

Submitted to Contest #253

As we travel up to the summit of Pike's Peak, I wish time would stand still. It makes my heart ache knowing that I won't be able to see the beauty surrounding me or watch my child experience it, for the first time, ever again. My thoughts are interrupted by my very excited 6 year old little boy. "Mommy! A bear!" Cole shrieks as he points out of his window towards a big black bear. Knowing I can't stop long, I pull to the side as far as I can so we can snap a few pictures. As I unlock my phone to open the camera, I glance at the time. One-th...

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“Her” by Wesley Fesperman

Submitted to Contest #253

Every kid dreams about getting super powers and saving the world. The harsh truth is, it doesn't always work like that. For as long as I can remember, I have had the... ability... to stop time. I always thought it was a great gift but now... it's a curse. As a kid, it was always fun to play silly pranks and I'll admit that I stole a bit too. I never stopped time for too long, only for what felt like a few hours at the longest. But accidents happen. I've been here for days - or at least what feels like days - standing by her hospital bed. Rel...

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“The Lesson of the Lamp” by Odile Glatz

Submitted to Contest #253

Maria could not believe her eyes. There, underneath some rocks was a dull looking lamp. Maria had just seen Aladdin in the movie theater, and had laughed at how improbable the action all was. Should she rub the lamp? She shivered with delight. Maria had been visiting her aunt’s family a few hours away from home. Today had been beach day, and Maria was seemingly alone on the beach. Her aunt and cousins had begged her to join them at a nearby Italian restaurant, but Maria felt the urge to st...

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“Sands of Time” by Lauren Normac

Submitted to Contest #253

Mortals called me Sands of Time. A few called me Tick-Tock. For the best, really. I wasn't a mortal being. I didn't have a mortal name. Best to stick with the monikers.I didn't give mortals much thought. People had compared a deity's relation to mortals with a mortal's relation to ants. Mortals liked to counter that if ants could talk, of course they'd pay more attention to them. But I didn't think they'd thought that all the way through.Ants lived, what? Two years? Three?That meant, to oversimplify, every two or three years there was a tota...

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“The Time Train” by Jim Robison

Submitted to Contest #253

The Time TrainBy Jim Robison Kalvin Carlyle “KC” Jones, like all the others in the passenger car, looked out the window of the fast-moving locomotive, but the view didn’t interest him. All he could think about was Julie. He thought about how they had met. He was a junior account executive at an advertising agency working on a proposal for Amtrak. His idea was to promote the vistas available only by rail travel, and Julie was a freelance photographer with an impressive portfolio of landscape art. He would include some of h...

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“A Pausing of Time ” by Trinity Larsen

Submitted to Contest #253

Ernie had always been old. Not physically–although he rather enjoyed his childhood when his joints were well oiled–but mentally. Back then in the 2020’s, he was drinking black coffee by age 10 and insisted on completing the New York Times crossword before running off to kindergarten (with a mask on of course). His name even suggested that an old man would sprout from the 5 letter word. Among the advancing tech, Ernie reminisces more and more on how he used to step out onto his apartment balcony, with caffeine in hand, and read for hours...

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Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 71 stories

“The Hourglass” by Shreyas Anand

“Seven million Mississippis” by Maria Alexandra

“"Snap Your Fingers, Honey"” by Naya's A Writer

“The First Rule of Time” by James Crofts

“Saves Nine” by Erin Thursby

“Amadeus in Time” by Logan Lenz

“Whispers of Witches” by Lindsay King

“LET THE WORLD MOVE AGAIN” by Brice Matte

“Eliza's Flight Confirmation” by Nathan Wright

“Mountain Time” by Kyla Rane

“Her” by Wesley Fesperman

“The Lesson of the Lamp” by Odile Glatz

“Sands of Time” by Lauren Normac

“The Time Train” by Jim Robison

“A Pausing of Time ” by Trinity Larsen

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Start your story with a character canceling their plans.

Write a story that contains the line, "I wish we could stay here forever."

Contest #253

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

335

Contest entries

118

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: