Set your story before dawn. Your character has woken up early for a particular reason.

Posted in Fiction on Nov 10, 2023

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✍️ 94 stories

“Journey to Thanksgiving” by Kristi Montgomery

Submitted to Contest #224

The shrill ring of the alarm of the old-fashioned clock on the bedside table pierced the darkness. Kasey rolled over, stopped the alarm, and saw that it was 3 am. Normally, this hateful hour was reserved for a handful of people in the community, but today, Kasey was joining their ranks. Jumping out of bed, Kasey stumbled into the adjoining bathroom to grab a quick shower. Thankfully, she could smell the pungent aroma of her morning salvation already brewing. She said a quick prayer of thanks for whoever invented the programmable coffee maker...

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“Bringing the Dawn” by Christopher Newsham

Submitted to Contest #224

“Early start, Sól?” “Funnier each time I hear it, Helios.” Helios, Greek God of the Sun, grinned. He knew damn well that Sól had no say in the matter, and stepped down from his chariot, which kept moving as Svalinn, Sóls husband, pushed it. “You Heathen gods are so serious,” Helios said. “Or your jokes are naff,” Svalinn grunted. Sól had no time to say anything as she leapt up into the chariot. She could hear the wolves that followed her across the sky, crying for her blood. If she didn't start the dawn soon, they would ove...

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“One Fine Day” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #224

I can’t remember the last time. We all have this in our lives. We have done something in the past. We know for sure we have done it and we have instances that we can recall, or we have a collective recollection, a bundled up set of experiences with a blurb that explains what they are. But when we come to think about it, we cannot select the most recent instance of that experience. For me, I was sure that I had made a point of this simple act on a cyclical basis. That a shaming bout of time elapsed until I felt the building pressure...

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“Roosters Before Dawn” by David McCahan

Submitted to Contest #224

Coke sat outside my bedroom window again. Crowing again. Crowing always.Roosters don’t just crow at dawn.That was news to me.I grew up in the suburbs in St. Louis. There were no roosters. I lived in Chicago near Lake Michigan as a young adult. There were no roosters there, either. When I got to Key West, they were everywhere.At first, I thought it was quaint. Charming even. Chickens with their flocks, roosters standing protective over them. Protected by local ordinances. The only predators house cats and raptors. The raptors pretty much...

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“Serenity -- The Beginning” by Sharon Dorey

Submitted to Contest #224

Startled, she blinked away the remnants of her dream, struggling to make sense of her still unfamiliar surroundings. The room was cloaked in darkness, and the only source of illumination was the soft glow of the moon filtering through the curtains. The plinking sound persisted, a rhythmic disturbance in the stillness of the night. She groaned in annoyance, reluctantly raised her head from the pillow of the four-poster bed, and switched on the bedside lamp. It was 3:19 in the morning. Groaning again, she slid her bare feet onto the coolness...

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“Holding Hands, Forever” by Abigail Hague

Submitted to Contest #224

For thousands of years, humans have been superior. Making movies, taming wild animals, making dreams possible and changing the world. Soon humans got too cocky, changing others into beautiful and different lifeforms. Soon these life forms became more powerful and wiped out the humans. Of course they left things behind like books, history, food and animals but the lifeforms destroyed many buildings to reclaim the forest and become peaceful once again. I am a Strawberry Patch Elf, we were meant to be the superior like humans but we grew up pas...

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“Secret Sister ” by Patrick Druid

Submitted to Contest #224

Secret SisterThe front door of the little cabin opened allowing a middle aged man to step out on to the creaking floor boards of the front porch as he looked and took in the view the stars above him. He took a sip of coffee from his favorite mug as he continued his early morning stargazing. He shivered slightly as he noted the bare trees in the yard and the flecks of white spots on the driveway left over from the previous week's snowfall.Tom Browning knew that today was the day and despite the fact that he only got roughly 4 or 5 h...

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“Ep 3 - The 'Not So' Diplomatic Couriers! - SERIES: Adventures of A&J” by Mary Black Rose

Submitted to Contest #224

It was 1952. I’d say I was a typical teen boy.My overconfident, crazy cousin, Jeremy — not so much. Only one week into summer vacation, and he was coming up with yet another harebrained scheme.“It’s the perfect solution to our summer blues, Arnie,” Jeremy said.“I’m not blue!” I protested.“Okay, boredom then.”“I’m not bored either, Jer. It’s only been a week, but tell me about your plan because whether I want to hear it or not, you’re gonna tell me anyway.” I sighed.“Look, every year we gotta sweat and slave in the hot sun mowing lawns just t...

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“Playing With Fire In the City of Dixon” by Henry Labelle

Submitted to Contest #224

Playing With Fire In the City of Dixon By Henry David LaBelle I buried Pa this mornin. He tol me that it was gunna be awright. It don’t feel that way. Mighta felt bedder if he wasn’t shot the way he was. Don’t egzactly know what to do. I seen the man shot im. I seen his face. Pa told me revenge is a damned thing said it was evil and a damned thing and it made more evil when you did it. You remember im sayin that?Im thinkin bout revenge this morning.I kn...

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“Life at Mystic Beach and a Meetup with the Rebuilt Time Machine ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #224

The storm whooshed in. Waves surged up covering the beaches.Rain and sleet slammed the Oregon Coast rainforest wilderness.Wind roared. Douglas Firs swayed and creaked. Heavy rain hammered the roof. Water drops hit the windows like bullets. My little blue cottage deep in the forest shook in the gales.It was a good day to stay home. But that is not how the day unfolded.What happened is absolutely true. This is all in my new book “Visiting with Sasquatch - And Other Surreal but True Stories from Mystic Beach on the...

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“Of Roots and Stars” by Noe Gmbl

Submitted to Contest #224

The end of my cigarette burns dimly against the inky night. The thick smoke rises in tight whirls in the cold air. I take a deep breath, letting the familiar sting singe my lungs—then deeper and deeper yet. As I exhale, I wish the smoke would enfold me, coil around me and hide me. Erase me. I have always liked the peace and quiet of early mornings, when the night feels like a blanket sheltering you from the mess of other people, when the stars watching over you and the wind softly blowing whisper I won’t let them find you yet. When I was ...

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“Jamie the Duck” by Janet Severn

Submitted to Contest #224

The sun had not yet risen. Brian the Beaver was standing across the street from the harbor, looking at the ships. It reminded him of his filthy childhood. The things he did at that harbor! He didn’t see any punks around there now, though. Maybe they had finally cleaned it up. Or maybe it was just too early in the morning.Under the grey clouds it looked sad, just the way he liked it. For a second he thought about how in all those years he had never stopped to really look at the harbor, and appreciate how melancholy it was. But only for a seco...

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“The Prowler” by Juliana Zalon

Submitted to Contest #224

Sensitive Content: Child death The living room is bigger than he imagined it would be or at least it feels that way once he is inside. Gary steps out from behind the heavy drapes and takes a deep breath, inhaling the musty scent of the brocade. Although he is in almost complete darkness, he cannot help but admire the room, its impeccably placed furniture and framed artwork. The house’s brick exterior, which he has scrutinized for the past two weeks, seems modest in comparison to what’s inside. He takes a flashlight from the pocket of his sw...

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“ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #224

ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD I opened my eyes, it was still dark. I checked my watch. I lay in bed for a few minutes more. Not because I was reluctant to get up before the birds had even begun their morning songs, but because I wanted to plan my route one more time. To see the route in my head, to plan my timing, my pacing. To get my strategies fixed solidly in my head. To calculate the risks, the dangers, the obstacles; to map out Plan A and Plan B and just because that was the kind of person I was, Plan C as well. I was a...

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“You Are In My Sights” by Peter Stone

Submitted to Contest #224

Methodically he prepared his weaponry for the next day. He had to arrive half an hour before his target was to approach the crest of the hill next to the small lake. The forecast was for minus 10 degrees Celsius the next day. This was going to make the metal on his Nr.2 Steyr SSG 69 sniper rifle a bitch to handle with his bare hands. His camouflage gear was placed ready on the bed next to his in the tiny motel room. He had been in this business long enough that he didn’t need more than three rounds of ammunition to complete his mission. A mi...

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Set your story before dawn. Your character has woken up early for a particular reason.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 94 stories

“Journey to Thanksgiving” by Kristi Montgomery

“Bringing the Dawn” by Christopher Newsham

“One Fine Day” by Jed Cope

“Roosters Before Dawn” by David McCahan

“Serenity -- The Beginning” by Sharon Dorey

“Holding Hands, Forever” by Abigail Hague

“Secret Sister ” by Patrick Druid

“Ep 3 - The 'Not So' Diplomatic Couriers! - SERIES: Adventures of A&J” by Mary Black Rose

“Playing With Fire In the City of Dixon” by Henry Labelle

“Life at Mystic Beach and a Meetup with the Rebuilt Time Machine ” by Kristi Gott

“Of Roots and Stars” by Noe Gmbl

“Jamie the Duck” by Janet Severn

“The Prowler” by Juliana Zalon

“ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD” by Glenna Agnew

“You Are In My Sights” by Peter Stone

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two people living together who have opposing sleep cycles, and only cross paths at dawn and dusk.

Start your story with someone saying “I can’t sleep.”

Write a story about someone pulling an all nighter.

Write about someone who can’t sleep due to jet lag, and decides to set out and explore their new city at night instead.

Contest #224

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

285

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: