Write about someone who still practices a skill that used to be necessary but has long since been replaced by technology.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 133 stories

“Wedding Invitations” by Elle Weaver

Submitted to Contest #78

If I close my eyes, I can still hear the scratching of my grandmother’s pen. I used to lay on the floor, sprawled out on the antique carpet, the rough wool fibers making my stomach itch where my shirt pulled up and exposed it, my sock feet in the air, waving back and forth gaily like a pirate’s flag. She used thick, heavy duty paper that she bought from a local artist, paper the likes of which I had never seen. Grainy and rough to the touch, flecks of old paper inside the new one. The remnants of a stranger's memori...

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“The Pen is not as Mighty as the Mind” by Eric Deitch

Submitted to Contest #78

I can safely assume that the vast majority of people who post on this site write using a computer. Typing out their ideas, diatribes, memories, or whatever they choose. Of course, you’re using a simple keystroke. It is efficient, fast, and forgiving because if you make a mistake it can readily be fixed with a backspace or delete key. It helps us get the information out of our heads and into the minds of others across the world in an instant. A lot of times people talk about the good old days where everything was simpler, more relaxed, and I ...

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“A Slingshot and a Tradition” by C King

Submitted to Contest #78

“Ouch!” Amara pulled her hand back after sticking her finger on a piece of jagged metal. Scraps weren’t kind but she knew them well. The walls groaned as a gust of wind pushed against the shack. A draft rolled across the floorboard and through the holes in her boots. She sucked on her finger for a second then let out a deep breath. She gave her lantern a twist and kept working. Slowly she wrapped a strip of sturdy cloth around the handle. Where it split up into a ‘U’ she carefully made a couple notches in the tips. She knotted both...

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“JUPONIUM” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #78

I start with a story: ‘I am on Gaia2 – earth’s twin – which is about 800 years behind earth in evolution and live in a village with my wife. Since we lived in a tropical village we didn’t need much climatic protection. That is why we natives covered ourselves only from waist down. Mine was a big farm and I had chicken and ducks on our land. We had a pool at the end of our land in which fish were stocked. Grains were supplied to us from fields of others. We had cows too, and we produced honey ourselves. We produced oil working the manual extr...

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“IN THE YEAR 2177.” by Dolapo Omoleme

Submitted to Contest #78

The year was 2177. The East Wall that separated the country into two parts had just been demolished by the new government, allowing inter-mingling, for the first time in seventy-seven years, between those who had enhanced their minds and bodies, and those who had chosen to keep all the human vulnerabilities and limitations that the new generation had developed a deep-seated intolerance for. It was a dawn of a new age. People on both sides of the wall were able to explore previously forbidden regions of the country, meet people who sharply ...

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“"Say cheese"” by Alexandros Glegles

Submitted to Contest #78

The world’s identity had taken a shift for the more productive and advanced era. Every need and old habit from the old times had been undermined by technology. People stopped writing letters, and instead started simply learning the complications of texting their partner. Manual work was swapped as well, and factories took over the need of providing the goods for society. Every corner of the world was brimming full of these changes, but there are those in secret corners that have retained certain customs. Grandpa Anders was one of tho...

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“Cooking Under Pressure” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #78

“What you doin?” “What does it look like I’m doin?” “Don’t rightly know, or I wouldn’t be askin.” “Makes some kind of sense. You really wantin to know?” “Like I said, I wouldn’t be askin if I…” “Ok, OK, I’ll tell ya if’n you don’t know.” “Well, alright then!” And that’s the way it seems to go. Been goin on like this for generations, and each one passes and leaves something behind for us to be wondered about. Great Granddad, picture of him and the long saw, on the shop wall. Him and his buddy, Rooty Two Toes, cutting down ...

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“Sleep” by Alexandria Klys

Submitted to Contest #78

Ding! The faint, muffled sound of a text alert resounds throughout the cold room. I wake to the howling winds. The branches of my garden tree knocking against the thick glass of my window. Another day of living. Perhaps, I shouldn't get up just yet. The skies are cloudy and the wind is cold - a wonderful day to stay in bed. I check my phone for approval. Maybe, I was sent some random spam message or something. 'New case. See ya!' I sigh. Looks like staying in bed won't be an option. They need me today. Maybe I can stay in bed t...

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“A Stitch of Magic” by Breahna Lesemann

Submitted to Contest #78

Ophelia took great care in choosing the types of threads that she used and the ingredients for her fabric dyes. She kept all of her threads and fabrics at the front of the shop for all the customers to see. Wooden drawers of sewing tools lined the wall behind the counter. The different threads were lined up in spools on a wall display. Bolts of fabric on rolls went up to the ceiling while the shelves beneath them displayed handkerchiefs, scarfs, and small purses with spells infused in fabric and thread. Ophelia’s Grandmother would always sco...

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“Book Worms in the Apple” by J.B. Dixon

Submitted to Contest #78

“I keep telling you to switch to the Net for this, but no. You insist on coming here every time.” “Because here are resources, I can trust not to be changed every two days. You should try browsing here once in a while instead of Wikipedia.” “Wikipedia’s verified.” Matt shook his head. “Not always, honey. How many times have you come across a page that said, ‘Needs verification’?” Becky huffed as she set the stack of books on the table. “More times than I can count, I suppose.” “My point exactly.” He sat down and opened his notebook...

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“The Rice Farmer” by Steam At 5

Submitted to Contest #78

"One day, a man walked down a bridge, and dropped a rice seed he got from an old wise man. He told him to drop it in water, and add a cup of dirt in the water each night. The man came back every night to drop a cup of dirt in the lake. Then, in a week, the lake was covered in rice plants. The man came everyday to collect rice. He sold it to all. As he got rich, he became greedy. He put many out of order. Many people lost their money and homes. So one night, the old wise man returned, snuck into the man's mansion, and killed him in his sleep!...

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“the wick maker” by Clara Carr

Submitted to Contest #78

It had been a long day. The market had been out of the weaving string I used to make wicks. It was a strange hobby to enjoy so much, wick making. It was worth it though even if i did not enjoy it to see the kind young lady from town buy them up bundles at a time to make her candles. She was always such a sweet girl. She always insisted on paying me, but the handmade candle business is one that does not come with much of a profit. I accepted her payment as a loaf of fresh baked bread every week, she lives miles down the road but its always ...

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“Bygone” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

Submitted to Contest #78

1930. That was the year the first symposium took place. Wrist watches had already overtaken the market, but true gentlemen still knew elegance and sophistication could only be achieved through the ownership of a pocket watch. They came in many sizes and many shapes, some made of gold and some made of silver, yet all of them had one thing in common: they bestowed upon the buyer a spell of refinement, an enchantment rooted in the mystical qualities of more fashionable days. Gentlemen adorned with pocket watches were warriors, guardians who s...

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“WITCH AND WATCH ” by Mike Williams

Submitted to Contest #78

Brian purchased the small four room house in west Texas in 1983. It was equivalent in size to a two-bedroom apartment, but it came with three conjoined half-acre lots, a large storm shelter, numerous pecan and pear trees and a water well. The ground was rich and productive. It was a dream for Brian, a single male in his late twenties and a farmer at heart. “It took me five to six hours to cut the grass yesterday,” Brian remarked to his new neighbor. “The original house stood on this far lot. In 1953, a tornado ...

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“Postal Service” by Jalen Wright

Submitted to Contest #78

"Dear My Love, Another starry night and a sky of dark blue The evening commences as it began I wake up in a panic and look for you My disillusionment animates the frenzied actions of a madman Can I last another night without you Anne? Yours Truly, Krillin" The wet ink glistens on the paper from the archaic quill pen. The lantern on the table begins to dim as the night drags on. The young boy stands up he blows on the paper to expedite the drying process of the wet ink. The numerous discarded drafts of paper that scatter the ground beside t...

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Write about someone who still practices a skill that used to be necessary but has long since been replaced by technology.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 133 stories

“Wedding Invitations” by Elle Weaver

“The Pen is not as Mighty as the Mind” by Eric Deitch

“A Slingshot and a Tradition” by C King

“JUPONIUM” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“IN THE YEAR 2177.” by Dolapo Omoleme

“"Say cheese"” by Alexandros Glegles

“Cooking Under Pressure” by Joe Swanson

“Sleep” by Alexandria Klys

“A Stitch of Magic” by Breahna Lesemann

“Book Worms in the Apple” by J.B. Dixon

“The Rice Farmer” by Steam At 5

“the wick maker” by Clara Carr

“Bygone” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

“WITCH AND WATCH ” by Mike Williams

“Postal Service” by Jalen Wright

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with one character trying to convince another to take up their favorite hobby.

Write about someone who keeps an unusual animal as a pet.

Set your story at a convention for a hobby most people have never heard of.

Write about someone who keeps picking up different hobbies but never manages to stick with them.

Contest #78

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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