Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write about a character who is a reluctant expert on a topic they wish they didn’t know so much about.

Posted in Funny on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 38 stories

Visionarys.

Submitted to Contest #15

~Prologue:“RUN!” the man shouted. “They're coming!”“Who?” The woman demanded.“The hunters, the visionary hunters.”Genuine fear fell across the woman's face.“Find a nurse! Take care of the child!” he told her.“Very well.” the woman gazed at her large stomach. Then she walked into the castle. Where the doctors were waiting.---When she was born, they called her beauty, her mother did, the nurses and doctors did, even the grumpy, old cat took a liking to her. As they all had stated, the child was indeed ravishing. Her small tufts of hair we...

37 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Pressure

Submitted to Contest #15

The grey door opened, and a massive man entered the room. He wore a suit and tie, his face clean-shaven. He dragged a metal chair across the floor and sat down at the table. With one hand, he unbuttoned his jacket, with the other he placed a thick yellow envelope on the table."How are you, Kaleb?"No response came from the other person sitting opposite."Do you know why you are here, Kaleb?" The official asked without looking directly at his subject. He slowly unraveled the red twine securing the envelope."Those clothes we gave you, are they c...

33 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

DEAD MEN

Shortlisted for Contest #15 ⭐️

Sarah knew about them, the thieves who stole a gold chain from the little girl on the crowded bus, she knew how they ran, swirled and danced in the road. She knew what they did with that shiny gold chain, she saw them throw it down the lake. The newspaper felt heavy on her hands, she took a pen and scrapped their face from the news article. That image would haunt her now. She took a sip of hot cocoa and sank back into her chair. Phone beeped a message from her sister, the pink glow of her phone shone brighter than usual and she shoved her ph...

30 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

Unfortunate Knowlegde

Submitted to Contest #15

“Happy bar-day!” Cady cheered. I gazed up at her with tired eyes. “What are you talking about?” “On the house.” She slid me a glass of scotch. “Every day for the past year you’ve come here! Happy bar-day!” “You are way too happy about this.” “What? Your bar-day?” “No, life.” “How could you be so negative! I’ve known you for a year and… and… that’s it… I have absolutely no knowledge about you.” I shrugged and took a sip. “As it should be.” She placed her hands on her hips. “No, no it’s not. This just won’t do. I’m fixing this. Now. What do yo...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Secret

Submitted to Contest #15

Charlie had some choice words for her. But he didn’t like saying them, even to himself. She deserved them. ‘She’ was his fourth-grade teacher, Miss Margaret Pringle.‘Miss Pee’, her name being the source of endless humor among his classmates, yelled at Charlie today. In front of his friends, no less. He hadn’t done his homework. He hated homework. He hated her.Miss Pee made him stay after school to finish it. But Charlie outsmarted her. When she left the classroom, Charlie picked up his backpack and made an ‘exit left’.“Charlie, are you done ...

11 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Let's Start a Podcast

Submitted to Contest #15

 “Did you ever hear about this?”Christy slides the magazine across the table. Miller looks up, wiping his Cheeto-stained fingers on his sweatshirt.“No. What is this?”“Crazy article. So apparently this guy is like, super normal family man and then one day he snapped and killed his neighbor. And when they caught him, they found, like, twenty peoples’ heads in his backyard.”I am staring at the beam of late afternoon sun streaming in from the smeared library window in the corner, trying to count the millions of twinkling...

10 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Instruction manual: Cook-It WhirlBlend Xtreme 2.0

Submitted to Contest #15

Welcome to the Cook-It family! We congratulate you on your purchase of the Cook-It WhirlBlend Xtreme 2.0! With the Cook-It WhirlBlend Xtreme 2.0 you’ll enjoy easy blending and mixing. It is perfect for creating the richest and creamiest soups and smoothies with a simple touch of the button. Hang on, did anyone actually do a double-blind randomised controlled trial? I mean, we can’t just claim that our blender makes the creamiest smoothies without testing all the other blenders on the market. Maybe I should worry about that later and just wri...

9 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Starting Over

Submitted to Contest #15

He sat there gripping the steering wheel, sweat beaded along his eyebrow. His heart was pounding so violently he thought it would rip free from his chest. 'What is taking them so long? It was supposed to be in and out!' growled Jason as he adjusted his position in the drivers seat. Finally the back door to the jewelry store burst open! Before the doors had shut, Jason stomped his foot down hard on the gas pedal; the tires squealed in protest at the sudden movement. "What took you guys so long?" demanded Jason as he maneuvered the car along t...

8 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

The Knack

Submitted to Contest #15

Everyone else at the “Seaside Centre”, the information and advice hub in the old library building, agreed that Carrie Francis had the knack. She wasn’t very prepossessing; a slightly plump lady on the verge of middle age, with slightly crooked teeth and rather nondescript brown hair that she generally wore pulled into a ponytail with a scrunchy that might or might not match her jumper. Carrie’s jumpers were generally her one splash of colour. She liked pictures and patterns, and cats and hearts. She had once said she...

7 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

What James Dinn Knew

Submitted to Contest #15

When I tell my third patient of the day that he has three months left to live, I want to kick myself in the groin. I am a liar. James Dinn will probably be dead before the end of the month. But he doesn’t know that, so he goes ahead and asks all the classic questions.“Is there a cure at all?”We’re talking about stage three lung cancer, sir. In my mind’s eye, I see the blooming, blackish-grey tumour on the CT scan.“There is a new treatment being developed in Los Angeles,” I finally say. “Some doctors are quite optimistic about it. Worth a try...

7 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Blood on the Pillow?

Submitted to Contest #15

Blood on the Pillow? “So, what’s this werewolf thing anyway? You really believe you are one?” Eddie Clark leaned back in the deer blind and arched a very skeptical brow. “I’ve known it for a long time now,” Thornton Howell spoke in a monotone voice. The two were known for playing tricks on one another. Their one-upmanship was usually the topic of laughter around the school. While watching for a deer, the pair had been discussing a rash of missing pets and animals in their area of the Ozarks. Small dogs. Cats. Even a noticeable decrease in th...

6 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Power of Music

Submitted to Contest #15

 The Power of Music  The crowd was on its feet and the music hall reverberated with the roar of applause, whistles and screams of adoring fans. The sound was deafening, as it echoed from wall to wall, which seemed to encourage everyone to get louder. Devyn had just finished an incredible rendition of “Imagine”, with the utmost respect to John Lennon.  The band motioned for the audience to maintain their excitement and smiled along with the rest, while Devyn wiped away a steady stream of tears. While doing h...

5 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Joey’s Ball

Submitted to Contest #15

They are adopting a dog so it can commit suicide. I am Ralph and I am a dog trainer. I am proud of my profession but I’ve never trained a dog to commit suicide. It seems unnatural. Defending its owner I could understand, but suicide? It goes against every natural instinct of a dog. I mean you may as well let the pound put the poor creature to sleep humanely. But, I am the dog trainer and I am getting paid handsomely to train these dogs who would be dead anyway if they hadn’t been adopted by the state of Flo...

5 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

How the World Works

Submitted to Contest #15

Olivia was always a smart girl. She understood more about life than most of her teachers. Most would assume that her parents just told her these things, but as people got to know her they realized her wisdom came from experience, not lessons. Olivia's closest friend, Gabriel, learned first-hand just how much she knew. Gabriel was older than her by a few years. He had a job and was living on his own, but Olivia just graduated high school that year. Gabriel thought that he would test her, see how much she really knows about the way the world w...

4 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

I Hate Being A Genius

Submitted to Contest #15

My name is Oliver and I'm in the 9th grade. I'm what many people would call an "average" student. I get average grades, have average friends, and just live an average life. Recently, I finished an IT program at a nearby college. It seemed really exciting to me, at first, because I loved learning new things, regardless of me being the lazy one in the family; but after a few weeks, I realized it wasn't for me. I could've just dropped out anytime I wanted if I didn't want the $500 prize waiting for me at the end of the line. For me, it was like...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a person trying to learn a new skill or hobby they find intimidating but want (or need) to learn anyway.

Nonfiction – 47 stories

Write about one character’s fundamental misunderstanding of another character’s job.

Sad – 23 stories

Write about something you consider yourself an expert in, but do it from the perspective of a total novice.

Funny – 14 stories

Write about a character’s secret area of expertise, something most of their acquaintances would be surprised to learn they know tons about.

Short Story – 38 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel