Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Start your story with someone entering a museum, and end it with them settling down to join a sit-in.

Posted in General on Jun 4, 2021

Submissions are closed!

Sorry, we are no longer accepting submissions. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

✍️ 48 stories

“The First Sit-In” by W.W. Skybelle

February 1st, 2019   “The New York Museum of American History.”   I read the sign on the door as I walked in. The sign really was beautiful. Bold, green letters, like the sign was letting you know that this was the best museum ever, and you should never doubt it. Swirls of red, white, and blue bits of color that seemed to be splattered on the sign randomly. And that’s what made it pretty. It was splattered in the sense of a chaotic mess, but it was free and lively. Not li...

42 comments 42
Read story

“The Agony of Licinia” by Litlover 📖

Limestone. God, I hate limestone. The dreadful color it reflects across the street and downtown from the museum steps is enough to make you despise it forever. In fact, not even pretty-princess pink defiles my neurons as much as the color of aged limestone. That day, when my class was on a field trip at the Met, I barfed inwardly, feeling no shame in my disgust.Mr. Mercurio, his long rimmed mustache curling in the fuzzy museum light, kept asking us to come check out the ancient Rome section. Not that we hadn’t learned ab...

120 comments 120
Read story

“Jax Teaches 8th Grade” by Deidra Lovegren

“Oh-Jillian-I-can’t-believe-I’m-doing-this,” Jax said frantically. He finished his blueberry scone and used the Starbucks bag to slowly breathe into. “Calm down. You are not hyperventilating,” Jillian replied, driving with both hands on the wheel. “How scary can substitute teaching be? Just let the students play on their phones all day. If their teacher were there, they’d be doing the same thing. Either way, you’re done by 3:00.”“I need air!” Jax cried, pulling at his turtleneck sweater, hitting all the buttons in the c...

40 comments 40
Read story

“Onstage” by Magical Energy ✰ (Inactive For Now)

“And if the sun were so bold as to lay down his arms and be cradled in her own, together they would cycle forever but never touch.”-Four-Part Moon CyclesShe was the one who made photocopies of flyers and carried rainbow-striped umbrellas. She played trumpet in the streets and flew like a phoenix darting over the shadows. She would toss pennies into fountains and dance in the rain. I was the one who stood back and painted on printer paper, the watercolor running arcs across the shadows. We ...

23 comments 23
Read story

“Sue & Bernice” by Christina Reynolds

It’s just a museum, an old building with old stuff in it that no one really cares about anymore, sitting right in the middle of town. It’s right where a supermarket should go. No one goes to mom and pop stores anymore. They don’t go to Bill’s Grocery or Jack’s Supply—they go to the supermarket because it has everything they need at a good price. In times like these where everyone is on their phone and no one stops to chat, the town needs a supermarket. It doesn’t need a museum.  But to Sue it was n...

21 comments 21
Read story

“Saving the Museum” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Maria was entering the art museum. She always loved art, and after high school, she knew which college she wanted to be enrolled in. Always the thought of colors, paint, brushes, strokes, canvases, and the thought of putting anything down on the paper and making it look beautiful made her get very excited.  "Ah, this is where I can follow my dreams," she whispered to herself as she walked inside the museum.

61 comments 61
Read story

“Support Group” by Coco Longstaff

So this story includes people from Reedsy, and I had fun making the quiz and letting people answer it, so I think I will do it more often. There’s Aerin Rebecca, my first follower and friend, she’s Samara in this. Go follow her if you haven’t already. Right now, her name is Don't read my profile pic but I think she’s gonna change it back soon.https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/author/don-t-read-my-prof...

46 comments 46
Read story

“The Box” by The Manticore

Nassia got off work in seven minutes. She counted down the seconds as they ticked away on the clock behind the counter. Seven minutes until she could close the little green door, walk out of the bookshop, and head to her favorite place in the world.  She cracked her knuckles against the counter and rolled her eyes as the last few customers came in through the door...

25 comments 25
Read story

“Something in the Air” by Deborah Mercer

It would be fair to say that the Museum of Coastal Heritage was not exactly state of the art. There were still rows of locked glass display cabinets and a profusion of not terribly good pictures on the walls of famous locals whom not many people had heard of. Uncomfortable looking horse-hair stuffed couches had ropes across them and signs saying “Please do not sit here”, and faded photographs of fishermen hung alongside ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Obscurity of a Rose” by Caroline Ryder

A single 8’8 painting encompasses the lifetime of an artist. Every color, shape, figure, and design is a story in itself. That story really is something so beautiful. The unfortunate thing is that it’s constantly being misrepresented in the eyes of the beholder. It’s a shame that someone can simply walk by someone’s lifeline tied to a canvas and think “that reminds me of my pet dog”. It’s all obscure and vague. We tel...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Dear Sweet Deirdre” by Clara Carr

I remember the first time I entered this place, A Museum of Lesser Known Art they called it. I was not the curator of this place but I'm certain at least that I know just as much as she does about the art here. When I first started coming I was an eager film student. I loved all things visual art and I prided myself in being decent at quite a lot of different styles and techniques. I was in school for directing, I...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Unreconciled” by Courtney C

“That’ll be $47.29, sir. Thank you for visiting The Manitoba Museum, and make sure to check out our Nonsuch exhibition! It’s really something.” The teller slid over the admission tickets, one adult and two children passes, as Animkii paid. “Thank you, we’ll try to,” Animkii smiled. He led his twin niece and nephew into the museum, checking over his shoulder frequently to make sure they were still within eyeshot. Lily had pulled out her phone and was taking pictures of everything they’d passed so far indiscriminately...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Standin' Up By Sittin' Down” by Caroline White

“Maryanne!” called a voice behind me. Julia Hudson, my best friend came trotting up towards me, “Are you coming to join the sit-in?” “No, I’m just taking the kids to the museum.” “Would you just consider it at all?” “I’m trying to keep my family out of trouble. I don’t want my kids looking in the mirror and being ashamed of who they are.” “If this works, blacks won’t have to be ashamed an...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Souls of Bones” by Kat Mc G

The Souls of Bones By Katherine McGowan As she stared at the mountain of bones before her, she couldn’t decide if being a coroner made her appreciate the beauty in the macabre, or if her fixation on the beauty in the macabre lead to her career with the dead. The structure of bones crafted to an unfathomable scale still looked raw and primal de...

5 comments 5
Read story

“The Museum” by Bryony Coriander

Vesta savored every moment of walking up the marble steps to the museum. The bustle of the city around her filled her head with more noise and people than she’d seen in her homeschooled lifetime. “Are you sure you’ll be alright Vessie?” her mother asked from the car, watching her with a hawk’s gaze.  “I know I will,” Vesta said, “I want to see the outside world.” She turned bravely to the heavy wood doo...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who never planned to make history but is now about to deliver a speech in front of millions.

General – 114 stories

Write about a child witnessing a major historical event.

Dramatic – 251 stories

Write about an elderly character who was part of a historic movement years ago.

Historical Fiction – 143 stories

Start your story with a major news event breaking — one that will change the world forever.

Dramatic – 162 stories

Contest #80

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Living History

$50

Prize money

783

Submissions

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 12, 2021 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

View details

Win $50 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $50!

Tired of MS Word?

Join the revolution and write your book in a tool designed for authors. 🙌

Includes FREE typesetting to print-ready PDF & EPUB files, track changes and collaborative editing.

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Comedy Writing Prompts ⭢

Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

For Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

General Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢