Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Posted in Kids on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 256 stories

“Time Lapse” by Ghost Writer

Submitted to Contest #74

I still wasn’t sure what to write and as I sat in the decorated kitchen all full up from Christmas and now it was to be a new year, I just had to get something down on the paper before it was due in. I only had two more hours before it hit midnight and the paper was due, but I knew I could do it and I knew I needed at least three words to get successfully counted as a grade. The last paper hadn’t been so great, in fact it had failed entirely but at least I had written something, and I was going to make sure I at least got a grade on this pap...

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“The Ten of Spades ” by Breanna Barber

Submitted to Contest #74

Timing is everything is it not? Right down to the nanosecond it seems. I glance over at the alarm and see that there are only ten seconds left of the original two minutes I had set it for. Running my hand through my dark rambunctious curly hair, I find myself thinking, this could change everything. When I close my eyes, I see us. The first moment his green eyes stared into my hazel blues, I knew I was done for. He had been watching me from across the library. I had piles of homework up to my neck and...

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“Another Day on the Job” by Spiros Mexas

Submitted to Contest #74

*DING-DING*, the bell rang. Arnold had just arrived on the doorstep of this old house, after receiving the call for a missing wife late in the same night. He puffed at his bent briar pipe as hard as he could to calm himself. ‘Of course the last call of the night would be mere bloody minutes before I pack up and go home, no one gives a f-.’ Without having enough time to finish his esoteric nagging, the door opened with a resounding creak, showing off the years this building has seen. Still, having survived the Great War and God knows how m...

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“HH:MM:10” by Heather Jacobs

Submitted to Contest #74

Trigger warning: pet death Ten. Panting, sweating, heart beating violently. I feel it in my throat. The motion is nauseating. A steady rhythm denoting the continuation of life, and forceful enough to make one sick. I pedaled frantically in pursuit of my best friend. The street a black velvety expanse of freshly paved road. This felt like the longest distance anyone could travel. The incline unrelenting as I was unable to keep up with her pace. Shadoe stops in the middle of the black sea and looks behind her. I call out her n...

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“Ten Fleeting Seconds” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #74

Ten Fleeting Seconds We had to play outside for nearly the whole day when we were children. “Can we come in Mum?” we would ask and the short reply was “No off you go and find something to do”. So we would find something to do. We would all go down the steep dirty track, racing to see who got there first, pushing and shoving and laughing until we reached the bottom. Deidre was always last and we would call her a rude name relating to her size – she would always cry and we would then call her a ‘big fat baby’ and start splashing at the e...

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“Never Gave Me a Reason” by Que Pasta

Submitted to Contest #74

OneI’m sitting in the back of the taxi, headphones in and forehead against the window. Letting the cold seep into my forehead as the music fills the silence, I close my eyes. I’m trying to remember if I had grabbed my mother’s present from my desk, or if I was going to have to buy a back up gift when I arrived in Denver, again. How many airport ornaments could I give her before she stopped letting me in the door? The answer was that there was no limit, but by now she should have known how terrible of a child I was. I should have been able to...

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“A Moment in Time” by Gillian Del Mundo

Submitted to Contest #74

Ten. “Get in, get in!” Michael hears his friend call out to him. He presses the timer on his phone that is set up on the tripod and makes a beeline to where his group has already settled in their poses as they stand on the golden sand. He runs over to the side, next to his best friend, William, and puts an arm around him and makes a thumbs-up with his free hand. “Open the champagne!” His best friend tells their friend, June, in the centre who rushes to open the bottle by the time the camera clicks. “Hurry!” They all laugh in exciteme...

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“The New Year's Kiss” by Luna G

Submitted to Contest #74

“10,” Illeana raised her champagne glass in the air as she started the countdown with the rest of the crowd. On the right of her, the deep, soothing voice of a man reverberated in her ears. She gazed up at him. Her eyes trailed down his face to his lips and her heart pounded against her chest. She was going to do it, her cheeks burned, she was going to learn the taste of those lips. For the last few days she agonized about whether or not she’d take the plunge and kiss the man she was in love with. Yesterday she decided that, yes, once the c...

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“Stay” by Faith Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #74

Ten seconds. That’s all they really have. It is not much time— but it has been this way for millennia. Those short ten seconds are treasured more than a whole lifetime. How can someone treasure ten seconds so much more than a lifetime? The ten seconds when the Sun and the Moon could be together in perfect harmony. No repercussions, no punishments, just the two of them against the universe— for ten seconds. But this ten seconds was never about the sun or the moon. It’s about when the Gods played their games, who will be left behin...

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“Ten Seconds of Anxiety ” by Emmanuelle Shemko

Submitted to Contest #74

If you've ever been an athlete, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm a gymnast, a good one too. I won gold at the Canadian nationals and bronze at the Pan American championships last year. There's nothing more invigorating than standing on a podium, feeling proud of yourself and proud of what you represent. If it's a national event, I will be proud to represent my hometown. For an international, I'm pleased to show the competition that I'm from Canada. I'm strong, and I know what I'm doing when I start my routines but know...

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“Next year” by Susannah Emrys

Submitted to Contest #74

Ten I am sitting alone, with a glass of off-brand champagne in my hand, surrounded by digital friends I have not been close to in a year. I remember their smell, their tight hugs, our carefree laughter over drinks at Mandy’s. I want desperately for them to be here, for real. I want to show them my new home cut bangs, I want to collapse onto the and cry. I want to say “This has been so had, guys. This has been so hard, and I am so tired.” I want them to say that they know, that they understand, and that they’d help me through it. I am...

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“Roots and Hypocrisy: Becoming Grounded in the Span of One Breath ” by Emma Harbison

Submitted to Contest #74

Isla sucked in a ragged breath and squeezed her eyes shut. Her auntie’s words washed over her; “I love the feeling of a thought not yet formed. Like opposing sides of a magnet drawing nearer and nearer. I can feel the frustration of my ignorance, but even stronger is the sensation that soon one magnet will flip and a new whole will materialize.” Then her auntie would launch into the familiar monologue; how far the internet has taken us from understanding she would sigh. She liked to call it” internet digging” not internet searching she would...

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“Ready for Liftoff” by C. D.

Submitted to Contest #74

“T-minus ten seconds until liftoff...” The scratchy voice from base camp reaches Fiona’s ears in the cabin. The first thing she thinks of is the equipment. Could there be any malfunction? No, no, all the systems are working perfectly, and the last time they were checked was this morning. All the screws are tight, all the cargo is secure, all the straps are fastened, ready to be launched into space. There is no possibility that hasn’t been looked at, no potential that hasn’t been examined. But Fiona still worries. She has run through this ...

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“Hung Bomb” by John Jones

Submitted to Contest #74

10 As he checked the bomb once again just before landing, there it was, right beside him, just a little bit behind his head. It had hung tightly to the wing, even though it wasn’t supposed to be there. The initial surprise of seeing it, and the realization that the routine mission had just become much more unpredictable had made him recognize there were some big unknowns in the near future. He had needed to make some important decisions very rapidly, and once committed; he had needed to carry out his plan to perfection. 9 Ove...

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“The Calm Before” by Brandon Chavez

Submitted to Contest #74

10 The industrial heart of the massive metropolitan area had suddenly stopped beating, and everyone went outside to look up at the impenetrable red clouds that had conquered what was just a few seconds ago, a very clear blue sky. Factory workers, longshoremen, mechanics, and administrators all huddled together like wild dogs on a cold winter night, wondering just what the hell was going on miles above their heads. Visages of bewilderment, realization, p...

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Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 256 stories

“Time Lapse” by Ghost Writer

“The Ten of Spades ” by Breanna Barber

“Another Day on the Job” by Spiros Mexas

“HH:MM:10” by Heather Jacobs

“Ten Fleeting Seconds” by Valerie Preston

“Never Gave Me a Reason” by Que Pasta

“A Moment in Time” by Gillian Del Mundo

“The New Year's Kiss” by Luna G

“Stay” by Faith Gonzales

“Ten Seconds of Anxiety ” by Emmanuelle Shemko

“Next year” by Susannah Emrys

“Roots and Hypocrisy: Becoming Grounded in the Span of One Breath ” by Emma Harbison

“Ready for Liftoff” by C. D.

“Hung Bomb” by John Jones

“The Calm Before” by Brandon Chavez

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone scrambling to finish a goal in the last few hours of the year.

Write about someone keeping track of time with tally marks on a wall — until one day they discover that all the marks are gone.

Write a story that takes place across ten days.

Write a story in the form of a top-ten list.

Contest #74

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

727

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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