Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Posted in Kids on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 38 stories

“How to Seek the Sun” by Claire Lindsey

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #151

Keep your head down. Eyes low.Tread softly, placing your boots with their duct-taped soles in the prints left by the person in front of you.Don’t go too fast, for the person behind.Don’t stop. Don’t look back.And don’t look up.~~~Keep your head down. The wind is strong, strong enough to pull you off course, if you let it.The wind carries things with it. Dust that grits up in your eyes and your mouth, a reminder of where you came from, and where you will return. Rain, occasionally. Not the kind you’d turn your face up for, lips open and soft ...

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“The All-Star” by Kathleen Fine

Submitted to Contest #151

Theodore Hurlbutt III scratched at the poison ivy inching its way up his twig-like, pale arm as he heard a whistle blow from across the field. Good thing I never got chicken pox, he thought as he picked at the bumpy blisters on his skin- clear liquid oozing out. He couldn’t resist a good scratch, even if it might spread the dreadful rash.He’d gotten the outbreak the weekend before on a camping trip with his father in West Virginia. “It’ll be good for your bones!” his dad had announced as he packed up his Chevy Tahoe with a tent, sleeping bag...

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“Gobbler” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #151

Gobbler “What we’ve got here is&...

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“Baptism of Acid” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #151

Alien insects were chewing on Sir Danielle Longbow beneath her armour. Her feet were tired of running from hunters with long spears. A godly herald floated above her as she ran. Blood fell as drizzle from the hellish sky. Danielle’s green Crann Kingdom tabard was turning from green to blackish brown. Her sword slapped her side in its scabbard. Her shield took the scratches of vicious thorns on every branch she ran through. ...

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“Callused” by Hilary R. Glick

Submitted to Contest #151

My hands ain’t bled since I turned five years old, and my brothers all followed my lead. Bobby’s stopped ‘round six, Colton was ‘bout seven, even Dusty’s hands was hard as a rock by the time he turned eight. But Emma’s hands didn’t callous ‘til she turned eleven. Papa says it’s because Emma’s a girl, and she’s got different obligations than us boys do, but she and I both know her being a girl’s got nothin’ to do with it. See, ‘round here, you don’t get a meal in front of you if you don’t work for it. Age don’t matter and sex don’t mat...

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“Time for God” by Mark Sheehan

Submitted to Contest #151

Hank settled in for the fifty-one minute journey from Perth to Mandurah. The train eased cautiously out of Perth Underground, like a turtle’s head from its shell. Picking up speed, the train settled into the lulling clickety-clack train track rhythm. Managing to stay awake during the short stop at Elizabeth Quay, Hank drifted off soon after. Letting his hoodie swaddled head loll against the window, he basked in the warmth of the winter sun. Quickly, Hank surrendered to deep sleep, floating in the endless sea of his subconscious. He dreamt o...

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“Life of a cherry blossom” by Neko Ikemoto

Submitted to Contest #151

Toshiro galloped across the battlefield, his stallion’s hooves thundering in the quiet reverence that had descended when the last swords were sheathed. The rhythm was soothing, assuring him he would soon see his lord. The generals’ reports he had gathered were not the only reason he stood in the stirrups and kept urging his mount forward. They were not even the most important reason. Trusting his horse to pick the best way back to the camp, he loosened the reins and looked around. The last rays of the setting sun painted the grass sca...

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“Paved in Dark Gold” by R W Mack

Submitted to Contest #151

An ocean away from his west-coast California office, a man stepped into bright Milan sunshine. Less than an hour before, he'd decided he deserved a vacation. Crowds had cheered the first successful quantum-transport of live humans half a decade earlier. Commercial pods became available soon after, at premium prices. Business, finance and leisure luxuries changed overnight. Every global corporate district and opulent resort proposed installing transport hubs to stay competitive.Back at the Los Angeles Aphi-Solutions transport hub, the man's s...

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“Marienvoglein” by Lonnie Russo

Submitted to Contest #151

The first ladybug of the season found me on one of those unseasonably warm days when the autumn dared retreat—when a high morning sun and the right amount of haze could conspire to make a person forget the summer had already gone. It was not the first one I had seen that year, of course. They had been flitting about in flashes of red since the spring. I had figured by now, though, they would all be hiding, holed up in damp crevices and corners to wait out the approaching winter.This one had six spots. It landed easily in my hands as my dress...

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“If the Shoe Fits” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #151

People often described Noah as a trouble-maker. Or at least a problem. No one disputed his fierce independence. He held high standards for himself. To quote Winston Churchill, “There were things, up with which he would not put.” His exacting standards often confused those offering assistance. His curt responses to such offers earned him a variety of nick-names. Noah felt such names reflected more upon those naming him, than upon himself. In short, Noah didn’t respect people giving orders, or those offering a ‘helping hand.’ Even when for ‘...

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“Footsteps” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #151

“It wasn’t me.” They all say that, or most of them anyways. When it gets to this stage of the game, the ones that admit it are just as much of a problem. Those ones enjoy themselves too much. Revel in it. I suppose the deniers do too. It’s all a game to them and they think they have already won by the time they are sitting here. I look into those baby blue eyes of hers and have to remind myself where we are. Who we are. At another time and in another place… Yeah right, Arnold! Who you kiddin’? She’s way, way outta your league. ...

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“The blueprint” by Paul Tanner

Submitted to Contest #151

"What am I supposed to do? What is life and what is my purpose?". There comes a time when parents must answer these questions. Mr. Noh knew that. He had asked the very same questions to his mum a long time ago, as she had done herself with her parents in her own time. Following a cycle yet to be broken. "We live to serve God!" his mum had proclaimed that day. She was a strong believer, she had lived her life based on the teaching of Jesus Christ and had tried her best to mold her sons in the same way. No aspect of her life, and I m...

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“Hurling Chunks” by Jim Firth

Submitted to Contest #151

Aqueous groans filled the interior of the Land Rover. With a trembling finger, Charlie pressed the stop button on the tape deck. The operatics of the Humpbacks ceased. Although whale song was all the rage during the ‘Nu Age’, it wasn’t his preferred listening. He would rather sit in near silence and hear the ghostly hum of airport traffic and planes taking off nearby. While Charlie fiddled nervously with the patchouli air freshener, his boyfriend George sat in the driver’s seat wondering what to say. Ever the pragmatist, George decided to...

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“Follow in These Bloody Footsteps” by Kristen Nazzaro Keller

Submitted to Contest #151

[Trigger warning for language and violence] He woke up with the gun in his hand. Even before he opened his eyes, he knew what he was holding. He wrapped his fingers around it, and a sense of familiarity rushed over him. There was an incessant beeping from an alarm clock on the bedside table that only quieted when he slammed his fist down on it. As he sat up, his calloused forefinger found the trigger and hovered over it. Any amateur gun owner would tell you that you should never touch the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. But he wasn’t ...

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“Where the African Grey Perches” by A. L. V.

Submitted to Contest #151

I’ve worked here for four months, and not once have I stepped into one of the break rooms. Once the clock strikes noon, several employees rise from their seats to get lunch. Many walk out in groups, making plans to get lunch at a cute café or a food truck. Others pull packed lunches out of their desks. I hesitate to get mine, some coworkers giving me steely glares on the way out. A part of me wants to go eat with Uncle Moore, but I know that would only make things worse. I took my lunch with me out to the main hallway, heading...

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Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“How to Seek the Sun” by Claire Lindsey

“The All-Star” by Kathleen Fine

“Gobbler” by Murray Burns

“Baptism of Acid” by Graham Kinross

“Callused” by Hilary R. Glick

“Time for God” by Mark Sheehan

“Life of a cherry blossom” by Neko Ikemoto

“Paved in Dark Gold” by R W Mack

“Marienvoglein” by Lonnie Russo

“If the Shoe Fits” by John K Adams

“Footsteps” by Jed Cope

“The blueprint” by Paul Tanner

“Hurling Chunks” by Jim Firth

“Follow in These Bloody Footsteps” by Kristen Nazzaro Keller

“Where the African Grey Perches” by A. L. V.

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who wakes up in their past life, or as a future reincarnation of themself.

Write about somebody breaking a cycle.

Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Repeat the same line of dialogue, from the same character, three separate times.

Contest #151

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

233

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: