Set your story in a major city that your character has a love-hate relationship with.

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 153 stories

“The Windy City ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #85

*Nainika's Note* Yo, so this is basically *ahem* fact-based and doesn't really have much of a plot, per se....anyways, enjoy!My city gets a lot of mention around the country, and sometimes even around the world. The City of Big Shoulders, the Center of the Midwest, The Second City, The White City, the City That Works, and most notably, the Windy City. I have lived within the city’s reach all my life, and even though I live out in the ‘burbs, I am proud to call myself a Chicagoan. And I love my city, I really do. It is the home of d...

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“Rose Witch” by Amany Sayed

Submitted to Contest #85

It is not that I hated the people of the city that I did what I did. Really, it was quite the contrary. I found them fascinating, from the inside of their intestines to their outsides. I found that the human body had it’s many limitations, but it was easy to work around them if you tried. The blood never really left from underneath my fingernails, and the smell lingered underneath the suffocating rose scent of my soap. It was as if I had something to hide, and perhaps, perhaps I did, for the people could never accept someone as eccentr...

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“Off With Their Heads” by 𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ✳🏳️‍🌈

Submitted to Contest #85

"Yes mother," I sigh into the line, wrapping the infamous cord around my finger. "Of course, I'm fine... What? No, it's not like I'm in the states! This is Britain, god damn it! Mother... no I think you should lie down for a while. Call dad as well. He'd fancy a visit from you, I'm sure" And just like that, my hand smashes back on the receiver. Blood, Britain, eh? Who could ever have imagined Olivia from the apartment up above would pursue law in England? Well, for starters, certainly not her. A buggy sweeps by my rusted telephone box as I t...

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“The Best Pickpocket of Palma de Mallorca” by H Bolton

Submitted to Contest #85

Beca stood outside her hide-out, her hands on her hips, breathing in the smells of bread baking, salt from the ocean, and the sewer line, broken, two avenues over. Today was going to be a fantastic day. She turned to close up her home, a hollow space in the city wall, just tall enough to sit in and long enough for her to lay down. She better stop growing or else she’d have to learn to sleep on her side. Shaking her head, she pulled the piece of wood over the opening, then put a few dead palm branches in front of that. There, no one would eve...

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“Back To London” by Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #85

TW: AbuseMeet at Banana Tree for dinner, 7:30, my calendar reads. I inhale as my eyes gloss over the words, my mind already running a million miles an hour. Breathe. Birmingham is far enough away from London that my past there doesn’t clash with my present. I didn’t want to move that far away from London; there are parts of it I love, really, so I ended up here, in banal Birmingham. Nothing to complain about, but all the same, not much to praise. Now, I stand on the train platform at Bayswater station, people hustling and bustling all a...

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“Visions of the West” by Amarah Friedman

Submitted to Contest #85

Agatha has always been stuck in between. When she was born in the Gateway to the West, the doctor reading his watch on her mother’s left declared it 11:59 PM, March 31st. The doctor reading the wall clock above her mother’s head said it was 12:00 AM on April 1st.Unsurprisingly, Agatha’s mother advocated for the March birthday while her father insisted she be born on April Fools. Agatha’s mother fainted from the combined exhaustion of arguing and giving birth, and the doctors had the common decency to record that Agatha was born in March. Aga...

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“A Quiet Night In San Francisco” by Jessica Primrose

Submitted to Contest #85

Her friend spilled a Margarita on her. Mary was never fond of the smell of alcohol. Actually, she downright despised it. Perhaps it was the way it lingered on the breath like sweet spoiled nectar or the lack of coordination thereafter. Either way, the entire ride home she smelled like sour lime and southern Valencia, which now embedded itself in the car seats, no doubt. Why she even agreed to attend that party, she frankly forgot and was too exhausted to care. Tired blue eyes fluttered slightly closed and then open as she gripped the steerin...

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“Le Plan” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #85

A suitcase rolls toward me, the sharp corner hitting the middle of my thigh. I wince and step back onto a man’s foot; he grunts and shoots me a dirty look. Shaking my head apologetically, I shuffle forward and settle against the pole next to the doors as the train lurches forward. The City of Love, my ass.Four more stops of pressing my back into the pole and I’m finally lunging out of the train, hurrying up the steps into the street and pulling out my metro map.Parisians hurry past me, phones pressed to their ears, purses and backp...

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“This Place Is Dead Pt. V” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #85

The flames of Greywood cast an orange-black glow over the ruins of the city. What remained bore little resemblance to the Tilgreen she’d grown up in. The city she’d fallen in love with. What remained looked to be little more than rubble and toothpicks. And what remained had sapped the last vestiges of love from her heart. Had drained her of her fondness for the streets she’d once called home. Polly used the inferno as cover and made a break for it. What else could she do? Sit and burn as the conflagration swallowed all four bui...

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“No Judgement” by Cathryn V

Submitted to Contest #85

TW: addiction, violence Grace remembers the women at the fabric store talking about the Ramsey family, trailer trash they said. Mother and father with three little ones. The bank took their house. The Ramseys left in the middle of the night and took nothing with them. The townspeople carried out a good sofa. A set of twin beds. A high chair and crib. The pictures from their mantel were thrown in the garbage. Grace had taken the dishes. Even so, Greenhills Pennsylvania had a certain nostalgia to it. Grace Berman had grown up ther...

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“Call Me Lizzy” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #85

I love this city because this is where I found her. This was David Leary’s only thought as he stood overlooking Mason city on Old Hill Bridge. He felt a cool rush of midnight air blow through his black hair, which would normally bother him, but not today. David was full of confidence and desire for a special young lady, by the name of Elizabeth O’Conner. Tonight was a special night for David and Elizabeth because this was going to be their first date. The both agreed to meet on Old Hill Bridge and have a spontaneous night of fun. Most n...

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“This city never sleeps” by Vanessa Queens

Submitted to Contest #85

DOING THE WORK“This city never sleeps,” thought Jamie as she walked down the main street, cigarette in one hand, digital camera in the other, heading for her apartment. It had been a busy day and she felt dead beat.Her job as a freelance photographer was more than a steady income for her; it was a passion; she loved to immortalize people, places and things, especially those that go unnoticed. During the past week she had been wandering the city streets, taking impressive or unusual shots of the city life.She switched on the lights, closing t...

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“A Day In The City” by Ann Tillinghast

Submitted to Contest #85

Another day of waking up with the sound of sirens zooming by outside. I'm not ready to start the day. I stay in bed for a few more minutes. "Alright, I better get up and get ready". I walked to the bathroom to take a shower. I'm singing-along with my morning playlist on Youtube. I get out of the shower. I feel refreshed.Outside on the busy streets of the city, I walk to church on a Saturday morning. I stop at the corner waiting for the light to turn red. While the light was changing red, a bright blue car sped through the light and as it sla...

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“DEMORA” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #85

** I set out to write about an elderly man sitting in a park, watching his city change, and somehow ended up with this. :) **"Arm the damn thing, we have to go.""I'm working as fast as I can, " Jaime Cutter says, glaring at her brother, stabbing codes into the keypad.A few moments later, she closes and locks the keypad panel, "I've set the timer for 30 minutes. This is beast Schon, we need to be far away when it detonates.""So let's move." Schon Cutter says opening the roof access door. He checks each stairwell as they descend to the last st...

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“Therapy” by Raazia Sajid

Submitted to Contest #85

At the four-way intersection I narrowly dodge a Tiba 2, who narrowly dodges a Pride. Both their traffic lights are green. You’d think this would qualify as a near death experience, especially considering the roads are slick with Aban rain. But really, this is just another Tuesday in Tehran. Welcome to the city of contrasts: where immodest dressing is punishable by law and yet the level of PDA is surprisingly high. Where people drive like maniacs then pull over at the Wall of Kindness to leave spare clothes for strangers. Zahra is early; no...

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Set your story in a major city that your character has a love-hate relationship with.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 153 stories

“The Windy City ” by Nainika Gupta

“Rose Witch” by Amany Sayed

“Off With Their Heads” by 𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ✳🏳️‍🌈

“The Best Pickpocket of Palma de Mallorca” by H Bolton

“Back To London” by Zahra Daya

“Visions of the West” by Amarah Friedman

“A Quiet Night In San Francisco” by Jessica Primrose

“Le Plan” by Lani Lane

“This Place Is Dead Pt. V” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“No Judgement” by Cathryn V

“Call Me Lizzy” by Daniel R. Hayes

“This city never sleeps” by Vanessa Queens

“A Day In The City” by Ann Tillinghast

“DEMORA” by Cole Lane

“Therapy” by Raazia Sajid

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that takes place in the same building but in two very different time periods.

Start your story with the line, “That’s the thing about this city…”

Write about someone fighting to change their city neighborhood for the better.

Write about someone fighting to keep their city neighborhood the same.

Contest #85

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

671

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: