Set your story within a window of opportunity, when a character finally has the chance to do something.

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 147 stories

“The Women In The Windows” by Stevie B

OK. After the end of my 3rd marriage, I promised myself I’d never get caught up in another emotionally intimate relationship with anyone ever again. I believe that was back in 1999. So, fast-forward to 2020 while in the midst of a Coronavirus lockdown, as I returned to my desk with my microwave reheated mug of coffee, I did something I probably shouldn’t have done; I acknowledged with a nod and two other gestures the presence of a neighbor from across the street. Sure, the simple act of a nod of recognition, the lamely celebrat...

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“Ginevran Hospitality” by Kathleen `Woods

Stars fell across the night darkened skies of Ginevra, just as the industrious folk along the equator awoke from the heat of the midday Sun, such a show in the sky, a rare treat leading up to an important holiday. Mati was the last to wake among her roommates, as was expected of her, they knew her after all. That didn’t change the enormity of her friend’s behavior. Her friend was having a ...

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“"My job interview went well..."” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

Even though the hall was decorated with expensive and exquisite taste, it was a cold shelter. I guess warmth comes with the atmosphere, not with the place; it’s like living in a mansion, but not a home. All job applicants were quiet and counting seconds while looking at either the detailed ceiling or their polished shoes. A job ...

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“The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies” by Elaine Price

If you ask any normal person, they would tell you that making a chocolate chip cookie is fairly easy. Simple ingredients, simple instructions, simple cookie. But if you’re a people pleaser, like me, then you would argue the opposite. Because the thing about chocolate chip cookies is that everyone likes them a different way. And even though I believe that baking these cookies is a stress inducing process that will likely...

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“Staircase of Fleeting Dreams” by Maya -

Most people thought to avoid the stairs, they said the steps went on forever. An endless string of creaking boards, spiraling up the tower like a fraying strand of dna. One step forward feels like a thousand steps backward, climbing this eternal tower. It’s quite a view, standing prominent in the center of town; visible even from my cabin perched on the sloping hills in the distance. Back straight and head held high, never flinching as bombs rained down upon us. The stone feels frozen under my touch as I run a singl...

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“Him” by Ruth Porritt

When I first met my husband, I thought: Him. He is the one that I want.We met at an after-school English program in Asia. It was my first day of my new job and I fell in love as soon as the elevator doors opened. He was nothing much to look at--at 23, he was already balding and his stomach was a bit soft--but as George shook my hand and looked directly into my eyes, I just knew. In the beginning of our relationship, it was his confidence that attracted me to him. Also, it didn't hurt one bit that he had a perfect, neatly-clipped Br...

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“sweltering” by R E

CW: sexual harassment The tension that morning was palpable. It was in the air, hanging overhead like the summer sun; unrelenting and angry and pushing you forward no matter how lazily you wanted to stroll. It demanded movement, and yet, that movement made you dizzy.That’s how it felt waking up. Gasping for air, sticky with sweat. Needed to move. The cold shower offered the briefest relief, but I was hot by the time I hiked up my work skirt.The cold coffee ...

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“The Lost Relic (A “Book of Choices” Story)” by Daniel R. Hayes

People sometimes say that windows are like a world of opportunities, and you could miss it if you’re not paying attention. I guess that’s why I’m here in Egypt digging through the hot golden sand in search of a long-lost relic that I believe the aliens buried a long time ago. My very own window of opportunity for fortune and fame. I’m not alone, my partner and benefactor Arby Lawrence, ...

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“The Unfortunate Pair” by Silver Pen: Temporarily Inactive

TW: Horror, seizure-like behavior, blood, and gore.The eighth grade school day was sweltering hot, and James was fast asleep on his desk. Even in sleep, he muttered unintelligibly, fingers twitching and brow furrowing. His teacher didn’t bother to wake him, fearing the behavior that would surely ensue. James was a strange child, and was often the victim of relentless bullying and teasing. The mutterings grew louder, until some of his fellow classmates shot him nervous sideways glances. He had been diagnosed with Schizophrenia at a ...

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“Help Me, Help You” by Ella Hutnak

Dear Child, When was the last time you closed your eyes? When was the last time you fell into a deep slumber the second your head hit the pillow? You wish that you could say last night. That all of your troubles melted away as you drifted off to a comfortable sleep. Where you dreamed of paradise. A place that you felt safe and content, where nothing would dare bother you, worry you, hurt you. To put it s...

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“Cops and Robbers” by Cathryn V

TW Violence The last time I was locked in a trunk, my buddy Tommy and me were playing cops and robbers. Mom was mad as hell. She said, “People die in trunks for God's sake. You could roast to death in there! You’re eleven years old, Lukie. You should be smarter than that." The brakes screech and I push my knees down to keep from slamming into the trunk’s wall but I end up turned over anyway. There’s another sound underneath me and the car starts moving again, I roll back over d...

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“Her First Sunset” by Malia Bernier

You don’t know what it feels like when every morning looks the same. When you grow up not knowing what the sun or the sky looks like, not being able to differentiate blue from red. Evylin knew what it felt like because she couldn’t see, she was blind from birth, but she didn’t mind much because her mother was always patient with her. Her father, not so much. He didn’t want a “dysfunctional” child in his h...

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“Bounty” by Valery Rubin

Nostalgia. Nostalgia. Who among us, boys, did not dream of a heroic profession in a distant childhood. Become an astronaut, a pilot, a football player? Other times, other manners. Most people choose a portfolio of bankers, financiers, managers, at the worst, officials or politicians. Yes. But someone, admit it, dreamed of being a pirate, huh? To step, so to speak, on a pirate path, to lift "Merry Roger," to shoot ...

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“The Ruse” by Laurie Douglass

TW: abuse, slavery Juliana was only four when Mama sat her down and had the talk. To a four-year-old mind, the things Mama described sounded like a fairy tale, a terrifying one. Yet, the things Mama told her about obedience to masters, never speaking back, and deference to white people began to explain things she couldn’t help observing on Belle Grove Plantation. Years later, she still remembered every single word Mama had said, and it was those words that kept her alive. Belle Grove’s farm manag...

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“The Desert Flower Mansion” by Max Shoe

TW: killing, suffocation A few nights ago—in a certain village in Cambridge, England—a movie about a father and a son going on a trip played in local television. My wife, Arianne, was with me the whole time. It was a good tearjerker. I wasn’t sure why I was moved but I was and it made me feel terribly sad. That same night, I remembered the penetrating grief I felt when I lost my only son. We never went on a trip together. We never even engaged in casual conversation since he never got the...

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Set your story within a window of opportunity, when a character finally has the chance to do something.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 147 stories

“The Women In The Windows” by Stevie B

“Ginevran Hospitality” by Kathleen `Woods

“"My job interview went well..."” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

“The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies” by Elaine Price

“Staircase of Fleeting Dreams” by Maya -

“Him” by Ruth Porritt

“sweltering” by R E

“The Lost Relic (A “Book of Choices” Story)” by Daniel R. Hayes

“The Unfortunate Pair” by Silver Pen: Temporarily Inactive

“Help Me, Help You” by Ella Hutnak

“Cops and Robbers” by Cathryn V

“Her First Sunset” by Malia Bernier

“Bounty” by Valery Rubin

“The Ruse” by Laurie Douglass

“The Desert Flower Mansion” by Max Shoe

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character looking out of a window in the middle of the night.

Write a story in which a window is broken or found broken.

Write a story that involves a magic window — or a window like no other.

Start your story with an unexpected knock on a window.

Contest #97

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

932

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: