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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✍️ 148 stories

“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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“The Katapies Experiment; Part 9” by Penny Tang

Tsuni It was chaos in the morning. The Messengers were tied up in weird fishing net things screaming at the top of their lungs, and the Summoners and Mages were panicking and trying to fight back. The thing was, no one knew what we were fighting against. There was a fancy carriage that looked oddly similar to the one that had brought us to Disarus in the first place. Ev...

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“The No.7 Bus” by Dhevalence .

Her gasp, her sigh, wrung in my chest. There she was, facing away, pleading, “Let’s go back… Let’s go somewhere else.” And here I was, thinking, I can’t go back. But saying, “I have to… Really! I have to.”Hanging her head outside the car window, she flinched in the waft; a gentle murmur into and out of the vehicle under her sobs and sniffles. She wiggled in her seat, her dress sliding higher above her thighs, but silently, I looked away.The quietness, awkward between us.Deep inside my ...

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“I Never Said That We Would Die Together” by Kate Strong

It all happened in what seemed like a fraction of a second. The pain was so intense that it was tangible, and I almost crumpled to the floor in an agonized heap. I was shaking, shaking so hard that I couldn’t see straight and I couldn’t help but to grip the edge of the table before I passed out. I blinked twice past tears that seemed to feel like they belonged in my eyes, but I couldn’t cry. All I could do was to stare at the ceiling with lips trembling and the taste ...

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“Time to Fly ” by Francis Daisy

Ping. Ping. Ping, ping. Ping, ping, ping. My phone is typically silent at work. It should be silent at work. I’m not sure why it wasn’t silenced that day. Mother’s intuition maybe? Ping. Another text. It was my oldest daughter’s distinct tone. Each child had her own tone designated, so I knew the messages were all coming from Victoria. Was there an emergency at home? I glanced across my cl...

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“Letters found in Cemeteries ” by Anna Tishchenko

Dearest Stranger, I wonder who you are, you have taken the time to read the thoughts of someone you will likely never meet. Will you read to the end? Curiosity getting the better of you as you wonder what kind of person leaves letters for strangers in a cemetery, half hidden in the hollow of a tree? Will you crumple it up, thinking it is some kind of joke. It is not, I assure you, but I cannot account for what ki...

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“There Are Two Windows in Our Bedroom” by Shalom Aranas

There are two windows in our bedroom. I could throw out my husband or an old lover. Hence, the dilemma. I was potting my market-bought roses onto the rich, loamy soil of our garden on Tagaytay Mountain. They were bright red and small roses which bristled in the wind. I was leery of the fact they may not survive the coming rains. But I was optimistic. He came from nowhere. Dis. He is an old lover f...

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“The Day Had Finally Arrived” by Ray Delgado

The day had finally arrived. Tom quietly shuffled around his room, careful not to wake his wife, gathering his socks from the dresser, tie and suit from the closet and shoes from next to the door as he quietly closed it behind him. Dumping everything on the couch, Tom headed to the bathroom with a pronounced bounce in his step to wash up for the day ahead. Staring in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, he stared into his own eyes and was nearly brought to tears as he thought about the relief that would come today. The weight that would be...

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“She's Out!!” by Jools .

As far as the neighbours knew she could be dead. Ten years she had been in that room and no one had ever questioned it. Why had no one ever wondered was she under the shed dead. Was she really that unmissed by society that no one cared at all?I know she thought I will creep out at night when everyone is asleep and go wild in the street, rob the bakery, swing my knickers in the air and leave my mark on the landscape....

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“It's a match!” by Celine Aoun

Dear Diary,Ever wondered why it's called a "window of opportunity"? Why not a "door of opportunity"? Why should I climb and wedge myself into an opportunity? Why can't I just walk through to one? Why does the path that leads to something good, has to always be tight and uncomfortable? Not to mention that climbing through a window always has a risk of getting stuck in said window with no way of moving forward and no way of going back. In my humble opinion, it sounds a bit harsh, unnecessary and unfair to be honest. It mig...

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“The woman in the window” by Maria Johnson

She’d always liked the house, from as far back as she could recall. End of terrace, with it’s own little front garden, that housed an array of rose bushes that smelled divine to the passer by. It’s location good, set opposite the park, and on quiet road, that saw little passing traffic.It had first caught her attention, upon one of the first solo walks home from school, after moving up into the juniors. It had been one of those glorious Indian summer September afternoons, when she had paused to look...

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“The Shieldbearer” by Zion Hintay

"Corvin!" Yelled out his quartermaster. A old man with a busted arm held in a sling. He was oft time called the Hermit for carrying a wooden stave in his good hand that he wasn't afraid to use on fresh recruits like himself."Yes, Master Welks. I'm here." The young shield bearer lifted a silver shield onto his back as he waved to the old man from within the mass of squires awaiting their names to be called."Seems like it's your time, sonny. Tell your Lady that she is up for ...

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“You Can Always Count on Friends” by Arya Jackson

My name is Jade Jackson. I am twenty-five years old and I have long black hair and purple eyes. I walked down the street in my new rainbow tie-dye T-shirt, black pants, and dark red Nikes. I walked to the park enjoying the nice fresh 60-degree weather. I heard a voice say “Mind if I join you?” I jumped a mile. “Sure,” I said and she smiled. “Hi, sorry I scared you.” “Hello! It’s really okay, I know...

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“The Anomoly” by Typewriter Clicks

“My people are dying. We need your help.” The traveler always looks weary, Amina notices. Every time the traveler visits, there is exhaustion at the forefront of her eyes. The traveler doesn’t always say the same thing. Sometimes it is, “Please, help.” Other times she begins casually, “Hello, my name is Nisha.” Once, she even tried to kidnap Amina. “Didn’t you hear me? My people are dying. We need...

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“Knew Her” by Adam Wan

I’ve known Haruka for a long time. Well, if six years counted as a ‘long time,’ that is. We first met each other in senior high, where we were in the same class for all three years. Back then, we didn’t really know each other that well so the first three of those six years might as well be zero. A week, at most. We were nothing more than classmates, then. Familiar...

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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

✍️ 148 stories

“The Desert Flower Mansion” by Max Shoe

“The Katapies Experiment; Part 9” by Penny Tang

“The No.7 Bus” by Dhevalence .

“I Never Said That We Would Die Together” by Kate Strong

“Time to Fly ” by Francis Daisy

“Letters found in Cemeteries ” by Anna Tishchenko

“There Are Two Windows in Our Bedroom” by Shalom Aranas

“The Day Had Finally Arrived” by Ray Delgado

“She's Out!!” by Jools .

“It's a match!” by Celine Aoun

“The woman in the window” by Maria Johnson

“The Shieldbearer” by Zion Hintay

“You Can Always Count on Friends” by Arya Jackson

“The Anomoly” by Typewriter Clicks

“Knew Her” by Adam Wan

🌟 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

938

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: