Start your story with someone looking out a train window.

Posted in Middle School on Nov 1, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 98 stories

“A Different Visit” by Cassie Varney

Submitted to Contest #168

I stared out of the large windows, hoping this uneasy feeling would pass soon so I could enjoy the long ride. For someone who rode the line more than a thousand times and hopped freight trains nearly every day, this particular train ride was causing anxiety. I chose to sit in the observation car, thinking the views would put me in a better head space. My mom was the one who forced me on the Amtrak, I insisted I would get to her my own way, but she refused. Mom and Dad supported my decisions but when it came time for visits, they always paid ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Scottish Connection” by Sandi Beaumont

Submitted to Contest #168

Daniel settled himself into his window seat and gazed at Glasgow’s red sandstone buildings for the last time. The train snaked across the criss-cross of tracks as Daniel’s thoughts turned to the north, to the Isle of Lewis.Hopes of finding clues about his family had quickly turned to frus...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Random Acts of Kindness” by Faith Richardson

Submitted to Contest #168

I sank in the rigid seat and pressed the side of my head against the cool window. I closed my eyes and hoped I was making the right decision. With only the clothes on my back and what little cash I had in my wallet, I ran. I changed my name. I dyed my hair, and I left all those people I knew back there. The scenery whizzed past me. It was intoxicating to watch yet sickening. I was mesmerized and shaken at the same time. I closed my eyes and prayed the train would go faster and get me further away. My heart raced in my chest and throat. I h...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Blue” by Lee Kerr

Submitted to Contest #168

Salt water blurred my vision as I stared numbly out the window, the gentle clickity-clack of the train adding to my hypnotic gaze. I blinked, encouraging a small tear to release its grip and fall down my cheek. Then another, and another. I sniffed and let them fall freely, no longer needing to maintain a solid front. I was alone, there was no one to see me cry, no one to remain strong for. The day’s events washed through my mind in unrelenting cycles. Ebbing and flowing like a tide, drifting between would have and could have, words said a...

0 comments 0

Read story

“You Should Be Happy” by Kari Larsen

Submitted to Contest #168

Every weekday morning Angela drops her husband at the train station and watches as the 7:10am train pulls away from the station. Within minutes the platform is empty and the train is headed westbound into the city. Angela clears her throat and promptly drives home to eat breakfast and change into her work attire. Somedays it is a dress, other days it is a skirt and blouse, always with heels. The minute Florence, their nanny, arrives Angela hands off Lily and returns to the train station to catch the off peak 9:10 train. Angela has her s...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Home Again” by L.L. Williams

Submitted to Contest #168

The trees passing by the train window were taller than he remembered. When Leroy took the train out of town headed to university more than ten years ago, the trees didn’t look as tall then. During their last stop at a neighboring town, he noticed that the paint on the “Welcome” sign looked a bit more worn. Years of being in extreme cold and the baking sun would do that to an old wooden sign, he thought. He sat on the train, his hands sweaty, knee bouncing, and his left-hand scratching at the stubble he had let grow on his face. The creases i...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Tracing Smiles” by Anne Evert

Submitted to Contest #168

Trista opens her mouth as wide as she can, blows warm air to fog up the train window, and traces smiles into the fog with the tip of her index finger. As the condensed air evaporates, the smiles are replaced with her reflection. She stares at the monochrome version of her face for a moment, and then she blows her hot breath once more to erase the frown. Fogging the window and drawing smiles, she repeats the cycle until her mother grabs her hand; they’ve reached this train’s destination. Trista uses her forearm to wipe the remnants of her win...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Where It Is Always Warm ” by Ulugbek Maratov

Submitted to Contest #168

Lush, green fields. Farmers work under the rays of the autumn sun, casting its warm rays. Farmers, women and men, work in fields dotted with rows of corn stretching into the distance towards the horizon, fields of large green cobs, inside which a gold mine is hidden. The time of the autumn celebration is approaching, people are preparing for the celebration of the gifts of nature. I look at all this from the carriage of a fast-moving train, holding, at the same time, a quill pen in my hands and a notebook. Travel notes. A personal journal, w...

0 comments 0

Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character who is moving on, literally or figuratively.

Narrative – 58 stories

Make a train station an important part of your story.

Narrative – 74 stories

Write a story about a character who misses a train, for better or worse.

Adults – 33 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Bon voyage.”

Adults – 17 stories

Contest #168

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Choo Choo!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

105

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 21, 2022 EST

Won by David Sweet 🏆

Title: SOUTHBOUND

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start your story with someone looking out a train window.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 98 stories

“A Different Visit” by Cassie Varney

“The Scottish Connection” by Sandi Beaumont

“Random Acts of Kindness” by Faith Richardson

“Blue” by Lee Kerr

“You Should Be Happy” by Kari Larsen

“Home Again” by L.L. Williams

“Tracing Smiles” by Anne Evert

“Where It Is Always Warm ” by Ulugbek Maratov

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character who is moving on, literally or figuratively.

Make a train station an important part of your story.

Write a story about a character who misses a train, for better or worse.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Bon voyage.”

Contest #168

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

105

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: