Write a story about a character who is trying to become a better person.

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?

✍️ 42 stories

“Moby's Redemption” by H. C. Willem

Submitted to Contest #158

He walked down the street with a feeling of lost purpose. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was here, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave either. He walked past the abandoned buildings, the winding skyscrapers stretching to the sky. It was black everywhere except for the tinted light of spaceships flying in the sky, shining down on the world below. There was a slight stench in the air, but he simply ignored it. He felt as if there was a reason why he’d come here, but he has long forgotten it. He did not feel like himself; he felt as if he ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Music of Angels” by Mary Jo Fortes

Submitted to Contest #158

Trigger Warning: Contains violent content and domestic abuse. Child abuse is alluded to, as well. He felt the sting in his hand as he watched his knuckles gush red. What hurt the most was the realization that he had screwed up—again. It had been four months since he had punched anything. Darren Holmes, in all his sixteen years, had never tried as hard to accomplish anything as he has to control his temper. He was doing well for a while there. Then, after 5th-period Algebra class, he caught Courtney, his girlfriend of three-and-a-half month...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Weirdest Washing Machine. ” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #158

Alan Keyes woke up and moaned. It was the same dreary Saturday routine. His head was throbbing and pounding, his mouth was dry, his whole stomach was nearly heaving again. Last night at the bar was now a mystery, a fog of drinking and laughing at unfunny, dirty jokes. Great fellows, his friends. They had cheered at sport on a large screen, until the vision blurred. Alan peered through his smeary bedroom window at his beloved wheels. Yes, he had hit something last night. Now there was yet another small dent. He shrugged. Alan had followed in ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Kathleen Crisis” by Kristine Bone

Submitted to Contest #158

-The Kathleen Crisis - Amanda shut her bedroom door quietly and leaned on it heavily. Had this evening really ended in this horrific way? It was inconceivable! She was Amanda Quinn; she had been a famous soap opera star for years! She was the beautiful Amanda Quinn! Yet, she had been totally embarrassed, left wordless and shocked. The nerve of that peon woman in the restaurant! The nerve of her to say she had forgiven her. Forgiven her? Lying on her silk, pink comforter, Amanda closed her eyes and relived the whole dreadful scenari...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Jackie Brown” by Vic Mabe

Submitted to Contest #158

Sprawled out before, tentacles reaching in every direction is the Sunday paper. I always read it this way, taking it apart section by section, before reading so much as a single headline. I do this to avoid missing anything; any of the good bits often hidden in the bottom corner or the back side of a page. Reading the Sunday paper while sipping a freshly brewed cup of bean-to-grind coffee is the crux of my Sunday ritual. My new Sunday ritual. It’s what keeps the arms of the loneliness that creeps alongside me since Jeb slipped below the surf...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Toll of Atonement ” by Hayley F

Submitted to Contest #158

TW: Explicit Language, Mentions of Violence Jasper takes a drag off his cigarette. When he licks his lips he feels like he can taste the bitterness of the tobacco on them so he purses them together, rubbing them clean. Then he takes another hit. His dark hair falls below his ears lazily, covering the pink scar at his right temple. Although he was freshly washed, his stubble gives him the appearance of raggedness, abetted by his stained shirt and shorts. Dark eyes rest on the skyline outside, looking past the city into a world made...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Moral Orel” by Dempsey Hyatt

Submitted to Contest #158

Orel awoke to the beeping sound of his homemade perimeter alarms. At first, he thought it was due to the wildlife in the area again; his laboratory in the middle of nowhere meant the alarms triggered more on deer and raccoons than they did with humans. The mail wasn’t delivered here, and Orel wasn’t even sure if the cabin had an address. Still the same, Orel’s cautiousness was warranted since beginning his drug synthesis endeavor. Orel swung his feet from the bed to the floor and grabbed binoculars. He r...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Tuesday Nights” by Thomas Jackson

Submitted to Contest #158

The smell of incense reminds me of Sundays. When the kids still called me dad, and we used to go mass. I was in the choir, though I could never hit that C-sharp. That was before I Iost my job. Before the 3:00 PM in-house daily happy hours. Before the accident. Now, I sit in a dilapidated basement of a Lutheran church, and the smell of incense calls another feeling: shame. "John, would you like to talk next? How was work this week?" Jenny, the AA host this week, asked, knocking me out of my daydream. "Fine. Mr. Adams is still a raging…." ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Unchained Melody” by April Cote

Submitted to Contest #158

Today is a new day. Today I will be strong. Today I will not kill. I was up late again last night. I can’t stop the thoughts that make me race at night. It forces me to sleep so late into the day that my parents worry that I am depressed. I look into the bathroom mirror at the ‘other me’ staring back. “Who is that?”, I say as I reach out to touch them. I want to lash out at the reflection but remind myself, that it is just a reflection. I repeat my mantra, ‘Today is a new day. Today I will be strong. T...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Road From Resentment To Contentment Is Not Paved” by J L Jones

Submitted to Contest #158

I did it. I crossed the line. The line I said I’d never cross. The line I’d vowed never to cross. I would like to say that he doesn’t deserve it - the lies, the betrayal, the disrespect - but I can’t. His constant belittling has earned it all. That’s what happens when resentment enters a relationship. It starts as a normal cell, minding its own business, and then a little bit of poison slips in and turns that poor cell into cancer. A little more poison, a little more cancer. Before you know it, the cancer has multiplied, raging and out o...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Rock Bottom” by Alexandra Burrell

Submitted to Contest #158

Warning: This story has themes of substance abuse and mental health. My mother has always told me that I was “too much” and I never really knew what that meant until people in my life and around me started to utter the same two words. Too much. What does that even mean? In what context does that make sense? It’s strange what will come to mind when you are tumbling towards rock bottom. “Do you really need to leave?” My throat was burning as I fought back tears. “We have already talked through everything and can’t come to a conclusio...

1 comment 1

Read story

“One Angry Man” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #158

As he pulled up to Juliette’s house, he mentally reviewed the techniques his instructor, a tall, spindly woman with inch-thick reading glasses and cotton candy hair who’d probably never struggled with the problem she tried to teach clients how to solve, had suggested. Breathe deeply. Tell yourself a calming message, over and over. Go to your “happy place.” At the time, he’d felt certain that none of these would stand a chance against their opposition. When provoked, it overtook him, cranking his thermostat up to two hundred. The heat billowe...

0 comments 0

Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a couple sharing a cigarette in a parking lot.

Adults – 66 stories

Write about a character with questionable morals.

Dark – 41 stories

Write a story where the law plays an important role.

High School – 24 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “It’s not fair.”

Middle School – 72 stories

Contest #158

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: It's All Good, Man

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

103

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 12, 2022 EST

Won by Scott Christenson 🏆

Title: Your Cat™️ Customer Service

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

Write a story about a character who is trying to become a better person.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 42 stories

“Moby's Redemption” by H. C. Willem

“The Music of Angels” by Mary Jo Fortes

“The Weirdest Washing Machine. ” by Julie Grenness

“The Kathleen Crisis” by Kristine Bone

“Jackie Brown” by Vic Mabe

“The Toll of Atonement ” by Hayley F

“Moral Orel” by Dempsey Hyatt

“Tuesday Nights” by Thomas Jackson

“Unchained Melody” by April Cote

“The Road From Resentment To Contentment Is Not Paved” by J L Jones

“Rock Bottom” by Alexandra Burrell

“One Angry Man” by Marie White

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a couple sharing a cigarette in a parking lot.

Write about a character with questionable morals.

Write a story where the law plays an important role.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “It’s not fair.”

Contest #158

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

103

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: