Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who discovers the grass isn't actually greener on the other side.

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.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 44 stories

“Newman” by Andy Matthews

Submitted to Contest #157

Newman watched the second hand scale the face of the clock on the cabin’s yellow pine wall. You always think there’s enough time. The thought sparked an ironic smile and a weary shake of Newman’s head. His fingers itched for a cigarette despite 12 years of abstinence. He drummed them on the tabletop. The craving eased. But not the anger. The hollow wail of a siren in the distance warned him he’d be leaving soon. Right now, he needed a pair of pants to put on, a clean shirt—this one was filthy—and a phone. A shower? Yeah, that would be nice. ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Greener Grass Just Indicates More Fertilizer” by Stephen B. Allen

Submitted to Contest #157

(Denny speaking): Why…oh why did I ever have to meet Jason Berringer? I curse the day when he entered my office to inquire about some comments I had notated on one of the company’s feasibility studies which had passed across my desk.It being Casual Friday, he was wearing a shirt with the emblem of my favorite baseball team emblazoned on the front. Telling him how I believed him to be a quality individual before he could even say a word, I could see an expression of confusion cross his face until I produced from the confines of my desk drawer...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Things will be greener” by Joana Burrows

Submitted to Contest #157

Things will get better once I’m out of this school. I seriously can’t take it anymore. It feels like nobody understands me here, everybody is always judging me. She thinks too highly of herself, they say. She thinks she’s so intelligent and pretty. I am, though. But I have no friends. I would give it all away for some friends. I know I’ll have friends in college though. They’ll be smart just like me. I’m so much better than these kids in this school. They’re so focused on sports, so superficial.  College will be a dream. I will learn s...

2 comments 2
Read story

“I gotta get out of this place” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #157

I gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing I ever do. Change the words of that old song (my father’s favourite) a little bit, and it’s still true. This small town has been driving me absolutely crazy for the last few years.  I’ve lived here my whole life, all 26 years of it.  Pretty much everybody in town knows my history, especially the times I screwed up in high school when I wasn’t listening to the teacher and gave creative answers to questions she asked me (even though my hand wasn’t up). They are also ve...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Captive” by Annette Hallie

Submitted to Contest #157

(Sensitive Content Warning: Neglect, Emotional Abuse) “I’ll see you later, babe.” John leaned down and kissed Mimi on the forehead, but she didn’t move. He waited, watching her expectantly, but she continued to ignore him.  “Aw, come on. Don’t be mad at me, girl. I’ll be back before you know it.” Mimi looked forward defiantly. She wanted him to know how upset she was. It was a gorgeous day outside. The sun shone brightly, and a crisp spring breeze balanced out the heat. It was the kind of day where you could sit in a field and r...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The Bird family welfare check.” by Rose Lind

Submitted to Contest #157

Today, as I trudge up the slant of a hill, I thought my usual thought. I was wondering if the Australian winter sun was merely an old Art Deco lamp, projecting dwindling shapes of coloured light onto the damp, decaying leaves and frost bitten long grass under my boots. The dregs of the Snowy Mountain's iced wind, unwelcomed by us Queenslanders, had once again whistled not only thru the August Brisbane Ekka show, but onto my exposed kidneys. I was wearing a singlet but that wasn't enough protection, so I pulled my bright orange vest tight aro...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Shadows” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #157

Shadows The game show-like voice came through the speakers above her head, it was announcing ongoing sales in the supermarket but the enthusiasm was out of place and out of time. She was already in the lineup so the price of local carrots was a moot point now. There were only two other people in the queue before her so she knew it wouldn’t be much longer but the day had already been long and she was tired. The till next to hers had five wilting humans waiting, likely due to the young girl doing the bagging, she was new and hadn’t realize...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Stress” by Alena Andrews

Submitted to Contest #157

(Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Suicide) I can’t take the stress anymore.  I bring my hand to my mouth and swallow my medication in one gulp while slouching into my couch. I’m told that I work hard. That I plan smart and don’t spend my money on needless things. I’m told that I’m a caring person, a creative person, but I never feel like that's the truth. If I were a hard worker, a smart planner then how could I have fallen from the light into such a dreary emptiness? I feel like one of those bathtub spiders slipping down the smo...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Beach House” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #157

Maggie sighed and tossed her home renovation magazine aside. The glossy pages of beautifully decorated rooms seemed to mock the idea that she would ever get the beach house that she longed for. She was doomed to listen to Audrey and Maude burble on at the book club about their beach properties for ever. It was not for want of trying to convince her husband Tom that it would be a great investment for their retirement. She pushed the magazines under his nose, made him sit through hours of reality television about flipping houses and buying rea...

3 comments 3
Read story

“The Eye-Opening Adventures of Sexpat Sam” by Richard Enos

Submitted to Contest #157

I held up the picture of Sam and his girlfriend and I. I was fresh back in the States at my parents’ place and just days before starting a new job.  It should’ve been of those nightlife vacation photos that make you happy. My eyes lingered on it for a minute more before I tossed it into the trash. Nope. Don’t want to remember those adventures with “Sexpat Sam.” But I couldn’t forget that last night together. We were at our usual hangout, at a dive beach bar in Cartagena, Colombia. Surrounded almost entirely by vacationing gringos pas...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Runaway” by Havana Summer

Submitted to Contest #157

My hands are shaking as I grip the candy wrapper. My hair covers the light as I try to read. I can’t let go now. Not when I’m so close. I stare at the numbers. They swirl together, and I’m not sure if it’s my own hesitation or the blurriness of clouds. Rain pelts my car windows and batters against buildings. I remember another night like this, when the moon glistened and then dimmed. Another night like this, where I felt the uncertainty of a decision I was about to make. Whatever, I’m done with living in this constant downpour of dr...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Sober” by Derek Writer

Submitted to Contest #157

The shaker was frozen and stuck to his wet fingers as he pulled it out of the freezer. He kept the ice in it and whatever remnants of liquor that didn't pour out into his glass each time. And now he measured the gin and mixed in the vermouth. He stirred it carefully but vigorously because a martini is best served cold. He attached the lid and opened up the strainer and poured it out into the frosty glass. He dropped in two blue cheese olives and poured just a little bit of the juice into the icy cocktail. The first sip was the best thing tha...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Alien book club” by Maxwell Taylor

Submitted to Contest #157

John stood with the alien in front of his bookshelf. A chance encounter with the third kind. It had ended up in his back garden some days ago and he was helping it repair its method of transportation ; it just needed a working toaster apparently. While already fixed, it needed about a day to ... well ... John didn't quite understand why it needed a day but the Alien was adamant that it did. While very eager to get home, it took a novel interest in the customs of the strange peoples it found itself amongst.“What are all these?” the alien said...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A Life Leason” by Nicole Clem

Submitted to Contest #157

 Boy, sit down and let me tell you a story. It’ll change your life forever if you open your heart and truly listen to what I am about to tell you. “Yes grandpa,” said Robby.  Once upon a time I meet the most beautiful woman in the world. She stood roughly 5 feet 1 inch and had long silky smooth black curly hair, bright green eyes and sun kissed soft smooth skin. She was my high school sweetheart and I fell for her hard when I first saw her. I fell harder than someone falling down a metal stairs case. I knew right then and there tha...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a relationship, either romantic or platonic, that is being affected by jealousy.

Romance – 71 stories

Write about someone deliberately trying to make somebody else envious.

Dark – 25 stories

Write about two characters who both want what the other has, without knowing the feeling is mutual.

Adults – 27 stories

Write about somebody looking for love on a reality TV show.

Romance – 18 stories

Contest #157

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: The Green-Eyed Monster

$250

Prize money

185

Contest entries

88

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 05, 2022 EST

Won by Zack Powell 🏆

Title: Wish You Were Here

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!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢