Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Posted in Narrative on May 31, 2024

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✍️ 94 stories

“Of Lights and Women.” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #253

The customer was skeptical of my competence, I could sense as much, and I suspected it was because she was shrewd and observant. This was the kind of sign job that I had little prior experience with, but I was determined to prove her fears unfounded, and assured her I would have her sign illuminated before the end of the day. I went back outside, a touch annoyed by her acumen, and proceeded to move the bucket truck into a position to access the sign panel. By my standards, it was a large and expensive sign, double-faced, with two, 3-foot by ...

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“Skylights” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #253

***Contains a fair amount of Scots dialect*** The wedding reception was still in full swing when Ria found herself sitting alone – or as alone as a girl two days off her eighteenth birthday could be when backed into the corner of a snug and surrounded by a load of drunken Boomers. Aw, lass… yer pal away now, is she…? The woman next to her, squeezed into a leopard-come-zebra patchwork dress, placed a hand on the seat between them, leaning in over Ria’s jacket. Fingers heavily ringed, bronze-shimmer taloned acrylics, the upside-down, insect-...

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“No Second Wasted” by Martin Maynard

Submitted to Contest #253

Trigger Warning: This story contains graphic depictions of medical procedures, descriptions of serious injuries, and scenes of intense medical emergencies. Reader discretion is advised.The emergency room buzzed with frenetic energy. Nurses dashed between beds, attending to patients with everything from minor scrapes to severe injuries. The air was filled with the sounds of beeping monitors, the murmur of voices, and the occasional cry of pain. The fluorescent lights cast a harsh, sterile glow over the scene, accentuating the urgency that pul...

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“Sardines Meet” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #253

I’m following Petra’s instructions, trying to be aware of the moment, feeling my body, paying attention to all my senses, drinking in my surroundings.If I’m honest, I reckon it’s all mumbo jumbo really, this mindfulness lark. I’ve come through life so far without it, existing perfectly happily as a regular human being … although ‘happily’ might be an exaggeration, thinking about it. After all, I am seeing Petra.I don’t get how her suggestion can help me speak to people, though, make friends, fall in love. But in for a penny, in for a pound, ...

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“Traffic” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #253

Highway 17 is a parking lot. I'm stopped in the hottest stretch of the 26-mile route going through Los Gatos. It’s the final few miles before the ascent, and it is completely unshielded by a cloudless sky. Tall bushes line the paved highway but the sun is high above us and offers no shade. In the distance, a precious cover of trees waits tantalizingly atop the mountains, my home lying on the other end of the summit in the southern end of another county. So close, yet so far.If I knew it was an accident, this blockade of unmoving vehicles wou...

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“Boys During Wartime” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #253

Possible triggers: gore; ethnic slursIn the area behind Tristan’s house and the condemned apartment building separating Ashland Avenue from Elmwood there lies our stone yard, a discarded appliance and home furnishings cemetery decorating the rubble and detritus of some contractor’s ignorant distraction from detail, and it is here that we —me, Tristan McCabe, Rob Pollock, and Sean Barone, colloquially known as those damn kids— escort Aaron Barone, Sean’s six-year-old younger brother, to his initiation into, until we happen upon a better ...

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“Street Meat” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #253

Jake Sopreny, proprietor of Jake’s Street Meat, holds an elongated bun, as puffy and innocuous as a cartoon cloud, splayed open across his pink palm. “What’ll you have?” he asks the person on the other side of his cart.Colton Brinkwater, a youngish man in a rumpled security guard uniform, stares at the bun’s light-yellow foamy interior. He straightens his posture. He’s stooped and shoulder-saggy from a twelve-hour shift spent mostly on his feet. He tucks in the shirt of his uniform, frowning slightly, thinking twice whether he can afford to ...

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“TRIUMPH” by David Holmes

Submitted to Contest #253

TRIUMPH Silence.A blanket that admitted no sound.Cold. Dark. Thick, black darkness.He opened his eyes, then closed them, but nothing.His mind was as blank as the blanket of darkness he felt was surrounding him.Despite the cold, he felt peaceful. Relaxed.He thought he was tired. He sensed that he was laying on his back.After a few moments an instinctive reaction came to him. He raised his head, perhaps to discover something of his situation in this cold, dark environment.Immediately, after only a few slow inches, his forehead struc...

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“Stop and Smell the Roses” by Karen Hope

Submitted to Contest #253

Kate turned from her comfy spot on the couch and looked at the rain falling in sheets outside her living room window. What a perfect night to stay inside. She popped a few kernels of popcorn into her mouth before picking up her glass of wine and taking a sip. The liquid seemed to go straight from her throat to her head and she relaxed back into the cushion. All day she had rushed around, first to finish a project at work, then to run errands and finally to get her son ready for his late sports practice. All she could think about was enjoying...

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“Three minutes” by Lope Espada

Submitted to Contest #253

"Tell me how the match is going, I only have 3 minutes and they won't let me call again." You said to me without preamble as soon as you heard my voice, the anxiety palpable in your tone."It's still three to three in the 118th minute. It's incredible, the commentator says there are more than 89,000 spectators present in the stadium." I respond, imagining your reaction on the other side of the phone line. I feel your absence is like a void in this celebration.How I wish you were here at this very moment, sharing with all of us the joy of watc...

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“2:37 Last Thursday” by Mallory Jones

Submitted to Contest #253

At 2:29 last Thursday, Annie Colson resolved to pursue a career in biochemistry. She had always loved nearly every subject in school, and it had been the challenge of her life to decide which path to take when she started college next fall— pursuing her passion of orchestral composition would be life-giving but risky, whereas a path of financial advising would slowly drain the life out of her, but provide a stable career for decades to come. She honestly hadn’t even considered the science path until she started this class with Mrs. DeLuca, a...

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“A Deal With the Devil” by C.J. Carlin

Submitted to Contest #253

“What brings you here?”“My last therapist retired.”“Can you tell me a little more about yourself?”“Well, just to get it out of the way: I am Satan. Or rather, I am the entity that, filtered through your understanding and your cultural mythos, you would call Satan.”“That’s not a common delusion, but it’s not un-heard of.”“Oh, it’s no delusion. I’ll prove it before I leave this office. But for now, just humor me, okay?“Part of the job.”“I want to set the record straight about a few things, though. To start out with, I am not evil. I have never...

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“There’s A Chance ” by Nina H

Submitted to Contest #253

“Number 10, please,” I said to the suited man across from me as I narrowly squeezed through the closing elevator doors. Out of breath from running, I checked my phone for the time and tried not to draw more attention to myself panting for air. I leaned into the handrail at my side as the man nodded to me and pressed the circle that read “10” next to the now closed doors. The suited man was looking me over, presumably trying to assess my rush. I self-consciously patted down my hair that I w...

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“A Not So Relaxing Beach Trip ” by Tirzah Young-Miles

Submitted to Contest #253

Most people think of springtime as warm and sunny, but during the early part of the season in northwestern Pennsylvania, the winds coming off the frozen lake keep the region in a prolonged winter-like state. Every once in a while, however, a warm front moves in, and the March temperatures can climb to sixty degrees or higher.This was one of those days. Tessa had been sent home from work early because her boss wanted to enjoy the nice weather and get some yard work done. On this particular day, the temperature was expected to reach at least s...

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“A Flash in the Pan” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #253

Wade saw the house's roofline and hiked along the forest's edge. It was ten minutes until 12:00 noon when he walked past it initially, but the tall spires and darkened stained glass windows' Gothic look weren't to be ignored. He'd never seen an actual Gothic mansion before—only what he'd seen in movies and knew about from what he read in books. The house piqued his interest, and Wade, without thinking about the possibilities of anything untoward, quickened his pace toward the front door.He stepped onto the porch with a high, double-arc...

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Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 94 stories

“Of Lights and Women.” by Ken Cartisano

“Skylights” by Carol Stewart

“No Second Wasted” by Martin Maynard

“Sardines Meet” by PJ Town

“Traffic” by AnneMarie Miles

“Boys During Wartime” by Jeremy Stevens

“Street Meat” by VJ Hamilton

“TRIUMPH” by David Holmes

“Stop and Smell the Roses” by Karen Hope

“Three minutes” by Lope Espada

“2:37 Last Thursday” by Mallory Jones

“A Deal With the Devil” by C.J. Carlin

“There’s A Chance ” by Nina H

“A Not So Relaxing Beach Trip ” by Tirzah Young-Miles

“A Flash in the Pan” by Lily Finch

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

Start your story with a character canceling their plans.

Write a story that contains the line, "I wish we could stay here forever."

Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

Contest #253

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

335

Contest entries

118

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: