Start your story in a coffee shop without using obvious words to describe it (e.g. barista, coffee cup.)

Posted in Narrative on Sep 15, 2023

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✍️ 69 stories

“Spiral” by Holly Witte

Submitted to Contest #216

NOTE: This story has to do with a young woman's first sexual encounter. Charlotte knew he was going to be the first person she slept with as soon as she saw him. Such an archaic phrase she thought to herself even as she was feeling her heart speed up, a flush start creeping up her body from the regions she was planning on indulging, and her voice rise. She was an intern at a radio station and in between her junior and senior years of college. It was part of her scholarship obligation to find an internship in communications ...

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“Senses & Stories” by Yeisha Lee

Submitted to Contest #216

The bell above the door tinkled a cheerful greeting as I stepped into the small, cozy space, and a warm wave of roasted aromas enveloped me. The air was thick with the sweet undertones of pastries. A low hum of conversation buzzed in the background, punctuated by the occasional burst of laughter. I made my way to an empty seat, my shoes squeaking softly against the worn wooden floor. The seating arrangements were an eclectic mix of mismatched chairs and tables, each one bearing the scars of countless spills and conversations. Overhead, a l...

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“Goodbye and Hello again” by Ray Paltoo

Submitted to Contest #216

Goodbye And Hello Again By Raymond Paltoo ----3-31-2020 She had selected a corner table in a little café in East Montreal for our rendezvous. She had always been the organizer in our family, and I suspected that it was a deliberate move calculated to remind me of the times and the places where we had met and had fun. We had shared ten years and three children before she announced that she was going to Europe to find herself. Being a wife and mother was not her thing, as she had casually informed me while the taxi waited outside our home to ...

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“Cooking Blitz” by Christine LW

Submitted to Contest #216

COOKING BLITZ. Kerry worked, has a waitress at the Expresso Coffee bar in town, over the years she had seen many changes with banks and shops closing in the small market town. Also, there were ...

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“Autumn brews” by Nay Rich

Submitted to Contest #216

Coffee at a nice window always calms me down when I experience anxiety. Sitting at a table, I glanced at my surroundings and watched people walk through the city while sipping on my hot pumpkin spice latte with two pumps of cream. I read a book about fall leaves; I loved the fall, not only because my name is Autumn, but because everything that surrounds it, the coziness, the big sweaters, makes me feel the most comfort. My mother always hated the fact that I loved oversized hoodies that I could nearly drown myself in, but I loved them. I lov...

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“Parler Tricks” by Anne Shillingsburg

Submitted to Contest #216

“If I offered you a bet” William said, proffering the die in his hand, “put a dirham on odds and if you win you get nothing, or put a dirham on evens and if you win, you get twenty dirhams. Which one would you bet on?”It was a rhetorical question. Hicham just shrugged his shoulder, no more interested in this American Christian’s persuasive gymnastics than those of the Muslims he’d avoided all his life. He wet his lips at the glass of ebony liquid in front of him and watched the bustle on the street: greener than Casablanca, fewer dusty cats....

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“Man Of My Dreams” by Kim Grace

Submitted to Contest #216

He’s just pulling out the trays of tart shells to cool when the bell chimes. “Lily Hahn!” He calls out in a sing-song voice. “You’re late!” “I’m aware, Leo,” she grouses, peeling off her jacket. “Okay, you sound particularly happy – whoa, what happened?” Leo gapes at his cousin, grimacing as she notes the wet floor behind her. “Did someone hit you with a water bomb or something?” “If that were the case, I would be able to file a complaint.” Lily replies, gratefully accepting the spare towels Leo hands her and heading to the bathroom ...

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“Takedown at the Beanery” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #216

As the rich, brown liquid flowed into his ceramic receptacle FBI Special Agent John Arrington mentally reviewed his plan to tighten the noose around Columbian drug lord Bochampo. The special agent’s investigative unit had gathered every shred of evidence it needed over one of its most extensive probes in recent history, lasting more than six months. Hiring a squad of carefully selected and vetted informants, Arrington’s team had traced Bochampo’s trail of dea...

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“A writer`s Muse” by Anna Alcott

Submitted to Contest #216

The aroma was intoxicating. Sherry sat in her usual seat, opened her laptop, and began to type, intermittently sipping on her hot drink. Clack, clack. Quiet sounds of the keyboard. Then the harsh sound of a blender cut through the relative quiet, for almost two minutes, which felt like five. She needed peace so moved outside under the shade of an umbrella. This was her favourite time to be here. Only a few customers hung around for more than an hour as most of them were on their lunch break. That, for Sherry was one of the perks of being ret...

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“To New Beginnings” by Melody York

Submitted to Contest #216

I open the door, and as usual, this time of the year, there is Christmas music playing just loud enough to listen to but easy to ignore if I want to talk to someone. It's my favorite time of the year to visit this place; it is constantly cluttered with people laughing and talking to one another, which is a breath of fresh air from the usual. During the rest of the year, there are laptops everywhere, college students mostly, trying to cram in some studying while being distracted by the door opening and the influx of people coming and going ev...

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“Elixir” by Marina Pacheco

Submitted to Contest #216

I walk in and join the queue. Everyone has their head bowed, faces slack like victims of the zombie apocalypse. As we shuffle forward, steamy warmth seeps into tired muscles. An intoxicating smell wafts up nostrils. Colour seeps into faces, a glimmer of alertness flickers in the eyes, and heads rise. Anticipation makes me twitchy as I rehearse my order. The zombie brain doesn’t work well so early in the morning. I have to gear up. My impatience, the people behind me’s impatience, can’t be denied. It leads to grumpiness and hangry melt...

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“In Counter” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #216

It was only a coffee. How much simpler could that be? Decaf with skim milk and stevia. They didn’t have stevia; they only had Sweet n’ Lo. No big deal, she’d said. Fine, the waitress replied. Fine, again. Why had she had to say fine twice? That was weird. Jenn wasn’t that hungry, and she told the waitress as much. The waitress asked twice can I get you anything else? And twice Jenn said, no thank you. Twice. The first time she said it with a smile. No thank you, I...

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“The Past Before The Present” by Peter Stone

Submitted to Contest #216

Holding the Styrofoam cup of coffee was more of a challenge than a pleasure for Ted Oats. The others had no idea what he had gone through nearly forty years prior. He and his wife of fifty years moved from their home town to start a new life. Ted had worked for the railroad and had never experienced activities in day-to-day life within the community of Knowlton Quebec. As a conductor he would get up at four o’clock in every morning and have his java as he called it with two toasts and peanut butter. Once on the job he’d wish the other conduc...

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“Countdown to Romance” by Glen Donaldson

Submitted to Contest #216

Amid the all around din, silence like the center of a hurricane enveloped them both. “Could this honestly get any suckier?” Fergus wondered to himself as he grasped his own sweaty, nervous fingers under the table, yanking then releasing them one after the other. Sitting opposite him was his first-meeting date Willow. Owing to her extended delay in responding to one of his opening questions, he'd already pegged her, using his own unique personal classification system, as 'negligently tardy'. She’d said she was 27. She was not only wearin...

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“Thingummyjig” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #216

It was time. That time near the start. I didn’t have what I’d usually have. The stuff that I find that I need first thing. So I went out. I was dry once I was out, so the weather wasn’t a problem. I have a problem with the weather when it prevents me from being dry. I doubt anyone likes that. Not really they don’t. But I hate those storm clowns, I really do. After a bout of doubt that threatened to put the kibosh on the proceedings, I arrived at my intended destination. This was the place alright. The place itself wasn’t a pick-me-up, but ...

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Start your story in a coffee shop without using obvious words to describe it (e.g. barista, coffee cup.)

Submissions are closed

✍️ 69 stories

“Spiral” by Holly Witte

“Senses & Stories” by Yeisha Lee

“Goodbye and Hello again” by Ray Paltoo

“Cooking Blitz” by Christine LW

“Autumn brews” by Nay Rich

“Parler Tricks” by Anne Shillingsburg

“Man Of My Dreams” by Kim Grace

“Takedown at the Beanery” by Bob Faszczewski

“A writer`s Muse” by Anna Alcott

“To New Beginnings” by Melody York

“Elixir” by Marina Pacheco

“In Counter” by David Ader

“The Past Before The Present” by Peter Stone

“Countdown to Romance” by Glen Donaldson

“Thingummyjig” by Jed Cope

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a scene in which a character’s behavior or reaction to something is affected by a past experience — without saying what that experience was.

Include dialogue that shows that a character is socially awkward.

Include a scene in your story in which a character's body language conveys their hidden emotions.

Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Contest #216

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

114

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: