Write about a character who is pathologically ambivalent, until something shakes them up.

Posted in Narrative on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 33 stories

“Anastasia's locket” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #155

Some people seem to be born with vital energy that never seems to die. Not only does it enable them to keep up with the times, but it also qualifies them to provide quite a bit of momentum through their personalities. Even crossing borders into the insane. Those are blissful beings who do not feel compelled to understand the meaning of things. They never tire, do not miss a step, don't fall out of rank, only to be left by the roadside and watch the procession as it moves on without them. Fred was such a man. And yet Anastasia found that the ...

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“Mission report” by Wayne Steele

Submitted to Contest #155

Trigger warning: contains blood and violence “He’s bleeding out,” A man named Jason yelled over the sirens. He put down his gun and ran past the other bodies and towards the bleeding man. Almost slipping on the marble floor slick with blood. The man’s lab coat was drenched in blood with it also soaking his red curly hair making it matted. His blue eyes were moving rapidly trying to figure out whether he was going to survive or not. Flex of it mixed in with his freckles. Jason knelt and started to put pressure on his thigh. You’re not ...

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“For All Her Hard Work” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #155

Saphron crashed another tray of chickens into the oven of the Supermarket Deli, then turned to put the newly roasted ones into the heated-display-cabinet, for sale. Her coworker Meg manned the slicer, shaving the smokey fragranced ham for the display counter. “Meg, how did you get on with your hours, now that you are on contract?” asked Saphron. “I’m so happy. They gave me all the days and times I asked for and ...

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“Oblivious” by N Martin

Submitted to Contest #155

(Sensitive topics and foul language)Once again, I sit here on the same worn-out leather sofa. The same dreary repetitive words fall from her mouth.Again, and again, and again.It causes me to grind my teeth. Her words, her voice, it is like rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand her. The self-absorbed bitch.She is supposedly being paid to help me, not to tell me I’m depressed. Not to say I suffer from a myriad of psychological disorders or to tell me I need to ‘understand my emotions and the behaviours and c...

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“What was Dad thinking?” by J K Mactavish

Submitted to Contest #155

My father didn't tell me he died. However he left me a chalupa. Informed after the fact by a New York lawyer, who I trusted had administered his estate correctly, I wish Dad had been more forthcoming. I didn't know what a chalupa was or what to do with one. Was it a recipe he picked up in Mexico for a spicy dish? No, couldn't be; and it wasn't, although in a sense it was, spicy dish that is. To be clear Dad gave me a rustic house slash log cabin remotely located in his adopted, faraway land. I was puzzled. I already had a place to li...

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“lazy farming” by Peter Naughton

Submitted to Contest #155

LAZY FARMING My dear Auntie Gobnait was very upset that I did not know what I wanted to be when I grew up. She wanted the best for me, an innocent five-year-old boy in Ireland, and so, with the best of intentions, she started inviting her friends over to afternoon tea parties for storytelling. That's when they began to give me advice about what to do when I met a leprechaun. First I was to determine whether he was in a good mood. Second I was to be re...

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“The Crack” by Rama Shaar

Submitted to Contest #155

Him:February 22, 2021Today she finally did it, and I can’t say I blame her. I just wish she’d given me more notice. Yes, I did see this coming, but I just didn’t know when.I guess it’s time for me to find somewhere to stay.When I asked her where she expected me to go, she snarled that she didn’t know and that I was an adult and should be able to figure it out. Right she is, I guess.I am now at MacDonald’s, sipping coffee and wondering what to do next. I have no one in this world.Why am I still writing in this useless book? Does it change any...

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“why should I care” by James Mckinley

Submitted to Contest #155

I don’t even bother to watch the news anymore. What is the point of hearing nothing but bad news. I go to bed and I am tired. I wake up and I am tired. I leave my apartment and there are people sitting on the sidewalk strung out on something. I walk around them because I have to get to work. I get to work and someone is always calling out sick. My boss tells me I have to pick up the slack, he doesn’t care that I have problems of my own. I go to school 2 nights a week trying to finish my degree so I can hopefully get out of a crappy life into...

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“Chocolate or vanilla?” by Joana Burrows

Submitted to Contest #155

“Chocolate or vanilla?” The fast-food attendant asked. Diana thought for a moment, decided her decision process was taking too long, and ended up saying, “You choose”. The woman looked at her as if she was crazy. Di noticed, so she said: “Surprise me,” which got her a smile from the woman. “Okay. This job doesn’t usually get me tiny powers like this”. Di smiled back. As she walked back to the dorms, she thought about whether to take the long way or not. She couldn’t decide, and it was making her nervous, so she decided to take the short...

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“Trust for Strangers” by Elle Curry

Submitted to Contest #155

I was raised to be polite and respectful to strangers, especially my elders. And yet, I wasn't allowed to trust too much in them as well? Strangers are potential friends, and simultaneously, could be a factor that is detrimental to my life? Since the phrase "Stranger danger" is continuously ingrained into the minds of young children, why are educators allowed to teach students if they are a "stranger"? Significant others start off as strangers, even extended family members become strangers after a while. To say the least, trusting ...

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“A Simple Phone Call” by Ally Fleming

Submitted to Contest #155

Who knew the human language could possess so many variations of pissing people off? Craik Corporation was never a very accommodating company. Its exterior was grey, the cubicles were uniform, and there seemed to be a stench of peanut butter wherever one went. Even the people who weren’t allergic to peanut butter felt like they were allergic to it after a certain period. To Carl, he felt as if he would suffocate to it. He never told anyone. His job, like everyone else’s, was to make people’s day worse through answering pho...

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“Fleck” by Maxwell MacDonald

Submitted to Contest #155

Bobby Fleck couldn’t understand why he was getting heat about his performance. He wasn’t just doing his job; he was crushing it. Things running so smooth that he barely needed to get involved at all. That was the problem. The work was getting done, but Bobby wasn’t technically doing it. The words his boss used repeatedly during the twenty-minute railing were negligence, blatant lack of ethics, and massive sociopathic tendencies. They all took even turns in the burning circle of his speech, but negligence stood o...

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“ même vieux” by Violetta Salabay

Submitted to Contest #155

Same old , same old . Work ,chat with Miss Mabel , home , repeat . Work ,chat with Miss Mabel , home , clean , tv ,,fall asleep on the couch , drag myself to bed , repeat . Work , chat with Miss Mabel , home , clean , tv , ,fall asleep on the couch , drag myself to bed , change into my pjs , snore , press snooze a couple times , look at my watch , realise I'm late , brush my teeth , repeat . Work ,chat with Miss Mabel , home , clean , tv ,fall asleep on the couch , drag myself to bed , change into my pjs , snore , press snooze a ...

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“You Can't” by William Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #155

“You Can’t…” "You Can't..." Late one fall afternoon, my perspective on life, death, faith, and love changed. It may not be as different now but has become more focused. It was late in the week, late in the month, late in the quarter, and late in the year. The shadows were growing longer and longer as the afternoon surrendered to the darkness of night. It was completing the...

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“Sleep Walking Through Life” by Rebekah Rose

Submitted to Contest #155

“STOP!” “JUST STOP!” “Listen to me!”, my friend yells at her husband. He never does listen to her. It’s sad. So very sad. As my friend recounts the conversation she attempted to have with her husband for the one thousandth time, I couldn’t help recall the similarities from her story to that of a recent video I had watched on YouTube. It was of the late, great Dr. Wayne Dyer. In this presentation, which was held in sunny California, “The Doc” as I affectionately refer to him, said many profound insights. But one item in particle has reso...

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Write about a character who is pathologically ambivalent, until something shakes them up.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 33 stories

“Anastasia's locket” by F.O. Morier

“Mission report” by Wayne Steele

“For All Her Hard Work” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“Oblivious” by N Martin

“What was Dad thinking?” by J K Mactavish

“lazy farming” by Peter Naughton

“The Crack” by Rama Shaar

“why should I care” by James Mckinley

“Chocolate or vanilla?” by Joana Burrows

“Trust for Strangers” by Elle Curry

“A Simple Phone Call” by Ally Fleming

“Fleck” by Maxwell MacDonald

“ même vieux” by Violetta Salabay

“You Can't” by William Hawkins

“Sleep Walking Through Life” by Rebekah Rose

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character facing a situation that isn't awful, but isn't great.

Write a story that includes a character using the phrase “swings and roundabouts.”

Write about a character who gets good and bad news in quick succession — not necessarily in that order.

Set your story in a kids’ playground, or at a roundabout.

Contest #155

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

194

Contest entries

78

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: