Write a story about inaction.

Posted in Nonfiction on Oct 26, 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?

✍️ 106 stories

“Please Never Let My Father Read This ” by Zoe Friedman

Submitted to Contest #45

I've always had one very special ability; doing absolutely nothing. This "inaction" has led me to where I am today, sitting at the keyboard trying to come up with something. I think I'll give some background on this "ability." Whenever I'm not given work to do I shut down. I spend my days sleeping or on my phone. I believe that it all stems from the days of laying on my couch watching cartoons all day, or perhaps just my fear and avoidance of problems. I can genuinely say that the majority of the paths in life I’ve wandered on have come from...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Waiting for Grace” by Jessica Tomaselli

Submitted to Contest #45

The morning light was slanting through the dorm window as a dark-haired young woman sat cross-legged on her bed, sipping her coffee and glancing at a news alert on her phone. Her red-haired roommate bustled into the room, grabbing bottled water from the mini-fridge along with other things she would need for the day. Watching her friend, Vanessa’s thoughts turned to how the differences between them had been apparent from their first interactions. They had met as freshmen when they joined the school’s martial arts club. Both joined as white b...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Imagine If” by Gabrielia Sooklal

Submitted to Contest #45

It was June when I met Pepper. Her red hair shone in its crimson glory as she waltzed into the first lecture half an hour late. The tick tock clock in the classroom seemed to be more tickty and my summer allergies were acting up a bit too early. “ Ms.Darlington you are half an hour late for my class explain yourself.” Mr. Johnson said quiet calmly.He wore a solid blue neck tie and red shirt. On the second week of the semester Justin came into play. He was wheel bound since he had broken his legs in a piano accident when he...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Looking Little in The Little Village” by Walter Wright

Submitted to Contest #45

The bright summer blue sky didn’t mind the heat as not one cloud could be spotted over the Chicagoland for miles. I sat there frozen on the curb listening to the infinite sounds resonating through 26th street. The sounds of accelerating cars were like little vacuums being steered up and down the carpet. One after another, I mindlessly tracked each car and its features until I felt they were judged enough before processing the next. My Chicago method of sightseeing was nothing, and from an outsider’s view, I probably looked rather lost. ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Different people, same problem.” by Aspen Adelaide

Submitted to Contest #45

“We can't think of changing our skin ... Change the world—that's how we gotta think.” - The Secret Life Of Bees A day to relax. To take a break from the struggles of my daily life. Up keeping day to day appearances can be tiresome. I’m wearing a lovely sleeveless floral print dress with my honey blonde locks pulled into a neat bun, missing only a few pieces perfectly placed along the left side of my forehead, A cool outfit for a hot day. It’s ninety-two degrees outside however, the sun beating down on me is less effective due to the sh...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Wait” by Liéna Croquette

Submitted to Contest #45

I take a sip of coffee and grimace. It’s cold and bitter, the cup forgotten for too long on the corner of my table. I probably won’t finish it. With a sigh, I turn my attention back to the computer screen. Sixteen tabs open, one of them playing music, too faintly for me to hear the words. The blank Word page stares back at me—I have no idea how to begin this chapter. I left my characters in a dire situation, spirits crushed, bodies exhausted and broken, the villain laughing in the distance. Something has to happen, someone has to save them—b...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Transfer” by Kat Pillar

Submitted to Contest #45

Ring ring. “That’s the final bell, class. The 49th Sorting is in two weeks, so don’t slack off on your homework tonight.”“Thank you Ms. Glenda!”The classroom was filled with student’s excited chatter and the patter of shoes. Glenda organized her papers, making sure that all the students were gone before heading to the teacher’s lounge. It brimmed with the voices of the other teachers, and she couldn’t help but overhear some of their conversations as she gathered her belongings.“I think that Suzie will be a good Leader…”“Poor Cody, he tr...

0 comments 0

Read story

“First Step” by Alex Darwell

Submitted to Contest #45

I was getting unhealthy. Now, I had known for some time that my physical wellbeing was going to be put at the back of my priorities. Not the best mindset, but I can’t help it — I’m too tired to care now with everything that had happened. My bed has sunken to form the shape of my near-dead body. The air-conditioning has not been turned off for quite some time; that’s probably going to reflect badly on my electrical bill. But once again, I don’t care; the school shouldn’t be complaining, after all, they did offer to pay for all my expen...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Volcano. ” by Radiah Abd'rahim

Submitted to Contest #45

I was just turning eight. Eight years old but I aged about ten years more on that day, the 14th of December, 2000. 14th of December, 2000, the day I held Miriam's head as she splurged and gorged on the blood rushing from her mouth. I had never seen so much blood. 14th of December, 2000, the day I had pressed my little palms as firmly as my muscles would allow on my sweater which was poured on Miriam's stomach. 14th of December, 2000, the day that even on the brink of death, I had watched Miriam struggle to reassure me like she always did. Bu...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Morning Glory” by Donald Baxter

Submitted to Contest #45

The fire popped and crackled outside the hide lodge. Inside, they heard none of it. The elder was playing a hand drum and singing an honor song, to express gratitude to the ancestors for all the blessings the People had received, for the sweat lodge itself and the ceremony that had been passed down for thousands of generations. The lodge had been built in the traditional way, with eight saplings set into eight holes, in groups of two, each group facing one of the four cardinal directions. The tops...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Man Who Could Not Speak” by OB Jato

Submitted to Contest #45

First, they took the man who could not speak. Everyone in the office knew him, but the only thing anyone knew about him was that he could not speak. He sat in the corner cubicle. He arrived at nine in the morning every day, kept his briefcase beside his chair, sat down at his workstation, and began his work. He was with the accounting department. I worked in marketing, so we only crossed paths when I walked over from the elevator to my place in the morning, and when I walked from my place to the elevator in the evening. He was one ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“When They Came For Her” by M Solarova

Submitted to Contest #45

When Helen first heard about the SHAIDSUs’ plight, she thought they had some good points and wished others would see it, too. She heard her friends talk disparagingly of them and wanted to step in and tell them where they were being wrong. It wasn’t the SHAIDSUs’ fault they were in this situation–it was ours, she thought. If the SHAIDSUs wanted to negotiate, they should be at least heard out. She was no expert however, and she worried she’d just make her friends angry. They were anxious enough as it was, what with the state of the ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Nails on a Chalkboard” by Anjali Goel

Submitted to Contest #45

My new acrylic nails, captured on camera. Posted to Instagram, with a pretty filter and the caption, “nail day is the best day.” My nails click on the glass screen of my phone as I refresh the page, watching the number of likes soar. 15 becomes 349, which becomes 4,965, which becomes 982,283. I briefly considered those people who liked my photo. One million people want me to know how much they enjoy my pale pink coffin nails. The notion excites me, and scares me, a little. I push the uncomfortable thought aside, and my nails resume their cli...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Silent Tears” by Sandra Brooks

Submitted to Contest #45

What would have happened if I had acted that night instead of sitting frozen in the backseat of that Coupe de Ville while tears streamed silently down my face in the darkness? Would anything be different…would I, would they? That night was over 50 years ago and as I watch the horror of the racism in our country today, I realize the answer is no. And yet this event has haunted me since it happened one sultry, summer evening riding down a country road so long ago in the Mississippi Delta.It was the summer of 1966 and I had just finished m...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Gone” by Journey Mohn

Submitted to Contest #45

The first time I saw it happen, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I thought I’d slipped into a coma, in a sleep filled with some kind of perpetual nightmare. I thought there was no way that it could be true, that I was going insane. How does somebody in their right mind see these things happen and do nothing about it? It had been a nice summer day, the type that makes you think of barbecues and want to listen to Party in the USA. And where I lived, in San Fransisco, California, it was especially nice. A soft summer breeze, p...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about solidarity.

Nonfiction – 53 stories

Write a story about activism.

Nonfiction – 45 stories

Write a story about community.

Nonfiction – 65 stories

Write a story about change.

Fiction – 164 stories

Contest #45

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: A Time for Action

$50

Prize money

433

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 12, 2020 EST

Won by Raven Quill 🏆

Title: Constellations

Won by Yves. ♙ 🏆

Title: The Traveler Wife

Won by VJ Hamilton 🏆

Title: Winds of Change

Won by Anisha Yagnik 🏆

Title: Full Price

Won by Natalie Strawbridge 🏆

Title: Legacies

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 inaction.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 106 stories

“Please Never Let My Father Read This ” by Zoe Friedman

“Waiting for Grace” by Jessica Tomaselli

“Imagine If” by Gabrielia Sooklal

“Looking Little in The Little Village” by Walter Wright

“Different people, same problem.” by Aspen Adelaide

“Wait” by Liéna Croquette

“The Transfer” by Kat Pillar

“First Step” by Alex Darwell

“Volcano. ” by Radiah Abd'rahim

“Morning Glory” by Donald Baxter

“The Man Who Could Not Speak” by OB Jato

“When They Came For Her” by M Solarova

“Nails on a Chalkboard” by Anjali Goel

“Silent Tears” by Sandra Brooks

“Gone” by Journey Mohn

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about solidarity.

Write a story about activism.

Write a story about community.

Write a story about change.

Contest #45

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

433

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: