Write about a character who makes a dramatic life change to pursue a goal they’ve secretly always wanted.

Posted in Novel 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?

✍️ 120 stories

“Nothing Like Soy ” by KENNEDY PLANT

Submitted to Contest #66

"Can you move?¨" I say angrily. The bee’s head turns to me. Its big black, glassy eyes look confused. It turns back to the flower. I roll my eyes. "Okay, that’s it!¨" I scream. I go over to the bee and push it away. It makes a "bzzt" sound and flies away. I don't feel bad for him. He was hogging the pollen after all! I look down to my super tools belt and grab my straw. I suck the sweet liquid from the flower center. Munching on leaves and such are pretty gross. This diet has been awful, and today was my cheat day. After I'm done, I put my...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Floating.” by Lee Doe

Submitted to Contest #66

Floating. Life wasn’t much else. I didn’t expect death to be so similar. Sinking. The two were polar opposites, yet existed together. In harmony? Pushing. The push of death. Pulling. The pull of life. A game of tug-of-war. Where did that leave me? Perhaps, balancing on the tip of a knife. If I slipped, where would I fall? Life? Death? Which was preferable? Anything. I was tired of floating, of balancing. Earlier I called ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Willing" "(The Game of Life Part 1)” by Emily Germaine

Submitted to Contest #66

There’s something about the people on TV that makes me wonder if everything is made up. I watch one TV show, a game show, and wonder if it’s really real. Do they really pick the people randomly? I don’t know. So even though I’ve entered my information in the raffle (as the law states), I’m not so sure. I think they look at each person’s record and pictures and past and pick the people that fit the show. You know everyday characters… the clown, the bad girl, the diva, the hot country boy… those ones. I bet each person on a reality game show...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Photographer” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #66

The Photographer Richard Maynard was an executive for a very large conglomerate. He was second in command to the president/CEO. Richard had worked up from the mail room through the ranks of the company. He had a corner office with a spectacular view, a full-time secretary, plus two more part-timers if needed, a company car that was taken out once a month, washed and waxed, there were stock options and he golfed at least once a week. Of course, the green fees and cart and lunch were on the companies tab. But,...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Gibson, The Paranoid Orphan” by Austin Miller

Submitted to Contest #66

“Dear Son: If you’re reading this, then your mother and I are dead.” Gibson’s father never beat around the bush. His father was a big man, with a big personality. Gibson always imagined he’d die in his sleep, a quiet end to a loud life. Instead, lightning struck him dead at Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. Gibson's mother suffered the same fate. The week before that they sailed the Caribbean. Before that they hiked Colombian coffee fields. Gibson had not left his home in five years. He was 18. The letter continued… “Your...

2 comments 2

Read story

“By the Back Ways” by Tyler Runde

Submitted to Contest #66

Adrian woke with a hangover, and with the morning sun hitting him full on in the face through the lounge room’s bay window, needling his eyes like so many white-hot skewers. He pulled the blanket over his head and tried to block out the light, along with the feeling like his cranium was going to split open and his brain was going to ooze out of his nose and ears. But the blanket did little to help. In truth, along with the pounding in his head and unrelenting assault on his senses, he felt overheated, sweat-less, and delirious with a notion ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“IT'S NEVER TOO LATE” by ESTHER Mwape

Submitted to Contest #66

I guess it is never too late to change? Says malcom. I need to change almost everything about my life in order for me to pursue my goal, have been wanting to be a wrestler my entire life, but in order for me to achieve this goal of mine that I have secretly wanted to achive I really need to change my life style.I think it high time I changed my life style and the way I think about my self. Growing up has been so challenging for me, have been bulled almost my entire life because of my weight and because of this my self esteem was greatly affe...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Here's a Confession” by Megan Faith

Submitted to Contest #66

My name is Viola Fletcher. I left my man at the altar, resigned from my job, sold my house, then drove across the country to Maine for a different life. Here’s my confession, I guess. ………………………………………………………………………………………… The drive from Portland to Maine takes all of two days, though I lingered along the road to meet strangers, eat new food, and laughed. I haven’t done that in so long I forgot what it meant to feel like that. Why Maine? I don’t know, I mean...it’s Maine. It radiates some kind of energy of people that want to escape, an...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Gracias a la vida” by DREW LANE

Submitted to Contest #66

“Want some?”“I am fine, thanks. Chocolate makes me airsick.”“We are not flying anytime soon, believe me. 20min delay usually means two hours.”“Do you often fly to London?”“I used to. When I was doing my PhD there, my boyfriend used to lived here in Geneva - I traveled back and forth regularly. Never got there, or here, on time. Never.” Her shining burgundy nails pushed a chocolate ball into her mouth and her masculine jaws crunched it down. From the half-moon tattooed on her wrist, a scent of spicy pomegranate emanated and tickled Eller...

2 comments 2

Read story

“She Will Be Fine ” by Lesli Williams

Submitted to Contest #66

I will be back, I said. I know you will, she said back. I winced as she smiled her beautiful smile and I smiled back, but my smile was not beautiful like hers. After a hug and a playful push of the wheelchair, I left her; and I told myself that she would be fine. I dreamt up scenarios of her being fed, bathed, told stories and put to bed with care. I convinced myself that she would be loved and that she would know that I would never forget her. She would have a wonderful journey with others like her. With the same journey. And then I c...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Letting go” by Vameerah Darren

Submitted to Contest #66

“Babe, where is the cinnamon?” I sighed and let my head flop to my desk, “I already told you it’s in the cupboard with the broken handle!” Baxter came storming in and I inwardly groaned. We’d been dating for three years now, almost everything provoked a fight. He usually pinned it against me. “Kayla, how many times do I have to tell you, I don’t like it when you move stuff around without telling me!” He leaned against the doorway and ran his hand through his brown hair before crossing his arms. I sighed and rubbed my temples, “Ba...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Going Solo” by Chris Wagner

Submitted to Contest #66

The stadium had finally quieted down, the majority of the fans out in the parking lot, trying to navigate post concert gridlock. The smells of beer and pot from the crowd, though, lingered on. All the bright stage lights, essentially large, fancy looking heat lamps, had been darkened, making things a little more comfortable. Little known fact: There are practical reasons why rockers wear tank tops and bare their chests on stage. They're not just trying to be sexy, it's damn hot, and we work up a sweat. The big s...

2 comments 2

Read story

“A writer's starter pack” by Neppi A

Submitted to Contest #66

Everyone has that moment in time when an enlightening thought enters their minds through their cerebral circulation pumped up all the way from their hearts. It reaches after a long journey across different valleys of "what if"s and "but"s that are like waves hitting the shore continuously. Then at one moment, the waves take the form of a tsunami, flooding their blood vessels till every cell in their body is charged with one goal. For Samantha, it came rather late as she sat across a tank full of fish, staring down at a particular book in her...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Love or desire” by Hawraa Hamed

Submitted to Contest #66

William and Emily are a nice couple. They have a teenage boy and he's 18. Their beautiful home is at the end of the street near a food store and consumer materials. They have great relationships with the villagers. William was traveling a lot because of his job. He was a pilot who spent most of his time traveling. Emily was living with her son Tom, a wonderful and quiet life. Send it to the nearby stores. To bring some things to their house. Tom was a good boy. Helping his mother and becoming the man of the house. And also good at studying. ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Doctor” by Felicity Edwards

Submitted to Contest #66

“Come inside, boys, your dinner is on the table.” The two boys bounced into the dining room, they chorused. “Yes, Gran, we washed our hands.” She had a shrewd idea what the towel in the bathroom would look like, just as well she had a stack for when they came to stay. Somehow whatever they were supposed to wash off would end up on the towel, not glugging down the drain. Still, it was such a joy having them and she knew it made a big difference to their parents. Her son Harold, after a successful career as a science teacher, had said all he e...

2 comments 2

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with one character telling another, “It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”

Novel – 132 stories

Halfway through a fierce competition, your character is given the opportunity to cheat their way to victory: do they take it?

Short Story – 52 stories

Write about a contest with life or death stakes.

Adventure – 145 stories

Write about a character who’s finally on the verge of achieving their lifelong dream.

Dramatic – 135 stories

Contest #66

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Ready, Set, Go!

$50

Prize money

584

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Nov 06, 2020 EST

Won by David G. 🏆

Title: Mahalo King Cod Filet

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 about a character who makes a dramatic life change to pursue a goal they’ve secretly always wanted.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 120 stories

“Nothing Like Soy ” by KENNEDY PLANT

“Floating.” by Lee Doe

“Willing" "(The Game of Life Part 1)” by Emily Germaine

“The Photographer” by David Dicaire

“Gibson, The Paranoid Orphan” by Austin Miller

“By the Back Ways” by Tyler Runde

“IT'S NEVER TOO LATE” by ESTHER Mwape

“Here's a Confession” by Megan Faith

“Gracias a la vida” by DREW LANE

“She Will Be Fine ” by Lesli Williams

“Letting go” by Vameerah Darren

“Going Solo” by Chris Wagner

“A writer's starter pack” by Neppi A

“Love or desire” by Hawraa Hamed

“The Doctor” by Felicity Edwards

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with one character telling another, “It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”

Halfway through a fierce competition, your character is given the opportunity to cheat their way to victory: do they take it?

Write about a contest with life or death stakes.

Write about a character who’s finally on the verge of achieving their lifelong dream.

Contest #66

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

584

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: