Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Posted in Sad on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 57 stories

“Timing and Relevance in my Life” by Anne-Marie Smith

Submitted to Contest #154

Doing things my way? I always have, the only problem being that everything changes. I have had to perform a range of modifications all my life and this sometimes created complications I still love to complain about. I was spoiled perhaps because the first lifestyle change I encountered appealed to me. It was in the 1970s when as a young woman I was able to do away with skirts and dresses and adopt trousers, shorts or jeans. By then a new fashion had replaced the old style patterned blouse with a p...

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“Hello David” by Lori Boswell

Submitted to Contest #154

Marjorie leaned over the cool metal bedrail and tugged the sheet up and over his gaunt shoulders. Her mind felt less foggy in the early morning hours than at twilight. The evening nurse called it Sundowners Syndrome, and it was the time of day she feared most. It was the dark time between reality and haze. Twilight meant David was disappearing into a vast oblivion she could no longer control. Theirs was a marriage meant to last a lifetime. Developing cataracts only made things worse. It was as though she were viewing life through a clouded c...

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“A Blank Canvas” by Sarese Kirk

Submitted to Contest #154

Hannah looked out the window, wondering how such a sad day could be so beautiful. Besides the heartache she felt, it was a perfect day. The birds are singing to one another, the sky full of oranges and pinks, dancing and intertwining with one another as the sun illuminates them. The warmth of her freshly brewed cup of coffee between her hands, the coconut cream aroma that usually filled Hannah full of life and hope for what the day would bring, except for today. This aroma would fill her with confidence to do what needed to be done. She hope...

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“Convenience 2.0” by Christopher Allen

Submitted to Contest #154

The ding of the bell echoed through the desolate store as a lone customer entered. Samuel gave a subtle nod from behind the check out counter and returned to his half-finished crossword puzzle. He checked his watch. It was seven in the evening and this was the first person to come into Samuel’s convenience store for hours.Samuel let out a bored yawn and closed the newspaper. Newspapers were rare, they only print about fifty copies a day. Mostly as a novelty for people like Samuel, who still found the quaintness of flipping pages charming.&nb...

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“Possibilities ” by Donna Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #154

PossibilitiesAs I’m driving to the bar to meet my friend, I feel almost embarrassed because I am in a mood. Not a great mood, mind you but one that threatens to rain on any parade I go to. I guess it could be a lingering side effect from my last birthday a week ago. I left my forties behind and stumbled reluctantly into my fifties feeling remarkably like I did on that girl’s trip to Cabo some years ago. It was not pretty by any means especially after topping the evening off by recycling all the Cuervo I had consumed into a waterfall of salt,...

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“That special place in my heart” by Tony Wells

Submitted to Contest #154

Eight years ago We were both only ten years old. We met in Maths class, your first ever lesson in North Carolina – the teacher paired us together because we were both quiet and left without friends. I said hi to you, feeling the most awkward I ever had, and I could feel the tips of my ears go bright cherry red. You smiled a bit and quickly looked back down, almost as if you couldn't bear to hold that expression for any longer. We gradually started to get closer. We started talking for the first time - I found out that you were from Virgini...

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“Used to Be” by Vande Barringer

Submitted to Contest #154

Blip, blip, blip. I stare at my computer screen, desperately hoping the words for the ideas I need to voice will come to me. The cursor flickers over and over on the blank documents glaringly white background. I suppose staring at the blank screen is better than staring at the writing prompts emailed to me a few days ago. How could something so personal, so relatable, be so hard to get out? I snorted, slamming my computer screen. My dogs look up hopeful from their kennels, where I've tucked them away to get five minutes of peac...

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“Finding a New Relevance” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #154

Finding a New Relevance William Skupski opens the microwave door and, once again, spills the hot drink, barely avoiding scalding myself. Such “accidents” interfere in his life far too often and leave him “stuck in first gear” in a world dominated by w...

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“Different and the Same” by Rebekah Sweeney

Submitted to Contest #154

10 pm. The house is empty. All the lights are off. My parents are still out on their date. My brother has gone home to be with his wife. Kiara is with her boyfriend. It’s just me. I pace back and forth across the kitchen floor, pulling at one of my bright red curls desperately, as if trying to straighten it out. I’d spent the last ten minutes calling friends from high school, just hoping to reignite sparks that I was afraid had all but burnt out. I called six people. All of them either didn’t respond or told me they were with their ...

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“The Lonely ” by Sullivan Dark

Submitted to Contest #154

The Lonely "Only the Lonely knows how I feel tonight,"__ Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. I am sitting here in this room, surrounded by all these people, I look at their faces, and I wonder, is anyone here besides me feeling The Lonely? I talk, am social, and smile and look the part, but inside, The Lonely is with me. At times, he tries to overwhelm me, drag me down to a dark and damp place so overwhelming that no matter how hard I try… I simply can't climb to the rim of the crevasse. The people at this par...

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“Bad Skin Day” by Jeffrey Taylor

Submitted to Contest #154

Bad Skin Day The big screen looms above me, and it looks like the surface of a planet that’s wandered too close to the sun. A nightmare landscape of active volcanoes, deep fissures and craters. They’re masters of h...

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“CHARLIE'S NOSEDIVE” by Mark Edmonds

Submitted to Contest #154

CHARLIE’S NOSEDIVEIn his younger days Charlie Schriver had been a solidly built guy. He had worked for many years in construction where his natural strength was an asset. In his youth he had been a skilful amateur football player. He eventually met and dated Sarah. They kept each other company for two years until they married and together, they had two children. He was a nice guy. He was hard working and supportive of others. Everyone loved him. Family life was good.A very unfortunate incident disrupted the life of their entire family when a...

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“Kelly's Day” by Sharon Zimmerman

Submitted to Contest #154

Kelly never knew how it happened, but it happened a lot. Every day she was behind and lost. 6:30 AM - She wakes up, blinks, and now it is 8:00 AM. Her make up was on, black eye liner with beige eye shadow and perfectly matte foundation, like she did in high school, except now she was running late for work.7:30 AM - She sat down for breakfast, except it was already 8:30 and she should be on the bus now.9:22 AM - On the bus heading to her job at the store, but she arrived there only to remember that she worked in an office now. Back ...

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“Growing Old” by JP Branski

Submitted to Contest #154

“Hey, Jason, did you need any help with your homework?” inquired old Theodore, Jason’s father.“No thanks, I am going over to Garret’s place to study,” shouted Jason from his room.“No thanks…” a phrase that has become all to common to Theodore in recent years. His daughter, Breanna, started her first year of college and now lives in the dorms a few states away. Jason, while still in high school, got his license last summer and got an old beater from a police auction. Ever since his mother passed away two years ago, Jason spends more time over...

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“Human Nature” by Falyn Owens

Submitted to Contest #154

Who am I? This afternoon I assume the identity of a girl who has not yet graduated into womanhood, but rather stands on the cusp of not quite girl, but not yet considered adult enough in a world demanding permanent titles. This frozen shell of a girl remains stagnant and isolated within her mortal body at the bottom of a dirt-encrusted boat. The sound of waves lapping against the metal underside soothes the dull, demanding ache within my chest. Today I reflect on a girl whose curiosity dwells on the thought of purpose in all thi...

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Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 57 stories

“Timing and Relevance in my Life” by Anne-Marie Smith

“Hello David” by Lori Boswell

“A Blank Canvas” by Sarese Kirk

“Convenience 2.0” by Christopher Allen

“Possibilities ” by Donna Kennedy

“That special place in my heart” by Tony Wells

“Used to Be” by Vande Barringer

“Finding a New Relevance” by Bob Faszczewski

“Different and the Same” by Rebekah Sweeney

“The Lonely ” by Sullivan Dark

“Bad Skin Day” by Jeffrey Taylor

“CHARLIE'S NOSEDIVE” by Mark Edmonds

“Kelly's Day” by Sharon Zimmerman

“Growing Old” by JP Branski

“Human Nature” by Falyn Owens

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone saying, “We’re running out of time.”

Write a story — romantic or not — about two characters who can’t find the right timing.

Write a story about an object that has been around for centuries or passed down generations.

Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.

Contest #154

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: