Your character wants something very badly — will they get it?

Posted in Short Story on Sep 6, 2024

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✍️ 60 stories

“A Different Place, A Different Time” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #267

TW - sexual violence and substance abuseI let the liquor sing— slow and steady it burns as it blooms. I look across the kitchen table at my father, sitting there in his faded flannel, then take another swig. It goes down all too easy.“I think you need to cool it there a little, Jessica,” he says. Like he’s one to talk. This place, this cramped, craphole of a place, reeks of cigarettes and spilt beer. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree with this one. But I can’t help what I am, right? I can’t help what I do, or what I say, not wh...

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“Jag in a Box” by Dr. Jael Zebulun

Submitted to Contest #267

Me against this dark black metal box. I’m getting out no matter what I have to do. Clawing at the walls, I injure my claw. They not only trapped me using bait (a live pig who seemed cornered in this same box, but it was an illusion), they drugged me too. Everything went blurry—I was enclosed in this hellish device. Now I open my eyes, but it’s all black. I strike the walls, hearing the echoes of my own strikes against the metal. I strike again, even harder, despite the throbbing torment in my torn-claw paw each time I do so. I am suffe...

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“Baby Blues ” by Liz Remrey

Submitted to Contest #267

Though I will be the one narrating this story from my perspective, this is not solely my story. I will do my best to be fair in my depiction. This is my version of our story. I was adopted by my family at three weeks old. I grew up in a traditional household, surrounded by a loving family, including a large extended family. As I entered my teenage years, I became emotional and disgruntled, like many teenagers facing the angst of growing up. My parents were always wrong, and I was being held back from living my best, most authenti...

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“The Treasure of the Mille-Louise ” by M B

Submitted to Contest #267

Ben held the model ship close to his chest as he made his way through his grandfather’s home. To him it was magical, full of things he recognized the importance of mixed in with things that seemed outlandish and exotic: Paintings of old starships, alien masks on the walls, trinkets from worlds lightyears away... It was, in actuality, a modestly sized home, but the retired merchant spaceman had used the space well. Ben made his way to the bedroom his grandfather slept in. He knew the old man was awake from the light under and around the door....

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“Death Of A Dream” by Shamiqua Wilson

Submitted to Contest #267

Rose always wanted to be a musician. She always found herself fascinated by VMA and MTV awards. She’d spend hours envisioning herself with a shiny and polished grammy award. If Rose can travel to the underworld and fight to the death for this dream, maybe it will be hers in waking life. So Rose takes the bait and travels to the depths of the astral realm. Her thoughts blur and her body trembles as her consciousness rises out of her body like zombies re-surging to the earth. Rose arrives at a beige hall where a set of three light brown, woode...

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“It Means A Lot To Me ” by John K Danenbarger

Submitted to Contest #267

The first time I was ever invited to Benny's house, he was dead. Now the farmhouse loomed before me, a place I had never been, but one that held a broken piece of my life. I had pulled up the gravel driveway in an old green '53 Chevy I had borrowed. Not air conditioned, of course, but beggars can’t be…you know. Feeling I was late and being apprehensive about meeting her, I drove too fast. The car had kicked up a dust storm behind me, and now, as it caught up and flooded in the open windows, the dirt stuck to my sweaty face and arms, and the...

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“Dear Aunt Estella ” by Emily Leung

Submitted to Contest #267

Dear Aunt Estella,Hi! I hope you’re doing awesome! I have to tell you about something that's happening at school, and it's kind of a big deal (at least for me). We’re having a writing contest, and the winner gets a trophy and a gift card to the bookshop, which is like, the best thing ever! When Mrs. Logan first told us about it, I was super excited because I really want that gift card!!But then... I don’t know. I started feeling like maybe I shouldn’t even try. There’s this girl in my class, Emma, and she’s, like, really good at writing. Her...

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“The ring that sings” by Eold V

Submitted to Contest #267

A female mouse’s desire and attempt for a ring that sings lovely and dark songs. Under the red moon, a lake layes still with water clear and dark creatures that are dear with blooded lily pads scattered angrily on the water; and the night is cloudy and the trees bleed loudly yet slowly. Across the lake, a temple that is broken yet alive sits and watches the lake with great intent; the place for clowns are still frequent by creatures or other dark things. And at the base of the lake, a young girl mouse stands with a ...

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“The Ghostwriter” by Erodite Papapostolou

Submitted to Contest #267

A thin veil of fog, like a river of mist, enveloped London's streets on that damp November morning. Jeremy Sigul, a man barely past forty-eight, pulled his coat tighter, adjusted his hat, unfurled his umbrella, and gripped his briefcase as he emerged from the subway. His youthful appearance belied his age, betrayed only by his receding hairline. His tall frame and confident stride suggested a man of assuredness, a stark contrast to his inner turmoil. Lost in thought, he barely noticed the stranger who collided with his shoulder. Startled, he...

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“Absurdistan” by Ivana Pavićević

Submitted to Contest #267

I’m in pain. My body aches. I don't know which part—everything hurts. I wake up on wet grass, pierced by the harsh needles of a pine tree leaning over me. Brilliant sunbeams pierce my eyes, and around me, there’s a violent stench of mud, alcohol, urine, and tobacco—not necessarily in that order. With my head pinned to the ground, I manage to pick up my starved, battered body, barely able to move. I feel a desperate need to run away from here, wherever "here" is.Mandala. Where am I? India? No cows. Mandala on the wall. Mural. I remember discu...

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“Sakura ” by Patrick Druid

Submitted to Contest #267

This is a bit of fan fiction. I had watched a movie called Karate Girl on Tubi and I felt that it needed a little more...depth, I think. Sakura: Karate Girl 2 The stars shined down on the cliffs of Okinawa, their dim light lighting the pathway the two girls walked. The waves crashed against the rocks below sending droplets of water into the air, then landing on the beach below. It had been a month since the sisters, Ayaka and Natsuki had been reunited in Yokohama. Ten years ago, A man called Tagawa and his cohorts came to Okinawa to...

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“What did you get "me" for "his" birthday?” by John Bryan

Submitted to Contest #267

'Happy Birthday Carl' lettered quite perfectly with blue cursive icing on a white-frosted cake. Six candles ablaze. One for each year, and the last for good luck. It is decorated with thick red, blue and yellow sugary balloons and topped with a bright red firetruck, Carl's preferred toy. "How touching," Chris mocks with grim sobriety."It looks good," Chris laments. "Too good to be sitting on the countertop. Why not adorn it with the Great Star of Africa and leave it under impenetrable plexiglass or smoosh it on canvas, frame it, and hang it ...

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“The queen who was a thief” by Will Chu

Submitted to Contest #267

Once upon a time, in the far west, there was a wealthy kingdom nestled between the coast and mountains. It was a large country with a large population. The country became rich in ore mining and maritime trade, and gradually became the center of trade on the continent.The king of this country was a very wise man, and under his command the country grew stronger and stronger. His treasury was also filled with riches. But even though he was already the richest king in the whole continent, he was still not satisfied, and his life creed was "life ...

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“Secrets Before Motherhood” by Richard Calver

Submitted to Contest #267

Secrets Before Motherhood I parked the car in the narrow street, squeezed into a space that was only a short walk to our front door, feeling pride as I looked at the house we’d been renovating over the last twelve months, this Victorian wedding cake. We’d contrasted the rendered white walls with olive green window frames and sills and the front door had been newly painted in this lustrous hue. I turned the key first in the screen door lock, a protection against a break-in, then another key in the new lock fitted to the original but new...

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“I Want to Be a Baddie” by Marvin Maynard

Submitted to Contest #267

Note: This story contains elements of sexuality and strong language. I made some of the character speak as stereotypes to fit the message. It's also very long, and I Just wanted to let the readers know, beforeheand. There are no years in your life quite as memorable as your youth. When you are young, you can be fun, you can be stupid, you don’t have to do the things you don’t want to do. Every preceding year, from four years old to 18 years old, you are handed a platter of people to know, people to love in life, before idling 60 hours of ...

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Your character wants something very badly — will they get it?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 60 stories

“A Different Place, A Different Time” by Amanda Wisdom

“Jag in a Box” by Dr. Jael Zebulun

“Baby Blues ” by Liz Remrey

“The Treasure of the Mille-Louise ” by M B

“Death Of A Dream” by Shamiqua Wilson

“It Means A Lot To Me ” by John K Danenbarger

“Dear Aunt Estella ” by Emily Leung

“The ring that sings” by Eold V

“The Ghostwriter” by Erodite Papapostolou

“Absurdistan” by Ivana Pavićević

“Sakura ” by Patrick Druid

“What did you get "me" for "his" birthday?” by John Bryan

“The queen who was a thief” by Will Chu

“Secrets Before Motherhood” by Richard Calver

“I Want to Be a Baddie” by Marvin Maynard

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with two characters who meet for the first time — and one of them has a secret.

Your character overhears something that changes their path.

There’s been an accident — what happens next?

Write a story set against the backdrop of a storm.

Contest #267

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

357

Contest entries

127

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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