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

Posted in Short Story on Sep 6, 2024

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✍️ 60 stories

“Word Without Flesh” by Patricia Bloodgood

Submitted to Contest #267

Content notice: this story contains metaphorical and hypothetical declarations by a character to harm themself and others, and focuses on a toxic relationship. It also contains a couple of suggestive albeit non-explicit sentences.January 1stI've decided to journal our relationship. Every romance that came before you was a whirlwind—by the time my friend pulled me out I felt drained, like more had been taken from me than I had offered. So, this time, I'm going to document every moment of our time together, to remind my future self not to...

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“A home of her own” by Helen Broderick

Submitted to Contest #267

She was dead or would be dead very soon. Nora had laid the groundwork, dropping hints to neighbours, passing comments to the doctor and to family of course. Nothing too obvious. Letting them drag it out of her about her concern: that her mother was starting to ‘ramble’, that she was not taking her pills right, that she had to be reminded to take them and to be watched like a hawk to make sure she did. But it was Nora that was making sure the mother didn’t take them right. All for a home of her own. It was not as if she didn’t earn it.&n...

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“The Depths Of Obsession” by Zania Crane

Submitted to Contest #267

Content warning: This prompt contains discussion of SH and mental health. I get out of bed and make my way to the forest.I walk through the trees, the leaves crunching under my feet. The air is cool and crisp, and I can feel a slight shiver running down my spine, but it’s not from the cold. It’s from anticipation.I spot Zain leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest. He looks bored, almost irritated, but there’s something else in his eyes when he sees me.“What do you want?” he asks curtly.“You,” I say softly. “All I want is you.”H...

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“Prelude” by Amelia Ramble

Submitted to Contest #267

CW: Mentions of death, war descriptions, mental health. “–I wish you were here Hector, I wish it more and more every day.’ The letter had come first. An unassuming yellow telegram grasped in the hands of a young post runner. The child was small, barely out of his whelping years – snot dried yellow and white on his nose and across his sleeves. Hands tinged black and blue by ink, and sickness, and the cold bitter wind. I dug around in my own pocket, sorting through thimbles and dried rosemary as I pushed aside idle matchsticks and copper coin...

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“Literally Dying” by Jake Fordyce

Submitted to Contest #267

Frank finished another dungeon. He lifted his glass to his mouth while reading the messages with a sideways glance, tilted it further, tilted the glass so that the liquid should have been all over his face, looked inside of the glass and remembered he didn’t fill it up before entering the dungeon.Time for a refill. Frank queued as DPS and stood up. DPS queues were about ten minutes, it said. That was plenty of time to get a refill, pee, and do a couple of quests while waiting on the queue to pop. He started to walk away when he heard the noi...

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“A Mundane Reality” by Page Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #267

I can see him staring out the window in a peaceful state. Hair just shooken up from the past sleep, he runs his fingers through his blonde streaks and begins to determine his next steps. I want to be there, next to him, making sure he makes the right choices. The world is a terrible place to be, and I want to push all of that away from his being. But he can handle himself. I have seen it first hand. He then moves over to his bag, slowly packing it to get ready for the day. College was not all it had been cut out to be, but the man knew he ha...

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“The Ronin and The Poet” by Michael Byrne

Submitted to Contest #267

The RoninNarrow streets meander between tranquil homes of poets and artists, while dimly lit alleys harbour thieves, beggars and courtesans, creating a discordant blend of creativity and menace. At night, one is shrouded in shades of grey and shadowy indigos, where the flickering glow of lanterns casts a golden light over the cobblestones. This striking dichotomy bares resemblance to people who inhabit this village, constantly gambling on the delicate balance between benevolence and malice – love and hate. Those who walk the tight ...

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“My obsession with Alison Steads: the story of an ex-police officer. ” by Jennifer Allan-Robertson

Submitted to Contest #267

I think back to meeting Ali on her lunch breaks. She worked in a little cafe which was in the neighboring village to the farm, where she resided with her monsterous husband, Jimmy. I asked her, practically begged her, to leave him but she said she couldn’t, it was too complicated for her to leave and that she refused to leave with nothing. A few weeks of regular lunchtime meetings, comprising of many sandwiches, cakes and coffee, I offered to drive Ali home. She had already confided in me about Jimmy taking her car off her the day before bec...

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“The Heirloom Rift” by Kristy Schnabel

Submitted to Contest #267

My niece's bridal shower guests weren't due for two hours, but I could only think about how to ask my sister for Gran's bracelet. Gran died six months ago, but Clara had yet to mention the 18-carat gold bracelet with robin's egg blue turquoise in-lay, which I had coveted my whole life. Gran promised it to me, and having this precious heirloom on my wrist would connect me to my beloved grandmother in a visceral way. I'd recently discovered by accident via DNA testing that my sister and I were only half-sisters. Did Gran already have a b...

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“one in a billion” by TC Eley

Submitted to Contest #267

Rich scumbags. That's what they were. Anger didn't help, never helped, because it just made her want to move, and she needed to not - but maybe it would help now - no. No, no, no, Chloe.Her gums were screaming, her eyes were dry as bone. She was breathing but it was like being underwater, running out of what she needed to live. She did need it to live. One minute, two minutes, three minutes. Don't surface. They hadn't practiced this - at least, not with someone else. Because nobody would want to take the risk and because nobody could kn...

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“A benevolent dream” by Aeron Tailor

Submitted to Contest #267

Allow no man to asunder the love we engender; bereft of the tongue which apostatized the moon, this vessel had grown no more than a squirming mass cast aloft the abyss. Yet even stripped of light, a spurned star grows apathetic to its aches of melancholy, one's lament eclipsing the interminable laughter of the skies. If one is ever remedied of agony, who was once divine must pray for their forgiveness… To balter amongst the precipice of demise, finding love amongst the maelstrom of g...

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“A Great Grandfather's Encouragement From The Grave” by Jacqueline Bourland

Submitted to Contest #267

Prompt #267OVERCOMING OBSTACALSYour character wants something very badly. . . . will they get it? A GREAT GRANDFATHER’S ENCOURAGEMENTFROM THE GRAVE Her dad had been a writer; but, a writer of fact-based, instructional materials; writings that could not, justifiably, be classified as “creative”. She, herself, had been a writer, of sorts; but, as with her dad, her writing too consisted of fact-based, persuasive materials. Nothing creative. Having grown up hearing her dad clicking away on his old Olympia manual typewriter down in the...

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“A Dark Tale” by Chicken Mcgoo

Submitted to Contest #267

I see him there. Yes, he will do. I will kill him. The way he sits on the bench in the middle of the day, I wonder does he know that tonight will be his last. Has he said his farewell to those he loves? His wife, no doubt, for I see his wedding band on his finger. And his children. What of them? Will he even be missed? The way he sits there reading the paper, as if he hadn't had a care in the world. I bet he reads of me. Reads of the murders. Oh God, I would kill him now if it wasn't for the people of the town passing by. But I am no fool. T...

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“Stella and The Cherry Tree” by Christine Macgenn

Submitted to Contest #267

Stella and The Cherry TreeHow am I ever going to get out of here? Worse, am I ever? I have just been given a new Dad. Another new Dad. And a new name. Another new name. And my real dad and my real name are now a secret. A shadow, a ghost. I’m only ten and I’ve already been three people. Stella Mack, Stella Brogan and now Stella Dice. I gotta get out of here.New daddy has a temper, a bad temper and he yells a lot. When yelling doesn’t work, he slaps a lot. And when slapping doesn’t work, well…you know… a little kicking and stomping comes int...

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“The I in Team” by Michael Franchetti

Submitted to Contest #267

“So this it it son. You feelin nervous?” My eyes were glued to the pine trees of the interstate road, the trees not standing out in particular, but making up the unit of beauty that always caused my Dad to take the back road. “Nah, I’ll be alright.” “Well you know, my High School team was only a half game back of the playoffs with a game to go, of course I was more of a pitcher than a reliable bat. I ended up getting dinged around a bit, but thankfully our reliever…” He continued his monologue on and on until we made it to the field. I...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 60 stories

“Word Without Flesh” by Patricia Bloodgood

“A home of her own” by Helen Broderick

“The Depths Of Obsession” by Zania Crane

“Prelude” by Amelia Ramble

“Literally Dying” by Jake Fordyce

“A Mundane Reality” by Page Jenkins

“The Ronin and The Poet” by Michael Byrne

“My obsession with Alison Steads: the story of an ex-police officer. ” by Jennifer Allan-Robertson

“The Heirloom Rift” by Kristy Schnabel

“one in a billion” by TC Eley

“A benevolent dream” by Aeron Tailor

“A Great Grandfather's Encouragement From The Grave” by Jacqueline Bourland

“A Dark Tale” by Chicken Mcgoo

“Stella and The Cherry Tree” by Christine Macgenn

“The I in Team” by Michael Franchetti

🌟 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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