Your protagonist discovers that everything they type comes true. What happens next?

Posted in Short Story on Aug 30, 2024

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✍️ 54 stories

“First Byline” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #266

Driving up to Elmira, NY was a sheer act of desperation. The kind of act a newly minted staff news reporter should never consider. But, I had yet to score my first byline. And the clock was ticking. How trivial such worries seem now. My fledgling journalistic forays upstate were about to unlock the vault of the supernatural and place me in mortal peril. But, just maybe, the journey might make me a real writer in the process.Real writers can afford a Keurig, I thought. This is how one knows they have not yet joined the ranks. I tilted the pot...

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“Word Is…” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #266

Word Is… ‘The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.’ Prov. 18:21 Ulysses finished his grocery list and saw ink on his fingers. “Damn! Running late… Stop sabotaging…”About to interview for a writing job, he wanted to look professional. ‘Would inky fingers impress…?’ He hadn’t had a paying gig for months. Pay or not, he always wrote stories, blurbs, whatever. His many novels, some completed and all unpublished, filled a shelf in his study.Friends always saw him with a pen and note pad.He washed his h...

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“Wishful Thinking” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #266

It took Craig an age to get into The Zone. He’d read that writers needed a familiar and comfortable space within which to write, and so he had gone about building his writing nest. He’d begun gradually, but as he worked on his own, special space he built up a fervour and an excitement of anticipation, discovering hidden antique places and poring over knickknacks as though he were searching for his own personal grail. In a way, he was. He was searching for a space that did not exist in the world beyond him, but within him. He was acquiring sy...

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“And I feel fine” by Pete K Mally

Submitted to Contest #266

AND I FEEL FINE Zac Rhoades could see the future. This was not pie in the sky. This was not a silly hunch. This was not some intelligent guesswork.This was not cryptic messages in the form of tea leaves and hidden symbols.Zac Rhoades could see into the future.As a teen, perhaps seventeen or eighteen (he couldn’t quite recall), sitting on his toilet seat he visualized he would witness an accident. A cyclist would hit a car, roll over the bonnet, get back on his feet and shout at the driver. He visualized the cyclist in every detail from...

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“Building A Dream Upon Words” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #266

I was exhausted that first night. You know, the kind of tired that’s almost painful? Your body screaming for you to close your eyes and your mind begging you for silence, yet still you fight to your last breath for that extra minute of consciousness. I was hanging on by a desperate thread because I needed to erupt my thoughts onto the page, terrified they would all be lost by morning. I had finally broken it you see, my streak of melancholy that put a wall up between me and the craft. For so long the act of putting words to paper had seemed ...

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“The Retiree” by Stevie Burges

Submitted to Contest #266

The RetireeShe had thoroughly enjoyed herself as an English teacher. Not only did she find the job satisfying, but she also seemed to have a host of acquaintances. She felt she had all she could want. A decent job, a good salary, many social opportunities, and an all-round appreciation of life. Just as she felt that life couldn’t improve, she was called into the Head’s Office and told she must retire. She knew she was of retirement age, but she thought she was indispensable, and they surely would never ask her to go....

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“THE UNBREAKABLE BALANCE” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #266

Max Bennett's apartment was a small, cluttered space on the city's edge. The hum of traffic outside was a constant backdrop, and the flickering streetlights cast long shadows across the walls. The apartment, filled with half-finished projects and books stacked in precarious towers, reflected Max's life—chaotic, brimming with potential, yet lacking direction. But the most important object in the room was the laptop on his desk, its screen casting a cold, blue light that illuminated Max's tired face. The rain outside had been relentless, a s...

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“All the World's a Page” by Rozmarin Ideas

Submitted to Contest #266

Jo Burnham was a writer- of that, there was no doubt.She’d written articles, short stories, entreaties on the meaning of existence- even three-quarters of a novel. Free days were spent in front of the computer, tap-tap-tapping away ‘til the sun went down. The nights were more of the same, sleep barely stopping her. Yes, she was certainly a writer. What she wasn’t, was an author.Her name wasn’t displayed shelf-side in a bookstore, or highlighted in digital print on the latest e-reader. The only place it did feature? The tag pinned to he...

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“Can you see me?” by James Moore

Submitted to Contest #266

Session No 3‘Good morning Sarah, please come in, have a seat’Mr Mavers requested in an officious yet friendly tone. He spoke softly and carefully, in a manner that was calming but skirting on patronising.‘It’s lovely to see you again, you ARE looking well. How has everything been? I can see here in my notes that last time we spoke we discussed the Idea of your writing down your thoughts and feelings in a journal. And you were quite dismissive of the idea at first. Did you manage to write anything down?’‘I’ve written some things. Stupid ...

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“Well Layered Ham Sandwiches” by Kristen Hubers

Submitted to Contest #266

“Welcome to the newest member of the Dull Men’s Facebook group!” The glowing screen reflected off my glasses like the shine on a new trophy.That was the highlight of my week apart from several well layered ham sandwiches. Toasted bread from the bakery, creamy, salted butter slathered from edge to edge. Butter soaking into the toast was strictly forbidden. It had been the law of the land ever since the new King took over these boundaries. The butter must be thick and creamy. It must be steadfast! IT MUST STAND ON ITS OWN!Psssst… I’m the new K...

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“Elephant Man” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #266

And they lived happily ever after.So, I ended my story and breathed a sigh of relief as I shut my laptop. I hadn't counted on staying up so late, with work only a few hours away. But what the hey. Push on through.The city was so quiet, the odd passing car, someone walking.Elephant man.Why did he exist? This plodder, who could never sleep, his heavy steps sounding through the night, back and forth, was it untamed feelings, or a broken romance?It's heartless to even think of progeny that could waste a night brooding and pounding floorboards i...

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“Corona, Corona” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #266

I have something phenomenal (an actual phenomenon, in fact) to record, but first things first. On a whim the size of a house, I bought a typewriter.I’ve always coveted one of those you see in old films, though not for any practical purpose – I have my laptop for most writing tasks, or a pen and paper as back-up when circumstances dictate. But I’ve always liked the aesthetic of a Royal, a Remington, an Underwood. And the clunky sound of them; it seemed like real work was being done with each punch of a key, unlike the practically effortless s...

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“Mighty the Pen” by DJ Grohs

Submitted to Contest #266

“The pen is mightier than the sword: wield it wisely,” reads the whisp of paper pulled from my fortune cookie. “Well, Cissy, that’s a profound load of drivel.” I speak aloud to my empty kitchen as I crumple the bit of paper and let it fall into the detritus of my General Tso’s Sunday night takeout. Days later, though, I would be forced to reconsider. ---------------------------------------------------------------To: gloriaherrit@nevabank.comDate: Mon, Feb 5 at 10:43 AMFrom: ceceliaprobest@nevabank.comSubject: Meeting follow-up D...

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“Lucky Penny” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #266

“Have you ever believed in something so much that you made the impossible, possible?” He threw up his hands in excitement, prancing like an excited deer. “What-.” Her voice was tight with bemusement.“Or had a dream that wouldn’t quit bugging you day and night until you paid it piece of mind?” He added, speeding up to walk in rhythm with his fast flowing words.“Woah, Landon! Slow down... and, woah, Landon! That would be a street you're about to walk into.”“Did you ever-.”“Landon, stop!” Landon felt a firm grip latch onto his shoulde...

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“Worlds Abound” by Christina Miller

Submitted to Contest #266

The satisfying clacking of the keyboard echoes above the upbeat tones of the background video game music I always listen to when I write. The sound brings a slight smile to my lips. Nothing makes me happier than sitting here, listening to the cartoon monster-catching music and making progress on the book that I'll probably never finish, but love working on anyway. Keon knew he needed to get away from Declan as soon as possible. Lyn's brother was dead set on destroying the known worlds by any means necessary. Keon's Gift would make it easier ...

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Your protagonist discovers that everything they type comes true. What happens next?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“First Byline” by Jonathan Page

“Word Is…” by John K Adams

“Wishful Thinking” by Jed Cope

“And I feel fine” by Pete K Mally

“Building A Dream Upon Words” by James Scott

“The Retiree” by Stevie Burges

“THE UNBREAKABLE BALANCE” by Darvico Ulmeli

“All the World's a Page” by Rozmarin Ideas

“Can you see me?” by James Moore

“Well Layered Ham Sandwiches” by Kristen Hubers

“Elephant Man” by Joe Smallwood

“Corona, Corona” by PJ Town

“Mighty the Pen” by DJ Grohs

“Lucky Penny” by C.N. Jung

“Worlds Abound” by Christina Miller

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone who wants to give up on their career right before their big break.

Write from the POV of a character in a story who keeps getting re-written by their second-guessing author.

Your protagonist has the perfect day scheduled — but things don’t go according to plan.

Write about someone who summons the creative muse through a convoluted ritual or method.

Contest #266

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

108

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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