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

Posted in Short Story on Aug 30, 2024

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✍️ 40 stories

“Too-Cute Couple” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #266

Too-Cute Couple Russell laid on his side with his hand propping up his head as he gazed at his beautiful sleeping wife, Chrissy. After nearly five months of waking up next to her, he still couldn't believe how much she blessed his life. As the newly risen sun peeked in through the blinds, he thought back to the sunny April day he bent down on his knee and surprised her with his proposal in the midst of 299 other couples all saying 'I do' in the four minutes of the total eclipse. Always so sensible and stable, she surprised him when she said ...

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“The Seafest Queen” by Danielle LeBlanc

Submitted to Contest #266

The puffed sleeves of my peacock blue dress graze my cheekbones as I feather them a murderous shade of strawberry. I cough as I spray in just a bit more Aquanet, the floral bouquet of chemicals filling my lungs. That’s the price you pay for hair teased as high away from hell as possible.My heart swells in my chest, roaring in time with the tide crashing outside my bedroom window. My bare ankles cling to the cold steel legs of my vanity stool. The mirror reflects back a portrait of myself —a living, breathing over the top paint palette—yet no...

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“A Day To Remember” by TE Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #266

Saturday 12:00pm – Nathan was out late with some friends the night before so he slept in that day and awoke to the sound of birdsong outside his bedroom window and soon he was smiling up at his ceiling. He got out of bed, did a few stretching exercises, and then went out for a run. Upon his return he grabbed a towel, hit the button on his coffee maker and then headed into the bathroom for a nice hot shower. Today was going to be a big day and he was eager to get going.Afterwards, he toweled off and got dressed in a nice white polo shirt, a n...

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“"THE DIVINE DRAFT: A PERFECTLY IMPERFECT CREATION"” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #266

In the beginning, there was nothing. Not a peep, not a flicker. It was the kind of nothing that would make even a void feel crowded.Then, with a snap of divine fingers, there was… an office. Not just any office, but the office: a sprawling, celestial workspace where the carpets were fluffy clouds that squished underfoot as marshmallows on a summer day, and the walls shimmered with an otherworldly iridescence as if someone had gone a little too heavy with the cosmic glitter. The desk at the center of it all was made of pure, radiant light — s...

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“An ending for both of us” by Penelope Stansfield

Submitted to Contest #266

I hang up the phone and sigh. Calls with Lionel, my agent, always have that effect. Lionel, the man who got me my first break - I owe him for that, and now I owe him my third novel, the third instalment of the lives and loves of Lottie Summers and her trivial adventures in the land of passion and romance. But it sells, and the first two books were a hit in the airports, with thousands of copies making their way to sun-soaked beaches and swimming pools. Whether they’ll ever get nominated for a Booker prize is debatable...

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“Rebel with No Cause....” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #266

Janet woke to the pre-dawn, waiting for sunrise. She had planned the perfect day ahead. She could hear her husband snoring in his own room, sleeping like a baby, or like husbands do. She listened, she did not hear a peep from her grandson, Andrew. Janet was well aware that she was no spring chicken, but she loved the mystique of the darkened hush, cozy in her bed. Janet's brain loved this peaceful habit of wandering back to her younger years. Once, a platonic male friend had been sipping some bevvy at a party, and suggested they go astral tr...

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“The Storm of the Century” by John Bryan

Submitted to Contest #266

Only the clock knew the time. Outside, sheets of snow fall under layers of clouds, concealing day or night. But for the light glowing atop, the streetlamp barely visible. A halo in the darkness. Tomorrow, the Times' front page will read, "The Storm of the Century!"Maria, wearing a snow-white dress, delicately laced, peeks behind the creme-colored drapes again, as she has every 5 minutes for the past two-hours. Nothing visible at first. However, in the distance, a figure, perhaps a man, walks briskly wearing a black fog coat and lar...

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“A path worth taking” by Veronique Aglat

Submitted to Contest #266

The dog started showing up at the end of August, just as school started. He waited for Devon every Tuesday at the corner of 5th Avenue and Bannantyne. How did it know it was Tuesday? How did it know he had a pound of hamburger for the family's weekly tacos? How did it know it was 3:30 pm?! Animals can tell time. Someone should write a PhD about that.At first, Devon ignored the dog; he didn't want to share. If anything, he wanted the one-pound bloody package to be more voluminous!But, as the trees dropped their bounty of leaves, as schoolchil...

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“The Perfect Day” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #266

Jackie Yay, the perfect day for writing. Three friends agreed they would extend their usual two-hour write-together date into a daylong feast. “Labor Day—for our labors of love,” Jackie said, and she reserved the big meeting room at her office for the three of them. They would each bring their work-in-progress.Jackie’s husband was away on a weekend retreat; her time was truly her own. She set out on her bike an hour early, planning to get a head start. But her front tire had a slow leak so she had to stop twice to pump it.The second time she...

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“The moth” by Eszter Szalay

Submitted to Contest #266

Tom sat nervously in front of the head officer’s workroom. He read the seedy letters on the door over and over again like a sacral mantra, Stewart Alma’s office, chief of police. This was his fifth time visiting the police this week as he feared for his life as well as the righteousness of our legal system. So he sat in the same dirty brown leather chair, letting his whole body covered in cold sweat slowly sink into the worn out dirty furniture. Above his head were yellow lights, with flies buzzing around , hitting the lightbulb in agony fro...

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“A LIFE IN THE DAY OF” by Gloria Murray

Submitted to Contest #266

2134wds A LIFE IN THE DAY OF… That August ...

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“Twest ” by Dr. Jael Zebulun

Submitted to Contest #266

3 p.m. July 29, 2017, Houston, Texas. I re-planned that day a thousand times in my mind. I could have left at a different time. I could have gone to the apartment office when I saw their car pull in backwards, could have asked someone to walk me to my Jeep (although it’s common enough to park facing out, but now my hair prickles when I see someone park that way). Could have stayed in the office until they left. Perhaps if I had simply gotten in my Jeep, closed the door and locked it, ignoring the young man yelling, “Hey!”...

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“Let There Be Light... Eventually” by Matt Robson

Submitted to Contest #266

If morning had been invented yet, God would have woken up on this particular morning feeling rather chipper. Today was The Day. The big one. The one he’d been planning for all eternity. Summoning his ‘To-do’ list, he glanced at the small sheet and the single item written across the top in neat, block capitals. CREATE THE UNIVERSE He vanished the list and clapped his hands together with a sound akin to what humans would eventually name thunder, rubbing them in anticipation. “Right”, he announced to no one in particular, and to all of th...

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“Life And Plans with Uncertainties” by Sarah Woodside

Submitted to Contest #266

The wedding plans for Chelsea were completed. We would do a follow-up two days before the event. Andrea had an event scheduled for the children’s ward at the local hospital. It brought such joy to their sweet faces when someone did special things for them. She was handling this event alone. I decided to make some time for Daniel. Things were slow right now until the wedding. I texted his cell phone and told him I would like to make some plans if he was available. During my free time, I decided to do some overdue shopping to update my apparel...

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“A Family Affair” by Sabrina Sangria

Submitted to Contest #266

You apply your drugstore red lipstick in the mirror in your bedroom. A few wire-like gray hairs peek out from the top of your head. The first one appeared about five years ago shortly after you hosted your first family Thanksgiving as a thirty-something-year-old. You lick your fingers, smooth them down, and head to the dining room. Twelve place settings this Thanksgiving. You set the dining table with the nice china your Mother gave you because you don’t want to hear complaints about how Ikea dinnerware isn’t suitable for formal holida...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 40 stories

“Too-Cute Couple” by Mary Bendickson

“The Seafest Queen” by Danielle LeBlanc

“A Day To Remember” by TE Wetzel

“"THE DIVINE DRAFT: A PERFECTLY IMPERFECT CREATION"” by Darvico Ulmeli

“An ending for both of us” by Penelope Stansfield

“Rebel with No Cause....” by Julie Grenness

“The Storm of the Century” by John Bryan

“A path worth taking” by Veronique Aglat

“The Perfect Day” by VJ Hamilton

“The moth” by Eszter Szalay

“A LIFE IN THE DAY OF” by Gloria Murray

“Twest ” by Dr. Jael Zebulun

“Let There Be Light... Eventually” by Matt Robson

“Life And Plans with Uncertainties” by Sarah Woodside

“A Family Affair” by Sabrina Sangria

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #266

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

282

Contest entries

108

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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