At some point in your story, a character says “You’re better than this…”.

Posted in Thanksgiving on Nov 24, 2023

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✍️ 56 stories

“Contagic” by Haley Roeder

Submitted to Contest #226

I was infected when I was fourteen. Magic is contagious. Not everyone that is exposed will become infected, just the ones with the right predisposition. The right genetic markers or certain kinds of life experiences – usually some form of trauma or abuse. Those kinds of experiences left physical remnants, damaged DNA, malfunctioning cellular machinery, and abnormal brain waves. Then, if that person is further unfortunate enough to be exposed to magic, they will become contaminated. This often manifested as a malignant magic prone to certa...

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“Hostile Environments” by Sue Leather

Submitted to Contest #226

Some philosopher, Plato I think it was, said that a good decision is based on knowledge. But it’s a bit of a cop out, I reckon. I mean, you can’t know everything, and how can you know the consequences of your decision before it’s too late? When the NGO I worked for insisted that I go on the four-day training course in working in hostile environments, I hadn’t been very keen. But here I was, eight fifteen on a chilly March morning in a meeting room at a converted stately home in the middle of the Berkshire countryside. The day loomed in fr...

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“GRACE TO BETTER” by Kelsea I

Submitted to Contest #226

Scheme, manipulate, deceive and shun, these are all things we face on the road to better. The world is cruel and crumbling at the knees of the people who roam it. Lies soar, the women beg, the children have become lions and yet they call it fair. A system of thieves and dragons, you either live or live dead, either join the game or be at the mercy of it. Until You showed up. Sleep It was Benevia, in the year of the reign of King Ozed. I was ten years old then, a refugee is what they said I was, I didn’t know any less, and w...

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“The Fateful Gift” by Janet Carl

Submitted to Contest #226

Artie J. Zeus looked down on the streets of Manhattan from the top floor of Olympic Tower. Yes, he was the top gun of Olympus, Inc., but he was constantly on guard against other, lesser gods who tried to steal his thunder. Literally. Like Monty Prometheus, VP for Energy. He had just stolen fire, to which Artie had sole rights, and given it to humans. “I’ll fire the bastard,” Artie told Hera, as he swilled a dirty ambrosia that evening. Hera laughed. “You can’t fire him. Once a god, always a god.” “Not necessarily. Think of that Nietzsche...

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“Bite Your Tongue” by Jennifer Pletcher Borg

Submitted to Contest #226

There was not enough wine to get me through this. There would never be enough wine in the entire world to get me through this. I didn’t want to be here. There was a reason why I moved across the country. The negative remarks made about my life, my looks, my everything would be masked as “constructive criticism,” and as a journalism major, I should be used to constructive criticism. Except my professor never told me I’d end up an old, shriveled spinster who wasn’t even worthy of having a hoard of cats. Which, of course, was to...

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“The Tunnel of Temptation” by James Fritz

Submitted to Contest #226

David and I wait at the entrance to the Tunnel of Temptation for a boat to arrive. We’ve been on every ride except this one. He wanted to save this one for last. “That way, if you get tempted with an old fling, at least we’ll have already done everything else beforehand!” I had never heard of Pumpkin Palooza until he told me about it. Supposedly it’s this traveling carnival that goes to a different town across the country every year on Halloween. A nice change from handing out candy again. “Enjoying yourself, Sarah?” he asks. “Of course! I h...

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“You made it…you are better than him” by Perla Horn

Submitted to Contest #226

The day I fell in love with young man I just happened to bumped into my world turned upside down. There wasn’t a day I didn’t think about him. I worried about him from day to day what his life is like. Is he happy, does he goes to school or does he work? On a good days when I was happy, I imagined dancing with him. I ride the bike, I ran or I sang to him. I took a hot baths and I massaged his back. On days when my world was falling apart. He held me tight and we cri...

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“Xocolatl” by Anthony Mansueto

Submitted to Contest #226

Warning: This story contains references to (but no descriptions of) corporal punishment. It is set in an alternate history in which certain peoples are depicted in roles which they did not have in our own history. There is also a graphic image of a beating human heart. Matangi stood before Binah, the novice mistress, with her head bowed and her hands clasped behind her back. “This is the third time,” the older woman said to her. “It is an entirely unacceptable way to treat one of your sisters.” “But her claim was ridiculous! The ve...

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“When you dig for gold, dig deep” by Omar Scott

Submitted to Contest #226

Can you believe the nerve of this man? I should have known he wasn’t the right man for me when he told me he was a plumber. Plumbers make a little money, but still, they looking through people’s shit for living. Then for a first date he takes me to Olive Garden. Olive Garden! Really! And for flowers, he gives me tulips instead of roses. I mean who does that. When I finally go to his place, he lives in a regular old apartment. But the last straw was when he came to pick me up in a Chevy Traverse. Turns out the Cadillac Escalade that he got my...

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“She Just Wanted You To Understand ” by Audrey Schatz

Submitted to Contest #226

Evelyn used to be smart. She used to be at the top of her class; one of the smartest girls in school. Every school year, she would be the recipient of the Principal’s Award for maintaining an overall 4.0 average. She was involved in two after-school extra-curriculars, which often resulted in her staying at school until 6:00 pm almost every day. She had a part-time job too, as a retail associate. It wasn’t much, and she didn’t work crazy hours, but it was enough to save some money for university tuition. Evelyn was a high achiever, worked p...

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“The Plan” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

Submitted to Contest #226

This year, I have a plan. I’m prepared. I’ve practiced mantras. I meditate and have a gratitude journal and this year I am not going to ‘ruin Christmas dinner’ as my youngest son told me I did last year when he shocked us all with his engagement to Hannah. This year is going to be different. I have a plan. I will not compare my children. I will not judge them. They are adults and can make their own decisions. I inhale for five and let it out for five seconds. Repeat. I love my family. My family loves me. The doorbell rings, bu...

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“Not Who I Thought You Were” by Lexie Hassan

Submitted to Contest #226

Here I am again, just like every year. I know the holiday’s are supposed to be the “happiest time of year” and everything, so I’m sorry to all of the holiday lovers, but I absolutely hate the holidays. Every year I get dragged into stupid holiday dinners with my family and I’m sick of it. No one cares about talking to me, and it’s just a bunch of politics, and sports talk, and the other kids get included but they’ve never liked me. Let me introduce you to my family. It all started with my Grandpa Jack, who recently retired from work a...

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“Not so Sneaky Will” by Ellie Hickman

Submitted to Contest #226

One day Ollie Soren was at her desk in math class. “Ok people I am Miss.Hunter and today we are going to be learning about dividing decimals.Yay”. She was being sarcastic. She had gray hair, a black shirt, and has been working at Bird Creek Elementary with 5th grade classes for 40 years. She saw some kids working on their computers and walked over and said “No need for those computers in this class.” She shut them and walked away and said “Ok so in this class you will be listening to me, and if not you won't know what to do. “So listen up…”A...

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“Midnight Train” by Tars Coulembier

Submitted to Contest #226

There he stood, waiting for the midnight train to arrive in just a moment. He was wearing the same gray coat he wore on the night we first went to the theater together, the night we first kissed near the end of the film. His hair was neatly combed, and he was wearing the watch I had given him on the first of August, years ago. I could not stop staring at him. He had this strange aura around him that I just could not resist. I looked at the clock hanging right above me, showing how little time I had left to see him. My eyes went down to look ...

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“Negative Space” by Jade Lozon

Submitted to Contest #226

Sensitive Content Warning: eating disorders, underage drinking Oliver hoped that this Thanksgiving would be better than last year's. To be fair, he didn't think he was setting a very high bar. Family members that Oliver only saw once or twice a year made comments about how much more beautiful his sister was now that she was “all better,” Oliver sympathized with her but didn’t dare to comment on how horrendously inappropriate the comments were, especially coupled with the next set of comments being about how much Oliver had grown and how ...

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At some point in your story, a character says “You’re better than this…”.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 56 stories

“Contagic” by Haley Roeder

“Hostile Environments” by Sue Leather

“GRACE TO BETTER” by Kelsea I

“The Fateful Gift” by Janet Carl

“Bite Your Tongue” by Jennifer Pletcher Borg

“The Tunnel of Temptation” by James Fritz

“You made it…you are better than him” by Perla Horn

“Xocolatl” by Anthony Mansueto

“When you dig for gold, dig deep” by Omar Scott

“She Just Wanted You To Understand ” by Audrey Schatz

“The Plan” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

“Not Who I Thought You Were” by Lexie Hassan

“Not so Sneaky Will” by Ellie Hickman

“Midnight Train” by Tars Coulembier

“Negative Space” by Jade Lozon

🌟 Similar prompts

Your family’s holiday dinners always end with everyone at each other’s throats. This year you’re determined to keep a low profile, but your patience is being put to the test.

Your character finally gives into a temptation they've been avoiding, and becomes better because of it.

Write a story about somebody trying to rationalize giving into temptation, even though they know they shouldn’t.

Black Friday is the one day of the year where the Devil makes selling your soul a good thing, although there are some bizarre T’s & C’s.

Contest #226

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

189

Contest entries

87

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: