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How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist

Rosemary Tantra Bensko and Sean Glatch  |  May 7, 2024  |  7 Comments

how to write a short story

The short story is a fiction writer’s laboratory: here is where you can experiment with characters, plots, and ideas without the heavy lifting of writing a novel. Learning how to write a short story is essential to mastering the art of storytelling . With far fewer words to worry about, storytellers can make many more mistakes—and strokes of genius!—through experimentation and the fun of fiction writing.

Nonetheless, the art of writing short stories is not easy to master. How do you tell a complete story in so few words? What does a story need to have in order to be successful? Whether you’re struggling with how to write a short story outline, or how to fully develop a character in so few words, this guide is your starting point.

Famous authors like Virginia Woolf, Haruki Murakami, and Agatha Christie have used the short story form to play with ideas before turning those stories into novels. Whether you want to master the elements of fiction, experiment with novel ideas, or simply have fun with storytelling, here’s everything you need on how to write a short story step by step.

How to Write a Short Story: Contents

The Core Elements of a Short Story

How to write a short story outline, how to write a short story step by step, how to write a short story: length and setting, how to write a short story: point of view, how to write a short story: protagonist, antagonist, motivation, how to write a short story: characters, how to write a short story: prose, how to write a short story: story structure, how to write a short story: capturing reader interest, where to read and submit short stories.

There’s no secret formula to writing a short story. However, a good short story will have most or all of the following elements:

  • A protagonist with a certain desire or need. It is essential for the protagonist to want something they don’t have, otherwise they will not drive the story forward.
  • A clear dilemma. We don’t need much backstory to see how the dilemma started; we’re primarily concerned with how the protagonist resolves it.
  • A decision. What does the protagonist do to resolve their dilemma?
  • A climax. In Freytag’s Pyramid , the climax of a story is when the tension reaches its peak, and the reader discovers the outcome of the protagonist’s decision(s).
  • An outcome. How does the climax change the protagonist? Are they a different person? Do they have a different philosophy or outlook on life?

Of course, short stories also utilize the elements of fiction , such as a setting , plot , and point of view . It helps to study these elements and to understand their intricacies. But, when it comes to laying down the skeleton of a short story, the above elements are what you need to get started.

Note: a short story rarely, if ever, has subplots. The focus should be entirely on a single, central storyline. Subplots will either pull focus away from the main story, or else push the story into the territory of novellas and novels.

The shorter the story is, the fewer of these elements are essentials. If you’re interested in writing short-short stories, check out our guide on how to write flash fiction .

Some writers are “pantsers”—they “write by the seat of their pants,” making things up on the go with little more than an idea for a story. Other writers are “plotters,” meaning they decide the story’s structure in advance of writing it.

You don’t need a short story outline to write a good short story. But, if you’d like to give yourself some scaffolding before putting words on the page, this article answers the question of how to write a short story outline:

https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-story-outline

There are many ways to approach the short story craft, but this method is tried-and-tested for writers of all levels. Here’s how to write a short story step-by-step.

1. Start With an Idea

Often, generating an idea is the hardest part. You want to write, but what will you write about?

What’s more, it’s easy to start coming up with ideas and then dismissing them. You want to tell an authentic, original story, but everything you come up with has already been written, it seems.

Here are a few tips:

  • Originality presents itself in your storytelling, not in your ideas. For example, the premise of both Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ostrovsky’s The Snow Maiden are very similar: two men and two women, in intertwining love triangles, sort out their feelings for each other amidst mischievous forest spirits, love potions, and friendship drama. The way each story is written makes them very distinct from one another, to the point where, unless it’s pointed out to you, you might not even notice the similarities.
  • An idea is not a final draft. You will find that exploring the possibilities of your story will generate something far different than the idea you started out with. This is a good thing—it means you made the story your own!
  • Experiment with genres and tropes. Even if you want to write literary fiction , pay attention to the narrative structures that drive genre stories, and practice your storytelling using those structures. Again, you will naturally make the story your own simply by playing with ideas.

If you’re struggling simply to find ideas, try out this prompt generator , or pull prompts from this Twitter .

2. Outline, OR Conceive Your Characters

If you plan to outline, do so once you’ve generated an idea. You can learn about how to write a short story outline earlier in this article.

If you don’t plan to outline, you should at least start with a character or characters. Certainly, you need a protagonist, but you should also think about any characters that aid or inhibit your protagonist’s journey.

When thinking about character development, ask the following questions:

  • What is my character’s background? Where do they come from, how did they get here, where do they want to be?
  • What does your character desire the most? This can be both material or conceptual, like “fitting in” or “being loved.”
  • What is your character’s fatal flaw? In other words, what limitation prevents the protagonist from achieving their desire? Often, this flaw is a blind spot that directly counters their desire. For example, self hatred stands in the way of a protagonist searching for love.
  • How does your character think and speak? Think of examples, both fictional and in the real world, who might resemble your character.

In short stories, there are rarely more characters than a protagonist, an antagonist (if relevant), and a small group of supporting characters. The more characters you include, the longer your story will be. Focus on making only one or two characters complex: it is absolutely okay to have the rest of the cast be flat characters that move the story along.

Learn more about character development here:

https://writers.com/character-development-definition

3. Write Scenes Around Conflict

Once you have an outline or some characters, start building scenes around conflict. Every part of your story, including the opening sentence, should in some way relate to the protagonist’s conflict.

Conflict is the lifeblood of storytelling: without it, the reader doesn’t have a clear reason to keep reading. Loveable characters are not enough, as the story has to give the reader something to root for.

Take, for example, Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Cask of Amontillado . We start at the conflict: the narrator has been slighted by Fortunato, and plans to exact revenge. Every scene in the story builds tension and follows the protagonist as he exacts this revenge.

In your story, start writing scenes around conflict, and make sure each paragraph and piece of dialogue relates, in some way, to your protagonist’s unmet desires.

Read more about writing effective conflict here:

What is Conflict in a Story? Definition and Examples

4. Write Your First Draft

The scenes you build around conflict will eventually be stitched into a complete story. Make sure as the story progresses that each scene heightens the story’s tension, and that this tension remains unbroken until the climax resolves whether or not your protagonist meets their desires.

Don’t stress too hard on writing a perfect story. Rather, take Anne Lamott’s advice, and “write a shitty first draft.” The goal is not to pen a complete story at first draft; rather, it’s to set ideas down on paper. You are simply, as Shannon Hale suggests, “shoveling sand into a box so that later [you] can build castles.”

5. Step Away, Breathe, Revise

Whenever Stephen King finishes a novel, he puts it in a drawer and doesn’t think about it for 6 weeks. With short stories, you probably don’t need to take as long of a break. But, the idea itself is true: when you’ve finished your first draft, set it aside for a while. Let yourself come back to the story with fresh eyes, so that you can confidently revise, revise, revise .

In revision, you want to make sure each word has an essential place in the story, that each scene ramps up tension, and that each character is clearly defined. The culmination of these elements allows a story to explore complex themes and ideas, giving the reader something to think about after the story has ended.

6. Compare Against Our Short Story Checklist

Does your story have everything it needs to succeed? Compare it against this short story checklist, as written by our instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko.

Below is a collection of practical short story writing tips by Writers.com instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko . Each paragraph is its own checklist item: a core element of short story writing advice to follow unless you have clear reasons to the contrary. We hope it’s a helpful resource in your own writing.

Update 9/1/2020: We’ve now made a summary of Rosemary’s short story checklist available as a PDF download . Enjoy!

1000 word short story essay

Click to download

Your short story is 1000 to 7500 words in length.

The story takes place in one time period, not spread out or with gaps other than to drive someplace, sleep, etc. If there are those gaps, there is a space between the paragraphs, the new paragraph beginning flush left, to indicate a new scene.

Each scene takes place in one location, or in continual transit, such as driving a truck or flying in a plane.

Unless it’s a very lengthy Romance story, in which there may be two Point of View (POV) characters, there is one POV character. If we are told what any character secretly thinks, it will only be the POV character. The degree to which we are privy to the unexpressed thoughts, memories and hopes of the POV character remains consistent throughout the story.

You avoid head-hopping by only having one POV character per scene, even in a Romance. You avoid straying into even brief moments of telling us what other characters think other than the POV character. You use words like “apparently,” “obviously,” or “supposedly” to suggest how non-POV-characters think rather than stating it.

Your short story has one clear protagonist who is usually the character changing most.

Your story has a clear antagonist, who generally makes the protagonist change by thwarting his goals.

(Possible exception to the two short story writing tips above: In some types of Mystery and Action stories, particularly in a series, etc., the protagonist doesn’t necessarily grow personally, but instead his change relates to understanding the antagonist enough to arrest or kill him.)

The protagonist changes with an Arc arising out of how he is stuck in his Flaw at the beginning of the story, which makes the reader bond with him as a human, and feel the pain of his problems he causes himself. (Or if it’s the non-personal growth type plot: he’s presented at the beginning of the story with a high-stakes problem that requires him to prevent or punish a crime.)

The protagonist usually is shown to Want something, because that’s what people normally do, defining their personalities and behavior patterns, pushing them onward from day to day. This may be obvious from the beginning of the story, though it may not become heightened until the Inciting Incident , which happens near the beginning of Act 1. The Want is usually something the reader sort of wants the character to succeed in, while at the same time, knows the Want is not in his authentic best interests. This mixed feeling in the reader creates tension.

The protagonist is usually shown to Need something valid and beneficial, but at first, he doesn’t recognize it, admit it, honor it, integrate it with his Want, or let the Want go so he can achieve the Need instead. Ideally, the Want and Need can be combined in a satisfying way toward the end for the sake of continuity of forward momentum of victoriously achieving the goals set out from the beginning. It’s the encounters with the antagonist that forcibly teach the protagonist to prioritize his Needs correctly and overcome his Flaw so he can defeat the obstacles put in his path.

The protagonist in a personal growth plot needs to change his Flaw/Want but like most people, doesn’t automatically do that when faced with the problem. He tries the easy way, which doesn’t work. Only when the Crisis takes him to a low point does he boldly change enough to become victorious over himself and the external situation. What he learns becomes the Theme.

Each scene shows its main character’s goal at its beginning, which aligns in a significant way with the protagonist’s overall goal for the story. The scene has a “charge,” showing either progress toward the goal or regression away from the goal by the ending. Most scenes end with a negative charge, because a story is about not obtaining one’s goals easily, until the end, in which the scene/s end with a positive charge.

The protagonist’s goal of the story becomes triggered until the Inciting Incident near the beginning, when something happens to shake up his life. This is the only major thing in the story that is allowed to be a random event that occurs to him.

Your characters speak differently from one another, and their dialogue suggests subtext, what they are really thinking but not saying: subtle passive-aggressive jibes, their underlying emotions, etc.

Your characters are not illustrative of ideas and beliefs you are pushing for, but come across as real people.

Your language is succinct, fresh and exciting, specific, colorful, avoiding clichés and platitudes. Sentence structures vary. In Genre stories, the language is simple, the symbolism is direct, and words are well-known, and sentences are relatively short. In Literary stories , you are freer to use more sophisticated ideas, words, sentence structures, styles , and underlying metaphors and implied motifs.

Your plot elements occur in the proper places according to classical Three Act Structure (or Freytag’s Pyramid ) so the reader feels he has vicariously gone through a harrowing trial with the protagonist and won, raising his sense of hope and possibility. Literary short stories may be more subtle, with lower stakes, experimenting beyond classical structures like the Hero’s Journey. They can be more like vignettes sometimes, or even slice-of-life, though these types are hard to place in publications.

In Genre stories, all the questions are answered, threads are tied up, problems are solved, though the results of carnage may be spread over the landscape. In Literary short stories, you are free to explore uncertainty, ambiguity, and inchoate, realistic endings that suggest multiple interpretations, and unresolved issues.

Some Literary stories may be nonrealistic, such as with Surrealism, Absurdism, New Wave Fabulism, Weird and Magical Realism . If this is what you write, they still need their own internal logic and they should not be bewildering as to the what the reader is meant to experience, whether it’s a nuanced, unnameable mood or a trip into the subconscious.

Literary stories may also go beyond any label other than Experimental. For example, a story could be a list of To Do items on a paper held by a magnet to a refrigerator for the housemate to read. The person writing the list may grow more passive-aggressive and manipulative as the list grows, and we learn about the relationship between the housemates through the implied threats and cajoling.

Your short story is suspenseful, meaning readers hope the protagonist will achieve his best goal, his Need, by the Climax battle against the antagonist.

Your story entertains. This is especially necessary for Genre short stories.

The story captivates readers at the very beginning with a Hook, which can be a puzzling mystery to solve, an amazing character’s or narrator’s Voice, an astounding location, humor, a startling image, or a world the reader wants to become immersed in.

Expository prose (telling, like an essay) takes up very, very little space in your short story, and it does not appear near the beginning. The story is in Narrative format instead, in which one action follows the next. You’ve removed every unnecessary instance of Expository prose and replaced it with showing Narrative. Distancing words like “used to,” “he would often,” “over the years, he,” “each morning, he” indicate that you are reporting on a lengthy time period, summing it up, rather than sticking to Narrative format, in which immediacy makes the story engaging.

You’ve earned the right to include Expository Backstory by making the reader yearn for knowing what happened in the past to solve a mystery. This can’t possibly happen at the beginning, obviously. Expository Backstory does not take place in the first pages of your story.

Your reader cares what happens and there are high stakes (especially important in Genre stories). Your reader worries until the end, when the protagonist survives, succeeds in his quest to help the community, gets the girl, solves or prevents the crime, achieves new scientific developments, takes over rule of his realm, etc.

Every sentence is compelling enough to urge the reader to read the next one—because he really, really wants to—instead of doing something else he could be doing. Your story is not going to be assigned to people to analyze in school like the ones you studied, so you have found a way from the beginning to intrigue strangers to want to spend their time with your words.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or want to publish your own stories, you’ll find great literary journals for writers of all backgrounds at this article:

https://writers.com/short-story-submissions

Learn How to Write a Short Story at Writers.com

The short story takes an hour to learn and a lifetime to master. Learn how to write a short story with Writers.com. Our upcoming fiction courses will give you the ropes to tell authentic, original short stories that captivate and entrance your readers.

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Rosemary – Is there any chance you could add a little something to your checklist? I’d love to know the best places to submit our short stories for publication. Thanks so much.

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Hi, Kim Hanson,

Some good places to find publications specific to your story are NewPages, Poets and Writers, Duotrope, and The Submission Grinder.

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“ In Genre stories, all the questions are answered, threads are tied up, problems are solved, though the results of carnage may be spread over the landscape.”

Not just no but NO.

See for example the work of MacArthur Fellow Kelly Link.

[…] How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist […]

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Thank you for these directions and tips. It’s very encouraging to someone like me, just NOW taking up writing.

[…] Writers.com. A great intro to writing. https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-short-story […]

' src=

Hello: I started to write seriously in the late 70’s. I loved to write in High School in the early 60’s but life got in the way. Around the 00’s many of the obstacles disappeared. Since then I have been writing more, and some of my work was vanilla transgender stories. Here in 2024 transgender stories have become tiresome because I really don’t have much in common with that mind set.

The glare of an editor that could potentially pay me is quite daunting, so I would like to start out unpaid to see where that goes. I am not sure if a writer’s agent would be a good fit for me. My work life was in the Trades, not as some sort of Academic. That alone causes timidity, but I did read about a fiction writer who had been a house painter.

This is my first effort to publish since the late 70’s. My pseudonym would perhaps include Ahabidah.

Gwen Boucher.

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Essay Writing Guide

1000 Word Essay

Nova A.

1000 Word Essay - A Simple Guide With Examples

11 min read

1000 Word Essay

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A 1000-word essay is a common assignment for all students, regardless of their subjects and academic level. 

Although it sounds simple, it can become daunting when you don’t know where to start and how to write it. 

So, how do you write a 1000-word essay? 

Continue reading this blog and get to learn everything you need to know about the 1000-word essay.  

Arrow Down

  • 1. What is a 1000 Word Essay?
  • 2. 1000 Word Essay Structure
  • 3. How to Write a 1000 Word Essay?
  • 4. How to Format a 1000 Word Essay
  • 5. 1000 Word Essay Examples
  • 6. 1000 Word Essay Topic Examples
  • 7. How Long is a 1000 Word Essay? 
  • 8. How Many Paragraphs Will a 1000-Word Essay Be? 
  • 9. How Many References for a 1000 Word Essay? 
  • 10. How Long Does It Take to Write 1000 Words?
  • 11. How to Write Different Types of 1000 Word Essays?
  • 12. Tips for Writing a 1000-Word Essay 

What is a 1000 Word Essay?

A 1000 word essay is an essay that covers any topic or theme within a 1000-word limit. It typically covers about 3-4 pages. 

The main purpose of this essay is to:

  • Present a concise and coherent argument in response to a stimulus or question.
  • Express the opinion of the writer.
  • Improve the writer’s writing, thinking, and critical skills

Moreover, a 1000 word essay is not an essay type. It is a format that can be used for writing any type of essay, including:

  • Descriptive essay
  • Narrative essay  
  • Persuasive Essay
  • Argumentative Essay
  • Problem and Solution Essay

1000 Word Essay Structure

A 1000 word essay consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, just like all other essays. However, the only difference is the word count distribution across the essay. 

When writing a 1000-word essay, the introduction should be about 100-150 words, the main body should be about 700 words, and the conclusion should be about 100-150 words.

Here is the essay structure to help you divide your word count appropriately across the 1000 words.

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay?

Now that you know how this essay is structured, let’s move on to how to write it. Here are some steps that you can follow to compose an excellent essay.

  • Choose an Engaging Topic

Choosing an interesting essay topic is necessary to keep the readers engaged. For t essay, make sure you choose a topic that you can cover within your word count. 

  • Start the Research

Doing research is one of the most important parts of writing an essay. It ensures that you have all the information to create a strong composition. You should always make sure your sources are credible so no misleading info gets into your work. 

  • Develop the Outline

An outline is the main element of essay writing that can save time, make things easier, and earn a better grade. It will also help your essays be logically structured and easy for others to read. Without a proper essay outline , you might forget the main points you should add to your essay. 

  • Create a Compelling Introduction

An essay introduction is one of the most important components of a paper or essay. This part should be 100-150 words. 

Start an essay with a catchy hook and then provide background information about your topic. Finally, end the introduction with a strong thesis statement , indicating its main argument. 

  • Write Effective Body Paragraphs

The body section should be 600-800 words long, and each section must be 200-300. 

Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that indicates the main point. Afterward, present your arguments and support them with evidence. Also, conclude each paragraph with a transition to maintain a logical flow. 

  • Write a Strong Conclusion 

The conclusion is the final part of your essay, where you offer some final thoughts and tie together the key points. An essay conclusion recaps all the main points and restates the thesis statement in an authoritative way. 

  • Proofread and Revise the Draft

Once you finish writing your first draft, proofread it for any mistakes and potential improvements. Edit, revise, and polish your essay until it becomes the best version of itself.

How to Format a 1000 Word Essay

Formatting an essay involves setting the layout of the essay to make it easy to read and understand. Different formatting styles, such as the APA, MLA, Chicago, and others, prescribe different rules. 

However, some aspects of formatting are common across different styles. Here is how you can format your 1000-word essay properly:

  • Font Style: Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri
  • Font Size: 12-points
  • Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides
  • Line-Spacing: Double-spaced
  • Headings: Headings and subheadings should be distinguished from the normal font

Other specifics, such as the page number, title page, references, etc., depend on the instructions of your professor. So always make sure to ask your instructor for complete formatting guidelines.

Learn more about writing formats with our comprehensive essay format guide.

1000 Word Essay Examples

Reading some 1000 word essay samples is an effective way to understand how these essays work. Here are some 1000 word essay example PDFs to give you a taste of what a 1000 words essay looks like.

1000 Word Essay on Human Rights

1000 Word Essay on Discipline

1000 Word Essay on Time Management

1000 Word Essay on Punctuality

1000 Word Essay on Leadership

1000 Word Essay On Why I Want To Be A Nurse

1000 Word Essay on Respect

1000 Word Essay on Global Warming

1000 Word Essay on Accountability

1000 Word Essay Topic Examples

Finding an interesting topic for your reader can be difficult, but it's worth the time. Here are some essay topic ideas that you can use for your essay. 

  • Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations.
  • Should Students get limited access to the Internet?
  • Why is learning history important?
  • Cell phones should not be allowed in schools.
  • What is the best role for news reporters in the digital era?
  • What are the causes and effects of terrorism?
  • Does climate change occur due to human activity?
  • What is the effect of family vacations on family relationships?
  • How is social media changing parent and child relationships?
  • Is summer school designed to help children?

What Topics Are Suitable For 1000-Word Essays? 

If you haven't been assigned a topic, you will have to choose one yourself. To come up with a good topic, follow these tips: 

  • Ask yourself: what is the type of your essay? Is it informative, argumentative, persuasive, or exploratory? It will help you think of relevant topics. 
  • Brainstorm. Come up with a list of potential essay topics that you can cover in 1000 words. 
  • Narrow down this list down to a topic that you can easily discuss. Make sure you have enough information to write about that topic.

How Long is a 1000 Word Essay? 

The number of pages in a 1000 word essay differs based on formatting, such as line spacing and font size. 

A 1000-word essay can take up to anywhere between 3-4 pages when using standard academic formatting (12-pt font size & Double-spaced).

How Many Paragraphs Will a 1000-Word Essay Be? 

A 1000 word essay usually contains 5 paragraphs. It includes one paragraph introduction, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion paragraph. 

However, there could be 4 to 6 paragraphs based on your essay’s topic and structure. 

How Many References for a 1000 Word Essay? 

The number of references for a 1000 word essay depends on how many sources you use in your essay. However, 12 references are enough for a 1000 word essay.

You can also consult your professor and add references to your essay because all professors have different requirements. 

How Long Does It Take to Write 1000 Words?

On average, a 1000 word essay can take up to 3 hours to write. However, the time it takes to write this essay depends on your knowledge of the topic and your writing speed. 

Watch this video to see a step-by-step live example of how to write a 1000 word essay in minutes. 

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 150 Words?

To write 150 words, it will take you approximately 30 minutes.

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 300 Words?

Writing 300 words will take approximately 1 hour. 

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 400 Words? 

To write 400 words, it will take you approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 500 Words?

To write 500 words, it will take you approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes.

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 600 Words? 

To write 600 words, it will take you approximately 2 hours.

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 800 Words?

To write 800 words, it will take you approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes.

How Long Will It Take Me to Write 1000 Words?

To write 1000 words, it will take you approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Go through this teacher’s rubric to gather relevant essay content for a 1000 word essay.

How to Write Different Types of 1000 Word Essays?

There are many different types of essays that you can write in 1000 words. Some of them are briefly discussed below;

Descriptive Essay: This essay is about giving a clear and vivid description. You might use an essay to describe a place, person, object, or memory that is special to you.

Narrative Essay: In a narrative essay, you write about a personal experience in the form of a narrative. That is, you need to tell a story in 100 words. 

Persuasive Essay: This paper presents facts and arguments to convince the reader to agree with the writer. Use logic and evidence to support your argument.

Expository Essay: These essays offer an informative and balanced analysis of a topic. This means that you need to define or explain the topic in detail.

Tips for Writing a 1000-Word Essay 

Below given are some tips that our professional writers recommend. 

  • Select the right essay topic.
  • Follow the correct essay format.
  • Use Times New Roman font, Calibri font, and Arial font.
  • Use 250 words in each body paragraph.
  • Write a brief conclusion and never extend it to 500 words.
  • Keep the page count and number of words in mind.
  • Follow the specific pattern so you don’t spend hours writing. 

To sum up, that was everything you needed to know to get started on your 1000-word essay. Read some examples, choose an interesting topic, and follow the writing steps provided above, and you’ll be able to craft an excellent essay in no time.

Still in need of more help? Don't worry, we've got your back! If you require writing assistance from professional experts, look no further! At MyPerfectWords.com , we offer top-notch services with quick turnaround times and affordable prices. Simply request " write my essay for me " and let our expert team take care of the rest. 

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Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.

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How to Write a 1000 Word Essay: Structure, Length, Steps & Examples

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay

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A 1000-word essay is not merely distinguished from other types of essays by its length or number of pages it fills. It requires a deeper level of engagement with the subject. This includes a thoughtful approach to a selected topic and more extensive research that goes beyond what's typically required for shorter essays.

Writing and structuring your 1000 words essay correctly can be a time-consuming process, unless you know how to deal with it. In 5 minutes of reading, you will learn how to write a 1000 word essay and what mistakes a student can commit in such essays. From the number of paragraphs to specific examples, we have prepared all essential information to help you finish your assignment like professional essay writers .

What is a 1000 Word Essay? 

A 1000-word essay is a common format of academic writing that typically spans about 3-4 pages, depending on the formatting. This essay format provides a succinct, yet, thorough exploration of a particular topic. By writing 1000 words, you can delve into an issue, argue a point, or explain a concept in detail.

The main purpose of a 1000-word essay is to showcase student’s critical thinking skills. Teachers or professors often assign such tasks to promote in-depth analysis, research and evaluation. 

Unlike shorter forms of academic writing such as a 500-word essay, 1000-word essays allow for a more comprehensive topic investigation. This format demands a well-developed thesis statement and robust arguments supported by evidence. Each idea must be explored sufficiently, with room for introducing counterarguments and rebuttals, if necessary. 

Compared to longer formats, like research papers or dissertations, a 1000-word essay requires a more concise and focused approach.

When Will I Need to Write a 1000 Word Essay?

You will need to create a 1000-word essay in a variety of contexts:

  • In high school, you might encounter this essay format in English or history classes, often as a way to assess your understanding of a literary piece, historical event, or a concept.
  • In college, the scope broadens. A 1000-word essay may be required in a wide range of subjects, from humanities and social sciences to business and STEM fields. Here, it serves to gauge your ability to analyze a topic deeply, synthesize research, and present cogent arguments.
  • Outside of coursework, you might be asked to write a 1000-word essay for college application process , scholarship competitions, or internships. These essays typically aim to explore your personal experiences, goals, or reflections.

Types of 1000 Word Essays 

Whether you’re writing for school or a project, there are different types of 1000-word essays you may encounter. They all differ by purpose,structural requirements and topics:

  • Persuasive / argumentative essay : Aims to convince readers by presenting compelling arguments and evidence for a certain perspective.
  • Expository essay : Explains an issue or concept to readers by providing a comprehensive overview.
  • Problem and solution essay : Elaborates on existing issues and ways to solve them.
  • Cause and effect essay : Explains the causes and influences of a specific phenomena or event.
  • Compare and contrast essay : Analyzes features, differences, and similarities between 2 topics or subjects.
  • Descriptive essay : Describes a subject using vivid language and metaphors.
  • Narrative essay : Tells a story, usually based on personal experiences.
  • Definition essay : Provides a meaning and interpretation of a concept.
  • Informative essay : Educates the audience on a chosen matter.

1000-Word Essay Structure 

Regardless of the type of essay , there is a universal outline you should follow when crafting your 1000-word paper. It may differ slightly depending on specific requirements and instructions, but the overall structure of an essay remains the same.

The basic 1000 essay structure includes an introduction, body paragraphs (typically 4-6 in this case), and conclusion. Each section implements a distinct goal:

  • Introduction: Introduces your topic and presents an argument or thesis statement.
  • Body paragraphs: Break down the main idea into multiple points and provide evidence to support them.
  • Conclusion: Rounds off the critical points and offers key takeaways.

When writing a one thousand word essay, you should stick to the 70-30 rule. This means that the introduction and conclusion should take up around 30% of the total word count, while a body section should comprise 70%.

Now that you are familiar with the major parts of a 1000 word essay outline, let’s discuss how many words and what information each section contains.

Introduction (~100-150 Words)

The introduction of your 1000 word essay should focus on providing background information needed to understand the main point of your paper. This section should be about 10-15% of the total word count, which equals 100-150 words for a 1000 word essay.

Your opening paragraph should fulfill the following tasks: 

  • Hook the audience with facts, stats or an interesting story
  • Reveal the topic’s background
  • Present your thesis statement.

Body Part (~700-750 Words)

Each body paragraph should focus on a single point and provide evidence to support it. Aim for 3-5 sentences per paragraph, totaling 3-4 body paragraphs or 700-750 words. Here’re the things you should accomplish within your body paragraphs:

  • Open each body paragraph with a topic sentence
  • Supply each argument with important evidence and examples
  • Tie the paragraphs together with logical connections.

As you write a 1000 word essay, go from the weakest argument to the strongest one.

Conclusion (~100-150 Words)

Your conclusion should restate your thesis and wrap up the argument you’ve been making throughout your 1000 word essay. Aim for 100-150 words, which is about 10-15% of the total word count.

Conclusion should accomplish the following goals:

  • Restate your thesis statement
  • Remind the audience about your main points
  • Leave your audience with a thought-provoking idea.

How Long Is a 1000 Word Essay? 

At this point, you might wonder “how many pages is a 1000 word essay?” The answer is simple. It all depends on various formatting conditions. the font size and spacing you are applying to your text. The exact length is determined by the font choice, font size, and spacing. 

Let’s look at several typical formats and how they influence the length of your essay.

1000 Word Essay Length in Pages

If you are stuck with your assignment, delegate this challenging task to academic experts. Mind that a cheap college essay writing service may help you handle this assignment out quickly. 

>> Learn more: How Long Is an Essay

How Many Paragraphs Is a 1000 Word Essay?

A 1000-word essay typically consists of 6-8 paragraphs. In this case, a classic 5-paragraph essay structure with 3 body paragraphs might not suffice. When addressing a more intricate matter, you might have more than 3 points to discuss in your body section. In such cases, your essay could extend to 4-6 body paragraphs. For example, if you're examining the causes, effects, and solutions to a particular problem, you might use a separate paragraph for each individual aspect.

1000 Word Essay Example 

So what does a 1000 word essay look like? Below, you can spot a free downloadable sample that showcases how a paper of this length can be structured. Hover over this example to create your own piece.

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How Long Does It Take to Write a 1000 Word Essay?

How long you will write a 1000-word essay largely depends on your preparatory level and respective knowledge in the field. A subject that you're well-versed in might take less time to write about compared to a topic that's entirely new to you. For example, a student majoring in environmental science might take 2-3 hours to write a 1000-word essay on pollution. They likely already have foundational knowledge and can easily access relevant resources. In contrast, if the same student is tasked with an essay on theoretical physics, the research and understanding required could extend the writing time to 5-6 hours or even days. 

Your strategy also matters. If you've planned your essay well, you'll find the writing process smoother. Don’t hesitate to check our suggestions on how to write essays faster to boost your speed.

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay? 

To compose a 1000 word essay, you’ll need to plan your approach. Take the time to think through your arguments and decide on the structure of your paper. Stick to our 7 simple steps on how to write a 1000 word essay easily.

1. Understand Your Essay Prompt

Assignment instructions lay the basis of your entire essay. Be sure to read guidelines patiently and make note of any special demands. Pay close attention to any word/page limit as well as the due date. If you’re writing a 1000-word paper for school, ask your instructor if there are any particular requirements regarding the format or content.

2. Choose and Research Your Topic 

Pick a topic that interests you and aligns with your prompt. Once you have your subject, try to come up with a unique angle to approach the issue. Research your arguments and decent examples to make sure that they are fact-based.

>> Learn more: How to Title an Essay

1000 Word Essay Topics & Ideas to Write About 

In case you are running out of ideas, here are some interesting 1000-word essay topics that might be of help:

  • Should euthanasia be legal?
  • Is the death penalty justified?
  • What are the pros and cons of social media use?
  • Should all people have access to free education?
  • Does a higher minimum wage lead to higher living standards?
  • Is private healthcare more effective than public healthcare?
  • Should animal testing be banned?
  • Are there alternatives to fossil fuels?
  • What health benefits does meditation provide?
  • Are self-driving cars dangerous or life-saving?
  • How can we reduce human trafficking globally?
  • Is religion necessary for a moral society?
  • Are genetically modified foods good or bad?
  • How has technology impacted our education system?
  • Should we teach children about sex in schools?
  • What can be done to reduce carbon footprints worldwide?
  • Is faux fur cruelty-free and eco-friendly?
  • How can we address homelessness in our communities?
  • Is artificial intelligence a threat or a benefit to humanity?
  • Are there positive outcomes of globalization?

3. Formulate Your Thesis Statement

Developing a thesis statement is a critical step in writing a 1000-word essay. Your thesis statement should comprise 1 or 2 sentences that respond to your prompt. Offer a concise preview of what you are going to discuss in your paper. 

Your thesis will guide your writing process, so make sure it’s specific and clear. At this stage, you may come up with a draft version of your statement. You can always revise it later on, if necessary.

4. Prepare an Outline with Approximate Word Count 

You won’t be able to sort out your thoughts without an explicit plan. That’s where you need to create a schematic outline for essay shaping all the points you want to mention. Think about what you already know about the subject and carry out extra research if necessary. Allocate an estimated word count for every part, ensuring that each argument is given enough space. 

Don’t expect to make it flawless. This is a preparatory step and you can always adjust the structure and reorganize your ideas according to the order of importance.

5. Write a 1000 Word Essay Using a Plan 

Now, all that is left to do is to write your 1000 word essay. Use a plan that you have prepared beforehand to start working on the first version of your paper – a rough draft . Focus on developing your major points you’ve indicated in the outline. Make sure you stick to the allotted word count. 

Start by  writing an introduction. Briefly present your topic and thesis statement. Then, approach each aspect and provide evidence to support your arguments in the body section of your essay. In the end, write a conclusion of your 1000 word essay that wraps all your points.

6. Reference Your Sources

When writing 1000 word essays, it’s important to use enough sources (around 7-10). This will demonstrate that you have conducted an in-depth investigation and your writing is driven by credible resources. Don’t forget to cite them accordingly every time you quote or paraphrase someone’s ideas. Depending on the format, you should include either in-text citations or footnotes in the body. The most common paper styles are APA , MLA , Chicago and Harvard , so double check which one is required.

7. Proofread and Polish 

Once you have written your 1000 word essay, you’re not done yet. Make sure to review your piece one last time and look for any typos, grammar or punctuation mistakes. You can also ask a friend or parent to proofread it and spot the areas that need improvement. This way, you will receive some valuable feedback. 

Pro tip: use our paper grader to rate your essay grammar, readability and uniqueness score.  

>> Learn more: How to Revise Essay

1000 Word Essay Format 

When writing a 1000 word essay, you should keep in mind that it follows the same structure as any other academic paper. All essays should include an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. Furthermore, depending on the format (MLA, APA, Chicago), your paper may also include a title page or reference list.

Is It Important to Stick to a 1000 Word Count? 

There may be situations when you can’t achieve the right amount of words and just leave your paper as is. However, adhering to a 1000-word count is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it demonstrates your ability to follow your instructor’s guidelines. Secondly, you will be prompted to communicate your ideas concisely, yet, efficiently. 

While small deviations of a few words are generally acceptable, make a conscious effort to stay as close to the 1000-word count as possible. Exceeding the word count may result in a lack of focus. Meanwhile, falling short may indicate incomplete analysis or insufficient supporting evidence. In either case, it reflects a failure to meet the requirements and may negatively impact your grade.

Tips for Writing a 1000 Words Essay

If you feel that creating 1000 word essays is too overwhelming, here are some tips to help you get through this task:

  • Manage your time. Consider how much time you afford to dedicate for each stage of the writing process, namely research, outlining, writing, editing, and proofreading. Dividing it into smaller chunks will make it more achievable.
  • Create a distraction-free environment. Find a quiet and comfortable space where you can concentrate on your writing without interruptions.
  • Build an outline. This will help you organize your ideas and order them logically.
  • Keep balance. Stick to your main topic and avoid going off on tangents. Make sure every paragraph remains on point.
  • Take notes. Use a dedicated notebook, digital note-taking app, or software to keep your notes in one place. Create separate sections or pages for different topics or sources to maintain organization.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a 1000 Word Essay

Before you begin writing a 1000-word essay, be aware of common mistakes that can hinder the quality of your work. Let’s go through the typical ones:

  • Going over the word count. Straying significantly beyond the word limit can lead to a lack of focus.
  • Insufficient proof. Making unsupported claims or assertions without providing evidence or examples weakens your arguments.
  • Writing irrelevant content. Including fluff, such as repetitive statements, excessive examples, or unrelated information is unacceptable.
  • Lack of own ideas and thoughts. An essay, independently of its type, is a place where the author should present their own opinions concerning the subject.
  • Overreliance on a single source. Relying solely on one source or perspective can result in a biased analysis. Make sure to gather information from multiple reputable sources and consider different viewpoints to present a well-rounded argument.

Bottom Line on How to Write 1000 Word Essay

Writing a 1000 words essay doesn’t have to be a tedious task. By following the essay writing tips and avoiding common mistakes, you'll be able to deliver a well-structured paper that will impress your professor. So get organized, read through our guide, and start writing! If needed, consider utilizing special instruments such as grammar tools or a word counter online .

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FAQ About 1000 Words Essay

1. how long should a 1000 word essay be.

A 1000 word essay should be between 3-4 pages in length, depending on the font size, text spacing and format. For example, if the font size is 12 pt and the text is double-spaced, a 1000 word essay will be around 4 pages. If the font size is 10 pt with single spacing applied, it would take approximately 2-3 pages.

2. How long should it take to write a 1000 word essay?

Generally speaking, it should take around 2-3 hours to write a 1000 word essay. However, if you are dealing with an unfamiliar topic or have difficulty finding information, you will need up to 4-6 hours to complete it.

3. How should I allocate my word count in a 1000 word essay?

When writing a 1000 word essay, it is important to distribute your word count reasonably. Generally speaking, the introduction should take 10-15% of your total word count (100-150 words). The body paragraphs should make up 70 % (700 words), and the conclusion should be around 10-15% (100 - 150 words).

4. What should I do if I'm struggling to reach the 1000 word count?

If you find yourself short of words, do extra research to identify additional points or evidence to expand upon. Delve deeper into your explanations and incorporate more examples or case studies. You may also consider alternative perspectives to reach 1000 words in an essay. However, it makes sense to prioritize the quality and coherence of your essay over quantity.

5. How can I reduce my word count if my essay exceeds 1000 words?

If your essay goes over 1000 words, scan through it again and remove any redundant points or phrases. Break down long sentences into shorter ones and delete unnecessary adjectives/adverbs. Finally, use a word count tool to identify which areas of your essay are too lengthy to further enhance them.

6. How to write a 1000 word essay in one night?

Completing a 1000 word essay in one night is possible, though it may require some additional effort. Start by creating a detailed outline of your ideas to help you remain organized. Set aside an hour or two for research and aim to have the majority of your writing done in the evening. Prioritize the most important points and write about those first, then fill in the details. Don’t forget to read through and edit your essay before submission.

7. How to write 1000 words quickly?

Writing 1000 words quickly requires careful planning and preparation. Establish a timer and set separate time limits for writing, researching and editing your essay. When writing, avoid long sentences and use simple language to communicate your ideas effectively.

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Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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1000-word essays aren’t hard. A student can write one in a day.

All it takes is a solid topic and some planning. Cook up three sources, organize them in a 5-paragraph format, and you’re good to go! But writing a 1000-word essay that’s interesting and meaningful may take more than that. Formatting requirements (MLA) and punctuation-loving professors can make toughen things up.

In our blog, we will explore how to write a 1000-word essay. After covering a few engaging and relevant topics, we’ll jump right into the essay structure. Make sure to stick around for helpful tips at the end. As always, EssayPro — essay service — is here if you need any extra help. Happy writing!

What if I Can't Come up With 1000 words?

The best tip that will shed light in the dark is writing in a non-stop regime. Just start writing without thinking about any word limit. Of course, it seems much more time-consuming and complicated. Nevertheless, this technique will let you understand and determine any gaps in your writing and then fix them in the shorter version of your draft.

Don’t panic if it ends up more than 2000+ words or more. Once you are done with the writing, read it several times, and highlight parts that you believe are worth attention. Then exclude all parts of the text that you think are unnecessary. Next step will be combining, polishing up and connecting them together. Include transitions between paragraphs to make sure that everything flows smoothly.

1000 Word Essay Example

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Choosing Topic for a 1000 Word Essays

Usually, instructors assign topics for such essays. If not - choosing a topic isn’t hard - make sure it fits the required essay type. Remember that you’ll have to know some background information and form a convincing argument on your topic.

The first thing to do is come up with a list of topics you find intriguing. Don’t settle for a generalized topic like “Gun control”. Instead, be more specific with your topic - “How have gun control laws affected gang activity in the state of California.” After making a list of about ten to fifteen essay topics - narrow it down and choose the best one. You may also be interested in an argumentative essay topics , read it.

These essays can sometimes be in-class assignments. Which means you’ll have to pick a topic and draft a quick outline on the spot. Here are some good sample topics for a 1000-word essay:

  • Video games were more immersive, challenging, and rewarding in the early 2000s compared to now
  • Superman is a role model superhero embodying traits people want to see in themselves: compassion, morality, and a sense of purpose
  • 2000 years later, Plato’s Republic still provides relevant insights into justice, education, and soul.
  • Forrest Gump is the greatest American movie ever made
  • Students should write more essays in school as it teaches vital critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • Before going to college, students should take a break from learning for at least a year
  • Winona Ryder is one of the most underrated American actresses
  • Alcohol and nicotine should be labeled and classified as drugs
  • These three artists prove that electric guitars have not gone out of fashion and are still a vital part of American music culture
  • Kendrick Lamar is one of the few rappers who does justice to African-American culture, history, and traditions through his music

If you need to write historical essay for 1000 words and you are struggling with the topic, ask our history essay writer for help.

Types of 1000 Word Essays

When a professor explains how to write a 1000-word essay, they will probably list several types of essay from which you may choose. Your choice of topic will depend on the type of essay. Here are the most common ones:

  • ‍ Persuasive Essay. Persuading a reader will require solid facts, logical reasoning, and reputable sources. ‍
  • Descriptive Essay. Vivid and illustrative language, describing a person, scene, object or memory, is the quintessence of the descriptive essay. ‍
  • Narrative Essay. Mostly written during college admissions, narrative essays tell a story rather than feed information. ‍
  • Expository essay. Digging deep into the roots of the topic, exposing every side of the argument, and deep critical analysis are what expository essays are notorious for.

How Long Is a 1000 Word Essay should be?

Actually, the number of pages that a thousand words might take depends on the format of those 1000 words. We found out that 1000 words take:

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay

These are some of the common requirements if we are talking about high school and college writing.

How to Structure a 1000 Word Essay

We advise students to avoid the common mistake of ignoring their essay’s structure. Another mistake is writing too many words about unnecessary parts. Use the following structure for 1000 word essay outline to avoid such mistakes:

Introduction (100-200 words)

An introduction must capture the reader’s attention and explain what the essay will be about. Introductions vary based on different types of essays. For example, in a narrative essay the story doesn’t start until after the introduction.

‍ In short, ever introduction has these three parts:

  • Hook or attention grabber;
  • Background information;
  • Thesis statement.

Body (800 words)

There are three body paragraphs in a 1000-word essay. Each one of them is focused on a specific point of discussion in the essay. The three body paragraphs work together to provide evidence and reasoning to support the thesis statement.

Each body paragraph has these four parts:

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay

  • Paragraph 1 (200-300 words)
  • ~ Topic sentence
  • ~ Concluding statement
  • Paragraph 2 (200-300 words)
  • Paragraph 3 (200-300 words)

Conclusion (100-200 words)

The conclusion of your paper should summarize all the main arguments and tie them together. As mentioned previously, everybody paragraph works to support the thesis statement. In your conclusion, you must explain how all of this relates together and proves your point.

Here are the three parts of a conclusion:

  • Summary of main points;
  • Restating the thesis;
  • Concluding statement.

If you still need help writing your essay, or possibly editing it, you can contact our essay rewriting service .

How to Format a 1000 Word Essay

Another thing that significantly impacts the grade is adhering to the correct paper format. In most cases, your professor will specify which font, margins, alignment and citation style to use. The title page is also formatted differently, depending on the essay.

In addition to the format, a significant technical part of your essay its citation style. The two most common styles are the APA and the MLA style, with the Chicago and Harvard styles being used less often.

Follow the correct essay format and citation style to avoid lessening your grade. You may also find the article on how to write a hypothesis useful. We recommend that you read it.

Useful Tips for Editing and Productivity

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay

The most important parts of writing an essay are organizing and editing. Writing is barely half of the work. We want to share some pro tips to save time writing and make your essay genuinely outstanding.

  • Write an Outline first: Most of the time, a 1000-word essay is an in-class assignment. Scribble an outline on a separate sheet of paper to keep you focused when writing. Essay outlines aren’t made for your professor, and they’re made for you. Without an outline, you cannot see the logical structure of your essay and the progression of your arguments.
  • Write an Introduction last: Starting an essay can be frustratingly hard, and most writers know this. A general rule of thumb is to write the introduction last. An essay introduction sets the tone and introduces the writer’s main arguments. After writing the whole chunk of your paper, you’ll know all your main points and the tone of your writing. Therefore it is best to leave it for last.
  • Proofread Twice before submitting: If your 1000-word essay is an in-class assignment, proofread it. Grammar and logic errors won’t be tolerated by your tutor, besides it will only take a minute. Rewriting the whole paper in class is impossible. Therefore proofreading is the only quality-check you get. If your essay is not an in-class assignment, you have many more opportunities to make it good by proofreading.
  • Use Apps for Proofreading: If your 1000-word essay is a homework assignment, proofread it with apps like Hemingway or Grammarly. They will find errors which you may have easily missed. Additionally, if you wish to upgrade your word choice, use sites like Dictionary.com and Thesaurus for synonyms and words with similar meaning.
  • Ask a Friend or EssayPro for Help: Never be shy to ask a friend or us to read your essay and tell you if it makes sense. EssayPro is service that provides you help with dissertation and it can come in handy if you need help with any type of paper works. If writing a 1000-word essay seems overwhelming for you and you think 'i want pay someone to write my essay ' just leave your request to us and get it done asap.

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1000 Word Essay

In some ways, writing a 1000 word essay is no different from writing any other paper. You still need to adhere to the standard essay structure, with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind in order to make sure your essay meets the word limit.

First of all, you need to be concise. Don't include information that isn't absolutely necessary. Be ruthless in cutting out unnecessary words and phrases.Secondly, make sure every sentence is meaningful. Don't include filler sentences or ones that simply state the obvious.

Finally, use strong verbs and active voice whenever possible. This will help to keep your writing clear and concise.This blog will guide you further.

1000 Word Essay

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What is a 1000 Word Blog?

A 1000 word blog is a document that is exactly 1000 words long. It is a common requirement for many academic essays.

Why Write a 1000 Word Blog?

There are a few reasons why you might be asked to write a 1000 word blog. First, it can help to ensure that your argument is well-developed and complete.

Second, it can help to improve your writing skills by forcing you to be concise and clear.

Writing a 1000 Word Blog - The Basics

To get started, you should review some general rules for writing an academic essay of any sort.

This will lay the groundwork for your blog and help to ensure that it is well-paced, logical, and free of errors in spelling and grammar. Most importantly, remember to include the works cited page.

About four pages are in 1000 word essays. The number of pages will be different for both 500 words and 250 words essays.

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1000 Word Essay Structure

As with any essay, your 1000 word blog should have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The introduction should introduce your topic and provide a brief overview of your argument.

The body should then develop this argument, using evidence and examples to support your points.

The conclusion should summarize your argument and leave the reader with something to think about.

Other than this, the essay could either have single spacing or double spacing. The word count or the number of words, the font type, and the number of pages will depend on your teacher’s instructions.

The font type is either Times New Roman or Calibri font and the size is usually 12pt.

How to Write a 1000 Word Essay?

Here are the steps to write a 1000 word essay easily:

1. Choose a topic

The first step is to choose a topic for your essay. This can be anything from a specific event or incident to a broader topic or issue.

2. Research your topic

Once you have chosen a topic, the next step is to research it in depth. This will help you to develop a strong argument and understand the topic fully.

3. Outline your essay

Once you have researched your topic, the next step is to outline your essay. This will help you to organize your thoughts and ensure that your argument is clear and well-developed.

4. Write your essay's introduction

Finally, you can start writing your essay's introduction. This should be relatively short and should only introduce the topic of your essay in broad terms.

Add the thesis statement of your essay after adding the introduction. The kind of content depends on the type of essay you are writing. An argumentative essay thesis statement will be different from a narrative essay’s thesis.

5. Write your essay's body paragraphs

Now comes the challenging part: actually writing your entire essay! Start by introducing one of the key points in your argument and explaining it in detail. Then, provide supporting evidence for this point.

6. Write your essay's conclusion

Once you have finished writing the body of your essay, it's time to write the conclusion. This should be a brief and succinct summary of your argument, and it should leave the reader with something to think about.

7. Proofread and revise your work

Finally, once you have finished writing your essay, it's time to proofread and revise it. Look for spelling and grammar errors, as well as anything that is unclear or doesn't make sense.

After revising your work, ask a friend or teacher for feedback on the overall argument and structure of the paper.

Here is a sample 1000 word essay;

1000 word sample

1000 Word Essay Topics

Looking for a good 1000 word essay topic? Here are some good and effective topics:

  • The Influence of War on Popular Culture
  • Alternative Energy vs Fossil Fuels
  • Green Technology and Sustainable Development
  • The Use of Non-Human Characters in Video Games
  • Digital Accessories for Gaming Devices - Which are Best?
  • How Smartphones Have Changed Communication Styles
  • How Social Media is Changing Personal Privacy
  • The Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing
  • The Effects of Technology on the Developing Brain
  • The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling

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Tips to Write a Good 1000 Word Essay

Now that you know how to write a 1000 word essay, here are some tips to make the process a little easier. By following these tips, you can write your essay quickly and easily:

  • Choose a manageable topic

Don't try to write about a topic that is too broad or complex. Instead, choose something that you are familiar with and that you can easily research.

  • Start with the body of the essay

Once you have chosen a topic, start writing the body of the essay first. This will help you to develop a strong argument and provide a good outline for the essay.

  • Choose a concise title

Choosing a title can be difficult, but it's important that you choose one before writing your essay. Try choosing an attention-grabbing title from which you can logically develop an interesting, informative, and engaging essay.

  • Use the active voice and avoid clichés and trite expressions

Shakespeare's "To be or not to be" may not be a cliché, but it takes up valuable words in your 1000 word essay - so try to avoid them!

  • Edit carefully and check for errors

Once you have finished writing your essay, edit it carefully to ensure that there are no spelling or grammar errors. Also, check to see that your argument is clear and well-developed.

  • Use a thesaurus sparingly

Although it's tempting to use a thesaurus to find fancy words, it's best to use them sparingly. The goal of a 1000 word essay is to be clear and concise, not to use flowery language for the sake of it.

  • Read your essay out loud

Reading your essay out loud can help you to catch errors and awkward phrasing. It can also help you to make sure that your argument makes sense from beginning to end.

  • Take a break

Sometimes, you might be unsure about how to approach your essay or where to start. In these situations, it can help to take a break from the writing for a few minutes and come back to it later with fresh eyes.

If you still need help, contact us for the best write my essay help .

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a 1000 word essay a lot.

It may seem a lot but, actually, it is not much. A 1000 word essay hardly takes more than 4 pages, which is not much.

Can I write a 1000 word essay in 2 hours?

Yes, you can easily write a 1000 word essay in 2 hours or even less.

How many paragraphs is a 1000 word essay?

Roughly, a 1000 word essay contains 5 to 10 paragraphs.

Nova A.

Marketing, Law

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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1000-Word Essays: Writing Guide + FAQ

Do you have to write an essay for the first time? Or maybe you’ve only written essays with less than 1000 words? Someone might think that writing a 1000-word essay is a rather complicated and time-consuming assignment. Others have no idea how difficult thousand-word essays can be.

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Well, we have to say that your task is not as challenging as it might seem at a glance. In this article, Custom-writing experts answer students’ most frequently asked questions about 1000-word essays.

📏 How Long Is 1000 Words?

  • 🔢 1000-Word Essay Types
  • 📜 1000-Word Essay Structure
  • 📝 1000-Word Essay Editing

🔗 References

One thousand words make as much as two pages single spaced or four pages double spaced in Times New Roman or Arial. More precise numbers depend on the writing style and margins. The above value is given for standard (1 inch) margins for MLA and APA styles. 500 words make up one or two pages, respectively.

How Many Pages Is 1000 Words Double Spaced?

In Times New Roman, 1000 words are equal to four pages . One thousand words in a sans serif font (for example, Courier) with wide spacing and letters will make 4.5 pages roughly. Calibri provides 3.5 pages. Comic Sans MS makes 4.7 pages for 1000 words, and Verdana gives 4.4. pages. All the figures are given for 12pt font size.

How Long Does It Take to Write 1000 Words?

As a rule, the total time is about 200 minutes (3.5 hours) . Typing itself takes about 25 minutes for average typing speed (40 wpm). The rest of the time depends on the subject matter knowledge, ability to structure thoughts, and creative writing skills. Preliminary notes with research and avoiding distractions will also increase the speed.

How Many Paragraphs is 1000 Words?

In a 1000 word essay or report, five paragraphs are the minimum : introduction, conclusion, and three arguments of the main body. It is advisable to separate too long sections (i.e., consisting of more than five sentences). Easy reading should have not less than ten paragraphs per 1000 words in the word counter.

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🔢 What Are the Main 1000-Word Essay Types?

Another point to consider is what type of essay you will choose. You can’t figure out how to write a 1000-word essay if you haven’t decided what kind of essay you need. Let’s take a look at the standard classifications to help you find the best type of essay for you.

The Main 1000-Word Essay Types Are: Expository, Narrative, Argumentative, & Descriptive

  • Expository essay . For academic essays, this is the most popular type . It clearly explains the topic without any poetic details. It would help if you based your 1000-word essay on an analysis of a problem, including all the necessary investigations, ideas, and experiments.
  • Descriptive essay . In this essay , you describe a situation , person, place, experience, etc. In any case, the task is to draw a colorful picture in your reader’s head. If you are looking to apply all your creativity and talent, this is the kind of essay you need.
  • Narrative essay . To tell a story in a thousand-word essay, use this type of essay. Narrative essays are usually personal writings that tell a lot about their authors and contain emotions.
  • Argumentative essay . This essay is similar to an expository essay. So what’s the difference? An argumentative essay requires you to do more research. An argumentative essay has to cover the whole topic , so you need to prepare carefully to write this kind of essay. Whether it’s a 500-word essay or a 1000-word essay, argumentative writing takes much more time than working on other essay types.

📜 How to Structure a 1000-Word Essay?

An essay is a strictly standardized piece of writing. Thus, each part should fulfill its meaningful role, occupying the designated space. Too wordy introduction and conclusion rob your main body’s depth, while too short paragraphs look simplistic and unsatisfactory in thought. This structure should be followed for the majority of 1000-word essay topics.

1000-Word Essay Introduction

Recommended length: 125 words The introduction must grab the reader’s attention with a hook, provide background information, and formulate the thesis or the principal question. It usually contains 5-6 sentences, 1 for the hook, 3 for the subject-matter background, and 1-2 for the thesis. Most professors evaluate the student’s ability to synthesize the entire essay into a single sentence. Therefore, a concise and comprehensive thesis is a must. It might be helpful to explore some good and bad thesis statement examples before you start

1000-Word Essay: Main Body

Recommended length: 750 words In an argumentative essay, single out three critical thoughts: 2 supporting your statement, and 1 contradicting it. In a persuasive essay, prepare three supporting facts or examples. For a narrative essay, think which events make up the beginning, the end of the story, and the middle part. These will be your three main body paragraphs.

  • 1st Paragraph Recommended length: 250 words Describe here your most persuasive argument. Start with its formulation. Then develop your thought with the available evidence and facts. Restate the idea once again, specifying how exactly it confirms your opinion.
  • 2nd Paragraph Recommended length: 250 words Repeat the plan of paragraph one for your second statement.
  • 3rd Paragraph Recommended length: 250 words Provide a counterargument. Try to get into your opponent’s shoes and view the issue from their perspective. Explain why their opinion is incorrect. Conclude with the third statement supporting your thesis and disclaiming the given counterargument.

1000-Word Essay Conclusion

Recommended length: 125 words Restate the main ideas of your essay and tie them together. Avoid providing new ideas or any extraneous information here. The conclusion provides a finished look to your piece of writing, so make it sound persuasive and complete.

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📝 How to Edit a 1000-Word Essay?

Sometimes essay editing is even more challenging than writing. To make this process easier for you, follow these tips:

  • Don’t use meaningless words. Honestly, a 1000-word essay paper can’t include every single idea on the topic you chose. That’s why you should focus on using only essential words that provide valuable information. Words like “actually,” “really,” and “very” don’t add much value to your writing.
  • Read your papers aloud. Though it sounds silly, believe us, it works. When you’re writing an essay, it’s easy to miss some mistakes, even obvious ones. They become much more comfortable to spot—and hear—when you read your paper aloud. Just try it yourself!
  • Diversify your vocabulary . Why use “good” when you can say “fantastic,” “incredible,” or “high-quality”? Why write “said” when there are powerful synonyms like “argued,” “assured,” or “whispered”? Develop your writing style by using synonyms !
  • Be consistent. It’s important to use only one style while writing a 1000-word essay or any other academic paper. Also, if English is your second language, make sure you stick to just one of the variants. Don’t switch between phrases and idioms from both British and American English.
  • Separate long sentences into short ones. Long sentences are difficult for your readers to read and comprehend. By the time you finish a really long sentence, you may have already forgotten what was at the beginning of it! Try to use short, clear sentence structures to help your audience understand your ideas and convince them of your arguments. Another option is to use a sentence changer to rewrite some of the content.

1000-Word Essay Topics

  • Role of statistics in decision-making in a professional setting. 
  • Issues connected with the aging of the population in developed countries.  
  • Compare the depiction of characters in the film and book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest .  
  • Analyze the history of Aztec music and its impact on modern Latin music.  
  • Reasons to choose a deputy sheriff profession.  
  • Difference between natural and legal crime .  
  • The idea behind The Pursuit of Happiness by Gabriele Muccino.  
  • The due process of law is the guarantee of people’s constitutional rights. 
  • Is the Global Business Standards Codex crucial for ethical, fair-trade practices? 
  • Should freedom of expression be limited in some situations? 
  • Examine the role of Food and Drug Administration. 
  • Interaction between human dreams and real life in Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood .
  • The importance of statistics in healthcare . 
  • Does gender inequality exist in modern times?  
  • Analyze the efficiency of physical exercises for obesity treatment .  
  • Functionalist approach towards the crime and deviance in society . 
  • Describe the elements of gothic literature used in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wall-Paper by Perkins Gillman.  
  • How to start a new project  
  • Similarities and differences between high and low-context culture in business . 
  • Luxury products vs. normal goods . 
  • The primary concepts of nursing philosophy .  
  • The main reasons for the high level of minority health issues in South Africa.  
  • Compare the main women characters in Hamlet by Shakespeare and Wuthering Heights by Bronte .  
  • Are isolation precautions efficient for infection control?  
  • Analyze and compare PeopleSoft software and HR.net Enterprise software.  
  • Ways to reduce uniform crime rates.  
  • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of educational blogs as a learning tool. 
  • The skills required for effective hostage negotiations.  
  • Examine the worldview of people representing the Irish Oral Tradition.  
  • Will increasing the tuition fees in higher education have a positive effect?  
  • Compare the dystopian stories The Lottery by Shirley Jackson vs. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula Le Guin . 
  • Analyze the principal causes of Asian currencies sink in 1997 .  
  • The significance of risk assessment methodologies in managerial decision making. 
  • The importance of Enterprise Architecture for organizational management.  
  • The impact of society on an individual’s ways of self-expression .  
  • Gender and racial issues in Sweat by Hurston.  
  • United States economy after terrorist attacks of September 11. 
  • Discuss the contemporary social problems in the U.S.  
  • The main ideas reflected in The Unexpected Value of Liberal Arts .  
  • Describe the most successful emperors of the Roman Empire .  
  • Motivation and objectives of the Spanish explorers in the New World.  
  • Can people radically change the state by going to elections ?  
  • The power of belief in Macbeth by William Shakespeare .  
  • Compare the perception of the world by the purist avant-garde and the radical avant-garde art movements.  
  • Is it necessary to use Standard English in education?  
  • Analyze the developmental tasks of children between the ages of 2-6 years. 
  • Business ethics of McDonald’s company . 
  • Issues of E-commerce industry and their possible solutions.  
  • Is it ethical to use anonymous sources in journalism ?  
  • The harm gentrification does to local communities.  

Writing a 1000-word essay isn’t as complicated as it seems – just look again at these tips whenever you need them instead of trying to get someone to do your assignment .

Be sure to check out other articles on our blog for more great writing tips!

  • Essay Structure: Elizabeth Abrams, for the Writing Center at Harvard University
  • The Different Types of Essays: Word Counter Blog
  • Basics of Writing An Effective Essay: Becton Loveless for Education Corner
  • Academic Writing Style – USC LibGuides
  • Types of academic writing – The University of Sydney
  • Academic Writing Introduction // Purdue Writing Lab – Owl
  • Essay Writing // Purdue Writing Lab
  • The Basics of Essay Writing | UNSW Current Students
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Okay, so, I was supposed to write a 500-800 word essay for extra credit. In my house, you have to double the limit! So, I was stuck with a 1000-1600 word essay(realize I am in 6th grade!). So, I looked up how to write a 1000 word essay. This popped up on the top of the page. I read it, and I was very happy with my grade! This was very helpful and useful, thanks so much for posting this!

Julia Reed

Much appreciated for your feedback. Glad you found our post helpful!

Thanks and all the best!

That’s dope! Thank you for this guide!

I am trying to find out how many times is acceptable to repeate a phrase, for instance, rules and laws, in a 1200 word APA essay?

It’s a really good question! Repetitions are considered to be bad writing. So try to avoid it, there’re plenty of tips on how to do this, but of course, it doesn’t work with terms which are almost never replaceable.

Hi, Please help me to make 1000 to 1500 words essay. The topic: How have you served the local community and church? What is your personal vision for peacebuilding and community service in Nepal? What are your thoughts on how the church can be effective in serving the community?

Thanks, I needed this for my scholarship. Wish me luck 🙂

Custom Writing

We are happy to know that this post helped you. Good luck with your scholarship essay!

It was really helpful to attain 24 marks out of 25 after reading the tips given on this site. This site was always helpful to me whenever I needed some writing materials for my home assignments.

Great to hear that you found our tips to be useful! 🙂 Good luck with your studies:)

Thanks so very much for the tips, hope they will become a great help in preparing my assignments.

Thanks for these guidelines! I’m sure they will help me soon when I write my 1000 word essay! Thanks very much again!!!

Thanks for the format and writing instructions on 1000 word essays! For me, it’s challenging to write such a short essay, but thanks to your article, I feel that I will cope with my 1000 word essay!

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The Winners of Our Personal Narrative Essay Contest

We asked students to write about a meaningful life experience. Here are the eight winning essays, as well as runners-up and honorable mentions.

1000 word short story essay

By The Learning Network

Update: Join our live webinar on Oct. 8 about teaching with our Narrative Writing Contest.

In September, we challenged teenagers to write short, powerful stories about meaningful life experiences for our first-ever personal narrative essay contest .

This contest, like every new contest we start, was admittedly a bit of an experiment. Beyond a caution to write no more than 600 words, our rules were fairly open-ended, and we weren’t sure what we would get.

Well, we received over 8,000 entries from teenagers from around the world. We got stories about scoring the winning goal, losing a grandparent, learning to love one’s skin and dealing with mental illness. We got pieces that were moving, funny, introspective and honest. We got a snapshot of teenage life.

Judging a contest like this is, of course, subjective, especially with the range of content and styles of writing students submitted. But we based our criteria on the types of personal narrative essays The New York Times publishes in columns like Lives , Modern Love and Rites of Passage . We read many, many essays that were primarily reflective but, while these pieces might be well-suited for a college application, they weren’t exactly the short, powerful stories we were looking for in this contest.

The winning essays we selected were, though, and they all had a few things in common that set them apart:

They had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to develop a strong voice. And, perhaps most important, they focused on a specific moment or theme — a conversation, a trip to the mall, a speech tournament, a hospital visit — instead of trying to sum up the writer’s life in 600 words.

Below, you’ll find these eight winning essays, published in full. Scroll to the bottom to see the names of all 35 finalists we’re honoring — eight winners, eight runners-up and 19 honorable mentions. Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who participated!

The Winning Essays

Nothing extraordinary, pants on fire, eggs and sausage, first impressions, cracks in the pavement, sorry, wrong number, the man box.

By Jeniffer Kim

It was a Saturday. Whether it was sunny or cloudy, hot or cold, I cannot remember, but I do remember it was a Saturday because the mall was packed with people.

I was with my mom.

Mom is short. Skinny. It is easy to overlook her in a crowd simply because she is nothing extraordinary to see.

On that day we strolled down the slippery-slick tiles with soft, inconspicuous steps, peeking at window boutiques in fleeting glances because we both knew we wouldn’t be buying much, like always.

I remember I was looking up at the people we passed as we walked — at first apathetically, but then more attentively.

Ladies wore five-inch heels that clicked importantly on the floor and bright, elaborate clothing. Men strode by smelling of sharp cologne, faces clear of wrinkles — wiped away with expensive creams.

An uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. I tried to push it out, but once it took root it refused to be yanked up and tossed away. It got more unbearable with every second until I could deny it no longer; I was ashamed of my mother.

We were in a high-class neighborhood, I knew that. We lived in a small, overpriced apartment building that hung on to the edge of our county that Mom chose to move to because she knew the schools were good.

We were in a high-class neighborhood, but as I scrutinized the passers-by and then turned accusing eyes on Mom, I realized for the first time that we didn’t belong there.

I could see the heavy lines around Mom’s eyes and mouth, etched deep into her skin without luxurious lotions to ease them away. She wore cheap, ragged clothes with the seams torn, shoes with the soles worn down. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet and her hair too gray for her age.

I looked at her, and I was ashamed.

My mom is nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment she stood out because she was just so plain.

Mumbling I’d meet her at the clothes outlet around the corner, I hurried away to the bathroom. I didn’t want to be seen with her, although there was no one important around to see me anyway.

When I finally made my way to the outlet with grudging steps, I found that Mom wasn’t there.

With no other options, I had to scour the other stores in the area for her. I was dreading returning to her side, already feeling the secondhand embarrassment that I’d recently discovered came with being with her.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Mom was standing in the middle of a high-end store, holding a sweater that looked much too expensive.

She said, “This will look good on you. Do you want it?”

It was much too expensive. And I almost agreed, carelessly, thoughtlessly.

Then I took a closer look at the small, weary woman with a big smile stretching across her narrow face and a sweater in her hands, happy to be giving me something so nice, and my words died in my throat.

I felt like I’d been dropped into a cold lake.

Her clothes were tattered and old because she spent her money buying me new ones. She looked so tired and ragged all the time because she was busy working to provide for me. She didn’t wear jewelry or scented perfumes because she was just content with me.

Suddenly, Mother was beautiful and extraordinarily wonderful in my eyes.

I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself.

“Do you want it?” My mom repeated.

“No thanks.”

By Varya Kluev

I never kissed the boy I liked behind the schoolyard fence that one March morning. I never had dinner with Katy Perry or lived in Kiev for two months either, but I still told my entire fourth-grade class I did.

The words slipped through my teeth effortlessly. With one flick of my tongue, I was, for all anybody knew, twenty-third in line for the throne of Monaco. “Actually?” the girls on the swings beside me would ask, wide eyes blinking with a childlike naivety. I nodded as they whispered under their breath how incredible my fable was. So incredible they bought into it without a second thought.

I lied purely for the ecstasy of it. It was narcotic. With my fabrications, I became the captain of the ship, not just a wistful passer-by, breath fogging the pane of glass that stood between me and the girls I venerated. No longer could I only see, not touch; a lie was a bullet, and the barrier shattered. My mere presence demanded attention — after all, I was the one who got a valentine from Jason, not them.

This way I became more than just the tomboyish band geek who finished her multiplication tables embarrassingly fast. My name tumbled out of their mouths and I manifested in the center of their linoleum lunch table. I became, at least temporarily, the fulcrum their world revolved around.

Not only did I lie religiously and unabashedly — I was good at it. The tedium of my everyday life vanished; I instead marched through the gates of my alcazar, strode up the steps of my concepts, and resided in my throne of deceit. I believed if I took off my fraudulent robe, I would become plebeian. The same aristocracy that finally held me in high regard would boot me out of my palace. To strip naked and exclaim, “Here’s the real me, take a look!” would lead my new circle to redraw their lines — they would take back their compliments, sit at the table with six seats instead of eight, giggle in the back of the class when I asked a question. I therefore adjusted my counterfeit diadem and continued to praise a Broadway show I had never seen.

Yet finally lounging in a lavender bedroom one long-sought-after day, after absently digesting chatter about shows I didn’t watch and boys I didn’t know, I started processing the floating conversations. One girl, who I had idolized for always having her heavy hair perfectly curled, casually shared how her parents couldn’t afford to go on their yearly trip the coming summer. I drew in an expectant breath, but nobody scoffed. Nobody exchanged a secret criticizing glance. Instead, another girl took her spoon of vanilla frosting out of her cheek and with the same air of indifference revealed how her family wasn’t traveling either. Promptly, my spun stories about swimming in crystal pools under Moroccan sun seemed to be in vain.

The following Monday, the girls on the bus to school still shared handfuls of chocolate-coated sunflower seeds with her. At lunch, she wasn’t shunned, wasn’t compelled to sit at a forgotten corner table. For that hour, instead of weaving incessant fantasies, I listened. I listened to the girls nonchalantly talk about yesterday’s soccer game where they couldn’t score a single goal. Listened about their parent’s layoff they couldn’t yet understand the significance of. I listened and I watched them listen, accepting and uncritical of one another no matter how relatively vapid their story. I then too began to talk, beginning by admitting that I wasn’t actually related to Britney Spears.

By Ryan Young Kim

When first I sat down in the small, pathetic excuse of a cafeteria the hospital had, I took a moment to reflect. I had been admitted the night before, rolled in on a stretcher like I had some sort of ailment that prevented me from walking.

But the nurses in the ward were nice to me, especially when they saw that I wasn’t going to be one of the violent ones. They started telling me something, but I paid no attention; I was trying to take in my surroundings. The tables were rounded, chairs were essentially plastic boxes with weight inside, and there was no real glass to be seen.

After they filled out the paperwork, the nurses escorted me to my room. There was someone already in there, but he was dead asleep. The two beds were plain and simple, with a cheap mattress on top of an equally cheap wooden frame. One nurse stuck around to hand me my bedsheets and a gown that I had to wear until my parents dropped off clothes.

The day had been exhausting, waiting for the psychiatric ward to tell us that there was a bed open for me and the doctors to fill out the mountains of paperwork that come with a suicide attempt.

Actually, there had been one good thing about that day. My parents had brought me Korean food for lunch — sullungtang , a fatty stew made from ox-bone broth. God, even when I was falling asleep I could still taste some of the rice kernels that had been mixed into the soup lingering around in my mouth.

For the first time, I felt genuine hunger. My mind had always been racked with a different kind of hunger — a pining for attention or just an escape from the toil of waking up and not feeling anything. But I always had everything I needed — that is, I always had food on my plate, maybe even a little too much. Now, after I had tried so hard to wrench myself away from this world, my basic human instinct was guiding me toward something that would keep me alive.

The irony was lost on me then. All I knew was that if I slept earlier, that meant less time awake being hungry. So I did exactly that. Waking up the next day, I was dismayed to see that the pangs of hunger still rumbled through my stomach. I slid off my covers and shuffled out of my room. The cafeteria door was already open, and I looked inside. There was a cart of Styrofoam containers in the middle of the room, and a couple people were eating quietly. I made my way in and stared.

I scanned the tops of the containers — they were all marked with names: Jonathan, Nathan, Kristen — and as soon as I spotted my name, my mouth began to water.

My dad would sometimes tell me about his childhood in a rural Korean village. The hardships he faced, the hunger that would come if the village harvest floundered, and how he worked so hard to get out — I never listened. But in that moment, between when I saw my container and I sat down at a seat to open it, I understood.

The eggs inside were watery, and their heat had condensated water all over, dripping onto everything and making the sausages soggy. The amount of ketchup was pitiful.

But if I hadn’t been given plastic utensils, I think I would have just shoved it all into my mouth, handful by handful.

By Isabel Hui

When I woke up on August 4, 2016, there was only one thing on my mind: what to wear. A billion thoughts raced through my brain as wooden hangers shuffled back and forth in the cramped hotel closet. I didn’t want to come off as a try-hard, but I also didn’t want to be seen as a slob. Not only was it my first day of high school, but it was my first day of school in a new state; first impressions are everything, and it was imperative for me to impress the people who I would spend the next four years with. For the first time in my life, I thought about how convenient it would be to wear the horrendous matching plaid skirts that private schools enforce.

It wasn’t insecurity driving me to madness; I was actually quite confident for a teenage girl. It was the fact that this was my third time being the new kid. Moving so many times does something to a child’s development … I struggled finding friends that I could trust would be there for me if I picked up and left again. But this time was different because my dad’s company ensured that I would start and finish high school in the same place. This meant no instant do-overs when I pick up and leave again. This time mattered, and that made me nervous.

After meticulously raiding my closet, I emerged proudly in a patterned dress from Target. The soft cotton was comfortable, and the ruffle shoulders added a hint of fun. Yes, this outfit was the one. An hour later, I felt just as powerful as I stepped off the bus and headed toward room 1136. But as I turned the corner into my first class, my jaw dropped to the floor.

Sitting at her desk was Mrs. Hutfilz, my English teacher, sporting the exact same dress as I. I kept my head down and tiptoed to my seat, but the first day meant introductions in front of the whole class, and soon enough it was my turn. I made it through my minute speech unscathed, until Mrs. Hutfilz stood up, jokingly adding that she liked my style. Although this was the moment I had been dreading from the moment I walked in, all the anxiety that had accumulated throughout the morning surprisingly melted away; the students who had previously been staring at their phones raised their heads to pay attention as I shared my story. My smile grew as I giggled with my peers, ending my speech with “and I am very stylish, much like my first period teacher.” After class, I stayed behind and talked to Mrs. Hutfilz, sharing my previous apprehension about coming into a new school and state. I was relieved to make a humorous and genuine connection with my first teacher, one that would continue for the remainder of the year.

This incident reminded me that it’s only high school; these are the times to have fun, work hard, and make memories, not stress about the trivial details. Looking back four years later, the ten minutes I spent dreading my speech were really not worth it. While my first period of high school may not have gone exactly the way I thought it would, it certainly made the day unforgettable in the best way, and taught me that Mrs. Hutfilz has an awesome sense of style!

By Adam Bernard Sanders

It was my third time sitting there on the middle school auditorium stage. The upper chain of braces was caught in my lip again, and my palms were sweating, and my glasses were sliding down my nose. The pencil quivered in my hands. All I had to do was answer whatever question Mrs. Crisafulli, the history teacher, was going to say into that microphone. I had answered 26 before that, and 25 of those correctly. And I was sitting in my chair, and I was tapping my foot, and the old polo shirt I was wearing was starting to constrict and choke me. I pulled pointlessly at the collar, but the air was still on the outside, only looking at the inside of my throat. I was going to die.

I could taste my tongue in my mouth shriveling up. I could feel each hard-pumping heartbeat of blood travel out of my chest, up through my neck and down my arms and legs, warming my already-perspiring forehead but leaving my ghost-white fingers cold and blue. My breathing was quick. My eyes were glassy. I hadn’t even heard the question yet.

Late-night readings of my parents’ anatomy textbooks had told me that a sense of impending doom was the hallmark of pulmonary embolism, a fact that often bubbled to the surface of my mind in times like these. Almost by instinct, I bent my ring and little fingers down, holding them with my thumb as the two remaining digits whipped to my right wrist and tried to take my pulse. Mr. Mendoza had taught us this last year in gym class. But I wasn’t in gym class that third period. I was just sitting on the metal folding chair, waiting for Mrs. Crisafulli to flip to the right page in her packet for the question.

Arabella had quizzed me in second-period French on the lakes of Latin America. Nicaragua. Atitlán. Yojoa. Lake Titicaca, that had made Raj, who sat in front of me, start giggling, and Shannon, who sat three desks up and one to the left, whip her head around and raise one fist to her lips, jab up her index finger, and silence us. Lakes were fed by rivers, the same rivers that lined the globe on my desk like the cracks in the pavement I liked to trace with my shoe on the walk home. Lake Nicaragua drains into the San Juan River, which snakes its way around the port of Granada to empty into the Caribbean Sea. I knew that.

At that moment I was only sure of those two things: the location of Lake Nicaragua and my own impending doom. And I was so busy counting my pulse and envisioning my demise that I missed Mrs. Crisafulli’s utterance of the awaited question into her microphone, as I had each year in the past as one of the two people left onstage.

“ … Coldest … on earth,” was all I heard. My pencil etched shaggy marks as my shaking hands attempted to write something in the 20 seconds remaining.

“Asia,” I scrawled.

So, for the third time in three years, I got it wrong, and for the third time, I didn’t die. I walked home that day, tracing the faults in the pavement and wondering what inside me was so cracked and broken. Something had to be fissured inside, like the ridges and rivers on my desk globe that I would throw out later that evening, but fish from the trash can when the sun rose the next day.

By Michelle Ahn

My phone buzzes. An unfamiliar number with a 512 area code — I later find out it’s from Texas. It’s a selfie of a 30-something man, smiling with his family, a strange picture to receive as I live halfway across the country.

For the past three years, I — a 14-year-old girl living in Virginia — have been getting texts meant for this man, Jared. Over the years, I’ve pieced together parts of who he is; middle-aged, Caucasian, and very popular according to the numerous messages I’ve received for him.

Throughout this time, I’ve also been discovering who I am. When I received the first text, I was a playful sixth grader, always finding sly ways to be subversive in school and with friends. With this new method of mischief in my hands, naturally, I engaged:

“My sweet momma just told me that BYU Texas Club is holding a Texas Roundup free BBQ dinner on October 10th! Thought y’all would enjoy,” came one of the texts.

After staring at the message for a while, I responded.

As time went on, the story of the mystery man deepened. I was halfway through sixth grade, for example, when I learned he was part of the “Elder’s Quorum,” a rather ominous-sounding group. Looking it up, I learned that it was not a cult, as I’d initially thought, but rather an elite inner circle within the Mormon Church.

This was around the same time my family had stopped going to church. I’d started to spend more time taking art classes and trying out various sports — tennis, basketball, even archery — and soon church fell to the side. Instead, I meddled in the Quorum’s group texts; when a message came about a member moving away, I excitedly responded, “Let me help y’all out, brother!”

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but after a while I started to feel guilty about this deception. I wondered if I’d somehow ruined Jared’s reputation, if his friends were turned off by my childish responses. I was also dealing with changes within my friend group at the time; the biggest change being letting go of a close but toxic friend; I realized that I needed friendships that were more mutually supportive.

Shortly after, I got a phone call from a strange woman. She started talking about the struggles in her life; her children, her job, even about how she wanted to leave Texas forever. In comparison, my own problems — the B minus I’d gotten, the stress of an upcoming archery tournament, the argument I had with my sister — all seemed superficial. I timidly informed her I wasn’t Jared, and her flustered response told me that I should have told her at the start of the call.

A while later, I got another text: “Congratulations on getting married!” It had never occurred to me how much Jared’s life had changed since I had received his number. But of course it did; over time, I’d outgrown my prankster middle school self, gained the confidence to build a solid friend group, and devoted myself to my primary loves of art and archery. Why wouldn’t Jared also be settling into his own life too?

Though I’ve since taken every opportunity to correct those who text Jared, it still happens every once in a while. Just last month, I got another random text; all it said was: “Endoscopy!” When I got it, I laughed, and then I wrote back.

“Hey, sorry, you have the wrong number. But I hope Jared’s doing well.”

By Maria Fernanda Benavides

“Mayfier? Marfir?” the tournament judge called squinting her eyes, trying to find the spelling error, although there was no error.

“It’s Mafer. It’s a nickname for my full name, Maria Fernanda.”

She stared at me blankly.

“My parents are creative,” I lied, and she laughed.

“O.K., Mahfeer, you’re up!”

I walk to the center and scanned the room before starting as instructed. I took a deep breath.

I reminded myself, “Use your voice.”

I spoke loudly at first, trying to hide the fact that I was overthinking every single word that came out of my mouth. As my performance continued, the artificial confidence became natural, and I started speaking from my heart as I told the story of my experience as an immigrant woman, and I described how much I missed my father who had to travel back and forth every weekend to see my mom and me, and how disconnected I felt from my family, and how I longed to have a place I could call home.

My performance came to an end, and I made my way back to my seat with newly found optimism as I reflected on how performing had consumed me.

I used my voice. Finally. I had found my home in the speech program.

Waiting for the speech tournament to post the names of the finalists was excruciating. I jumped off my seat every time a staff member passed by. I didn’t care about accumulating state points or individual recognition. I wanted the chance to speak again.

Finally, a girl walked up to the oratory postings with a paper on her hand, and the entire cafeteria surrounded her, impatiently waiting to see who the finalists were. Then, I saw it.

My name. Written in dense, black letters.

I smiled to myself.

This time, as I walked to the oratory final, I did so by myself, as I had finally acquired self-assurance needed to navigate the quiet hallways of the high school. I could only hear the heels of the two girls behind me.

“I heard that Saint Mary’s Hall freshman made it to oratory finals,” one of them said, obviously speaking about me. “She broke over me. I didn’t see her performance. Did you? Did you see her performance? What is her speech about?” she questioned the other one.

“It’s about being a Mexican immigrant.”

“Oh, so that’s why she broke.”

“It’s the same pity narrative, there’s nothing different about it.”

Suddenly, the confidence that I had acquired from the previous rounds vanished, and I found myself wishing that I had my older, more experienced teammates by my side to help me block the girls’ words. But no one was there.

I thought my narrative was what made my words matter, what made me matter.

But they didn’t matter. Not anymore. From that moment on, I knew I would be recognized around the circuit as the Mexican girl whose name no one knows how to pronounce. I didn’t even need to speak about my identity to be identified. Everyone would recognize me not for my achievement or my being, but by the peculiar way I pronounce words. I could speak about different topics, but it felt like it wouldn’t make a difference. It felt like my voice didn’t make a difference.

“Mafer, how did it feel?” my coach asked me after the round. “It felt amazing!” I lied.

I didn’t feel anything. Not anymore. Speech gave me a voice, but it also took it away.

By Gordon Lewis

We’re all average boys: hard working in school, spending every minute together in the summer, and doing our best to pretend we don’t have a worry in the world. The facts are no different as the sun is beginning to set on a warm July evening. Sam and I say goodbye to Ben, stepping out of our best friend’s house.

“My sister is going to pick me up while we’re walking, is that O.K.?” I ask.

“Actually, she can probably drive you home, too.”

“Sounds good,” says Sam, but lacking his usual upbeat, comedic energy. Neither of us says anything else, but I’m O.K. with it, we just keep walking. I look around, admiring the still, peaceful park as the warm summer breeze brushes across my face. The crickets are chirping and an owl sings along between the soft hum of cars rolling along nearby. It’s nature’s tune of serenity.

I almost forgot Sam was with me until he asked, “Can I ask you kind of a weird question?”

“Sure,” I say, expecting a joke in poor taste as per usual.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” he says before asking.

More hesitantly, I say, “O.K.”

“Do you have someone that you talk to about like deeper stuff … Like more emotional stuff?” Silence hits us like a brick wall: The crickets stop chirping, the owl stops hooting, even the cars stop driving by. It’s deafening. I’m only shocked at the question because it’s Sam, one of the happiest and funniest people I know.

I’m wondering. My disappointment takes over just as quickly as my hope fades as I fail to come up with a name. In the end, the closest thing I can think of is the book I occasionally write in when I’m feeling sad or stressed.

“Huh,” I say quietly, “I’ve never really thought about that, but I guess not.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either, but at camp we did activities and had talks that led to more emotional conversations.” I’m silently both jealous and proud of him, but it’s mostly jealousy.

“It’s funny,” I say, “in English we always joked about that TED Talk guy talking about the man box, but it’s actually so true. We shouldn’t feel like we can’t talk about deeper stuff like that.”

“Yeah,” laughed Sam. Silence drapes over us again, but this time it’s more comfortable. I’m lost in my thoughts trying to think of what to say next, but there’s too much. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before. However it’s not shocking or overwhelming, even though it’s with Sam of all people — instead it’s therapeutic.

The silence is broken once again by Sam:

“Like I never told you guys that my parents got divorced.”

“I’m-I’m sorry,” I say, “That really sucks.” I’m disappointed in myself for not saying more.

“It’s O.K.,” Sam says, but I know he’s lying. I can feel his sadness.

Drowning in my thoughts, I try to pick out something to say. But there’s too much to say. There are too many options after being silent for 16 years.

Headlights appear in front of us, and for a split second I’m relieved, but it rapidly turns into regret.

Knowing it’s Rose, I quickly tell sam, “If you ever want to talk again just let me know.”

I say hi to Rose, masking my solemn, thoughtful mood as tiredness. The warm breeze gives my cheek one final kiss; nature resumes her number, and the cars roll by again as Sam and I reluctantly step into the car.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s last name

“Sorry, Wrong Number” by Michelle Ahn

“Speechless” by Maria Fernanda Benavides

“First Impressions” by Isabel Hui

“Nothing Extraordinary” by Jeniffer Kim

“Eggs and Sausage" by Ryan Young Kim

“Pants on Fire” by Varya Kluev

“The Man Box” by Gordon Lewis

“Cracks in the Pavement” by Adam Bernard Sanders

“The First (and Last) Time Speedy Wasn’t Speedy Enough” by Maya Berg

“Searching for Air” by Sydney Do

“Fear on My Mind” by Daytona Gerhardy

“Under the Starry Sky” by Letian Li

“Chinatown Diptych” by Jeffrey Liao

“They” by Haven Low

“The Vigil” by Beda Lundstedt

“How My Brother Taught Me to Drive” by Sarah Shapiro

Honorable Mentions

“The Six in Mid-August” by Liah Argiropoulos

“‘Those Aren’t Scratches Are They?’” by Casey Barwick

“Brown Is Beautiful” by Tiffany Borja

“I Am Ordinary, After All” by Rebecca Braxley

“Torn” by Melanie D.

“The Stupid Seven” by Madeline G.

“Speak No Evil” by Amita Goyal

“Building My Crown” by Ambar Guzman

“Me, Myself, and a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich” by Zachary Hommel

“The Tomato” by Raymond Huang

“Out” by Michael H.

“Cold Noodles With a Side of Birdballs” by Audrey Koh

“Banya in Siberia” by Arshiya Sanghi

“Traffic” by Kecia Seo

“The Power of Ambiguity” by Marcus Shallow

“Land Mine” by Geneve Thomas-Palmer

“How to Fall Asleep With the Lights On” by Caroline Wei

“The Taste of Tofu” by Amy Zhou

“The Newcomer’s Journey” by Maria Z.

Thank you to all our contest judges!

Edward Bohan, Amanda Christy Brown, Elda Cantú, Julia Carmel, Elaine Chen, Nancy Coleman, Nicole Daniels, John Dorman, Shannon Doyne, Jeremy Engle, Tracy Evans, Ross Flatt, Vivian Giang, Caroline Crosson Gilpin, Michael Gonchar, Lovia Gyarkye, Annissa Hambouz, Karen Hanley, Christine Hauser, Susan Josephs, Shira Katz, Dahlia Kozlowsky, Megan Leder, Miya Lee, Debbie Leiderman, Shauntel Lowe, Keith Meatto, Sue Mermelstein, Amelia Nierenberg, Anna Nordeen, John Otis, Ken Paul, Pia Peterson, Natalie Proulx, Nancy Redd, Kenneth Rosen, Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, Kristina Samulewski, Meghan Stoddard, Brett Vogelsinger, Bonnie Wertheim, Jack Wheeler, Lena Wilson, Sanam Yar

Free 1000-Word Essay Samples

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  • Advertising

Uniform Crime Reporting: Indicator of Crime in the US

Introduction The high crime rate in the United States can be significantly reduced by a combination of effective law enforcement strategies as well as the legislation of laws that will help law enforcement agencies prevent crime as well as apprehend criminals. In this regard, policymakers must have access to accurate...

Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” & “The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Perkins-Gillman

Introduction The short horror stories “A Rose for Emily” and “The Yellow Wall-Paper” have similar and different features, which are manifested through the authors’ use of the elements of gothic literature. “A Rose for Emily” is a short story by William Faulkner that was first published in 1930. The story...

Application of Statistics in Healthcare

Introduction In healthcare, statistics have a critical application because they help healthcare professionals to make evidence-based decisions, improve care delivery, enhance patient outcomes, and advance hospitals’ quality. Oster and Enders (2018) recommend that healthcare providers have statistical competence to boost their capacity to consume research findings and translate them into...

Discussion of Hostage Negotiations

Introduction Hostage negotiation acts as a technique utilized by law enforcement officers to communicate with individuals who threaten violence. The negotiation helps in resolving the existing conflict for hostages to be safely released. Law enforcement officers obtain the proper training to learn how to handle hostage incidents. The continued occurrence...

“The Myth of Redemptive Violence” by Walter Wink

The world is full of cruelty, and the issue of violence’s origins occupies many minds. Trying to explain the reasons for the prevalence of the problem, professor of Biblical Interpretation Walter Wink introduced the concept of the myth of redemptive violence in his works. Wink discusses how the theme of...

An Analysis of Updike’s “A&P” From a Feminist Perspective

“A&P” is a short story written by John Updike in 1961. It narrates one episode from the life of the “A&P” grocery store. Sammy, a 19-year-old cashier clerk, notices three girls who enter the store wearing “nothing but bathing suits” (Updike 140). The girls walk along the aisles, drawing other...

The 30 for 30 Lance Documentary Reflection

Numerous feature films and documentaries were made about the fate of the world-famous cyclist Lance Armstrong. The film 30 for 30 Lance makes yet another attempt to uncover the fate of the famous athlete, bringing fans of world sports and ordinary people to understand this not-simple doping story. The main...

Sounds of Life: The Role of Music

Music is one of the most influential aspects of life in society. I am yet to come across an individual who does not like music at all. Different people listen to different genres of music; a scenario that shows how different we are (Diserens 1939, pp.6). The types of music...

Book Questions: “Philosophy: The Power Of Ideas”

The view of Heraclitus regarding the nature of reality Being a well known Greek philosopher, Heraclitus tried to explain the character of things and the nature of the world. He was sure that fire was the main element that served as the basis for all things in the universe. Due...

Principal Librarian’s Job Interview Questions

The position of Principal Librarian requires providing direction to and interaction with all levels of library management and staff. Describe a time when you were most successful communicating with varying levels of personnel. In your response, please include your employer, job title, and levels of personnel. In 2009, I worked...

  • Globalization

African American Studies: Political Socialization

Introduction Political socialization is a lifetime process whereby people develop political beliefs and opinions that ultimately shape their behavior and approach towards all issues of politics. Essentially, Gordon and Gordon (2015) refer to political socialization as a dual process because a person first forms his or her political ideas and...

Public Policy Meeting: Prescription Drug Supply and Cost

Introduction The discussions concerning health care innovations and reconstructions have been held by the country’s officials for a long time. On June 26, 2018, the testimony by the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex M. Azar II, was presented to the Senate (C-Span, 2018)....

Election Ethics: Voting vs. Maintaining Neutrality

Decision In the Election Day Scenario, I believe that I ought to go to the polls and vote for Superior to be elected President. First of all, voting is the right that each citizen has or should possess. By choosing to vote, one can fulfill one civic duty of participating...

Angela Bourke and Irish Oral Tradition

It is a rather specific matter when one has to write about the peculiarities of the culture of a certain nation because not always people are acquainted with the national customs and traditions. It becomes even more complicated when the cultural peculiarities are to be studied with the help of...

West Virginia Politics in 1999-2009

West Virginia is a unique state of America. Its history and its creation are closely related to the most significant events of the American nation. Established during the Civil War, it became one of the first states with particular attention toward American values. Furthermore, the state is versatile in the...

Theory of the Self-Expression

Internalized Conversation Mead George Herbart, a theorist in his book Mind Self and Society describes the communication system as a cycle of gestures or significant symbols which culminate into communication involving more than one individual. A gesture is made by the first party and it attracts a response from the...

The Five Good Emperors of Roman Empire

Introduction The five good emperors were very prosperous emperors who ruled consecutively and excelled during their time of reign; for the period between 96 and 180 AD. These five emperors were ‘Trajan, Nerva, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius’. They were called so because they succeeded by winning support concerning...

Increasing Tuition Fees in the UK Higher Education

Introduction Different countries deal with the issue of higher education funding differently, through either private or public sector financing. According to Murphy et al. (2017), in the UK, full-time domestic students could attend public higher education institutions free of charge until the end of the 20th century. Later on, tuitions...

The History of Enterprise Architecture and Their Specific

Enterprise Resource Planning refers to an approach or process implemented with a prime objective of merging all the departments and business functions within an organization into a single integrated computer system that meets the information units of every business unit within the organization (Alexis, 2007). The outcome of Enterprise Architecture...

Asian Currencies Sink in 1997

Economic activities are internationally integrated at present to an exceptional degree. Alteration in one country’s economy can be swiftly transmitted to its business partners. The rise and fall of economic activities are replicated almost instantly on fluctuations in exchange values. As a result, multinational corporations having incorporated cross-border productions and...

  • Marine Life
  • Relationship

Delia’s Tenacity in the Short Story “Sweat” by Hurston

“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him ” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Verses 21–25)....

The Metro West Refined Project in Sydney

Procurement The project has developed a detailed suggested delivery strategy. It recognizes the possibility of public-private partnerships separating parts of the project. Continuous refinement of the final delivery strategic approach is vital. Timeframe Besides the project’s commencing its statutory planning progression in late 2019, its first commencement timeframe will depend...

Homo Floresiensis: Distinctive Features And Ancestry

General Description of Homo Floresiensis Homo Floresiensis is a primitive hominine species that has become an object of active scientific debates. H. Floresiensis was discovered in 2003 in Lang Bua (Indonesia) in the Late Pleistocene sediments (Sutikna et al., 2016). For a long time, the scientists have been discussing the...

DNR Orders and Ethics in Medical Decision-Making

Introduction It is important to note that DNR orders are critical decisions made by patients and their relatives. There are many potential reasons why DNR orders are requested, which might involve an incurable condition or worsened quality of life post-resuscitation. The demonstrated case is unique because the cause of respiratory...

Natural Gas Substitution in the United States

Introduction The United States, like all nations, has been heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as coal and oil since the industrial revolution, and as the global population keeps growing, consumption continues to increase. The current rate of consumption of fossil fuels can eventually lead to the depletion of resources....

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Bodies, Therapies, Senses

Define CAM Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a term that describes a wide range of healthcare practices and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine (Barcan, 2020). These practices include herbs, dietary supplements, energy healing, massage, yoga, acupuncture, and homeopathy. CAM prevents and treats illness, improves...

Verizon Communications Inc.’ Financial Analysis

Introduction Branded as “Verizon”, Verizon Communications Corporation is an American company that specializes in providing broadband and telecommunication services. The company trades its stock on the NYSE but the incorporation was done in Delaware (Verizon, 2014). Summary of operations The company employs more than 176,000 people and obtains revenue exceeding...

Legal Aspects of Employment in the United Kingdom

Introduction Employment laws help to ensure that working conditions are safe and fair for the employees; moreover, they can help to prevent and mediate the potential conflicts between an employer and employees. One of the key legal aspects of the employment law in the United Kingdom is the dismissal of...

Walmart Company’s Employment Practices

Employment practice The topic for the research is Wal-Mart’s employment practice, so the major focus of the paper will be made on it. To provide a good analysis of the topic it is important to limit it to a specific area. It is suggested that the employment practices in Wal-Mart...

Standard English: Privilege or Discimination?

Introduction The debate concerning the use of a standard form of English has been a heated one for several decades, especially amongst linguistic and partly the general public. One of the most central issues characterizing the debate is the use of Standard English in education and more specifically whether it...

Concept of Worldwide Health

Introduction By definition, health is defined as the absence of illness or injury, but the World Health Organization and many medical professionals and theories suggest that health is a state of complete “physical, mental, and social well-being” (Huber et al., 2011). The modern health continuum has evolved to provide a...

International Trades Simulation Analysis

Introduction International trade is the exchanging of goods and services among different countries. The stimulation will help identify the reasons of international trade and know the countries that are the best for me to trade with. In this simulation i will consider a very large country in terms of level...

Metro Sexuality: Term Definition

Recently, there have been a growing number of buzz words that use the ‘metro’ prefix. For example, Metro sexuality, which is the term for heterosexual men having a strong concern for their appearance, is a term that is now quite common, widespread and ordinary. Similar to this, a rather new...

Monetary Theory and Policy. Money in the Utility Function

Introduction Money is the issue of the economy, due to the political and social, and other factors affecting different aspects of life and household. Money is an asset, making positive or negative or some other functional effect. Goods, demands, propositions are constantly dependent on the money supply. And the money...

The Purist Avant-Garde and the Radical Avant-Garde Art Movements

Following Charles Jencks, avant-garde art of the 20th century can be divided into two main trends: the Purist avant-garde and the Radical avant-garde. Each of these trends is marked by the unique perception of reality and the world around us. Both trends of avant-garde art move away from mass art...

The Developmental Tasks of Early Childhood

Introduction When children reach the age of two, they are no longer toddlers but in their early childhood years. These years run through to the age of six. This age bracket involves growth in their body size and in their mental capacity. These children quickly grow and lose their toddler...

Elements of the Ballad in Daemon Lover by E. Bowen

Introduction The Demon Lover by Elizabeth Bowen is an extremely fascinating story about a woman that encounters her past and loses her mind. The events in the story take place around 1941 during World War II. The story presents London after the Blitz, the bombardment that took place over the...

The Aspect of Educational Blogs

Introduction Using blogging as a way of conveying message or presenting opinions and facts has grown to become very popular in education sector. Many institutions have embraced these means, including at the public schools and tertiary colleges. Blogs can be very beneficial when we want to share important information and...

MT302M6 Competency Assessment

The company under consideration, ROBoInc., experiences specific difficulties resulting from the improper organizational structure and culture. Due to their intention to expand the scope of business activity and the existing issues, global market penetration would be possible only in the case if the CEO solves all of the problems. Therefore,...

Isolation Precautions and Personal Protective Equipment

Abstract Isolation precautions and personal protective equipment are the two most common methods of infection control in most hospital settings. This literature review analyzes the data from 5 qualitative and quantitative articles, each dedicated to a particular part of the PICOT: effectiveness of IP and PPE in reducing HAI in...

  • Historical Figures
  • Discrimination
  • Product Marketing

Goujian, the Ruler of the Yue Kingdom in Ancient China

The Chinese civilization is one of the oldest in the world. According to some Chinese scientists, its age may be about five thousand years. Ancient China is known for its unique culture, which in many respects has not changed much even now. Many things of everyday life, such as paper...

The Korean Wave: Transnationality and Hybridity

Korean popular culture has infiltrated the global arena of entertainment. Millions of fans worldwide have an obsession with Korean media, including TV programs (K-dramas), films, and music (K-pop). Korea has managed to leap forward far beyond the expectations some might have had for a small East Asian nation. As of...

The Lisu People’s Beliefs Concerning Mission Work

Introduction This essay will explore the similarities and differences between Christianity and the religion of the Lisu people, a small ethnic group from China. Animism and ancestor worship are the cornerstones of the Lisu people’s distinctive belief system, accentuating the existence of spirits and immortality (Liu, 2019). Contrarily, Christianity is...

Individual Power in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

“Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.” This line from Honore de Balzac relates to the main conflict in Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” which is the struggle for individual agency in a conformist society. The protagonists in this play, which is set in late 19th-century Norway, struggle with...

Fort Matanzas National Monument in Architecture

Fort Matanzas is a national monument located at St. Augustine, Florida. Initially, the Spanish built the fort to protect this historic city (Fort Matanzas National Monument – St. Augustine, Florida). Since 1740, the fort has been a guard for this historic city. Although it was built for protection from the...

IKEA: SWOT, McKinsey 7S, Porter’s Diamond Analyses

SWOT Analysis Strengths Ikea is a business leader in terms of sales of products and services within the UK market and across Europe, which translates into a strong and stable market presence for its furniture and home appliances. Ikea offers very attractive customer care, discounts, and price-friendly products and services...

The Nature of Personality

Two Opinions on the Nature of Personality We often hear that people possess different personalities, but the meaning of this word is not the same when it is used by a common person compared to a professional psychologist. Trying to couch the notion of personality in the right form, many...

Cognitive Neuroscience of Executive Function Concept

The definition of the “executive function” Executive function is the theorized cognitive function in psychology that is in charge of and deal with the cognitive processes (Lux, 2007). The cognitive functions are normally being performed by the frontal and the prefrontal lobe of the brain. Moreover the executive function involves...

Louisiana Purchase: Historical Review

“Louisiana, which translates to La Celina Mario in French, was the name of an administrative district of New France. Under French control from the 17th century to the 18th century, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV of France by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle....

Study Skill of Time Management

Introduction Time management is very important in everyone’s life. One must know how to manage time. Time is precious; so it must be used effectively and one must be time conscious. Delegation is essential when time management is conducted, then only efficiency and productivity of an organization can be attained....

  • Organizational Behavior
  • Substance Abuse
  • Colonization

Groups and Teams Diversity: Comparison

Introduction A group consists of two or more people who interact frequently to achieve a general purpose or goal. Some of the common organizational groups are functional groups, task teams, informal and interest groups (Griffin, 2006). A team is made up of a group of workers that function as a...

Use of Anonymous Sources in Journalism: Positive and Negative Outcomes

Introduction A journalist that wants their story to be believed uses at least two named sources in a story. Using just one source that is unknown to the reader, and sometimes the reporter, for the sake of sensationalism and competition is, unfortunately, becoming a common practice. Others, including responsible journalists,...

The Psychology of Consciousness

Conscious Definition Conscious is a word that has been adapted from the Latin word conscius which is translated to mean self-knowledge. Consciousness can be said to be a state of alertness and awareness. A conscious person will be one that is at a wakeful state and one that is able...

Computers: Macs Vs PCs

Introduction This research paper aims to describe Macs and PCs. The paper will make familiarize the reader with Macs and PCs through examples. Apart from this research paper includes comparison and contrasting of both Macs and PCs. By example There are lots to consider in mind while thinking about Mac...

Building Materials Overview and Analysis

Introduction Building materials can be defined in relation to their use in construction activities. This means that it is a material that is used to enhance construction. It should be known that there are various forms of building materials that can be termed as natural occurring substances. This therefore implies...

How City Changes and Gentrification Excludes People

Changes to cities, communities, and neighborhoods are inevitable as they have been developing and changing since the dawn of civilization. In most cases, city change and gentrification occur when more affluent individuals move to historically less affluent neighborhoods, and people hold different views about it. Using the articles “The Way...

“Nurses’ Knowledge about Palliative Care”: Article Critique

Background and Significance The authors used the introduction to contextualize the problem using published research, stating the importance of palliative care and its need by the aging population. They discuss how the increase of chronic non-communicable disease and increased population aging leads to the global need for palliative care. Overall,...

The Discrepancies in Unhealthy Food Advertising: Hispanic and Black Consumers

Describe the Purpose of the research The purpose of this research is to outline the discrepancies in unhealthy food advertising directed towards Hispanic and Black consumers in general and the comparatively large allocations of television advertising budgets to targeted television programs. The research determines the effectiveness of advertising directed towards...

Analysis of Municipality of Lubao

When you think of something to see in the Philippines, the first things coming to mind are likely Manila, the beaches of El Nido, or Mayon volcano. But what if I tell you there is a place just as deserving of your attention, and a mere two-hour drive from the...

Normative Ethics and Medical Care

Introduction In the discussion presented, Jo Ellen is admitted to the hospital after an incident involving a medical drug overdose. Judging by the attitudes of the patient, along with the information provided on the Notarized Advance Directive, it becomes clear that the 53-year-old has attempted to decisively end her life....

  • Child Development
  • Corporation

Reasons Why the RMS Titanic Sank

Introduction Before 1982, passenger steamships were the sole way for travelers and mail to travel between Europe and North America. The Cunard Steamship Company’s Lusitania and Mauritania were the fastest and largest, with a gross weight of 31000 tons and a top speed of 26 knots (Felkins et al., 1998)....

British Airways: Corporate Social Responsibility

British Airways is an international aviation company that offers both passenger and cargo transport services. The company has its headquarters located in London, England, at Heathrow Airport. It is the second largest airline in the UK based on the size of its fleet. Since the beginning of its operation, the...

The Issue of Racial Equality in Healthcare

Introduction What comes to your mind when you hear the word racism? It is often associated with racial minorities being oppressed on the streets by police workers or in the media by politics. However, racial inequality is one of the most critical issues in the world today and it has...

Human Resources Management in Projects

Introduction Human resources management is required to ensure that resources are well managed in a project; project management is the process through which projects are initiated, implemented, managed, and controlled for a successful project goals and objectives attainment; the process has a time and costs framework that it must meet....

The Killers: Short Story Genre of Earnest Hemingway

The literary style of Earnest Hemingway, Nobel laureate in 1954, is direct, terse, and often monotonous, yet suited to elemental subject matters. His fiction and short stories usually focus on people living essential, dangerous lives, controlling the pain and difficulty of their existence, with stoic courage. Hemingway’s characters plainly embody...

Professional Association Membership

The creation and membership in professional organizations is a common practice in various fields as they contribute to the development of the skills of participants and the system of their work in general. However, nursing associations are especially important and necessary because people’s life depends on constant communication and obtaining...

The Drug Abuse in the U.S. Navy: The Problem Analysis

Introduction The purpose of this report is to capture drug abuse in the U.S. Navy and to analyze some of the measures that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has put in place to control the problem. The report presents a critical analysis of drug abuse in the U.S. Navy...

Arterial Dysfunction: The Nursing Practice

Introduction The problem of arterial dysfunction was analyzed by a great number of researchers that tried to introduce discussion of the issues relevant to the treatment, care, and importance of the nursing practice. The current paper suggests a literature review on the topic of arterial dysfunction and health care with...

Heroin Distribution and Its Use Within the United States

In the past two decades, the United States has been facing an escalation in abuse of opioids, primarily heroin. According to Congressional Research Service, in 2016, approximately 0.4% of the U.S. population older than 12 years old reported having used heroin in the past year (2). Besides, the majority of...

The Role of the Model in Sequencing

Data modeling is important in the establishment of trends of a given data set. The mathematical models can be used forecast the future implications of a given data and therefore help in planning effectively. Raw data from research might not display any particular consistent trend but can fit at least...

  • Social Responsibility

Role of Leadership Style in Organizational Change

The urge for a consumer-driven economy has recently been rising as many companies striving to achieve it. Due to globalization and increased competition rates, the market has transformed rapidly, and most organizations have continuously altered their operations to adapt. Subsequently, change management has become an essential aspect of firms today....

AI in Customer Service: Argument Flaws

Flaws in arguments can be a problem that affects the credibility and validity of individual studies and authors’ assessments due to erroneous or partially incorrect judgments caused by the misinterpretation of the existing rationale or subjective arguments. As an article for evaluation, the study by Prentice and Nguyen (2020) will...

The West Park Cultural Center’s Performance Analysis

West Park Cultural Center is a non-profit making organization based in Philadelphia. It mainly focuses on ethnic and cultural programs, thus considered as a charity organization. It uses arts and culture as a vital tool in programs that help young people and youths handle and progress in their creative and...

Perfect Outdoor Music Venue After Covid-19

Smaller Scale Even though technologies allow people to enjoy their favorite songs via smartphones or computers, live concerts are still very popular. Moreover, after spending months at home during quarantine, many people are even more eager to spend time outdoors. However, Covid-19 put a halt to many large-scale concerts and...

VITAS Healthcare: Program Evaluation Proposal

Introduction VITAS Healthcare is a hospice care agency that began in 1798 in Florida, US. The name VITAS was adopted from the Latin word vitas, which stands for life-giving. The organization preserves patients’ dignity and provides end-of-life care to terminally ill patients (VITAS Healthcare, n.d. a). It offers spiritual, mental,...

John Heilpern’ Journalism Techniques

In the frames of the current journalistic trends, the participative approach to writing prevails, allowing authors to express their personal attitude to the events. Willis (2003) noted that “What you give up in terms of arms-length objectivity, you more than gain in terms of understanding and empathy” (p. 21). The...

Language Development from Psychological Perspective

How can the study of aphasia patients advance our knowledge of language processing and language development? According to Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams (2011), aphasia is “the neurological term for any language disorder that results from brain damage caused by disease or trauma” (p. 6). People with aphasia rarely experience total...

Frida Kahlo’s “Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser”

Introduction Frida Kahlo is among the most well-known self-portrait artists. As it is clear from the most prominent of her works, she uses her own image to express moods and various stages of life in a masterly fashion. Self-portrait dedicated to Dr. Eloesser that appeared in 1940 is an important...

Professional Development of Nurses

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report has become a document that offers the most comprehensive range of recommendations and changes for improving and transforming healthcare. Its main points are aimed at reforming the education and practice of nurses since they are the most numerical in medicine and have the broadest...

Gregory Jerralds on Increasing Self’s Profitability

Article “Increase Profitability by Boosting Your Investment in Continuous Improvement” by Gregory Jerralds is devoted to the importance of employee development. Jerralds has over 20 years of experience in leadership and he argues that increasing employee spending is the most effective strategy to reduce operating costs. Despite the personal tone...

  • World War 2
  • A Rose for Emily

Development of Harpsichord and Piano

Harpsichords are keyboard instruments with strings played by plucking mechanisms whereas pianos are keyboard instruments whose sounds are produced when struck by hummers controlled by the keyboard. Over the years, the refinement of the instruments has involved many technologies for instance; the making of strings, hammers, plucking mechanisms, action wires,...

The Fall of The Roman Empire: The Main Reasons

The Roman Empire is variably described as one of the most powerful empire the world had ever seen and was characterized by a republican form of Government and existed across Europe and spread all over the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire in many ways describes the Roman states starting with Emperor...

Organizational Behavior Motivation of Employees

Motivation is the enthusiasm to apply high levels of effort towards the goals of an organization, trained by the skill to satisfy an employee’s needs. In most organizations, the management views employee motivation as a fruitful technique to increase employee productivity. When employees get motivated, they try to strive even...

Importance of Respect in the Army: Code of Ethics

Introduction Soldiers are required to follow established codes of ethics, core values, and philosophies that can make it easier for them to achieve their aims. Commanders and other professionals in leadership positions should have their orders and guidelines followed or taken seriously. The existence of various requirements and conditions is...

Speech about COVID-19: Data and Statistics

Do you believe in today’s medicine, its possibilities, and treatment potentials? Doctors help us to stay healthy for long, in such a way, giving us the opportunity to lead our daily life without worries. We all know that modern medicine is the fruit of research lasting for centuries, multiple attempts,...

Organisms of the Silurian and Devonian Periods

The Silurian period lasted from 443 to 417 million years ago. When the ice finally melted, ocean levels rose and the sea flooded vast areas of land, resulting in a milder climate. The Devonian Period (417 – 354 million years ago) was the time of the greatest cataclysms on the...

Mass Rapes Committed by the Soviet Army in the Axis Countries

Wieden, A. (2016). Writing resistance: Anonyma’s narration of rape in A woman in Berlin. Women in German Yearbook, 32, 25-49. Web. This publication is an autobiography that gives firsthand accounts of World War II German rape victims. Anonyma, the narrator, recounts her rape experiences when men were helpless witnesses of the...

Comparing Literature and Film: Rapunzel and Tangled

Introduction It is a common practice for moviemakers to adapt a well-known story, fairy tale, or novel for their films. In the case of Tangled, it is based on a popular fairy tale. Tangled (2010) is an animated musical directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard and produced by Walt...

The Effects of Air Pollution

Air Pollution Air is an essential component for the survival of all living creatures. When harmful substances are introduced into the atmosphere they affect human beings, other living organisms, the climate, and materials on the surface of the earth. The atmosphere is majorly comprised of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and...

English Proficiency: The Key for Success in Business World

The economic and cultural influence of the United States and the remnants of British colonialism resulted in English becoming the global language it is today. Scholars and researchers around the world have coined various terms for the phenomena, including Ahulu’s “General English” and Brutt-Griffler’s “World English” (Rao, 2019). It is...

  • Organizational Change
  • Colonialism
  • Ancient History
  • McDonald's
  • Christianity

Cultural Influences on Police Decision-Making

Introduction Culture remains myriad and vital to the events within the criminal courts, hence a need to evaluate its influence on police brutality and arrests effectively. Each institution has its unique culture that influences individual thoughts and behavior. Police culture also needs to be understood by identifying what influences them...

“Introducing Cultural Studies” by B. Longhurs

The space surrounding people, in every diversified meaning of the word “space”, can be considered topographically non-uniformed. There are rises, overcoming which demands exponentially increasing efforts. Along with these rises each following step demands greater expenses – forces, time, energy, mind or simply material resources. During any moment of such...

Adapting Organizations to Today’s Markets

Today’s markets experience an accelerated pace of change which has brought about a shift in the nature of business organizations. Most firms have shunned the old hierarchical model, with its clean functional divisions and clear lines of authority, and adopted flatter, less bureaucratic structures. They encourage the concept of flexibility...

Strategic Role of Human Resources in Health Care

Every health care organization while restructuring its functions and corporate structure has to consider the implications of Human Resources Management on recruitment and retention, training and development, employee performance management, regulatory compliance, and compensation and benefits. It is imperative for every organization to carefully chalk out its HR strategy in...

“Glass Ceiling” in the Theory of Gender Studies

‘Glass Ceiling’ Despite the progressive erasure of gender roles, stereotypes, and discrimination in society, there is a ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon in social life. The term ‘glass ceiling’ in the theory of gender studies was introduced in the early 1980s (Niemi 80). It describes an invisible and formally unmarked barrier that...

Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

Introduction The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin features Mrs. Mallard as the main protagonist. It revolves around her inner character, which tends towards preservation. She is portrayed as a woman suffering intensely due to her internal thoughts. Her true personality is one of independence and intelligence. Her independence...

Living Things and Their Main Characteristics

Introduction Ever since biochemical evolutionary processes caused the origin of life on Earth several billion years ago, the drivers of natural selection, heredity, and variability have resulted in a wide range of biodiversity. This diversity is the foundation for questions about what determines the properties of living matter in the...

Snapple Juice Company Marketing Strategies

In terms of distribution infrastructure, the company owns over one hundred and seventy distribution centers within the U.S and twenty-three within Mexico with its warehouses operating within the proximity of the bottling plants. This in effect means that the company utilizes its network, convenience stores, and supermarkets for the purposes...

“King Lear” by William Shakespeare

One of the great things about William Shakespeare’s plays is that he was usually able to offer insight into the psychology of his characters. The dramatic play King Lear is no exception. Intended to be performed before an Elizabethan audience, the main action of the game follows the path of...

Bancolombia, Conavi, Corfinsura Merger’s Cultural Issues

Problem Statement With the merger of Bancolombia, Bancolombia, Conavi, and Corfinsura, the new bank that was in place has a challenge in the area of human resource (Caijao 2). According to Caijao, employees that would continue to work with the new bank lacked determination with the three companies having a...

  • Movies Comparison
  • Roman Empire
  • Western Civilization
  • Death Penalty

Value of the Epigenetics

Epigenetics and Family History Epigenetics is a quickly developing field of science that has proven to be practical in medicine. It focuses on changes in gene activity that are not a result of DNA sequence mutations. Epigenetics studies the volatility of DNA methylation, chromatin, and distinct RNA which can alter...

Escape from Sobibor: World War 2 Holocaust

Summary of the Source The movie presents a clear narrative of events that happened at Sobibor, one of the most infamous concentration camps in Nazi Germany. As the movie starts, a train full of Polish Jews arrives at the camp. At first, they are told that they are brought to...

The Role of Women in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen is one of the most influential plays of Victorian times which not only opened new dimensions to the English Drama but also left an indelible impact on the future writers and dramatists at large. The theme of the play seems to revolt against the...

Evaluation of Marketing Strategy

In this paper, I am going to check out all those features that are related to the adaptation of strategic management about have a hold over the market. The process is to have proficiency systematically in the competitive marketplace. The target of this paper is to discover the consistent approach...

Economic Freedom and Schools of Thought

Economic freedom is the idea of free markets in which people have freedom to produce, buy and sell products and services both inside and outside one’s borders. These products and services should be obtained without the use of force, deception or robbery. Economic freedom is based on personal choice, keeping...

Civil Rights Movement Analysis

Introduction While in the early 1960s, the civil rights movement gradually began to take radical forms, which was supported by the leader Malcolm X, Martin Luther King was right because he denied the violence. He insisted that only nonviolent methods would lead to equal civil rights. King followed the ideas...

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Introduction It might be difficult for people to openly discuss the moral dilemmas that can cause one to choose between abiding by the law and helping others. The story that is described in this essay discusses this issue by placing the reader out of his or her comfort zone and...

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Group and family cognitive behavior therapy for adolescent depression and substance abuse: A case study Adolescent depression has in recent times been identified to be a major psychological disorder the world over. Various approaches have been experimented yet most have been shown to have limited efficacy. The study employs group...

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Free Essays by Words

1000 Word Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

A 1000-word academic assignment is a typical task for students at many study levels. While school students usually receive smaller tasks, college and university students may be assigned to such work in any course or subject.

It is a 3-4-page text that allows a student to get into greater depth of the subject, but it’s not as long as a research paper, so it can be written in an essay format – without subheadings and sections.

A 1000-word assignment can take the form of:

  • A college admission essay (400 to 1000 words)
  • A five-paragraph essay (500 to 1000 words)
  • A critical writing, movie analysis, or book review (500 to 2,000 words)

Read on to get 1000-word essay topics and a writing guide. For a collection of inspiring essay samples on any topic, check out IvyPanda essays collection!

  • 🌍 Globalization Essay Examples
  • 💡 Argumentative Essay Prompts
  • 🤰 Teenage Pregnancy Essay Examples
  • 📖 Literature Analysis Essay Prompts
  • ✏️ How to Write a 1000 Words Essay?
  • 💊 Essay Samples on Drug Abuse
  • 📜 Biography Essay Prompts
  • 💸 Digital Marketing Essay Examples
  • 🙋 Autobiography Essay Prompts
  • 🌐 Cyber Crime Essay Examples

🌍 Essay on Globalization in 1000 Words: Examples

  • Four Perspectives on Globalization This essay will explore four perspectives of globalization: the transformationalist perspective, the skeptical perspective, the hyperglobalist perspective, and the constructivist perspective. The perspectives on globalization include the transformationalist perspective, the skeptical perspective, the hyperglobalist perspective, […]
  • Globalization and Its Key Drivers The news articles examine the issue of globalization drivers through the lens of the recent shock to the global economy with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent political, economic, and social consequences from global […]
  • Delta Airlines Affected by Globalization and Technological Changes The rapid growth of national markets has increased the interest of many corporations to venture and offer their services in such places.
  • Current Trends in Globalization of Crime Hence, the major cause of the drugs smuggling routes over the U.S.-Mexico border is still the discrepancies between the U.S.and Mexican drug enforcing legislation as well as the lack of cross-border cooperation.
  • Social Inequality, Capitalism, and Globalization It replaces slavery of antiquity and negatively affects almost all aspects of society, from the inequality of men and women to the sphere of science and education.
  • Christianity and Globalization – Relationship By demonstrating the values behind each religion, globalization leads to greater understanding and tolerance of humanity’s leading religious traditions, one of which is Christianity.
  • Globalization and Development of Contemporary Cities The emphasis on sustainability and the associated changes, including the increased mobility of the city and the update of the infrastructure of the urban landscape, can also be considered some of the central elements of […]
  • Globalization and Organizational Communication As such, the firms reduce the promotion and sales of ‘green’ products and address environmental issues on a larger scale that is related to the fuel use of planes. Situational leadership aims to modify a […]
  • Globalization in Business and SWOT Analysis In modern studies, SWOT analysis is a helpful tool to evaluate the main idea of the offered business and examine organizational internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats.
  • Globalization, Immigration, and Class Division It includes the widespread globalization of countries, diverse economic perception of each, and the acute ethical and legal side of the immigration issue.
  • Globalization and Humanitarian Development Across the Globe 7 The second possible justification is that the functions of various international NGOs and UN human development activities are designed in such a way that they support the goals of many countries across the globe.

💡 1000-Word Argumentative Essay Prompts

Corruption essay 1000 words.

Define corruption and explain how it occurs in the government and public administration. Talk about the economic, political, and social implications of a corrupted government. Examine various policies that can curb corruption and improve governmental transparency.

Are Leaders Born or Made? Essay 1000 Words

Define a leader and describe leadership traits typically associated with strong leadership. Examine two contradicting theories – the natural-born leadership features and the opinion that leadership can be nurtured in a person. Voice evidence and arguments in support of each position and say which one you agree with.

Organ Donation Essay 1000 Words

Explain the principles guiding organ allocation and examine the legality, morality, and ethics of this practice. Talk about the procedure of applying for a donated organ. Analyze whether the scarcity of organ donation can be resolved with organ cloning and what the ethical and legal limitations of this solution are.

Effect of Social Media on Youth: Essay 1000 Words

Describe the modern social media networks and their use by young people. Examine the motivations behind the heavy use of social media and talk about the pros and cons of active social engagement. Propose reasonable limitations on the time and scope of media use by teens.

Natural Disasters Essay 1000 Words

Define the most common natural disasters and talk about their causes. Analyze their impact on the local communities and examine the impact of human activities on the occurrence of calamities. Talk about efficient response mechanisms to minimize destruction and human life losses.

🤰 Teenage Pregnancy Essay 1000 Words: Examples

  • Teenage Pregnancy Causes and Effects In addition to this, the modern society allows the teenagers to have a lot of time and space with the opposite sex on their own, which results to instances of pregnancy at teenage hood.
  • Sex Education Role in Preventing Teenage Pregnancy In a bid to survive, the teens resort to prostitution as a means of earning a livelihood, which in turn leads to teenage pregnancies.
  • Teenage Pregnancy in New Jersey This paper aims to address the issue of teenage pregnancy in New Jersey and identify the parties that influence young people’s decisions related to sexual behavior.
  • Teenage Pregnancy: Statistics, Factors, and Strategies One of the causes of the high levels in teen pregnancies is attributed to poverty and the social inequalities in both Britain and America.
  • Psychological Causes of Teenage Pregnancy They are not settled in their lives and are not able to bear the responsibility of a child. Abortion is also justified in the unfortunate event of teenage marriage and pregnancy.
  • Teenage Pregnancy, Abortion, and Sex Education According to, some individuals in the society particularly the religious ones see abortion as a vice affecting every corner of the world.

📖 1000-Word Essay Prompts: Literature Analysis

Prospero character analysis 1000 words.

Discuss the character of Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest , his attitude to people, and his role in the plot. Talk about the transformative power of wisdom and self-control that Prospero exemplifies in the process of interacting with other characters.

1000 Words Analysis and Summary of the Story of an Hour

Talk about the relativity of time and the way it can go quickly and slowly depending on human circumstances. Examine the mastery of Kate Chopin’s display of emotional suffering and transformation of a wife learning that her husband is dead.

War and Peace Essay 1000 Words

Discuss the main characters and events displayed by Tolstoy in his world-famous book . Examine how the historical epoch of Tzarist Russia was presented and what sentiment and philosophy of war and peace the author shared in his novel.

Discuss Dr. Faustus as Tragic Play in 1000 Words

Focus on tragic elements in Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus . Why is the protagonist a tragic hero? What were the consequences of his decisions, and how were supernatural elements important? How does the play fit within the traditional framework of a tragedy, and what does it reveal about the human condition?

✏️ How to Write a 1000-Word Essay

A 1000-word essay should be written under the standard essay writing rules so you won’t face any unique challenges or troubles. Your main task is to follow the professor’s prompt and include all necessary structural elements to make it look logical and complete.

The picture lists the components of a 1000-word essay.

1000-Word Essay Structure

The 1,000-word assignment rarely requires any sections like a literature review or methodology, so you may write it in the form of a standard extended essay. Make sure to include the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion in your paper to make it logical and coherent.

Is structuring a 1000-word essay a challenge for you? Try out the free outline generator we’ve developed.

1000-Word Essay Introduction

As usual, the introductory part of your essay should explain the broad subject and topic your reader will deal with in the body paragraphs. You may start with a broad background introduction and move on to a concrete problem and a thesis statement. In terms of word count, it is fine to allocate anywhere between 10% and 20% of your paper’s length to the introductory section, which will usually take one paragraph.

Need to prepare a catchy introductory part in no time? Consider using our free research introduction maker . You can also check out the thesis sentence generator and problem statement maker we’ve developed to speed up writing the corresponding parts of your introduction.

1000-Word Essay Conclusion

The concluding part should summarize your main arguments and recap the thesis statement so that the reader gets a sense of a complete argument. It should also take 10-20% of your total word count, which is a standard paragraph.

Try using our closing sentence generator to make a conclusion in no time.

How Many References Should I Use in a 1000-word Paper?

There is no unified standard as to how many references you should include; as a rule, your professor will give you that information in the prompt. However, the rule of thumb in academic writing is to allocate between 8 and 12 references for each 1,000 words of text. So, including around ten sources will be a reasonable decision.

You will make a reference list for your 1000-word essay quickly with our free citation generator .

💊 Essay Samples on Drug Abuse in 1000 Words

  • Consequences of Drug Abuse The endless stream of drugs, obtainable to the individuals with little or no restrictions, poses a serious inquiry. When assessing the advantages of using pharmaceutical drugs, it is essential to consider the severity of health […]
  • Drug Abuse in Lake County, California The topic of drug abuse is essential for discussion due to the need to develop strategies to prevent and minimize the dangerous consequences of drug abuse in different regions.
  • Drug Abuse in High School and College With respect to social work and the problem of substance abuse, research has been carried out in terms of investigating the relationship between drug abuse and poverty, the effects of drug abuse on the society.
  • Impact of Drug Abuse on Adolescent Development Therefore, it is important for counselors to consider these stages to help them address the issue of substance abuse among adolescents. In the habitual stage, most adolescents take drugs to help them modify their moods.
  • Mitigating Drug Abuse in Pine View School The inclusion of professionals in the fields of health care, counseling, and drugs is expected to promote the delivery of desirable results.
  • Drug Abuse Effects on Health and Nervous System These numerous damages severely affect the quality of the brains work and the health of the nervous system. While discussing the effects of drug addiction, it is essential to notice that it has a devastating […]
  • Intervention Techniques Focusing Drug Abuse and Alcoholism A technique of Family Intervention needs the concern, care and supremacy of love to penetrate the denial and start the treatment.
  • Drug Abuse and Depression Treatment She states that her father was the main person who was able to give the right pieces of advice and she was not afraid of making the wrong decision.
  • Prescription Drug Abuse and Lebanon Students The first two authors are the representatives of the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the American University of Beirut, and Martins is from the Department of Mental Health, the John Hopkins University.
  • Drug Abuse Decreasing: Financial Plan Therefore, the first preferred sources for the program are the County Commission and the Alabama Department of Corrections. The program can be financed by the Montgomery County Commission in the short term and Alabama Department […]
  • Addressing the Drug Abuse in Parolees and Probationers The aim of the program is to address the drug abuse in parolees and probationers during their probations and decrease the use of drugs in them.
  • Drug Abuse: Age, Gender and Addictive Susceptibility This incorporates the aspects of gender where males and females possess varying biological constitutions that might affect the prescribed treatments in the realms of addiction. It is important to consider the rapidity and susceptibility of […]

📜 1000-Word Biography Essay Prompts

Essay on robert frost in 1000 words.

Describe who Robert Frost was and examine his biography and literary contribution to American literature. Examine the life-changing events that shaped his literary style and discuss the broader historical context in which he composed his world-famous works.

Essay on William Shakespeare in 1000 Words

Talk about the role of Shakespeare in the formation of the English literary language. Mention his main literary works and examine his impact on the generations of English poets and writers. Analyze the mystery of his personality and various theories of who he really was.

Essay on Isaac Newton in 1000 Words

Discuss the role of Newton and his theory of gravity in the development of physics. Talk about his contribution to the Enlightenment and the progress in science he fostered. Examine his major theories and discoveries, along with their impact on scientific innovation.

1000-Word Essay about Steve Jobs

Describe the major turning points in Steve Jobs’ career and the spirit of innovation that allowed him to change Apple and millions of users’ minds. Talk about his life and business philosophy, his major values, and the transformative path of Apple under his leadership.

💸 Essay on Digital Marketing in 1000 Words: Examples

  • Opportunities and Challenges of Digital Marketing to Organizations Digital marketing refers to the use of internet, which is a major communication and marketing medium, to engage customers through online advertising to conduct promotions of products and services.
  • The AutiPal Project’s Digital Marketing Strategy Marketing specialists with the representatives of the brand’s culture should also define the brand’s mission and openly show it in the media together with the values Then the marketing specialist, with the SMM manager, will […]
  • Digital Marketing Strategy of R.E.T.R.O. Console The first issue to focus on involves discerning that SEO optimization includes three aspects: the content to be provided, technicalities, and links to the site.
  • Digital Marketing Strategy for India SEM is one of the marketing strategies that will help the company’s website be more visible to potential customers in the Indian market.
  • Digital Marketing in China and the Coronavirus Pandemic Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to outline the current tendencies in the Chinese digital market and provide an analysis of a real case, namely the adaptation of Forest Cabin Cosmetics.
  • Ethics in Digital Marketing: Course Reflection These could involve consulting all the stakeholders and provision of the penalties to the breakers of the laws provided to provide security to the confidential information. I have also learned how to ensure the privacy […]
  • Utilizing Digital Marketing Strategies in Business A blog updates your audience on the events in your business and sets you apart as the expert in the industry.
  • Digital Marketing Presents Opportunities for Technology The report’s main body has four sections which examine the approach to digital marketing, advantages and challenges of digital marketing, how digital marketing can be implemented, and recommendation on digital marketing.

🙋 1000-Word Autobiography Essay Prompts

Autobiography of a student in 1000 words.

Compose an autobiography and discuss the major life events and milestones that brought you to the present-day point. Examine the influence of meaningful people on life values, career path, and your general philosophy.

An Autobiographical Experience 1000 Words

Choose a life-changing experience and discuss it in detail to show its implications for your life, education, or career. Examine the causes of that event and the far-reaching repercussions it created on your self-development and life attitudes.

Self-Confidence Essay 1000 Words

Dwell on the concept of self-confidence and its importance for successful communication, studies, and career success. Evaluate your own level of self-confidence and examine the factors that shaped it at the current level. Talk about ways to improve self-confidence.

Autobiography of a School in 1000 Words

Describe your school and you as a student of that educational institution. Imagine that a school is a living entity and talk about its life course and significant events in which you have managed to partake during your studies.

🌐 Cyber Crime Essay 1000 Words: Examples

  • Hypotheses and Theories of Cybercrime For instance, on the Internet, it is much easier to bully and harass people with impunity due to the distance that separates the offender and victim.
  • Cybercrime Effects on UAE Educational Institutions The research aims to examine the effects of cybercrime in the UAE educational institutions. The research will propose guidelines that can be adopted by project managers to minimize the effects of cybercrime in the UAE […]
  • Modern Cybercrime: Most Recent Threats and Cybersecurity This is due to the fact that the Internet is a public open system in which data moves uncontrollably and can be discovered, intercepted, or stolen if the correct knowledge of the equipment is applied.
  • Impact of Cybercrimes on Business The SolarWinds cyber-raid is described as the most sophisticated and the most significant assault in the world. The vulnerabilities in SolarWind and its customers, such as Microsoft can lead to the loss of millions to […]
  • Patrol Officers Role in Responding to Cybercrime According to the results, the officers have perceived roles in responding to the crime. The report adds that the officers feel unacquainted with the skills of managing the new wave of crime.
  • Cybercrime, Surveillance, and Constitutional Rights Following the 9/11 disaster and the PATRIOT Act’s passage, the powers of the United States government to conduct surveillance on both citizens and foreign entities expanded dramatically.
  • Cybercrime and Cybersecurity: Data Protection One of the biggest Constitutional concerns for electronic surveillance as well as search and seize of evidence is protected by the Fourth Amendment which limits any such activities against the private persons, property, or effects […]
  • Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Strategies The analyzed literature reveals a problem in the sphere of cybercrime research the lack of statistical information and analysis of interventions in the field of personal data theft.
  • Cybercrime and Digital Evidence When a user searches for a music file by title or a musician’s name, the user’s request is sent out to all computers in the network, and a response list is generated to the user […]
  • Cybercrime, International Laws and Regulation Nevertheless, it is important to discuss the most likely international bodies that should be responsible for the prosecution and the punishment of the cybercrime offenses.

📌 1000 Word Essay: Answers to the Most Pressing Questions

📌 how many pages is 1000 words double spaced.

How long is a 1000-word essay? It will typically be 4 pages double-spaced or 2 pages single-spaced. The exact number of pages a 1000 words essay takes will depend on the citation style you use, the number of your footnotes (if you have any), and the length of your bibliography section.

📌 How Many Paragraphs Are in a 1000 Word Essay?

How much is 1000 words in paragraphs? A typical academic paragraph contains 100 to 150 words. So, a 1000-word essay will consist of 7-10 paragraphs.

📌 How Many Sentences Is 1000 Words?

How many sentences is a 1000-word essay? A typical sentence in academic writing consists of 15-20 words. So, 1000 words are not less than 50-53 sentences.

📌 How to Outline a 1000-Word Essay?

An essay of 1000 words is an extensive piece that requires a serious approach to researching, outlining, and writing. The three parts of a 1000-word essay are the introduction (15% of the total volume), body (70%), and conclusion (15% of the total volume). The exact number of paragraphs will depend on how many arguments you have. Note that a typical paragraph contains 100-200 words on average.

📌 How Long Does It Take to Write 1000 Words?

How long does it take to write a 1000-word essay? It will take you 20-40 minutes to type 1000 words on your keyboard (the total time will depend on your typing speed). Writing an academic paper will take more time because you’ll have to research, make an outline, write, format, and edit your text. It would be best if you planned to spend around 3 and a half hours for a 1000-word paper.

📌 How Many Body Paragraphs Are in a 1000 Word Essay?

A typical 1000 words essay consists of 9 to 11 paragraphs. Each of the paragraphs should contain 75-150 words.

  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

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To Cut a Short Story Short

Curious Flash Fiction by Simon J. Wood

Tag: 1000 word story

1000 word short story essay

The Answer Book

(1000 words) Monastic-style beers were her favourite. Heavy, sweet, and above all, high alcohol! She peered through the small opaque panes of Oliver’s Beer and Books. No sign of anyone in the small cafe behind the faded yellow door. She pushed it open and a bell rang. Inside was a counter, and behind, shelves upon which stood perhaps twenty dusty brown bottles. Bold fonts on cream and blue labels displayed odd foreign names - Zundert, Achel, Gregorius, Westmalle, all ones that she was now familiar with. Perhaps too familiar? A coffee machine, all shiny bright steel and red levers stood at one end of the counter. The enticing odour of coffee was noticeable by its absence.

1000 word short story essay

Hare-Brained

(950 words) Their mother's voice became serious. “Now the moon has gone through one cycle, it is time to make your own way in life. I will no longer be here to suckle you, and you must continue to wean on the fruits of the woods and farmers’ fields.” “But will we still see you, mother?” asked Blackberry, Sycamore’s brother, with a tear in his eye. “Yes, son, I will still frequent the same woods and fields, but it will only be a few moon-cycles before you will father leverets of your own. And just a few more before Bluebell, your sister, gives birth to her first litter.” “How exactly does that happen?” asked Sycamore, bemused. “You will find out son, never fear!” An older hare lolloped onto the moss. His coat had many curls and grizzled areas. Mother cleared her throat. “Now, I want to introduce someone to you. This is Uncle Ditch.”

1000 word short story essay

The Silent Woman

(1000 words) I was sitting at a bar with Tom, my ex-husband. He was being pleasant, that’s why I should’ve known it was a dream. “I think Toni should go back to art school,” he was saying, as an alarm shattered the illusion. I fumbled for my phone under the pillow as the clouds of sleep reluctantly rolled away. Any messages? Just one, a destination alert. ‘9 miles to The Silent Woman.’ What the hell?!

1000 word short story essay

Promise the Moon

(1000 words) “Be polite and listen carefully,” said the old man to his four daughters, “and don’t speak unless you’re spoken to!” Their names were Anshula, Bakula, Chandhini and Darshini. By the grace of God, they had been born exactly three years apart so that all four shared the same birthday – that very day, the first of November – unique in all the land. Anshula was sixteen, Bakula thirteen, Chandhini ten, and little Darshini just seven. Now they waited, dressed in splendid saris, Anshula in maroon, Bakula in ruby red, Chandhini in royal blue and finally, little Darshini in emerald green.

1000 word short story essay

Nothing More, Nothing Less

(950 words) “Oh, look, darling, we simply must get rid of this ghastly furniture!” Reginald Wright rolled his eyes. “What’s wrong with it?” “Well, it doesn’t match for starters! And this green – thing – is ancient! Look, let’s order a new suite from McIntyre’s. They can do us a custom job. Top-of-the-range leather and how about a deep ruby-red? It’d suit this room to a tee!” Reginald held his tongue. Melissa was always right. Why argue? Her mother had died and left them a respectable sum. Now Melissa had her eyes on this old pile, Dalefern Manor, along with its almost-equally-old furniture. He replaced the dusty white sheets over the suite.

1000 word short story essay

(1000 words) I remember it was a Tuesday when I awoke to feel that something had changed. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But I felt different, I didn’t know how. I looked in the mirror, then looked again in disbelief. My face wasn’t looking back at me! No beard and moustache, no kindly blue eyes (or so I thought), no curly blond hair. Instead, I could see the reflection of the wall behind me. What was going on? Was this some kind of practical joke? On impulse, I picked up my alarm clock and held it up in front of the mirror. There it was, ticking away, suspended in mid-air!

1000 word short story essay

Lost in Translation

(1000 words) We’d come down to the stream to find there was no bridge. Instead, lumps of rock protruded from the water at semi-regular intervals. Stepping-stones. “We cross here,” announced Eric. “Hang on a minute, it looks quite deep,” said Jan. “And those rocks look slippery,” said Petra. “Come on, girls, you’re not scared of a little stream are you,” laughed Eric. “What say you, Saul?” “Well,” I said, “we can’t go back. I’ll go first.” I took off my boots and socks, stuffed the socks into the boots, tied the laces together and strung them around my neck. Then I rolled my trousers up to my knees. “Good luck,” laughed Eric, slapping me on the back.

1000 word short story essay

All Will Be Well

(1000 words) One summer night, a man stood on a low hill overlooking a wide expanse of field and forest. By the orange crescent moon hanging low in the west, he knew it was near the hour of dawn. A light mist lay along the earth, but above it, tall trees showed against a clear sky, and far off, the small dark rectangle of a farmhouse lay visible through the haze. She’ll be asleep in her bed, he thought, feeling his body stir at the thought of naked flesh enmeshed in an eiderdown and the smell of a sleeping woman. He turned the freshly sharpened axe to a more comfortable position on his shoulder and began to walk the path down the hill, the path to the farmhouse, nestling there in the grey distance, perhaps half a mile away. As he trod the track in the silent early morning, the first birds began to stir. Soon, the deafening dawn chorus would be ringing out over the countryside. But before then, it would all be over.

1000 word short story essay

No Place Like Home

(1000 words) “Where am I?” thought Donnie Jackson, looking out of his parents’ bedroom window on the morning of his fourteenth birthday. He gazed across an endless black plain towards towering mountains in the distance, all silverised by a huge moon filling the sky. The moon wasn’t ‘our’ moon, he thought, there were no maria, the lava plains clearly seen from Earth, and there were visible canyons. They must be huge, gigantic. And this moon was, what, maybe ten times as big in the sky? But where were his mum and dad?

1000 word short story essay

Love Sweet Love

(1000 words) He took a knife and slit the tape that had been holding the cardboard box shut for the last twenty-five years. He poured out a glass of red wine, thick as blood and with an odour of marzipan. Taking out an envelope of photographs, he began to look through them, a quarter of a century collapsing like a house of cards. There she was, in various stages of undress, an inverted ‘V’ of dyed auburn hair framing a smiling brown face. As he looked through them, Rohani on the toilet, naked in the shower, laughing in a university class photo, he realised perhaps why he’d loved her so much. That smile, visible in nearly every photograph, exuded laughter and warmth and, yes, joy. Plain simple joie de vivre. Of course, she’d known how to use that slim brown body and those smiling red lips; she was the best lover he’d ever had. Better not go there. But now, perhaps for the first time, he realised it was more than that. It had been about her presence, just having her with him, having fun together, something that had been sorely missing from his life.

1000 word short story essay

Maggie’s Farm

(1000 words) Quite suddenly there was no more road. It ran down the valley like any other road and then past a broad field of wheat, standing alone. It came up beside the small white house that belonged to the wheat field and then just faded out, as though there was no more use for it. Jesse Harding pulled the old car up. “Sorry, kids, I must’ve taken a wrong turn.” Simon turned his freckled face up to the sun. His pale blue eyes were almost translucent and the pupils like pinpricks of black ink. “I’m tired, dad. Is it much further?” Jesse looked down at his young son, then at Lucy, his daughter, a couple of years older, fourteen, going on twenty-four. “Not much further, son, we’ll be at the hostel before it goes dark.” “Hostel!” exclaimed Lucy, “Why can’t we stay at a proper hotel? Somewhere with clean sheets and … and room service!” “Now, you know why,” said Dolores, Jesse’s wife, “times is hard right now, but your dad’s got a new job starting soon.” She crossed her fingers underneath her pale green dress. It was hard to tell if that was its actual colour or faded through the endless passing of time. Jesse looked at the white house. All the windows were covered with blinds. Opposite the house was a freshly sown field of green shoots. But there was nowhere else to turn the car. With a slight feeling of trepidation, he backed the car onto the edge of the field, feeling the slight give of the earth before he straightened back up onto the road. Just then, a woman emerged from around the house. Jesse felt he wanted to stamp on the accelerator and get the hell out of there, but out of politeness, he pressed a button to wind the window down. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, I had to turn the car around somehow. We’re heading for Castle Tor; we’re staying the night.” He felt embarrassed.

1000 word short story essay

The Hard Part

(1000 words) It was in my eighth year, shortly before my birthday, that my mother took me to live with her mother, Françoise, in Woodhall Spa. In my perception, we were one moment walking along the beach in Skegness, past huge black rocks like giant Tourmaline tumblestones, that I later learned were to stop the sand from being eroded, and the next, we were beside my grandmother’s swimming pool, the clear water azure and alluring. At that time, I did not recognise we had crossed a border between worlds.  I was soon enrolled at St. Cuthbert’s, a private school for girls, situated within acres of green lawns, cricket and football pitches and its own private woodland, where small-leaved limes rubbed shoulders with the wild service tree and where a little wooden pergola displayed a plaque dedicated to the school’s founder.  “Christiana, you and Anne are to share a tent.” So said Brother Joseph, a teacher I disliked on account of his yellow eyes and spots, like boils, that seemed to cover his cheeks. I was ten years old now, aware of changes in my body that I didn’t completely understand. We were camping in the school arboretum over the weekend. It was June and it seemed like summer would never end. I looked over to Anne and we both smiled. “OK.”

1000 word short story essay

About the $1000 for 1000 Words Writing Contest

Welcome aspiring young authors, and thank you for your interest in the $1000 for 1000 Words Creative Writing Contest! We’re looking for an outstanding piece of short fiction that consists of exactly 1000 words. While there are no specific guidelines beyond that, we encourage you to tell a story that matters. Write something you believe in. Tell a story that only you can tell. Our judges have no specific criteria in mind other than to look for excellence. In other words, write something that moves you, that dazzles you, that says precisely what you want to say in precisely the way you want to say it. As long as you do so in precisely 1000 words!

We welcome all entries that meet our criteria. We regularly receive more than 1000 entries, from as many as 47 states and 46 different countries.

Please read the Contest Rules and FAQ s carefully.

We reserve the right to reject submissions solely on the basis of conformity to these guidelines.

Contest Rules

The $1000 for 1000 Words fiction writing contest is open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12. Each entrant may submit a fiction piece consisting of exactly 1,000 words (not including title or author’s name). The fiction piece can be on any topic, as long as it is not vulgar or offensive, does not use inappropriate profanity, and is the original work of the entrant not previously published. At the discretion of the Foundation, all submissions may be published in the Bluefire journal or on the Foundation website. Entrants retain copyright on his/her own individual work. All entrants must include a completed Entry Form, and must agree to the terms of the Contributor Agreement . Only one entry per person per year will be accepted. Previous grand prize winners are not eligible to submit in the same grade category (6-8, or 9-12) in which they have won.

Entries must be submitted using the entry form on the website. You can copy and paste from a file created with your favorite word processing program or text editor. Please note that non-standard formatting, fonts, and characters may not transfer properly into our submission form, so it is best not to elaborate beyond standard fonts and formatting.

Entries must be *exactly* 1000 words. The entry form will not allow you to submit stories that are more or fewer than 1000 words. You need to copy and paste the body text only (i.e., not the title or your name) into the box provided. The title of your story, as well as your name and other required information, go into separate boxes on the form as required fields. If the form tells you that your story is not exactly 1000 words, please edit your piece to add or remove the necessary words. The word count may be slightly different between the form and your word processor or editor. Our form is how we determine word count irrespective of what your word processor or editor say. Do not include your name or title in the body of the story or you will be disqualified.

The contest opens December 1st.  The deadline for the $1000 for 1000 Words contest is February 1st.

Entries received after February 1st  will not be considered.

Join our mailing list or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to get reminders and writing tips.

Entries will be judged on originality, creativity, and length. Entries over or under 1,000 words will not be considered, and stories will only be accepted through our website submission form. All entries are blinded before judging. The identities of the winning authors are known only after the judging is completed and the winners selected.

Two $1,000 cash grand prizes will be awarded, one for grades 6-8 and one for grades 9-12. Seven $100 cash prizes will also be awarded for winning entries, one per grade level. Stories selected for publication into Bluefire, but not selected as a grade-level or scholarship winner, will receive a $50 cash prize. In a given year and grade, if no entry is deemed to merit an award, no award will be given.

The panel of judges consists of members of the board of The Leyla Beban Young Authors Foundation and invited judges. All decisions made by the judges are final.

The author retains all copyrights to the submitted work. At the discretion of the Foundation, winning pieces may be published online on the Foundation’s website and in a forthcoming edition of our journal, Bluefire. By entering the contest, you consent to the publication of your work if it is selected, and you grant permission for the Foundation to print the work in future journals and publicity pieces, and other formats or contexts determined by, and at the discretion of, the Foundation. Please note that other publications may not accept as “unpublished” work that has been previously published in Bluefire. If you do subsequently publish your work in another publication, proper attribution must be given to Bluefire and/or the Foundation website. As a condition of submission, you will be required to agree to the terms of the Contributor Agreement specifying your rights and obligations under the contest terms.

Winners will be announced in April and will be notified by phone or email. Names of the winners will appear on the website and in other publicity pieces, including, but not limited to electronic announcements, press releases, and news articles. Young authors selected for publication in our journal will be invited to participate in our award celebration held in May.

The Leyla Beban Young Authors Foundation collects personal information for the purpose of notifying contest winners. All information submitted is kept in confidence, used solely for notification purposes, and shall not be made public by the Foundation. The Leyla Beban Young Authors Foundation does not lease, sell, or share personal information collected. Minor children must have parental permission to enter the contest.

For purposes of privacy, if you are selected for publication, you will only be identified by your first and last name, grade, and state/country. For example, you would appear in Bluefire as Leyla Beban, Senior, California, USA. If you need to provide confirmation of publication to, for example, school admissions offices, write us at [email protected] and we can prepare a letter for you.

Philip K. Dick, The Eyes Have It

75 Short Short Stories

Stories to enjoy when you have five minutes to spare, grouped by category to suit your mood: Witty Stories , Introspective Stories , Morality Tales , Other-Worldly Stories , Feel-Good/Love Stories , Dramatic Stories , and Political Farce Stories

Had a rough day? Cheer up with 50 Great Feel-Good Stories and a generous helping of comforting Foodie Stories

Witty Stories

The Fable of the Preacher Who Flew His Kite, But Not Because He Wished To Do So

Introspective Stories

An Imperial Message

Morality Tales

The Morals of Chess

Other-Worldly Stories

The Terrible Old Man

Feel-Good/Love Stories

The Star Lovers

Dramatic Stories

The Boston Massacre

Political Farce

Looking for more? Check out our Favorite Short Stories Collection . You may also enjoy 100 Great Poems Read about the authors' own stories in American Biographies

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The Write Practice

Top 150 Short Story Ideas

by Joe Bunting | 129 comments

Want to Become a Published Author? In 100 Day Book, you’ll finish your book guaranteed. Learn more and sign up here.

Do you want to write but just need a great story idea? Or perhaps you have too many ideas and can’t choose the best one? Well, good news. We’ve got you covered.

Below are 150 short story ideas for all your favorite genres. You can use them as a book idea, as writing prompts for writing contests , for stories to publish in literary magazines , or just for fun!

Top 150 Short Story Ideas

Editor’s note: This is a recurring guide, regularly updated with ideas, new story prompts, and information.

If you're in a hurry, here's my 10 best story ideas in brief, or scroll down for the full version.

Top 10 Story Ideas

  • Tell the story of a scar.
  • A group of children discover a dead body.
  • A young prodigy becomes orphaned.
  • A middle-aged woman discovers a ghost.
  • A woman who is deeply in love is crushed when her fiancé breaks up with her.
  • A talented young man's deepest fear is holding his life back. 
  • A poor person comes into an unexpected fortune.
  • A shy, young woman unexpectedly bumps into her soulmate.
  • A long journey is interrupted by a disaster.
  • A young couple stumble into the path of a psychopath.

The Write Structure

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Table of Contents

Why Creative Writing Prompts Are Helpful How to Write a Story General Story Ideas Thriller Story Ideas Mystery Story Ideas Romance Story Prompts Sci-fi Story Ideas Fantasy Story Ideas Horror Story Prompts

Why Creative Writing Prompts Are Helpful

Below, you'll find our best creative writing prompts and plot ideas for every genre, but first, why do we use prompts? Is it just a waste of time, or can they actually help you? Here are three reasons we  love writing prompts at The Write Practice:

1. Practice the language!

Even for those of us who are native English speakers, we're all working to improve how we use our language. To make progress, you have to practice, and at The Write Practice, believe it or not, we're really into practice! Creative writing prompts are easy, fun ways to practice.

2. When you have no ideas and are stuck.

Sometimes, you want to write, but you can't think up any ideas. You could either just sit there, staring at a blank page, or you could find a few ideas to help you get started. Even better if the list of ideas is curated from our best plot ideas over the last decade that we've been publishing lessons, writing exercises, and prompts.

Use the story ideas below to get your writing started. Then when your creativity is warmed up, you'll start to come up with your own ideas!

3. To develop your own ideas.

Maybe you do have an idea already, but you're not sure it's good. Or maybe you feel like it's just missing some small piece to make it better. By reading other ideas, and incorporating your favorites into your   story, you can fill your plot holes and generate creative ideas of your own.

Use the story ideas below to develop your own ideas.

4. They're fun!

Thousands of writers use the prompts below every month, some at home, some in classrooms, and even a few pros at their writing “office.” Why? Because writing prompts can be fun. They get your creativity started, help you come up with new ideas of your own, and often take your writing in new, unexpected directions.

Use the plot ideas to have more fun with writing!

How to Write a Story

One last thing before we get to the 100 story ideas, let’s talk about how to write a great short story . (Already know how to write a great story? No problem. Just skip down to the ideas below.)

  • First, read stories. If you’ve never read a story, you’re going to have a hard time writing one. Where do you find great stories? There are a lot of places, but check out our list of  46 Literary Magazines  we’ve curated over here .
  • Write your story in a single sitting. Write the first draft of your story in as short a time as possible, and if you’re writing a short story , try to write it in one sitting. Trust me, this works. Everyone hates being interrupted when they’re telling compelling stories. Use that to your advantage and don’t stop writing until you’ve finished telling yours.
  • Read your draft. Read your story through once, without changing anything. This will give you a sense of what work it needs going forward.
  • Write a premise. After reading your first draft, get your head around the main idea behind your story by summarizing your story in a one sentence premise. Your premise should contain four things: a character, a goal, a situation, and a special sauce. Not sure what that means or how to actually do that? Here’s a full premise writing guide .
  • Write, edit, write, and edit. Good writing is rewriting. Use your second draft to fill in the plot holes and cut out the extraneous scenes and characters you discovered when you read the first draft in step #2. Then, polish up your final draft on the next round of edits.
  • Submit! Real writers don’t keep their writing all to themselves. They share it. Submit your story to a literary magazine , an anthology series , enter it into a writing contest , or even share it with a small group of friends. And if it gets rejected, don’t feel bad. You’ll be in good company.

Want to know more? Learn more about how to write a great short story here .

Our 150 Best Short Story Ideas, Plot Ideas, and Creative Writing Prompts

Ready to get writing? Here are our 100 best short story ideas to kickstart your writing. Enjoy!

10 Best General Short Story Ideas

Our first batch of plot ideas are for any kind of story, whether a spy thriller or a memoir of your personal life story. Here are the best story ideas:

  • Tell the story of a scar, whether a physical scar or emotional one. To be a writer, said Stephen King, “The only requirement is the ability to  remember every scar .”
  • A group of children discover a dead body. Good writers don’t turn away from death, which is, after all, the  universal human experience. Instead, they look it directly into its dark face and describe what they see on the page.
  • A young prodigy becomes orphaned. Orphans are uniquely vulnerable, and as such, they have the most potential for growth.
  • A middle-aged woman discovers a ghost. What do Edgar Allen Poe, Ron Weasley, King Saul from the Bible, Odysseus, and Ebenezer Scrooge have in common? They all encountered ghosts!
  • A woman who is deeply in love is crushed when her fiancé breaks up with her. “In life every ending is just a new beginning,” says Dakota Fanning’s character in Uptown Girls.
  • A talented young man’s deepest fear is holding his life back. Your character’s biggest fear is your story’s secret weapon. Don’t run from it, write about it.
  • A poor young boy or girl comes into an unexpected fortune. Not all fortunes are good. Sometimes discovering a fortune will destroy your life.
  • A shy, young woman unexpectedly bumps into her soulmate (literally bumps into him). In film, this is called the “meet cute,” when the hero bumps into the heroine in the coffee shop or the department store or the hallway, knocking her books to the floor, and forcing them into conversation.
  • A long journey is interrupted by a disaster. Who hasn’t been longing to get to a destination only to be delayed by something unexpected? This is the plot of  Gravity ,  The Odyssey , and even  Lord of the Rings .
  • A young couple run into the path of a psychopath. Monsters, whether people who do monstrous things like serial killers or scaly beasts or a monster of a natural disaster, reveal what’s really inside a person. Let your character fall into the path of a monster and see how they handle themselves.

Now that you have an idea, learn exactly what to do with it.  Check out my new book The Write Structure which helps writers take their ideas and write books readers love. Click to check out  The Write Structure  here.

More Short Story Ideas Based on Genre

Need more ideas? Here are ideas based on whichever literary genre you write. Use them as character inspiration, to start your own story, or borrow pieces to generate your own ideas. The only rule is, have fun writing!

By the way,  for more story writing tips for each these plot types, check out our full guide to the 9 types of stories here .

20 Thriller Story Ideas

Thriller story ideas with picture of hand reaching through mail slot in door

A thriller is any story that “thrills” the reader—i.e., gets adrenaline pumping, the heart racing, and the emotions piqued.

Thrillers come in all shapes and forms, dipping freely into other genres. In other words, expect the unexpected!

Here are ten of my favorite thriller story ideas :

  • She just started a new job when a cryptic message comes across her desk that she can't ignore.
  • An undercover agent is in a race against time to find out who is behind a pate of disappearances.
  • A stuntman realizes the star is a target of a conspiracy theorist on set and their life is in danger.
  • A government agent arrests the wrong man and he begs his wife to find evidence before he becomes the scapegoat for a coverup.
  • Murder victims keep appearing at a popular tourist destination. She must find out who's behind it in this action thriller.
  • A new neighbor seems friendly enough until a series of unsettling events rattles the neighborhood.
  • A thriller writer's compelling characters begin showing up in real life crime scenes, and they become the prime suspect.
  • Mysterious circumstances always surrounded the sudden retirement of a megastar, until a nosy investigative journalist uncovers a clue that would unravel everything.
  • Artificial intelligence took his job after he created the very code that launched the company into eye-popping profitability. And now he's out for revenge.
  • A criminal mastermind has shut down essential services in the city, and only a retired recluse of a hacker can stop him. If they can convince him to take the case.

Click for ten more thriller short story ideas

25 Mystery Story Ideas

1000 word short story essay

Enjoy a good whodunit? Then you’ll love these mystery story ideas .

Here are a few of my favorites, but find the rest here :

  • A librarian happens across a crime scene when they clean the basement archives.
  • A murder mystery party goes wrong and potential suspects point at each other to avoid arrest. (Especially effective if set in an enclosed location.
  • A secret society of mystery readers realizes that there is a real killer still on the loose and the clues are hidden in a dead author's books.
  • A murder scene on a movie set becomes reality when the star is found dead, and the prime suspect discovered missing.
  • A new restaurant owner in a small town uncovers a long-forgotten mystery from the town's past but the mysterious circumstances unearth a real killer.

Click for the mystery story ideas

30 Romance Story Ideas

30 Romance Story Ideas title against wood grain table with pink flowers

Ready to write a love story? Or perhaps you want to create a subplot with a secondary character? We've got ideas for you!

Hint: When it comes to romance, a sense of humor is always a good idea. Have fun! Here are a few of my favorite, but find twenty more love story ideas here :

  • A character's high school sweetheart shows up and it turns out the school crush feelings haven't gone away.
  • Two characters find an unexpected connection during a key scene that confuses one of them.
  • He gets a letter from a secret admirer and goes on a quest to uncover the identity of the sender.
  • They work together and a secret romance would be a terrible idea, putting both their jobs at risk, but the pull to each other is hard to resist.
  • She returns home when her family's had a tough time after the death of a parent. He's been helping them sort through the mess, and while she disagrees with how he's helping, she can't stop thinking about him.
  • At their large ten year high school reunion, he asks her to dance and she slowly realizes he's the brother of someone she doesn't want to ever see again, but there's an instant connection.
  • A romance writer can't find her own happily ever after until she meets…
  • It's conference season and he has to present all over the country. It's usually a boring string of business trips, but when he's put on a panel with a fiesty and brilliant woman who the night before had kissed him in a bar, he knows this conference season is going to be very different.
  •  It's her first road trip after a bad breakup and she's determined not to depend on anyone else until…
  • A pop star and an astronaut in training meet at a benefit dinner and can't avoid each other's orbits.

Click for romance story ideas

20 Sci-Fi Story Ideas

sci-fi story ideas

From the minimum-wage-earning, ancient-artifact-hunting time traveller to the space-exploring, sentient dinosaurs, these sci-fi writing prompts will get you set loose your inner nerd.

Here are a few of my favorite sci-fi ideas :

  • In a future society, neural implants translate music into physical pleasure, and earphones (“jacking in”) are now the drug of choice. Write either from the perspective of a music addict, OR the Sonforce agent (sonance + enforcer) who has the job of cracking down.
  • It’s the year 5000. Our planet was wrecked in the great Crisis of 3500, and remaining human civilization survives only in a half dozen giant domed cities. There are two unbreakable rules: strict adherence to Life Quality (recycling doesn’t even begin to cover these laws), and a complete ban on reproduction (only the “worthy” are permitted to create new humans). Write from the perspective of a young woman who just discovered she’s been chosen to reproduce—but she has no interest in being a mother.
  • So yeah, ancient Egypt really was “all that” after all, and the pyramids turn out to be fully functional spaceships (the limestone was to preserve the electronics hidden inside). Write from the perspective of the tourist exploring the ancient society who accidentally turns one on.

Click for the other seventeen sci-fi story ideas

20 Fantasy Story Ideas

1000 word short story essay

Need a dose of sword-in-the-stone, hero and/or heroine packed coming-of-age glory?  We love fantasy stories!

Just try to not have fun writing (or even just reading!) these fantasy writing prompts. Here are a few of my favorite fantasy story ideas:

  • Bored high school wizards decide to throw a party to celebrate tomorrow's graduation. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
  • Weddings are stressful. They're especially tricky when one family is magical and the other hates spells, and both mothers want to control the celebration.
  • A bored housewife wakes one day to find all her dishes are singing Hey, Jude . (Alternatively, if you want to make this a darker story, have them sing  The Sound of Silence. )
  • A witch living secretly in suburbia casts a spell to speed up the laundry, but it backfires—just in time for trick-or-treaters to deal with dancing underwear.
  • Capitol Hill wakes one day to find thousands of fairies protesting for better media representation. Unfortunately, no one can understand what they're saying.
  • A fed-up genie, sick of being over-sexualized and paid in wishes, throws a magical tantrum which turns everyone in the world into the opposite gender.
  • One bright morning in May, all domestic pets start talking.
  • Eating food turns one's skin the same color as one's last ingested item, which makes cheating on diets a challenge of strategy as well as taste.
  • Giants are REALLY into reality TV, and one day stomp down from their hidden mountain homes to convince Hollywood to create a show about them.
  • Mythological creatures, tired of being portrayed as gym rats, confront their creators on a popular combative talk show.

Click for the fantasy story ideas

20 Horror Story Prompts

20 Horror Story Prompts

  • Three college students take a final road trip during spring break of their senior year, not knowing that each of them harbors a dark secret about one of their college professors who was murdered in the fall. As revelations begin to stack up, they each begin to suspect the other.
  • A quiet golf community is upended after a series of grisly murders begin happening on the greens, and a golf pro's seemingly perfect life begins to unravel with each body they find. She isn't the killer, but she has a terrifying idea of who might be.
  • A police officer on terminal leave before retirement finds himself in a bar where he suddenly realizes the art on the walls shifts and reveals pictures of serial killers from the last twenty years. And his best friend and former partner, who is still on active duty, is there on the wall too.
  • A grieving daughter revisits the libraries and locations where her famous horror writer mother penned her most famous works. And finds out her mother's stories weren't quite the fiction everyone believes.
  • A teacher returns to teach at the school where they attended to find that their entire class is made up of the children of every bully and enemy from their life. But no one claims to remember them.
  • A cursed siren hunts a fishing village looking for the boat and man that killed her true love.
  • A hoarder dies and the mother-daughter team hired to clean up the mess discover a dead body and the horror of how it all began might connect to a shape-shifting monster from their own family.
  • A yacht party veers off course during a summer squall and lands on an island. Their relief gives way to terror as they realize they aren’t alone and worse, they’re prey.
  • Radioactive scorpions escape from a lab and begin to attack a small desert town.
  • An experimental romance rehab resort goes into lockdown after a therapist and a participant are found dismembered and clawed to shreds on the beach. But the threat is inside the compound.

Ten more spine-tingling horror story prompts here . 

The Secret to Choosing the Best Story Idea

Stories, more than any other artistic expression, have the power to make people care. Stories have the ability to change people’s lives.

But to write a great story, a life-changing story, don’t just write about what your characters did, said, and saw. Ask yourself, “Where do I fit in to this story? What is my personal connection to this story?”

Robert Frost said this:

If you can connect your personal story to the story you’re writing, you will not only be more motivated to finish your story, you might just be able to change the lives of your readers.

Next Step: Write Your Best Story

No matter how good your idea, writing a story or a book can be a long difficult process. How do you create an outline, come up with a great plot, and then actually  finish  it?

My new book  The Write Structure  will help. You'll learn how to take your idea and structure a strong plot around it. Then you'll be guided through the exact process I've used to write dozens of short stories and over fifteen books.

You can learn more about   The Write Structure  and get your copy here.

Have a great short story idea?  We'd love to hear it. Share it in the comments !

Choose one of these ideas and write a short story in one sitting (aim for 1,000 words or less!). When you're finished, share your story in the Pro Practice Workshop (or our latest writing contest ) for feedback from the community. And if you share, please be sure to comment on a few stories by other writers.

1000 word short story essay

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Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

1000 word short story essay

Work with Joe Bunting?

WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

129 Comments

Bruno Coriolano

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” —Robert Frost

Joe Bunting

Great quote, right?

Your site is just awesome!

ellery battle

asome i rily like that

Ayesha

My latest project has been working on a TV-format screenplay. In TV writing, there are B storylines, which are plot lines that span the course of a season (or several seasons). Each episode, however, has an A storyline, which is the plot of the events in that particular episode. Each A storyline is essentially a short story, and churning them out is surprisingly difficult! Lately I’ve been outlining episodes for my own story. I’ve just completed one that I particularly like, and would love to hear what you all think!

The Vampire Cat

The episode opens with Leiko telling the rest of the crew The Dream of Akinosuke. She finishes the story and they all head off to bed. Leiko walks Shannon to her room. On the way, Shannon asks Leiko if the events of the story were the main character’s dreams or if they were real. Leiko replies that for the Japanese the line between dreams and reality is very thin. They say goodnight and part ways.

The next day, the crew touches down on planet Lorraine. Their mission is to rob an auction house of a valuable piece of art if their client is not able to purchase it. They attend the auction. The client is outbid, so that night they return to the auction house to steal the sculpture. While looking for it, Leiko uncovers a dimension hopping machine, which she assumes to be a piece of junk. The crew is surprised by the auction house’s guards. Shannon is shot in the fight. Leiko tries to help her, but is intercepted by a guard. They fight, and Leiko falls inside the dimension hopping machine. She falls against a lever. The doors to the machine close and it begins spinning very fast. Leiko is thrown to the floor and the impact knocks her unconscious.

When she awakes, Leiko is no longer in the machine or the auction house. She is in a 16th century Japanese barracks, surrounded by soldiers. Furthermore, she is dressed like them and they address her as Soda. When she catches a glimpse of her reflection, she realizes to everyone else she looks like a Japanese man. Unsure if she is dreaming or not, Leiko decides to play along. She hears from the other soldiers that the prince of the region is seriously ill, and thinks maybe with her advanced medical knowledge she can help. She sneaks into the castle to see him. On the way, she passes a group of court ladies. The most beautiful of them smiles at Leiko and her eyes flash yellow. Leiko shakes it off, assuming she must be seeing things. She reaches the prince’s room and is shocked to find Shannon lying close to death, surrounded by attendants. She is discovered and thrown out, but she begs to be told what’s happened to the prince, and is informed he has a mystery sickness no doctor can diagnose. It is feared he will die. The prince’s attendants suggest that if she is so worried about her sovereign, she should pray for his health. Before she leaves, she uses to her dagger to look at Shannon’s reflection, and sees that her reflection is in fact that of the prince. Leiko feels the whole situation is somehow strangely familiar, but unable to put her finger on why, she decides there is nothing for it but to follow the attendants’ advice.

That night she goes to the holy quarter and bathes at the well before praying to the statue of Buddha for the prince’s/Shannon’s recovery. A voice calls to her, and she looks up to see a figure in a window above her. The figure asks her to come up. Leiko goes into the building and finds a priest who introduces himself as Ruiten and tells her he has been brought to the castle to find the source of the prince’s illness and asks for her help. Leiko finally realizes why this all seems familiar to her – she is in the story of The Vampire Cat of Nabeshima, playing the part of the young soldier Ito Soda. She makes a conjecture: the dimension hopping machine really worked and has brought her to the spirit world. Shannon, after being shot, is dying, and her spirit has taken the place of the prince in the story. If Leiko saves the prince, she saves Shannon. Ruiten agrees that this may be possible. Leiko agrees to help him. Knowing how the story goes, she now has a hunch as to what is causing the prince’s sickness.

Leiko goes back to the castle, and straight to the house of the court ladies. She digs under the verandah and finds exactly what she thought she would – the body of the beautiful lady, with puncture wounds in her throat.

The next day, Ruiten obtains permission for Leiko to keep watch over the prince with his attendants. That night, all the attendants fall asleep. Leiko keeps herself awake by stabbing herself in the leg. Later in the night, the beautiful lady comes to the room. She says her name is O Toyo, and she is the prince’s favorite companion. Under Leiko’s watchful eye, she cannot harm the prince, so she leaves.

The next morning, Leiko goes to confront the false O Toyo. They fight. Before Leiko can kill her, the false O Toyo shifts to her true form – a demonic black cat – and escapes the castle. Ruiten sends soldiers after her. Just then, there’s a scream from the prince’s room. Leiko and Ruiten rush from to the room and are told the prince is dead. Leiko pushes her way to the bed and, taking Shannon in her arms, pleads with her to wake up. In course of this, Leiko realizes she’s in love with her friend. Suddenly Shannon opens her eyes and says Leiko’s name.

Leiko wakes up in the med bay of the Perseus, surrounded by the crew. Shannon is in the bed next to her, weak but alive. Leiko gets up to tend to her. Shannon asks if one of the crew was holding her, because she could have sworn she felt like she was lying in someone’s arms. Kaya jokes that she must have been having a good dream. Leiko remarks that maybe it was something more.

This is great! Seriously, I really enjoyed it. Now you have to write it! 🙂

Chineomohhamad

Hey Sunny! Loving this website

Abaneish

Opps that was my grandma 🙂 But she right

Evolet Yvaine

Do you know of any Romance magazines that offer short story romances or literary magazines dedicated to just romance? Just curious.

I’m not familiar with any, but try googling “romance literary magazines” or “romance short stories” and I’m sure you’ll find some. Reply back if you find any that are particularly promising.

John Doe

I just want to say, there are so many good stories on this website. This show the amount that you have helped all these people, maybe one day I will add myself to those people, thank you.

Elle

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-genre/romance-by-writing-genre/romance_markets

Nada ahmed

بدأت تمطر ورأيت الناس يسرعون للإختباء من قطراته فابتسمت لذكرى جميلة عبرت خاطرى ..تذكرت امى عندما كانت ترقص تحت المطر بفستانها الوردى..الهى كم كنت أعشق هذا الفستان عليها..كان يناسب بشرتها الفاتحة ونحولة جسدها .جذبتنى من يدى يومها واخذنا ندور فى حلقات لا تبدء ولا تنتهى. شعرت ببرودة يديها تصعق يداى وبرودة المطر تبلل وجهى أحسست وبالسعادة تغمرنى لانك اخيرا بجانبى واخيرا تبتسمين اشتقتك يا اماه ..أشتقت لتفاصيلك وابتسامتك. أشتقت لمعنى وجودك جانبى ..المطر يهطل، أعلم أنك لو كنت الأن معى لجذبتينى ورسمنا بأقدامنا دوائر حتى تبتل عظامنا ..سأرقص لك فقط وسأبتسم لك فقط. بدأت عيون الناس تتجه نحوى ..تستنكر فعلتى ولكنى لا أفعل شئ.انا فقط أخبر أمى إنى بخير وأنى أشتاقها..ولكن للمطر طعم غريب يا أمى. له طعم ألم فراقك ،طعم الحياة بدونك ؛هو المطر وهى الحياة ولكن طعمهما مؤلمين يا أمى

LaCresha Lawson

I’m writing a “Thriller.” I’m very excited. A short story. Thank you. Right on time as usual!

Fun! Good luck LaCresha.

rosie

I’m wondering about “the sagging middle” in story structure right now. I’m happy with my beginning and ending, but the middle isn’t as dynamic as I want it to be. Does anyone have any experiences or advice about this? (It’s a 25 000 word story that’s due for a competition in about four months.)

Hey Rosie. We have a few resources on that. First check out our structure and plot cheatsheet: https://thewritepractice.com/plot-structure . Then, a great guest post on story structure with a hole in it: https://thewritepractice.com/story-hole . And I always recommend Save the Cat, which is a book for screenwriters, but is also very helpful for story structure in general: http://amzn.to/1TNpv2F . Highly recommend it.

Eliese

The story grid is a good site and podcast for story structure. 🙂

But longer than 15 min but here it is.

I rub my fingers into the soft fuzz on the big brown chair. I can make designs if I move my fingers up or down. A dot makes one eye. Then another. A line for a smile finishes my chair picture. ‘Why would Daddy take money and blow it into the wind?’ I wonder as I draw.

A wet spot lands by the mouth, making the brown turn dark. I try to wipe it away, but the face disappears instead. I lay back in the chair, bumping my twin brother and making the dim room spin. My pink and orange stripe shirt is soft as I wipe my eyes. James’s tears fall to the chair like rain, his mouth open like one of the squishy balls we play with. His cry is loud. I join the noise.

Mommy’s hair, as dark as the wet spot on our chair, poofs around her face. Her green eyes seem small with her eyebrows close together. Teeth and gums show as Mommy screams like a roaring lion. Daddy points a finger at her nose. He looks so big. He yells, trying to be louder than her. James and I try to cry louder than them. Maybe they will hear us. Maybe they will stop.

Mommy lets out one last angry scream and tries to push Daddy away. A long red line comes on his arm. Red water comes out of it. Daddy’s eyes widen. His face turns red. He grabs Mommy by her arms, lifts her, and pushes her to the door like a rhinoceros. The wood breaks as they go through.

The noise has stopped, except for sirens in the distance. I curl into a ball in the chair, James’s knee sticking into my back, and close my eyes.

James and I get to sleep in the same bed tonight. It’s strange having Daddy read and tuck us in by himself, but he tells us Mommy will be home soon. I still don’t understand why she went to jail. I thought jail was for bad guys, but Daddy says everything will be ok.

The lights go out bringing shadow monsters. I hug my brother.

Bit longer than 15 minutes, but here it is

‘Scars’

The noise has stopped, except for sirens in the distance. I curl into a ball in the chair, James’ knee sticking into my back, and close my eyes.

Ghost

This was so good! You have a really good writing style!

Tom

“The wall, he decided, will always be there”

He awoke, or at least it seemed he did, for he could not tell if he had been dreaming or if he were dreaming now. He pushed the woollen, scratchy blanket away from his body. There were no sheets, and his skin stuck to the plastic mattress that smelled of others sweat and urine. After prying his flesh from the tenacious bedding, he managed to sit up. He was more tired than he had remembered. He was still dirty and thirsty and his eyes hurt as they squinted in the dim hazy light. He drew his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. For long moments, he sat that way fearing punishment for doing anything that might be wrong.

Eventually, however, his eyes grew accustomed to the shadowy light and he began to see things. Across from him he could see a wall. He wondered how long the wall had been there. The question struck him as absurd. The wall he decided would always be there. In this confusion, he meditated on the hardness before him until a thought of beauty entered his mind and the nakedness upset him. “There are no pictures…it has no pictures hanging from it.” Lacking the courage, or cowardice, to look away he continued staring blankly until his sight improved still further and he found something within the wall that excited him. “I forgot…about…colour…I can see the colour now!” He tried to give the colour a name. “Dirty…” he thought. “Filth.” he said out loud. “It is a filthy colour.” he whispered silently to himself.

Quickly, the excitement left him and he began to grow tired of looking at the wall, even the colour began to bore him. The boredom gave him a sense of courage and he became bold. He decided to explore. Cautiously he moved his eyes to the right where he saw…a corner, Then the head began to turn to follow the lead of the eyes. They continued past the corner until they gazed upon something he recognized.

He hated what he saw, the familiar object that hid in the shadows…the thing that kept him here. He glared at it, but the closed and bolted door remained unmoved. It was then that he turned back to the wall he had grown to know and the boredom…he had grown to love.

Justin

incredible first sentence!

Marie Ryan

Incredible first sentence and incredible last sentence. Shivers up my spine. Thank you.

jakey the snakey

3 words…. copy and paste

Camellia G

Omg how why are people so good at writing stuff?!?!?

abigail

idek!?!?!!! i’m a freshman in high school and i can’t even write a simple short story.

TerriblyTerrific

Give it time…

Brianna

This was a wonderful read ^_^ Short and enticingly written. Drew me in right away with that first bit, and especially the way it was all tied together by that first sentence. Lovely!

Mihau

I know it’s been two years but it’s still very good and still deserves praise. I like this trippy atmosphere, you managed to convey it very nicely.

Bridget at Now Novel

Some great story ideas here. You could even combine some of them in interesting, tenuous ways for a multi-location epic.

Thanks Bridget! Absolutely. And there’s nothing I love more than a good epic.

George McNeese

These are great ideas. I like the idea of prompts. Though sometimes, I get stuck when I write from a prompt. And sometimes, I’m not able to write a story in one sitting. I have to think about how I want the story to play out. I might have done it once, and they were pretty short. But most of the time, it takes a couple of sessions. That’s how I’m wired, I suppose.

Trinity

Ten years of therapy, about a million different types of pills and three psychiatrists have helped me enough to write this. I was eleven when it happened, my older sister, Quinn, was almost sixteen, and my best friend was ten. I’ll never forget it… I doubt anyone ever will.

It was a warm summer day, early June, my best friend, Harper was over and we were playing in the backyard. We were laughing and singing along to a song that I couldn’t tell you the name of now. It was the middle of a normal day, but that’s what they always think just before everything goes wrong. Well, anyways,Harper and I amused ourselves doing everything and nothing for a while before we decided that we wanted to go to upstairs and bug Quinn, who we thought was doing her online drivers ed. courses. We raced up to her room, giggling like the little girls we were. When we got to her room, Harper grabbed the doorknob and tried to fling the door open, but it was locked. That should have been my first sign that something was wrong, Quinn never locked her door, we weren’t allowed to. We yelled, laughing, “Let us in! Let us in!” We giggled and knocking on her door again and again. There was no response, so I remember grabbing the key my parents always had, it opened all of the doors to me and my sibling’s bedrooms… I wish I would’ve known what I know now. I wish I wouldn’t have opened that door.

That day was the last happy day for a long time. I remember everything clearly, the breeze ruffling my short hair, the sound of Harper screaming the lyrics to our favorite song at the top of her lungs. I especially remember the thing that has haunted me for the past ten years. I remember my sister’s lifeless body lying in a pool of her own blood on her bed. I remember the look on her face being more peaceful than I’ve ever seen it. I remember screaming as I stared at the image of Quinn, her wrists bleeding and her skin pale. I remember the sound of Harper frantically dialing 911 and I remember the ambulance arriving. I remember the paramedics calling my parents and hearing my mom’s piercing scream from the phone. I remember the paramedics forcing me out of Quinn’s room, while I kicked and screamed at them, begging them to let me stay with my sister. It was the last time I saw her face. I remember collapsing in my dad’s arms. That was the first time I heard him cry, it wouldn’t be the last.

She was already dead when the ambulance got there. Suicide, they said, she killed herself. It took a long time to convince myself that it wasn’t my fault. If I had only went to see her sooner I could’ve saved her. The funeral was closed casket and everyone cried. I didn’t. I couldn’t. I was too numb. I don’t remember much of the funeral, it was just a blur of black and navy blue, with the occasional apology thrown in there. I never got why everyone apologized, it wouldn’t bring her back.

I was just a little girl and there I was with my childhood torn away from me. I was a younger sister and then I was an only child. A piece of me has been missing from me ever since that die and I doubt I’ll ever get it back again.

Caleb Pratt

This was based on the boy or gets an unexpected fortune. I flushed out the typos, but its okay. Check it out! 😀 Caleb Pratt

Mistaken Divinity

My bar drinks of the wooded timberland were one of the most profound expeditions in my walk into becoming a god. I cupped the glass of cool bud light, and sipped it up at the mini bar table. I rested my hand on the wooden counter top, my fans and companions gambling each other on some high level daredevil match.

“Hey, Lexan, where you at,” I turned to see my friend Rodriguez. Fun man to have around with. He was had long grey hair, even for a guy. I pushed off the table and stood straight. I kept my hand in my pocket.

“You have a lot of realty in the new diversion your causing. Sherman hasn’t even sighted any more Divine Partakers, let alone, any Christian circumspect.”

“I know I know, but… we are, what they are… except the for the grace,” Rodriguez said.

“Right,” I narrow my eyes down towards the ground. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say about us Mormons being what the Christian Community isn’t. I mean, there almost all extinct, if not a hundred percent. We are the erected believers… who are in sure denial of the forthcoming of any later day saints.

“So where is your ceremonial magic been taking you,” Rodriguez said. “Anyhow I could help in the cemetery on Route 430?”

“Uhh… I mean… yeah unless you have a cloak and a specialized dagger. I’d have to get you one of those. You’ll be all dressed like a Celtic.”

We laughed.

Rodriguez was a good friend of mine. Much older though. I was in my teen years and he was in his fifties.

“Man, Lexan, you need to grow a beard. Your seventeen years old… yet you look like you’ve graduated college. What happened to your power to manipulate appearance? Funny… its a shame Christians don’t have this kind of power… even heathens can’t do anything we can.”

“Yeah I can tell Rodge. Tell me, why haven’t you been practicing your divinity? You seem a little out of shape to be wrestling with angles and demons….”

“Well I… yeah I mean, sure. Lets say I’m kind of in a predicament.”

“What…?”

I lay my back against the counter.

“Well, down on Armenia Rd. there was a cross fight between me and some other foe. Not sure what to suspect of him, but the “man-woman” was between two others working for her, or he… I don’t know.”

I rest my chin on my thumb and index finger. I realize and hear there are other phenomena of some other cultist group here in Sherman. Our cult is wacky on its own. Though I don’t know what to think of this “he-she man” thing….”

Escee Noah

BZZZZZ! BZZZZZ!

‘I heard you! Shut up!’

‘Enough, you asshole!’

WHACK! Pieces of metal and plastic shattered on the wall.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she muttered softly as she fights her every being not to shed a tear. Alas, she lost once again.

It’s been days since she last saw light. The shadows on the walls seemed permanently etched. Her sanctuary once filled with love, lust, and happiness, now wreaks with despair, anguish, and palpable desperation.

‘How did I get here?’ she thought. The same desperate thought she’s been clutching onto for days. Or maybe weeks? Months? Years?

It doesn’t matter. To Emma, time no longer exists with this unrelenting pain.

Once in a while, the light would sneak through the thick, heavy curtains. And Emma would almost succumb to a hint of a smile until it haunts her again.

His resilient hands on her supple breasts. His soft lips caressing her neck and slender sternum. His sturdy chest against her trembling body. His whole palpitating manhood devouring her salacious being. Every ridges of Paul haunt her. Now, it all has to be distant memories. Unshakeable, soul crushing memories.

After what seemed like a lifetime of horizontal desolation, she finally mustered some strength to sit at the edge of her bed. She slowly opened her bulging eyes, and finally saw the mess she was in. Rotting pieces of food in cardboard boxes, sea of crumpled tissue strewn with nauseating piles of laundry, and dismantled pieces of her once chirpy alarm clock scattered all over her dingy floor.

As she moved her gazed from the floor, she noticed the dent on her pristine white wall. She couldn’t help but stare. ‘That dent will be there for a long time,’ she thought.

With a throbbing grunt, Emma slowly stood up and shuffled towards her once chirpy alarm clock. She picked up the pieces and followed the faint light peeking through her bathroom door. As she turned the door knob, more tears rolled down her cheeks. It was excruciating, but this time it was different. The door closed and the room was dark once again.

Miss.Bridget

“His resilient hands on her supple breasts. His soft lips caressing her neck and slender sternum. His sturdy chest against her trembling body. His whole palpitating manhood devouring her salacious being. Every ridges of Paul haunt her. Now, it all has to be distant memories. Unshakeable, soul crushing memories.”

Stella

He had left his Gameboy behind. There was nothing to do without it, nothing to do but kick his feet and stare at the dull blank walls. Even annoying Di-Di had lost its colour. He didn’t care what Ma or Papa said. He had to get his Gameboy back.

He pushed into the room. Ah Boy, wait outside ah. Don’t come in! Papa had seemed firm, but he was old enough now to know how to get out of trouble. He would run to Ma, hide behind her legs, maybe tearfully declare that he would run away from home because Papa was so mean. Anyway, Papa seemed so busy with Ah Gong nowadays. He wouldn’t bother to cane a little boy like him.

Where had everyone gone? He couldn’t have been in the corridor for so long. The room that was once packed full of relatives was empty. It was only Ah Gong left in the hospital bed.

Immediately he noticed that the mask over Ah Gong’s nose and mouth was gone. Who had removed it? Without the strange alien-octopus-thing perched on his face, Ah Gong looked like the grandfather he remembered. He moved closer to get a better look.

As he approached the bed he realized the mask was lying on the chair. The inside was stained with a rustlike substance he did not recognize. He held up the mask to the light, and rubbed the stain with a cautious index finger. A powder came off in his hand. With a shiver of disgust he realized it was dried blood.

“Di-Di!” He didn’t know if he was terrified or excited. Where was his brother? Ma had always rushed to daub up any blood in their house – whether from Di-Di falling when learning to ride his bicycle, Di-Di scratching him during one of their many fights, Papa tripping over a wire and later needing stitches in his forehead. He couldn’t pass up this golden opportunity to share with his brother: the chance to investigate blood without an adult present.

The Gameboy lay in the room, forgotten.

Wrote on ‘a group of children discover a dead body’. In case it wasn’t obvious.

Dejon Dequonihjuan

“I do like llamas very much,” said Charleston, “In fact, they even have names.” “You are one freaky man, Charleston.” stated Larry

Aaroc

Very well said!!

Iflis Richenstar

Jeremy Reynolds had a party one day. He decided it would be a special theme. Deez Nutz, he decided would be a fitting title for a beach party.

rainbowcliffords

*I am only 14 so please, don’t mind me if there are any mistakes. I am still in the process of learning, but I tried really hard*

He could write. He could write and he knew it. No one else knew. He’d never show them his pieces; his collection of fantasies and mysteries. He wanted his friends to know. No, he wanted the world to know. But he was fearful. He was fearful of his stories failing, of him failing.

Abram had written many short stories and novels, all of them printed in manuscript and hidden in a black lock-box under his bed. He was unmarried, for he didn’t need any other love than that of his trusty typewriter and parchment. Writing was frowned upon, in his country. Books were burned. Even the classics. They were all burned in a pile on the streets.

He wouldn’t risk it. He didn’t want that fate for his books. He worked to hard. He spent too much time revising and perfecting the novel; there was no way he would let them die.

Sighing, Abram cracked his knuckles and stood. He yawned and walked over to his bed, where he bent down and grabbed the lock-box from beneath the bed. Abram had kept the key underneath the mattress, in case anyone were to find this box that contained all of his treasured secrets.

He opened the box he hadn’t opened in many years. Removing the pieces of parchment, he sat on floor, listening for the sounds of Nazi vehicles who somehow sensed the unpublished books. But none came. There was only silence, which, to Abram’s surprise, seemed to grow stronger as each second passed.

Before he knew it, Abram had been sitting on his hard floor for hours, thinking. Thinking about what he knew not. He just knew he was thinking.

Abram stood slowly; carefully as if he was trying not to disrupt the dust that covered the dark floor. Walking over to his desk, he left his lock-box open; something he’d never done in the years past. He sat and placed some more parchment into the typewriter and began writing, or typing, you could say. But this time, something was different. Abram wasn’t writing just for fun, he was writing for purpose. This time, he thought, this time, I will be published and my work may fuel the world. And with that, he revealed his talent to the world.

malberga

Thank you so much!!

Samurai

much thanks <3

LAIE AKANA

I’m sorry I’m late but I just wanted to say this story is fantastic! Soon enough this will become a book! I’m from Hawaii and all I do is write and draw all day… Keep up the work and never give up! God bless and aloha!

Pranaydiya Verma

Yours was the best story that I read on this page…

thank you!!!

Very empowering!!! I was also around your age when I started writing on this site.

Anyways, that short story was so full of meaning. We just happened to be doing an essay on the value of literature in English class so this really fit in nicely for me with that. Lovely! 🙂

oh thank you sooo much!! I greatly appreciate it!!

LilianGardner

I enjoyed your story. Thank you for sharing. I especially liked how Abram developed his talent, and despite the fear of having his manuscripts destroyed, he decided to publish his work. Well done and well told.

Jonathan

I have noticed some tiny grammatical mistakes in your Story and correct it for you as I know that this short Story has potential to go very far. Here is the corrected version: He could write. He could write, and he knew it. No one else knew. He’d never show them his pieces; his collection of fantasies and mysteries. He wanted his friends to know. No, he wanted the world to know. But he was fearful. He was fearful of his stories failing, of him failing.

Abram had written many short stories and novels, all of them printed in manuscript and hidden in a black lock-box under his bed. He was unmarried, for he didn’t need any other love than that of his trusty typewriter and parchment. Writing was frowned upon, in his country. Books were burnt. Even the classics. They were all burned in a pile on the streets.

He wouldn’t risk it. He didn’t want that fate for his books. He worked too hard. He spent too much time revising and perfecting the novel; there was no way he would let them die.

He opened the box he hadn’t opened in many years. Removing the pieces of parchment, he sat on the floor, listening for the sounds of Nazi vehicles who somehow sensed the unpublished books. But none came. There was only silence, which, to Abram’s surprise, seemed to grow stronger as each second passed.

Abram stood slowly; carefully as if he was trying not to disrupt the dust that covered the dark floor. Walking over to his desk, he left his lock-box open; something he’d never done in the years past. He sat and placed some more parchment into the typewriter and began writing, or typing, you could say. But this time, something was different. Abram wasn’t writing just for fun, he was writing for a purpose. This time, he thought, this time, I will be published, and my work may fuel the world. And with that, he revealed his talent to the world.

I hope my effort has helped!

Is it OK if I put this on a website I’m making. It will get me money I need to have. You said your only 14, 9 months ago, so you could be 15, well I’m only 12. I need to learn to save up and this will help me. Everything I said here is true, please help me. Also, this is a great story and that is why I chose your to be on my website.

3am_moon_and_stars

dude thats like literally directly stealing someone’s work for money that only goes to you. Just write your own story instead of stealing someone else’s.

Admit it. I am probably some dude who can’t even make a website, well I am, so don’t worry.

This is the story I am working on now. I wrote it a long time ago, but I am upgrading it now. Changing all the errors, making the vocabulary more sophisticated:

In a valley close to a river where melt-water splashed and where rhododendrons and roses bloomed, where linnets flew with doves above the clustered trees, lay a cave, mostly hidden by the immense pines and the crag. In the cave, out of reach from the sunlight, was a portal. The portal’s frame was the darkest shade of gold, with glowing orange lines carved into it. Glowing flecks of bright blue glow in the darkness of the cave. The portal lay un opened, but the frame still glowed in the shadows of the sombre cave.

In a desert of torturing, immense heat, where scorching light, too blistering to be called sunlight, burns the dehydrated ground, was a tunnel, buried under the sand. In the tunnel there was an ever-growing fortress of burnt leaves and sand with over-boiled water dripping the top. This is all that remained of the desert, nothing could survive in the world above, nothing except from the portal. The fortress was built around the portal; the portal was the darkest shade of black, with red around the rims of the frame.

The sound of water hitting the cold tiles that topped the floor brought a sense of entertainment to the girl sat in the small room covered in a mixture of scars and bruises, awaiting the next blow of the hammer upon her fragile body which shivered in the night air and soft breeze which entered via the half barricaded window. Again and again, almost as if it was a cruel rhythm the metal tool came down, never missing a hit, always landing upon her chest. The storm brewing outside was bad enough without the maniac and his hammer. These are soft blows for a man of his build, she thought, she was certain he intended to make this last all night long. She wanted to struggle, to scream! But the leather bindings made it impossible, who cares anyway, she thought, no one near this basement would care.

The sticky taste of iron filled her mouth, blood. Her body started to shudder, shock. By this point the inmate hitting had dropped the hammer and injected another load of hydrocodone, such a waste of such an effective pain killer. At last she tried to struggle, but even with the drugs numbing the sharp pain shooting trough her body she still couldn’t gain the strength to fuel her ineffective hope of escaping the inmate, after all, even if she did escape, in a mass breakout like this? She could die in a more demanding way.

With my free hand I felt the imperfections, holes, scratches, patches of long since dry blood that covered thee wooden operation table I lay on. How old was it? Thirty years? Forty? Who cares, it had to be old to be in the basement of Twin Rivers Asylum. This psychiatric institution had housed many atrocities, after all, Nazis built this asylum, catered the inmates…put them to work. We are only barely off the English channel; here in Channel Island’s Twin rivers asylum we have many an inmates. Young and old, French and British, they are all welcome here, hell, we have a Swedish inmate, talks to himself all day and night, his names Toby Buchman, we call him Toby-Talkative, how very fitting being his nurse I should die by his hand…

Ouch, be gentler Toby. Even through my drugged up husk of a body I felt that one. I and the staff thought you were joking when you said you were very strong, looks like you weren’t joking…

For such a shrivelled blotch of bones you have surprisingly good and when it comes to instrument of torture, your quite strong, why wouldn’t you be? Killing young women is why your here, Toby, you are one hell of a sociopath, brilliant mind, you’re like a more sadistic Hannibal Lecter minus eating his victims after all, I’m so helpless you could take a couple of bites out of me as I lie here, in the dark basement…

Fun fact, a goldfish’s attention span is three seconds, the average lunar eclipse takes 11 minutes to pass, and a wooden hospital bed from 19th century takes an average of 63 hits to break trough, 54 if you incorporate a body which weighs approximately 130lbs, and guess how much I weigh.

Suddenly I heard the wood buckle under the next hit a glorious hit as well as my straps loosening. Come on Toby, you brilliant old sociopath, you can do it, one more well made hit could send me free. What could go wrong? Toby stood motionless on the spot for a moment later Toby took another blow. I couldn’t breathe. The pain was so intense I felt every cell in my body explode in a chain reaction. The pain was so intense that it felt like a piece of heated iron had been pressed onto my skin. Despite that, a strange sort of calm fell over me: I was dying. I wasn’t coming back from this. Part of me thought, All right. Make it count. I wobbled on one foot about to run to the door, but unfortunately Toby kicked me at the wall. He was so strong, I thought All froze the leaves on the trees didn’t clatter, Toby didn’t stink anymore, Then it was gone all the memories of life returning to me. Then it all went away, my life was It was the end, nothing could stop that now…

I awoke in a bed, in a white room with a marble floor and a silver carpet at the foot of the bed; the wall behind her was a fancy, white wallpaper, decorated to look like a real wall. The wall on the left of the bed and in front of the bed were normal and white, on the right of the bed was a window, now covered, with a beige curtain. In the bed- where the girl lay were multiple cushions, all lay side by side at the top of the bed; the blanket covering her was soft and light. On the sides of the bed were two bed-side cabinets, one with a lamp and the other one with a vase, holding tulips and rhododendrons, on books by her favourite author, many she didn’t recognise. Promptly, she got up noticing there was a small, white table- shaped as a cylinder, with a transparent glass top; also noticing the chair behind it too. The chair was a traditional, leather armchair with four small metal legs holding it up. Then she turned to the door. It was white made, smooth and made out of oak, with a metal handle, a small, square keyhole under it.

As soon as I placed my hand on the door handle, it flew open with a tall, handsome man in the way with bright blue hair shaped as a fire and red eyes. “Welcome, Kayla to Valhalla. Where are you off so fast” he shouted with glee. “I was going out,” Kyla said trembling on the spot. “I didn’t think this is where I should be.” “In this hotel we are all dedicated to make you feel like home, for you will be staying here for the rest of your life. Sorry for my wrong vocabulary, you are already dead. For the rest of the time you need to practice.” “What !?” she yelled. “Are you saying I’m dead” “Yes I am,” the man asked confused.”May I introduce you to your new home”

So the two walked through what seemed to be a endless tour, but eventually came to an end. “And this is the dining room where you have dinner… Here is your breakfast room you can freely come here and invite friends if you are feeling lonely…” “So you are saying this is the place where all people go if they are an extremex and if they died they come here and become an extraextremex” “Yes,” said he.”And also that you are our leader because you can see what specie people are also take away their powers if needed.” “Can I take away the powers of sociopaths or weaken them with my mind beams whatever things.”

“Yes, you can but if you do that you will be weakened too. Also that is a high level trick, you are not high level- no offense” “Offense taken,” said Kayla, with her head down. So they continued on their tour and went walking through all the different floors and introducing Kyla to all the different people and members of staff. On they went about the limits of people and a lot of different stuff. After time, they started her training.

“Focus on me, ” Blaze was explaining to her how to see what specie he was.”Do not think of anything else. Not the colour of my nose, not what room we are in just on me the thoughts and memories of me. Now listen to the sound of my voice. You should be in a universe of darkness; are you?” “Yes I see black in the background and there are flying things in it.” “Yes those are my thoughts.” “I can also see images swirling around” “Those are memories” “I can also feel heat and cold environment when I move around. Are those your emotions” “Yes, the heat is happiness and the cold is anxiety or sadness. Now let’s focus on the specie part. To determine if I’m an Extraextremex, a normal Extremex or even an Oigreog. If I am an Extraextremex then you will not feel motion. If I was an Extremex then you would sense tingling and if I am an Oigreog then you’ll sense shaking. Which one do you sense?” “I sense tingling and shaking so you are one of the Oigreog in the times when Extremex where starting to populate the world. This that means you are an Exremog or an Exoiig” “I am an Exoiig. I have not died yet.” “But how are you here?” “Because I was the first Exoiig alive. I made this place” “But how?” “I used my powers to do it. That is why all the walls are shades of red, orange and yellow.” “Why didn’t you make mine a different colour.” “Because I need to keep track of what specie everyone is. I used Conjuration and Mysticism to make sure that every specie got the same shade of red or whatever.” They blabbered on about what it was like when Oigreog ruled the world, what Black Magic could do and how to control Extraextremex powers…

Kayla went to bed with the thoughts of how the world was made and how it transformed into this planet, when at the start it was billions of monsters – the Oigreog – fought and then somehow transformed into normal people who never fought in their lives. She also didn’t understand how there was only one person who had the power to see what specie one was… She woke with her hair curled up covering her face.

Once she tossed the hair off her face she noticed there was a book on her bed-side cabinet beside the lamp. When she picked it up, she noticed it was a book called “The Arts of Necromancy and Enchantments”. She soon noticed it was the book Blaze used to learn Black Magic. She was filled with a mixture of joy and shock. Then the door flew open. A small brown-haired boy was standing in the way. “Hi,” he said, holding a hand out to shake, “I am Logan, someone from you floor” “Hi,” Kayla said, shaking his hand, “I’m Kayla, an Extraextremex” “Do you want to go and have breakfast” “I guess so” said Kayla.

In the hallway, my neighbours were starting to emerge. Thomas Jefferson Jr looked about my age. He had short curly hair, a lanky frame and a rifle slung over one shoulder. His blue wool coat had brass buttons and chevrons on the sleeve – a U.S. Army Civil War uniform, I guessed. He nodded and smiled. ‘How you doing?’

‘Um, dead, apparently,’ I said. He laughed. ‘Yeah. You’ll get used to it. Call me T.J.’ ‘Kayla,’ I said. ‘Come on.’ Logan pulled me along.

We passed a girl who must’ve been Mallory Keen. She had frizzy red hair, green eyes and a serrated knife, which she was shaking in the face of a six-foot-seven guy outside the door marked X.

‘Again with the pig’s head?’ Mallory Keen spoke in a faint Irish brogue. ‘X, do you think I want to see a severed pig’s head every time I step out of my front door?’

‘I could not eat any more,’ X rumbled. ‘The pig head does not fit in my refrigerator.’ Personally, I would not have antagonized the guy. He was built like a bomb-containment chamber. If you happened to have a live grenade, I was pretty sure you could safely dispose of it simply by asking X to swallow it. His skin was the colour of a shark’s belly, rippling with muscles and stippled with warts. There were so many welts on his face it was hard to tell which one was his nose. We walked past, X and Mallory too busy arguing to pay us any attention.

We entered a small elevator and the doors closed, making the elevator sound. “One question: How does everyone get here.” “People called Collectors fly around the world collecting souls of dead Extremex. I am a Collectors.”

‘And you?’ I asked. ‘How did you become a Collector? Did you die a noble death?’ She laughed. ‘Not yet. I’m still among the living.’ ‘How does that work exactly?’ ‘Well, I live a double life. Tonight, I’ll escort you to dinner. Then I have to rush home and finish my calculus homework.’ ‘You’re not joking, are you?’ ‘I never joke about calculus homework.’ The elevator doors opened. We stepped into a room the size of a concert arena. My mouth dropped. ‘Holy –’ ‘Welcome,’ Logan said, ‘to the Feast Hall of the Slain.’

Rows of long tables, like a stadium, curved downward from the nosebleed section. In the center of the room, instead of a basketball court, a tree rose taller than the Statue of Liberty. Its lowest branches were maybe a hundred feet up. Its canopy spread over the entire hall, scraping against the domed ceiling and sprouting through a massive opening at the top. Above, stars glittered in the night sky.

Eh

What’s supposed to be your point? If you are receiving money from something YOU DO NOT OWN then it is obviously theft. YOU DO NOT PUT SOMEONE ELSES WORK ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE AND USE THAT MONEY FOR YOURSELF. That is just pathetic, really. I hope you honestly realise what your doing here, because its seriously stupid.

niggy

kys nigga my bitch loves the cocaine nigga gucci gang nigga iwill fuck your bith tongiht nigga, drose out nigga fag nigga

stupid

I am very disappointed that there is not 100 of the story idea selection

Marlene Samuels

I’m glad to see Joe’s book, Let’s Write a Short Story! is still availalbe and going strong! I purchased it as soon as it was published, still refer to it quite regularly to remind myself of some important but often over-looked elements of short story. Although my work has been published a number of times, we’re never too experienced to learn and to be reminded of what makes for a great story.

A short story idea: When I was very young, one of my best friends learned she had been adopted. We all know that people really can and do say some incredibly stupid things to children. Because my mother had very blond hair and blue eyes and both my hair and eyes are dark brown, strangers often said to me,”And just whose little girl are you?” I began to wonder whether I, too, was adopted and my parents simply weren’t telling me. What if, as an adult who never questioned your origins, you learned you had been adopted. Conversely, because I myself DO have an adopted child, what if you were told you were adopted but in fact, learned you were not. Write a short story!

Jayden

here’s my story

Uncle joe was talking to his 5 year old nephew jane about how he’s getting old and how she’s going to have to start doing all the chores in the house joe is a little challenged in his life because he was bullied and doesn’t know how to control his anger. he gets in an argument with jane and Joe felt anger go through his mind his temper over flows and he got so mad he started hitting her. 2 years later she was still helping around as Jane’s face would turn red and she would start throwing tempers and joe would hit her. Over the years her fachel expiration started to change form because of all the hitting. Joe heard a scream of dying devastating noise outside and went to go see what it was he lifted up a bucket and under it was the phone book. Since he had anger issues he decided to call the evil scientist and ask him to fix bullying once and for all after he went to the evil scientist house something went wrong he came back as the demon he unlocked his nephew’s room there she was. she was crying.Jane slowly turned around she was mad crazy. He ordered her to clean the dishes. Since she was so mad crazy she didn’t listen to him and she smacked him across the face the Demons face turned red he felt like someone pierced him with a needle he got so mad that he trapped her in the mirror. She was screaming for help but it just circulated around in the mirror as she was she was trapped there another duplicate appeared it was a boy. He said his name was michael. He was 7 years old the evil demon erased the kids memories and put them in a microchip. Then he put him on the streets. Someone had found him and brought him home and He had been with his new parents for years.He was great at figuring anything out a after a while he found out about his uncle Joe. Since he was so good at researching things he even found directions to his uncle’s house so he decided to go on an adventure to find his uncle joe/the Demon once he found uncle Joe he wasn’t at all happy.

Joe hit Michael and he fell to the ground and fainted .when he was just slightly awake he found a microchip it said Michael’s memories michael picked it up Joe was coming towards him with a knife

Michael woke up right away and put the microchip to his chest if he dies Jane will vanish for ever Joe stabbed Michael in the chest.luckily the microchip blocked the knife from stabbing him and the microchip went into his chest it felt like a rainbow bursting through his skin the light went into his eyes and he got his memories back. He knew everything he knew that his clone was abused and everything he was ready to sacrifice himself for his clone so he ran inside the house and did bloody jane spinning around in circles and said bloody jane bloody jane bloody jane.

He trapped himself in the mirror and Bloody Jane was back Jane through her self out of the house and went to Joe in and punched him on the floor and they had a sword fight and Joe died and bloody Jane turned into the evil bloody demon.

(I like to write with comic characters (Peter Parker, ect.) so here we go… Based on the scars short story idea)

“Where did these come from?” I flinched and hurried to cover my back and arms up. “They’re old… They don’t hurt anymore…” I frowned, remembering the pain from each one of the marks that stained my skin forever. “That’s not what I asked…” I flinched as he slid the thin jacket off my shoulders to get a better look at them. I didn’t meet his eyes as he traced over them. Long and thin lines from knives. Round ones from cigars or cigarettes. Jagged ones from glass. The giant one that curled from just below my neck, all the way around my body before stopping at my right hip. I remembered the pain from each one, the cause of each one, the people who caused each and every one of them… “Pete, It’s a really long story…” We had been dating for about a month and I didn’t want to scare him away with my sob story. “I want to know.” His voice was soft as he had me sit on the bed facing him. I looked at him for a while, trying to sort my thoughts out. We had been friends since we were six, but I had hidden everything from him. He had no clue, and I wish he still wouldn’t… I took a deep breath and began to tell the story. “I’ve kept this from everyone… Please let me tell the whole story before you ask questions or leave me. I wouldn’t blame you if you did…” “Go ahead, I’ll let you finish. But I promise, I won’t leave you.” He grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll see… It began when I was six. My parents weren’t the best as you know… They weren’t home much. Mom went out drinking until she was hammered, Dad went out on “business” calls. He would leave almost every night, coming home with perfume on him. Mom didn’t want to believe it. She was in denial, believed that he still loved her as he did in the past… She would come home smashed and would start sobbing. I tried to help as much as I could, but I didn’t know much. I would let her hug me, and would do my best to comfort her. I learned fast that I needed to take care of her. She would wake up with a hangover and the best I could do was give her one of my favorite juice pouches and a cookie. She would start crying again and tell me that I was such a good girl. Remember when I missed school for a week?” “Yeah, the teacher said you were really sick.” “Dad and mom got into a fight. They were screaming at each other, I didn’t know what to do… I ran away from home, I went to my cousin’s house. I got to stay there the week even though he called mom. When I got home, Dad was gone and mom was passed out on the couch surrounded by empty cans of alcohol. Dad never came back after that, and mom got increasingly depressed. I didn’t know what was happening, Dad wouldn’t come home, mom was sad, I learned how to do things for myself quick because I had to support myself and mom. When I turned seven the nice elderly woman from next door began to teach me how to cook, and clean. I would make her little crafts to sell in her shop as a “payment” for the lessons. Mom barely noticed I was gone for an hour afterschool. She tried to be there for me, she would ask me how my day was, and would constantly give me hugs. I thought life was going good, that everything would be okay. Then when I was eight, everything went downhill…” He squeezed my hand slightly. “Dad came back to the house. He… He said nasty things to mom. I didn’t understand that well back then but as I grew older I understood what he said to her. He.. broke her… She wouldn’t talk anymore, refused to eat, refused to drink… After I came home from the sleepover at your house, I saw her… She, She was hanging from the ceiling, tears running down her face.” Pete looked horrified, pulling me into a hug as I continued. “The elderly woman heard my scream, and rushed over to see me staring at my mother screaming and sobbing. She called the cops, quickly getting her to the ground, checking her pulse. I was taken to the woman’s home, the police announced her dead and found a letter…” “I knew she passed but didn’t know what happened exactly…” Pete’s voice was quiet. “Dad got custody over me. He didn’t like the fact that I looked like mom. He… He did things. He let his ‘friends’ do things. I was nine at the time, and he sold me to his ‘friend’ for the night. Gave him 10 bucks to have his way with me. I tried to fight back but…” Pete looked livid. “I felt sick, the bad thing is that I couldn’t feel anything. I was numb, emotionally and physically. You and the others were the only ones that made me feel something… It continued until I was twelve, I had tried to fight but it was pointless. One day, Dad had enough of it. He slapped me, kicked me, cut me, burned me… He let his ‘friends’ have their way with me. The reason I began to miss more and more school was because of him. I got lucky sometimes and was able to sneak out and see you. He would add a new mark to the collection each time. Then when I was fifteen, he got drunk. He.. Had his way with me, then threatened to kill me if I said anything. Aunt May was the one to notice, the one day I came over she saw a glimpse of them… I confided in her, I didn’t want you to know because you would look at me differently. Or give up on me and that would have killed me… Dad found out when May called the cops on him. He was not happy, the longest scar was his attempt to kill me. The police did a search, and the court plead him guilty. I was in the hospital that month I missed school… My cousin got custody of me, then the accident happened, and I got my abilities. That’s pretty much it… I guess you’ll be leaving then?” I lowered my head, waiting for the rejection. “I told you. I’ll never leave you. I love you too much to do that. I’m glad you told me…” He pulled me into a tight hug, kissing the top of my head. “Really?” I teared up a bit. “Really.” He held me as I cried. I really felt loved for once in my life… All I know is that it felt good to get that off my chest. “I don’t care about the marks. Because these scars make you look even more beautiful to me.”

Sharmi

( I have no idea if I did this right and I’m quite sure I might have made few mistakes but it’s worth a try)

Sometimes there are instances when you can see your own life flashing before your eyes and it gets you thinking ” Is this where I want to be? Is this the place I still want to be in another 5 years?”

I had a minor problem, a fault perhaps. I was surely and indefinitely addicted to Alcohol. Don’t get me wrong it was not that type of addiction where one would kill for a bottle of beer or something far more stronger that leaves that burning sensation down your throat and a sting behind your eyelids. It was a addiction where when I didn’t know what to do-how to react- specifically, I turned to my new found companion. It didn’t shout back at me, didn’t call me names, didn’t say that I was a worthless mistake.

Infact it welcomed me with open arms and I embraced the feeling of not caring. Sure it was a great weight off my shoulders just to forget everything for a moment and just…… be. But then I’d wake up regretting every single thing I did the night before. Trust me that plus having a blasting headache ? not the best hangover tonic.

Now here I am in front of my car trying to think yet failing since I can’t even think straight to even start thinking about thinking.

That’s when I feel it. something poking at the back of my head. A shadow looming behind me.

”Leave the keys on the ground and turn away without a second glance and you won’t get hurt.” His vice was rough and he reeked of old garbage and dried up voldka.

There I see it again. All The time I’ve spent wasting away drinking without actually doing what my 21 year old self was supposed to be doing.

I took my parents money for granted and had the time of my life. A Audi sports car, expensive designer clothes, latest IPhone, all the girls I could ever imagine. And yet I felt hollow. An empty nutshell disguised as a perfect fruit.

This is the moment I change that. This is the moment the fight back. I’m not going to whole away anymore. I won’t be that worthless mistake any more. I am Rane Alexander after all and I won’t let a label define me. I’m going to get past this hazy fog and I’ll see the horizon again.

So I turned back and grabbed the man by his arm and sling him over hard sending the gun skidding across the dim lit parking lot.

” Not today” I breathed.

Nice…well done. I thought the ending was empowering…

Emma Palmer

Standing Still

I would like to tell you a story about a girl. There was nothing special about her at all-she was simply a girl. Every day she lived in pain. She lived in her shared room feeling so alone. Everything was white: the walls, the beds, the furniture. There was no creativity in the room, no evidence of the girl’s individuality-no posters, no color, nothing. Although, she did have one orange throw pillow that she didn’t want nor like. She hated the bland, bland room. Until she was forced to live in this room she saw white as a symbol of purity, harmony, and peace. Now she saw white as a toxic color, something that wasn’t even really a color at all, something that was devoid of emotion. Every day the girl took a shower in an attempt to wash away her skin that had been tainted by the room, but that simple act of cleansing soon became tiresome and it eventually stopped working. The girl felt dirty, impure, and alone. She was afraid-so afraid. She was afraid of being alone in her shared room in a shared house of seven people. She was afraid of not being heard, of not being able to speak. She didn’t know how she felt and she didn’t know how to express it. One day, the girl stepped into her shower, and stared at the white walls and the white floors and the white curtain and the whiteness of it all and she felt numb. She felt as if the blandness of her room and of her life had finally driven her emotionless. She stood there, feeling every singular drop of water sting her skin as if she was on fire and she felt nothing. Nothing-the absence of anything-shouldn’t feel as if the world was being torn apart around her, it shouldn’t feel as though everyone and everything were pitted against her, and yet this is the way the girl felt. She forgot that she was in the shower, where she was supposed to feel refreshed and cleansed, and she forgot herself. She leaned her head against the shower wall she wondered why the walls looked as if they were in so much pain. It was as if the very walls around her were feeling just as she felt. She stood and she thought. She wondered how long she would be able to stand there, with her head resting on a cold, hard surface. She stood in the shower too long, she stood there until the hot water turned cold and even past that. She stood there until she felt as though the pain building up inside her couldn’t take it any longer. And then, she moved. She placed one hand against the tile wall and she pushed, testing her strength-the wall remained still. She thought about how meaningless her life was and how she couldn’t possibly do anything important or memorable and she felt selfish. She felt selfish for wanting to be important. She felt as though all of her thoughts were not her own and that society had simply conditioned her to think them and she felt nothing. She felt trapped. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to be, no friends to run to, nothing. She felt alone. Her worst fear was unfolding as she began to panic. She thrashed in the shower as she desperately gasped for air, feeling nothing. Maybe she should stop gasping for air, maybe she should just give up. But no, she had to keep fighting. She turned and she turned the dreaded water off and it stopped. Just like that, it stopped, and she felt nothing yet again. She stood there, water dripping down her body, and she thought. She thought about how many mistakes she made and how many lies she’d told. She regretted everything. She wanted to stop feeling. She wanted to undo all of her wrongdoings and she wished she could fix the people she’d broken. She wished so desperately to fix herself. She stopped, she told herself to snap out of it and she felt nothing. She turned and she pulled back the bland, white curtain. She slowly took a step and then another. She stood right outside the shower and let herself feel the cold, rigid air on her skin because feeling something was better than nothing, right? She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself to shield her small, fragile body from the cold. She stood there outside of the shower, and she felt vulnerable. She felt neglected. She felt as if nobody cared at all. She truly thought that she had no one. She sat down on the cold tile bathroom floor and she felt defeated. She felt as if she could no longer go one. She stared at the water dripping from the faucet and she thought about how easy it would be to corrupt these white walls with her own blood just as they had tainted her with pain and sorrow and misery. She sat for what felt like hours and she thought. She realized that she couldn’t do what she so desperately wanted to do because she was just too afraid. She thought about spilling her own blood, just to leave at least a little bit of herself in that lonely room that would never truly be hers. She came so close-oh so close-to giving up, but then she remembered. She remembered a person and how that person made her feel. She remembered a smile like no other. She remembered arms that held her so tight and close that she actually felt safe. She remembered a face, a gorgeous face, that lit up the moment its eyes layed on her. She remembered feeling loved, so she stood up, turned to the door, walked into the white room, and the girl lived on to see another day, another sunrise, and another beautiful moment.

And I have a secret-that girl, that terrible terrible girl, is me.

I have a blog and have uploaded 190 articles and short stories averaging 1000-1400 words. 70% were political. My writing is purely a hobby although I did send one story to a publisher and they wrote that they liked it but being an unknown author I would be required to contribute £2,500 towards the cost of publishing this children’s picture book which was 800 words long. Is this normal?.

So far I have had 43,000 hits worldwide on my blog I am now writing fiction for girls aged between 12-17 and children’s picture books..

I have a blog and have uploaded 190 articles and short stories averaging 1000-1400 words. 70% were political. My writing is purely a hobby although I did send one story to a publisher and they wrote that they liked it but being an unknown author I would be required to contribute £2,500 towards the cost of publishing this children’s picture book which was 800 words long.

IS THIS NORMAL?.

Miss.Bridgit

Is this normal ?

I will get up off the chair and head for the PC, I will type two lines. At this stage they are nothing but the release of vague reflections triggered by my imagination. I may not use them but they have to escape the clutter and disarray of my thoughts and be planted like a seedling. Those two lines on a blank screen when germinated can blossom into an article, a story or a book; the blank computer screen is not unlike the painter’s blank palette waiting for the first glimmer of his/her artistry. A line of text can do the same, although it need not even be a line of text, one word can suffice.

The first line read “It was the evening of the annual Concert and Dance at……….. ” I turned the Pee Cee off and I went to bed. The next day the story took root and blossomed… ….

I will get up off the chair and head for the PC, I will type two lines. At this stage they are nothing but the release of vague reflections triggered by my imagination. I may not use them but they have to escape the clutter and disarray of my thoughts and be planted like a seedling.

Those two lines on a blank screen when germinated can blossom into an article, a story or a book; the blank computer screen is not unlike the painter’s blank palette waiting for the first glimmer of his/her artistry. A line of text can do the same, although it need not even be a line of text, one word can suffice.

The first line read “It was the evening of the annual Concert and Dance at the Denham College” I turned the Pee Cee off and I went to bed. The next day the story took root and blossomed… ….

Those two lines on a blank screen when germinated can blossom into an article, a story or a book; the blank computer screen is not unlike the painter’s blank palette waiting for the first glimmer of his/her artistry. A line of text can do the same, although it need not even be a line of text, one word can suffice. The first line read “It was the evening of the annual Concert and Dance at the Denham College.

I turned the Pee Cee off and I went to bed. The next day the story took root and blossomed… ….

Dori Acuff

Here a poem…

Roses are red Violets are blue I love you Do you love me?

Times I sit and think of you In hope as you think of me Your smile just makes me melt As I know my makes you melt.

I know you think I’m silly But you love me for it.

I hope this puts a smile on your face As it does my as I wrote it.

The sky is blue, the grass is green and the sun is warm just like my heart that beats for you. You make me smile more then the beautiful flowers that bloom under the warmth of spring and you put a sparkle in my eyes more then the stars shine in the night sky. You light my path better then a full moon in a clear night sky.

You are beautiful and I love you too.

It lights up my heart to see the words I write to you. I never thought I would ever meet someone like you. I have told you things happen for a reason and so they do. I want spend every waking moment to show you how I feel. My heart belongs to the moat amazing woman I know. Baby, that is you. I know here lately I’ve been hard to love but I promise things will get better. You are my rock and sanitary you keep me going when I think I can’t. I love u with all my heart, mind, body and soul. You’re my FOREVER. Just one more thing to say.

Don’t give up on me because I will make all your dreams come true in one way or another. I will love you until I take my last breath. Just keep on loving me for I know I am you’re Forever Love…..

That is the biggest poem I’ve ever seen

Arikateku

Merp, I like this

Chris Jones

Beware: Bad language. These are two dispicible people being told honestly.

————-

Stew bent down and grabbed the dead man’s feet. “Because they’re faggots, that’s why. Why you care?”

Phil bent over and grabbed the dead man’s shoulders. “I just don’t think we should generalize people like that. That’s all.”

“One. Two. Three. Up.” They lifted the dead man off the pavement and shuffled over to the trunk of their Volkswagen. “I don’t give a fuck what you don’t think, they’re still dick-suckers. On three again. One. Two. Three.” They tossed the man into the trunk. Stew grabbed the dead man’s legs and contorted them in such a way that his fat ass fit inside, then he tossed a sheet over the body and slammed the trunk shut. “Queers, Phil. God ain’t got no love for a man sucking off another man.”

Phil was wiping his hands with a kerchief. When he was done he stuffed it back in his back pocket. The left one. “Maybe God doesn’t care, neither? Maybe we’re the ones, as a society, making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.”

Stew licked his thumb and rubbed it on his left tail light, smearing a dot of blood and making it worse. “Gimme’ a rag, would ya’?” Phil fetched a rag out of the backseat of the VW and tossed it to Stew. He spit on the rag and then wiped the taillight raw. “It’s in the fuckin’ bible, man. God said a man and a woman, not a man and a man. Now, don’t get me wrong, I got no problem with women dating women. I mean, come on, it’s sexy as hell. But two guys wagging their weiner’s in each other’s faces? Fucking gross.”

Phil stuck a cigarette between his lips and lit it, closing his eyes and inhaling. He opened his eyes and exhaled. A kid on a bike rode by, tossing a newspaper wrapped in a blue bag on the edge of the driveway. Phil watched the boy as he pedaled away, dumping papers on every driveway down the street. “Maybe the bible does say that,” he said, turning back to Stew. “Why’s it our business, though? Long as they keep it between them, how’s it hurting you?”

“It’s the principle of the motherfuckin’ thing,” Stew said, tossing the rag to Phil.

Phil sidestepped out of the way and let the rag fall to the ground. “Fuck off, dude. I don’t want his fucking blood on my new suit.”

“Well at least put it in the trash.” Stew wiped his hands down his pants, at which Phil cringed, then walked over and opened the driver side door. “We gotta meet Don in half an hour and we’re runnin’ late. Let’s go.”

“Stop for a taco?” Phil asked, bending over and grabbing the rag between two fingers.

“Sure. I’m starving.”

I Tried This is what i have so far…:

Isra Sonnet liked the quiet. Which was why she wished she were back home with her parents back in California, her cousin Eric was snoring very loud on the top bunk of the beds. She tried to block out the noise, but he seemed to be getting louder, and louder with each snort. Having enough of this, Isra grabbed her pillow and climbed up with it.

Holding steady onto the ledge of the bed, she smacked him with it. Hard.

Waking up with a start Eric looked at Isra annoyed.

“What is wrong with you? I was trying to sleep!” He flings the pillow on by his face,to the floor.

“You’re loud enough to wake the dead. Stop snoring like an old man.”

“If you’re so mad about it go sleep somewhere else…” Eric says drifting back to sleep, too tired to argue.

Sighing Isra climbed back down to her bunk bed. She knew it wouldn’t be long before Eric would start snoring again. Gathering her pillow from the floor and the blanket from her bed, she walked out of the room closing the door behind her.

Now, it was quite dark in the house. Though, Isra knew her way around the house from memory. She was careful to go down the stairs, and not to make too much noise to wake Eric’s parents.

In the living room Isra made herself comfortable on one of the couches. Placing her pillow down and wrapping herself in the warmth of her blanket comforted her. She sighed in relief. Now she could finally sleep.

Arianna

I really like it. It’s very detailed in my opinion. I’ve read a book like that called… “Wish”. I want to publish all six of my books when I get older. I’M ONLY NINE so maybe when i’m in my 20’s

isabelle

dont worry about your age. you can be just as good as any other writer. i am only twelve and i am almost finished writing my book that i am hoping to publish. go for your dreams, dont let your age stop you.

Erin J Scorgie

I’m 16 and have published my first book, best experience of my life, I am very close to publishing my 2nd book and sooo excited! Don’t worry about your age, the younger the better I say! You go girl and good luck with your writing career. You are a very gifted young lady! Xx

Kawiria

If you want to publish your books, why not now? There isn’t a law against young authors. I’m not much older than you, but my book is being published this year. All you need is the money to publish–that’s the REAL hard part for a younger writer.

DumDumDeeDoooo

Hey, don’t worry, I’m eleven and I deeply enjoy writing, and I’m looking to get a book published very soon. There’s no law forbading youngsters from getting books published… In fact, becoming a young author is one of the VERY BEST things you could do to benefit you in the future.

Quiet_Kitten

Yea I’m 11 and I’m gonna start writing stories on an app called Wattpad

Rachel Sanpaka

It’s a great way to get feed back and to start sharing your stories.

Arigato

The temperature was searing. Tara squinted her eyes as wavy lines of heat danced in the distance. Michael shuffled out of the taxi behind her and bent to drop 30 pesos in the driver’s expectant hand. “Why did we have to come all the way to Acapulco just to get our teeth cleaned?” Tara whined like a child dreading the dentist. “We’re not just getting our teeth cleaned”, Michael explained, “I need 4 crowns, you could use some fillings, and dental work is so much cheaper in Mexico. Plus, it’ll be like a vacation as soon as we’re finished. I have 3 days of the most romantic stuff planned for us, just wait.” Tara smiled at the thought of what Michael’s idea of “romantic stuff” could be. It was 9:15 am Thursday, if all went to plan, they would be partying on the beach Friday night. The shop they had been dropped off in front of was a modest, stucco covered building with one dark window bearing a small sign that read “Dentista”. They were 45 minutes early for their appointments but hopefully that meant they would be done sooner. 30 minutes and 16 pages of paperwork later, they were ushered down a brightly lit corridor to a room containing an x-ray machine. Once finished there, they were led to adjoining rooms. Each contained nothing more than a large, green dental chair, procedure light, and metal rolling cart filled with shiny, sharp instruments. “The dentist will be right in,” said the plump assistant in a thick Mexican accent. Since the office saw so many tourists, the staff all spoke in English, and this reassured Tara that it wasn’t so bad after all. She was looking up at a poster of an aquarium filled with fish that was taped to the ceiling when the dentist strode in. He was tall, about 6 feet, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a brilliantly white smile. While peering at her x-ray films, he rattled off a list of work that she needed, and she agreed, not really understanding just wanting to get it over with. The plump assistant appeared and placed a mask over Tara’s nose and mouth as she crooned, “To make you comfortable!” The last thing she noticed before she lost consciousness was the poodle print scrubs the assistant was wearing. Tara woke up being shaken by Michael. “Come on let’s go, I’ve been finished for an hour.” She groggily sat up and placed her hand to her warm, swollen cheek. The assistant was back, handing Michael prescriptions for pain killers and giving him instructions not to eat for 2 hours. They stepped outside into the bright sun and began walking slowly towards the nearest intersection where they could hail a cab. After a short taxi ride they arrived at Hotel Catedral, a quaint, boutique inn on the outskirts of the city. The room was cramped, but clean, and after a quick shower, they both laid down and quickly fell asleep. The next 2 days were spent drinking, lounging on the beach, and making love. Tara awoke late Sunday morning and started packing. While she would miss relaxing on the beach, she couldn’t wait to get back home to her apartment. Her stomach had been bothering her on and off throughout the trip and she thought it may have been the water she was drinking. They took a taxi to the airport and the trip home was uneventful except for a few severe stomach pains Tara had on the flight. She took a few more pain pills and they eased up enough for her to take a nap. They barely had time to walk through the door when Tara felt a sudden urge and bolted to the bathroom. “Are you okay?” Michael called from the hall. “Fine, just gimme a minute!” Tara snapped, and Michael went in to the living room and laid down on the couch. When Tara had finished in the bathroom, she stood up and saw something strange in the toilet. It looked like what appeared to be several small balloons floating in the water. “What the…” Tara stared confused, and called for Michael to come into the bathroom. He popped his head in the door and looked at her questioningly. She pointed to the toilet and he shook his head as if to say, “I’m not going in there.” Tara walked to the sink and grabbed a pair of tweezers sitting near the mirror. When she reached towards the toilet, Michael yelped, “What are you doing?!” “Shush, hold on!” she said. She pulled back the tweezers and pinched in the end was one of the balloons. She carried it to the sink and quickly rinsed it off. Michael came closer and said, “That came out of you?” ‘Yeah, gimme something to cut it open.” He produced his pocket knife and she proceeded to make a small slice down the center of the balloon. A white powdery substance spilled from the cut. “Oh my god, it looks like drugs! Tara exclaimed. “How did this get inside me? It must have been the dentist! I told you we shouldn’t have went down there for dental work! What are we gonna do?” “Maybe we should go to the emergency room and get checked out? Michael suggested. “Ok but we should just say our stomachs are hurting and not say anything about the drugs. We don’t want them thinking it’s ours and taking us to jail.” After spending 4 hours in the ER, a CAT scan and bloodwork, the couple was assured that they were in perfect health and probably ate something bad. They headed home, relieved there were no more foreign objects in their bodies but worried about what to do about the dentist. “He can’t get away with this, said Tara excitedly, he probably does this to tourists all the time!” “But if we call the police and tell them our story, they might think we’re involved somehow,” said Michael. They arrived back at their small Austin apartment and decided to eat some dinner and think the matter over some more without rushing to alert the police. After all they were safe at home and had no plans on leaving the country any time soon. Maybe they could just put this whole thing behind them like a bad dream. A crazy story to tell the grandkids. Once the dishes for dinner had been washed and Tara was settling down on the sofa next to Michael, a knock sounded at the door. “Who could that be? “Michael asked. He got up, slowly walked to the door, and peeped through the eyehole. On the other side of the door were 3 well-dressed Latino men. The one standing closest to door was dressed in black pants and jacket with a tucked-in turquoise shirt. He spoke first. “We know you’re in there and you have something that belongs to our boss.”

Crystal Fresneda

I wrote two stories so far Murderous Twins (Mystery) and Pregnant at 18 (Drama n Romance) total words for both 27000

Christine

THANK YOU FOR THIS. I LOVE TO WRITE AND I NEEDED INSPIRATION!!!

Husnain sheikh

My First Story.. I woke up late that morning, too excited to sleep at first and then I don’t remember when I dozed off to sleep early morning. Bright sunlight hit my half open eyes and I jumped off from the bed. It was 8:00 am already.

“Mama … why didn’t you wake me up? Has he left already?” Mother smiled “Its Sunday! Didn’t felt like waking you up from deep sleep you were in, besides you must have been dreaming, there was beautiful smile on your face. And don’t worry Papa won’t go without you.”

I was super relived and ran to hall, where my dad was ready, waiting for me. “We are going to City, right?” He simply nodded and smiled “Now get ready else we will miss the bus”

I ran to bathroom for shower and within seconds was out and in front of mirror combing my hairs. “Dry them properly, your hairs are wet, you’ll catch cold”

But here I was holding my dad’s hand and pulling him out of the door. We took bus from the bus stop and were on our way to City.

Finally the day had arrived when I was going to get my first Bicycle. It all started when my dad promised to get me Bicycle if I score good marks in final exam next year. All my friends had their own bicycle. Even my juniors had their own.

I patiently waited for one year to get my dream bike.

On the result day I was very nervous. When there was announcement that I stood first in 5th C, I jumped up in air and almost snatched my report card from our class Teachers hands.

I was telling everybody on my way back that I was going to get bicycle, since I stood first in class. After reaching home I told mom about the result and she was very happy. Then dad came back from work in the evening, he was very happy to hear about my results and patted on my back.

“So you are going to get me Bicycle” I said with glimmer in my eyes. “Let’s see” he simply said taking off his shoes

I was almost broken in tears to hear those words. He had not said no but neither did he say yes. I broke down “this is not fair, you promised”.

Next day, mom broke the news to me that finally I am going to get my Bike this Sunday.

Squeezing sound of halting break of bus brought me back to present. “We have reached, Lets go” said dad.

We reached the Big Bicycle store in Gol market. There were so many bikes, I just couldn’t take my eyes off. I picked the one with Marron color. Salesman explained the features to me. I looked at dad expectantly, he nodded and I hugged him.

Dad went in to meet the shop manager, I waited outside to see my bike being assembled by the worker. I saw dad having conversation with the shop owner. I don’t know what was wrong but dad came out.

“Let’s go now we will come next week, and take this Bike home” dad said with his fingers in my hairs. I couldn’t believe my ears. After waiting for almost a year I am getting my bike and now he is saying to wait for one more week.

I threw his hand away in disgust and ran away to hug my bike and started crying. Dad tried to convince me that He had assumed the Price of Bicycle to be lot less. And now he doesn’t have enough cash to buy this bike.

But I refused to budge down. I was so much carried away by anger, I couldn’t see the nervous face of my father. It must have been really awkward for him to face this situation.

“Okay. Let me see what can be done!” he went in. I waited outside partly sobbing and partly smiling.

Few moments later dad came out smiling. I knew he had bought the bike and we were going to be taking it home today. This was happiest day of my life.

It took me few years to understand that my dad had sold his ring that day to fulfill my wish!

Marsha McCroden

This is what I’ve got so far:

Capt. Lee asked for interrogation volunteers. The Interrogation Rooms were full and there weren’t enough interrogators. Lt. Jones volunteered. She told him thee was a suspect in Interrogation room D. Should be easy — a straight-up homicide. Just tape the confession.

Entering IR D, he saw an inconspicuous middle-aged man. Inconspicuous? Maybe 100 years ago.

Lt. Jones introduced himself and sat down. He sat down and said he was there to get the man’s side of the story. Then he turned on the recorder. The man looked at him with amusement. “Do you really want my confession” he asked. Jones said he needed the man’s name and address first. “All right. I am Daniel Alan James, address 132321 Atlantic Avenue, Plot D3.”

Jones looked up sharply. “That’s a cemetery. Your real address please.” I get the nuts, he thought.

“I am not ‘pulling your leg’ as you so quaintly think. That is my address.”

“As to my confession. In 1869 in Palm Beach, I burgled May Palmer’s house I got a sackful of jewelry. I also hacked off her head. Sternly he looked at Jones. “You kept that back. He acted like that fact should have been publusged,, like he wanted credit for it.

“In 1920, in Miami Beach, I attended a speakeasy. I abducted a somewhat plump girl, Cynthia Handel, and eventually disposed her of in the Dismal Swamp.” Chuckling, he continued. You could say the alligators had a fine meal that night.

In 1936, Cleveland, Ohio. I presume you’ve heard of the Torso Murders there? The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run? It was never solved. Poor Eliot Ness — he wanted so badly to be Mayor of Cleveland and not just Safety Director. That case would have given him the Mayor’s office. I denied him that.””I

Above the gables of the orphanage roof, a tremulous, gentle sound began to keen. It began quietly, as oh so fragile a thing. I held my breath where I had awakened in my bed to keep from drowning it out- the sound of a human singing through a violin.

I knew exactly who it was that sang. She had come in just that day, eyes wide, mouth closed, and a violin case clutched to her chest like it was the only thing she had left in the world. I was older than her and so in a different dormitory, but still the sound found its way, sorrowfully, lovingly, through the still night air.

The sound of it made me want to cry, as it stirred in me a pain I’d long ago learned to shove away, the origin of which was the only thing that me and the little virtuoso child shared. It unfurled itself deep within me, reaching out for the sound as it grew, grew louder and more powerful as the beginning upset turned to something more violent, something filled with righteous indignation at what had happened to her… to… to me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I curled into my pillow as I fought the onslaught of emotions. The anger, the injustice, the harrowing *grief*. It all slashed and dove and resonated through the air- through my soul. I curled around the reopened wound, feeling the unreleased cry of pain inside of me. But the tears still fell. They were like rain.

Suddenly the vibrancy in the tone fell flat. The last ringing note was undulating through the air, twisting with fading passion, as a quieter, stiller strain took its place. Dispirited and exhausted, the muted notes struggled to find me, and I imagined them getting lost. It was both a relief and a loss as I felt the raw emotions drain away. It felt… hollow. It was like how I usually felt only much, much worse, the sheer weight of it making it a pain all its own, although it signified the absence of it. It was a rock I couldn’t push off my chest, or a vacuum inside of me. It *hurt*.

Still, my eyes dried as I listened to the dispassionate, lilting notes. They bumped into each other with pattern but no passion. The lack of colour in it compared to everything else the little violin girl had played almost made me want to cry again- for her this time, instead of me. I wanted to comfort her. To tell her that she could find a family here again… even if it wasn’t the same.

But then- then something magical happened. I heard something in a note shift. Just ever so slightly, regaining some of its lost fullness. My heart jumped against my rib cage at it, like a baby bird too eager to be out of the nest. The sound broadened and deepened, spinning and growing to an unimaginable size and intensity, filled with such thought and memory as one can only know inside themselves. I couldn’t imagine that something of such monumental size was coming from such a tiny person and her instrument- no, her partner. Her friend. It had to be her friend to join her in all this.

The graceful creature grew and grew on when I thought it could grow more. Time had lost all meaning to me as it tapered and streamlined itself into something lighter- losing its weight and despair- but not its memory. That stayed. I could feel it within me, too- the warmth that was spreading through the song. It touched at my fingers and toes, the tip of my nose, and the center of my belly. I let out a breath as the weight- the vacuum, whatever it was- released, no longer afraid of it or drowning out the soaring melody that cozied into the corners of the resting place of me and so many others that had experienced what this other child was experiencing right now.

But I knew, as the music carried on through the night, a peaceful balance between love and light and sorrow, that she was going to be just fine. We were all going to be just fine.

zainab

This inspired me so i tried it came up with this so far

Things have been difficult lately. Even breathing seems to take a lot of effort. But grief often shuts people down. And everything seems to blur out. You must be wondering what broke me? Nothing just the same old heartbreak that broke souls in every time period.

That night I made my way Aden’s house. We had been dating for almost four years. He had asked me to marry him a week ago and I had to ask my parents if they accepted they’re daughter to get married at 21. To my surprise my parents had said yes and I was on my way to blow Aden’s mind with the amazing news. I rang his doorbell several times even though I knew where they key to the door was kept but manners were still important. After fifteen minutes of standing out the door my mind started exploding with thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking about. Aden’s car was still parked in the garage which meant that he was still home. I rushed to get the keys from under a plant pot and opened the door. Aden’s house was a mess but Aden was a clean freak. I made my way to Aden’s room and gently opened the door to see my whole world crashing in front of me.

Aden lay in bed with another women pressed to his side as they slept. No words, no tears just an apology. Just two words “ I’m sorry “ and I ran down the stairs, across the street and away from the person I had given my everything.

You see every person leaves a mark behind. But Aden , Aden left behind the deepest scars.

Mark Robson

(please don’t judge, I’m only 12. And btw I’m a girl. I’m using my dad’s account)

It’s dark. My own shadows drown me. This is nothing new to me though, I’m not shocked or scared. Just lonely. Nothing to look forward to I’ll thing myself sitting and think, hoping. I don’t know how long this lasts, seconds, minutes, hours. I can’t sense the time passing, I don’t fully understand it. I don’t know how I got here or when I’ll leave. My life feels like it has no meaning. But yet, somehow I feel like I’m waiting for something, this longing for something to happen. But at this moment in time…I’m not really sure. I must have had more than this life, I must have lived in something different, color, happiness, friends, family….love…maybe, or is that me dreaming?

Have I lost my mind completely now. Maybe I’m not even here, In this darkness. Am I just mad? Why am I even asking…I’ll never get an answer. Sitting here hoping dreaming will do me no good! I must fight back. I’m not sure what I’m fighting for but if I do have a motive to fight then it must be worth it. Without thinking I lunge into the dark clouds. Fighting, not with any weapons but just by my longing for whatever is outside this lonely cage. The chains of my fear and uncertainty tug at my arms pulling me back but using all my force I shake them off and continue forward through the endless darkness…This place must end. There must be an ending for me, more than this dark realm. I jump forward, ready to scream as I hit the floor but I don’t have to. I didn’t fall…Am I..floating?

No, I don’t feel like I’m standing. I feel something on my hand but I can’t see what it is or even move to shake it off. Then I suddenly realize. The thought that I’ll no longer be lonely, this thing I feel, it’s a person. These thoughts, my feelings they allow me to take control. I slowly open my eyes. It all shoots my at once colour…light! I’m lying down on a bed, a hospital bed. My memories come soaring back. I look over to my right hand and see the lady holding it, in shock, but smiling brightly. It’s my mother! And in what seems like the longest time ever…I smile.

Courtnie

Clark stood at the window and watch as the first snow started to fall. He thought back to when he was a little boy and how he loved to go outside and play in the snow. The snowmen him and his sister would build, the snowball fights him and his friends would have. Then his smile changed to a sad face. He remember the last first snow fall that happen when he was a kid. That was the last time he was happy about seeing the snow. Clark’s father Ernest was at the local convenience store, when two mask men came in to rob the place. One of the robbers told Ernest to give him his wallet. He did but a long noise from the back of the store in scared the robber that he jumped and the gun he had pointed at Clark’s father went off and shot him in the chest.

Clark was home in the bed, but he jumped up out of his sleep, he felt that something was wrong. He got out the bed and went looking for his mother. When he got to the end of the hall he saw his mother at the door talking to some police. She turned when she heard the floor Creek. ” Clark honey, what are you doing up”? His mother asked with blood soaking red eyes . ” mother is everything alright? ” with every step he took closer to his mother he knew that what ever reason the police was at his house it wasn’t good. Every since that Dreadful night Clark, the night his dad was killed, he has hated the snow. It always seems to remind him of that night. It’s like all the good times he had in the snow was replace by the death of his dad, his hero, the man he wanted to grow up and be. They never did find the guys that robbed that convenience store.

Pradeep

Conceited Conflict

Simon did not die…

The inviting aroma of freshly brewed coffee had been enough to persuade him to walk straight into the little beach-side shack without as much as a second thought. He had made a mental note to thank Danny–his colleague and friend–for suggesting the place for a quick getaway.

People close to Simon knew that he savored these small pleasures of life: a peaceful evening relaxing at the beach, the blushing horizon as the sun set for the day, the scents of the tropical sea, the areca nut trees swaying to the music of the breeze, the waves at the shallow end lightly caressing his feet, the warm texture of the sand slipping away beneath his toes, children running around flying colorful kites… cocoa-rich dark chocolates, and fresh coffee.

And why not? After all, he thought, what was life without these? Nothing but a stressful grind, it was. To fight the distressing official battles day in and day out. To struggle to defeat the unethical schemes of the back-stabbing lot who lurked among colleagues and friends. To come back home to the nagging demands of a materialistic spouse. All that did nothing good for the soul.

It was late evening when Simon had walked toward the shack. When he got closer, he had noticed two men standing engulfed by the dark shadows behind the shack. Although he could not discern their features, and they were speaking only in whispers, their body language had betrayed the fact that they had been exchanging an agitated conversation.

As Simon was about to enter the shack, one of the men thrust a wad of money into the other’s hand. The other man briefly regarded the bundle before stuffing it into his trouser pocket.

A drug deal, likely–Simon had thought–or some other such shady business. How could these people come to such spectacular and peaceful places and engage in such disreputable and squalid acts? What a disgusting lot!

He had shaken his head to clear his thoughts, and inhaled deeply as he entered the shack. Freshly brewed coffee! He had smiled as he sat at a small, round, plastic table in a corner. All other concerns would have to wait for half an hour, at least.

Outside, unknown to Simon, the deal had been concluded. The men had followed up by exchanging a small vial of some sort. Then one of them had raised the hood of his jacket over his head and walked away swiftly without turning back, with his hands in his pockets. The other man had vanished into the darker shadows behind the shack.

The next afternoon…

Although–when it concerned professional life–Danny lacked severely in the department of moral and ethical values, he was regarded in their circles as a gem when it concerned friendship. He had rushed to the hospital at once when Simon’s wife had called. Dysentery–she had told him, repeating the doctor’s diagnosis–perhaps acute food poisoning. Very severe symptoms. Quite unbearable. Must have been something he ate yesterday.

Danny had stayed on at the hospital with Simon’s wife to lend her moral and emotional support. He wanted to make sure–he had said–that she got all the help she needed; he wanted to make sure that Simon recovered all right.

The third evening…

Simon rested motionless on a bed at St Sebastian Hospital. Motionless. Still. He wasn’t even breathing. He was finally free of all suffering.

Epilogue 1…

Normally, convincing a chemist and obtaining the required substance might have been the biggest challenge. On this occasion, however, a well-maintained friendship with a pharmaceutical assistant had proved quite rewarding.

The rest was simple to plan and execute. Simple did not mean without risk, but in this case the desired reward would be sufficient compensation for the risk.

The dosage would be just right. The doctor would have only the patient’s symptoms to go on, which would be easily mistaken for those of common diseases such as food poisoning or dysentery.

It would all be over even before anyone suspected foul play. Even if other signs did manifest afterwards, there was no incriminating evidence.

Epilogue 2…

Simon had felt the first signs of fatigue when he was almost half way back home from his getaway spot. He had believed that the nausea was caused by travel-sickness. Later that night his condition had become worse, and next morning he had tried home remedies for diarrhea. By afternoon, he had started discharging blood, and had to be hospitalized immediately.

Danny had stood by his bed in the hospital, looking in his weak eyes, holding his hand reassuringly. Behind those heavy eyelids, in those weak eyes about to close, Danny had seen a faint spark of realization. The reality of the deal he had witnessed behind the coffee shack had dawned on Simon. I wish you understood, my friend–Danny had thought–that it was nothing personal, that everything is fair in professional rivalry. In any case, it was too late now. There was no turning back.

Don’t strain yourself trying to talk–Danny had said–Just close your eyes, let go and relax.

— End —

(I’m only 12 so don’t judge me, I tried :D)

I’m alone. I’m surrounded by darkness. I’m lonely, I have no-one except silence to keep me company. I’m not sure how long I’ve been here…Minutes, hours….days? They mean nothing to me, I don’t know how time passes and why it matters. I’m too close to giving up. Surely my life must mean something. I can’t have been made to just be nothing, to exist only feeling, loneliness and fear. The fear of being forgotten, by this world, by myself. If I’m not already.

There must be meaning for me, something bugger, better. It’s all I want, all I ever dream about. A life with meaning, color, happiness…family. But that’s just a dream. That can’t be real, I have no memories out of this place why would I be suddenly be gifted such happiness. Is this it? I am going mad? Have I been here so long just lost my mind? No. That can’t be. I can’t give up, I must try….try escape this realm of darkness. I stand up, shaking slightly. No, I must be strong! I run forward, not sure where I’m going. Not sure if this place even ends.

I start hearing voices, they’re speaking to me… “stay…strong…everything’s going to be ok” I hear the voice saying. It was comforting, gentle and kind sounded. It sounds familiar….I run faster, using all of strength. I race through the darkness, wind smacking my face until I come to what looks like the edge. It was a drop, so deep I couldn’t see the bottom. Without thinking, using all my desire, the want to be somewhere with meaning and happiness I lunge forward and jump.

I…I didn’t fall. I’m alive, I think. I don’t feel like I’m standing. Wait, am I floating? No, don’t be silly. I’m…lying. I feel something touch my hand but I don’t have strength to even shake it off. I can’t see anything…Then suddenly reality hits me. I slowly open my eyes…It all hits me at once: Color, sound, people. I look over to my right hand to see who was holding it. She was crying but smiling at the same time. It was mother. And for the first time in what seemed like forever, I smiled.

Lykke

“I’m borrowing one of your geese.”

Asta jumped in her seat by the fireplace, woken from her accidental nap. She whirled in her seet to see Jeppa, the slightly unhinged neighbour, filling the doorframe. He looked like any regular farmer, brown coveralls and pipe dangling from the side of his mouth, but sported a permanent wide-eyed stare that made the children (and everyone else) wary of him. Asta had half a mind to go back to sleep and let Jeppa be Jeppa, but curiousity got the best of her.

“Pardon?” She asked, slowly getting up, her arthritis crackling in her knees. “You’re borrowing what?”

“I’m borrowing one of your geese,” He repeated, unblinking. Then he turned on the spot, as if the conversation was over and done with.

“But why?” Asta exclaimed, hopping after him on stiff legs into the front yard. Three of her large, snowy geese were drowsily waddling through the hole in her white fence as Jeppa marched over and seized one of them by the neck. The other two hurried into a nearby hedgerow, abandoning their brother to fate. Jeppa stood there for a moment and admired the view over Asta’s fields, completely obvious to the furious flapping and hissing of the goose.

“What are you doing? Let go of him!” Asta cried, but Jeppa remained blissfully ignorant to the chaos he created.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” Jeppa sighed happily, still unblinking. Then, remembering why he was strangling a goose, he heaved it up under one arm and took off towards his own rickety cottage a few hundred yards down the gravel road.

“Wait!” Asta cried, limping after him. When she finally caught up to him he was crawling up a worn ladder propped against his roof, hissing goose tucked into his armpit as if it was nothing more than the daily newspaper.

Finding her best old-angry-crone voice, she howled; “Jeppa! Get down this instant! What on earth are you doing with Herman?”

This seemed to reach the decision centre in Jeppa’s head, and he stopped on the topmost rung. He stared at the wobbly chimney for a moment, as if pondering its existence, before replying. “I can’t afford a chimney sweep,” he commented simply. Then, with both hands, he heaved the goose up in one fluent motion and dumped it into the chimney. The hissing and flapping increased in volume, projected into the open air by the narrow chimney, until it became unbearable to listen to. Then it stopped. The goose must have fallen into his fireplace.

Asta’s mouth fell open. She sat down on her bum like a baffled toddler.

“Are you alright there? You look like you saw a ghost!” Jeppa chuckled obliviously as he descended from the roof and moved to let the goose out of his kitchen. The moment the door opened, a great, fluffy black thing scuttled out and down the road, hisses and quacks flying about it like the soot covering it.

“That,” Asta said, her voice quivering, “was my prized competition goose, Herman.”

Jeppa finally seemed to realise the extent of his actions. Wringing his hands he inched towards the door, hoping to use it for protection when she exploded, which she was bound to do.

“Isn’t… isn’t there a competition for black geese, perhaps?” Jeppa asked, hopefully unblinking.

Sebastian Halifax

Most short story ideas I have are too big write in just one sitting. The first one I wrote took months. It’s why I can’t write flash fiction.

I’m trying to write Flash Fiction. I love the challenge. It’s amazing how you can cut out redundant word from each editing. Try it, Sebastian. It’s good practice.

Edlyn

Okay, here goes: Persephone, Persephone Akeldama. She was a beautiful girl, slender waist, flowing blonde locks, petite figure. This quiet girl was often referred to by her fellow students as the “perfect doll”, due to her stunning looks and the love she received from the teachers. In a the darker half of this world, her nickname was not much different. The flawless puppet, she was called. Flawless because of her swift assassinations, and puppet because of her emotionless features. No one in school knew her profession, and no one in the dark world knew her real age, or even what she looked like. She was a complete mystery to both sides, only this was known about her: She is a prodigy. Of course, “Prodigy” meaning different things in either sides of the world. There was a large gap between prodigy killer and prodigy student. Not many assassins are born into their jobs, Persephone being an exception. At three, she was already trained to fight, and at the early age of twelve, she was already a well known assassin. due to her quick learning, her parents payed even more attention to her, punishing her whenever her actions did not fit into the range of perfection, training her more than any twelve year old should ever have to endure. And of course, making her kill. One by one, Persephone’s emotions died, every person she killed, every order she received. She carried them out with swift and deadly accuracy, losing all her innocence. Her purity was lost long ago.

So she found nothing wrong with killing her parents.

Persephone never loved anyone, because she was a killing machine, exactly how her parents had designed her. Her mothers last words: I’m so proud. Her fathers? :I’ve trained you well. A now orphaned Persephone felt no remorse, no guilt, no grief. Only a small pang of loneliness.

And that was the last emotion she would ever feel.

Ummmm, I got the juices flowing, just need my writing to flow……in the right direction.

Sapphire Emmaton

So I combined all 10 of the “general ideas” into one premise. I think this is more the premise of a collection now… Oh well. Here’s the premise (or the rough draft)

As a child, Kell, a painting prodigy, discovers her parents’ dead bodies, leaving her emotionally scarred. Later in life, she clings to her boyfriends for moral support, which leads to many failed relationships. Her Fiance and colleague breaks up with her because he needs to spend more time on his work, even though it crushes both of them. Kell doesn’t look when she’s walking down the street, sobbing, and she bumps into her rich soulmate, Neil. They have a whirlwind romance, which ends up with their marriage. On their honeymoon, though, Kell’s mother’s ghost confronts her and warns her to delay the journey. Kell and Neil go anyways. A hurricane strikes, and the couple is stranded with a phycopath who just so happen to be Kell’s parents’ murderer. The couple doesn’t make it out alive.

I know that’s pretty dark, especially for a 17-year-old. It’s also not that great. But hey, I hope it gave you an idea or two! Happy writing!

Emily Cummings

You should really think about turning this into a novel! You’ve got quite the imagination.

Maude Kate Potgieter Bester

The last laugh Kate Bester

“What? Oh heavens no! When?” Faye dragged the pink sweatband back from her forehead and shook her shoulder length blonde hair off her neck. She had just returned from the gym when the house phone rang.

“…sometime last night, peacefully. She had to go sometime, Faye.” Debbie’s longsuffering voice was irritating.

Faye sighed and shifted the weight from one shapely leg to the other. She crossed one ankle over the other and stared at her Reebok trainers. She bit her tongue before she could blurt out what came into her mind – why now? She had a very special and important occasion coming up and serious shopping to do!

“Mom was nearly eighty, you know Faye, but death is always unexpected, I know,” Debbie went on. Was she imagining it or was there a touch of accusation in Debbie’s voice? Deborah, her older sister, had never married. Instead, she stayed with Mom after Dad passed on ten years ago and took charge of the rambling old house in George. Come to think of it, when Debbie gave up nursing, moving in with Mom was the natural thing to do.

Faye had to muster all the self-control that she could to sound genuine and concerned. It was Mother after all…

“When is the funeral, then? Do you want me to come and help you with the arrangements?” she kept her voice low and even in case Debbie thought she was serious about the offer to help.

“No thanks, Faye, everything is fine. Mom had everything in place as usual. It will be a cremation of course…”

Debbie’s voice trailed off and Faye could just about suppress the groan that escaped from her chest before she said goodbye to her sister. She sank down in the closest, huge, overstuffed chair after she had put down the receiver. Of course. That is Mother. Well, was she corrected herself. Nothing ordinary or conventional. A cremation no less, so that all her old hippie friends could attend in their colourful rags and long hair and chant and blow their flutes and shake their tambourines. Faye had to admit to herself that a cremation at least would be better than embalmment. Her mother was quite capable of having them roll her in the scales of the boophone bulb like the Khoisan did with their dead.

Faye groaned again. She must be in shock otherwise why wasn’t she crying. Crying? No, she’d done enough crying after the second divorce in eight years. The last one was particularly messy but this time she stuck to her guns and got the house and a stiff alimony. Not that it’s about the money, which is never enough anyway, but one has to keep up appearances. She had spent a fortune on refurbishing the gazebo next to the pool. Oh gosh yes, and she must still pay for the embroidered voile curtains around the patio. And for the plant containers and cane furniture from Bali…

Faye sighed as she levered her challenged limbs from the chair. She will have a warm shower and then make her calls. Damn! Now she will have to drive all the way to George. She smiled. Yes, she will have to. Because of Mother’s pendant. She had to have it. Must be worth a small fortune by now…

That pendant was given to her mother by a very grateful Indian businessman. Mother had met him on a plane to Mumbai all those years ago when she travelled to India to see for herself what mysteries lay behind the lotus curtain. She ended up in his luxurious home and taught the whole family to speak English while she enjoyed every facet of that exquisite culture. If memory doesn’t fail her, the pendant has a top quality eleven carat flawless ruby, enhanced by… a shiver of delight passed through Faye’s body despite the warm gush of water.

At the garage to fill up and prepare the vehicle for the trip, she remembered how bored she was on weekends as a child. They travelled endless dusty roads, slept in tents, either sweating or freezing. Her botanist parents would be off in the veld , ooohing or aaahing, clicking their tongues and cameras. Deborah would be whooping somewhere in a shallow river. In her tent, her feet against the anchor pole, Faye swore she would never live this way. She would have money and everything it could buy. These bunny-hugging weirdo’s – her family – may enjoy the outdoors but she despised the smell of citronella candles, morning coffee and tinned food. Not to mention the squatting behind a bush when nature called. Ugh!

At nine o’clock the next morning, Faye was over the Overberg Pass and heading for Caledon. She would stop for tea at the Blue Crane and buy some of her mother’s favourite dried herbs. Yes, some buchu and lavender and rosemary. She’ll keep them on her lap during the cremation service and speeches to soothe her mind. Afterwards she will let them join her mother’s body to nirvana…

It was exactly twenty past one when she saw the huge pine trees and the red brick house behind it. The garden was a botanist’s dream. Like her mother exactly – colourful, mysterious, exciting and completely unusual. Faye’s eyes followed the garden path up to the porch. Handfuls of laurel tied with raffia or beads or leather thongs garnished the pathway from the gate to the porch and around the open door’s frame where fairy lights twinkled.

She opened the car door and slid off the seat. The manicured feet in the Blahnik sandals stepped together neatly on the tarmac as she automatically pressed the remote lock. Gingerly she approached the garden path and as daintily as possible made her way to the house.

Then it hit her. This wasn’t a welcome for her. The laurel symbolized Apollo’s way to remember his Daphne! Daphne didn’t want to marry Apollo and begged her father, Perenaeus, to hide her. He promptly turned her into a laurel tree. From then on Apollo worshipped the tree, hugged it, spoke to it and let all heroes and kings wear a laurel wreath on the head as adornment. This was for Mother.

Suddenly, there was her sister. Oh heavens, clad in a flowing caftan, pearls, beads, feathers and leather thong sandals, she could’ve been Mother!

Quickly Faye went over and folded her sister in her arms. While her sister was yoga-breathing against her shoulder, she took in the room behind. She smiled to herself . Ostrich feather boas were draped over the window frames, door frames and thrown over the backs of chairs. Huge black and white photographs of ostriches in all poses adorned the walls. Ostrich eggs and paraphernalia were displayed everywhere. This was a shrine to the ostrich as Nieuw-Bethesda was to the owl…

She let go of Debbie and cleared her throat. She took a deep breath, “Debs, what are we going to do with all this stuff ?” she hoped her chicanery would go undetected. Back in her mind there was an image of Mother’s ostrich leather handbags, shoes and purses she had collected before it became export posh. Her heart went on a gallop from excitement and anticipation.

At last they were alone. They cleared away the last few cups and plates. In the kitchen, Faye poured two large tumblers of Merlot for her and her sister.

“Sis, if you’re up to it, we can go through Mom’s things and decide what to do about some of it.”

“Of course, my dear.” Faye gulped.

Then the pendant was in the palm of her hand. This was a testing moment. She wanted to hang it around her neck immediately but thought it would seem callous. She let the heavy gold chain slide sensuously through her fingers while the ruby’s red eye winked at her.

“You have it, Faye, it’s too ostentatious for me. Mom also never wore it for that reason.”

“And these, Sis.” Debbie was on all fours in front of a deep drawer. She was pulling out ostrich leather gloves in every colour, handbags, clutch bags, more boas. They lay on the Kelim carpet like offerings to a queen. Faye stared and stared. “Oh yes!” her mind sang.

After breakfast the next day, Faye took her leave of Debbie who promised to visit as soon as everything was tied up and settled. When she was passing Mossel Bay, she started to relax and fingered the pendant at her throat. A warm glow filled her and she stretched to see it again in the rear mirror. It was an exquisite piece! She still felt surprised at how nonchalant Debbie was.

She decided to stop for refreshments outside Swellendam. She enjoyed stretching her legs in the shade of the old trees and watching the goats, chickens and ostriches they kept there for entertainment. She parked in the shade of a huge oak tree and went to the restaurant. She carried her fruit juice over to the enclosure on the lawn. A billy goat came towards her. Behind him a young ostrich craned its neck. A sheep, two lambs and a kid trotted up. Faye leaned forward.

She shrieked, jumped back and feverishly fumbling at her throat, she saw it

Ostriches also like jewellery.

Evangelin

I have not written a very long piece. It a quite short story. So…here it is…

Sydney woke up with a start, as beads of sweat adorned her furrowed brows. Next to her was her twin sister, Tanya, sleeping peaceful as Sydney had been a couple of moments before. She looked around as if searching for something or someone. Sydney almost dismissed the episode and went back to sleep when she heard it again, this time, even evident. The sound that had woken her up from her slumber. The sound that made her shiver and was even vexing than the sound of nails on chalkboard.

And then, it stopped. She looked around her for the source of what she heard. She decided to get some fresh air and walked out of the room she shared with her twin.

As she walked to the porch, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong but she knew something was. She leaned in to get a closer look at her reflection when something hit her head and she fainted. When she regained her consciousness, she looked around her. She was in the porch and it was dawn. She went back into her house when she glanced at the mirror again. She could see her mother, her sister and her father. They all looked around as if searching for someone. What she couldn’t understand was why she couldn’t see her reflection in the mirror. Then, realization struck her like a ton of bricks. She was in the other side. Of the mirror.

Then the ending credits rolled in. Though it was just a trailer, it was well shot. Everyone couldn’t wait to see the full movie. We congratulated our friend, Mills, who had shot the film and went to hang out at her place.

Cortney Swar

Wonderful ideas. Thanks for inspiration.

Alia Moore

*I’ve been wanting to write for a long time but never really got the push until right now. Sorry if it’s bad, it’s my first short and I’m 14* “One, two, three. Perfect, now I can go…” I quietly say to myself. I have something called Pure-O. Some people think that it’s worse than “normal OCD”. The others think that it’s completely unreal and it’s made up. What people don’t know about me is that I have Pure-O and it’s completely real and my life revolves around it. I make sure that people don’t find out about it because I am considered “ popular and high-status” where I live. “ Happy, good thoughts. Nothing bad.” I think to myself. “They won’t find out….hopefully. I am Claire Williams who has the best makeup and the straightest hair. Not the Crazy Williams girl that broke down in front of everyone because her presentation wasn’t how she planned it.” I think. Then the flashbacks swoop in and fill my brain. “Hi my name is Claire Williams and I am doing my presentation on the Economic Downfall of 2008…” I pause and look around. I see people snicker and talking. The teacher is just looking at me and gesturing for me to continue. I get scared and forget everything that I worked so hard to memorize. “Umm. I’m sorry ma’am, I can’t finish.” I tell my Economics teacher. When I try to move and collect everything, I can’t move. “No no no no no this can’t be happening. I can’t be having a panic attack at school.” I think to myself. I feel tears well up into my eyes. They slowly fall down my face and I taste the warm salty fluid. I suddenly tense up and can’t breath. Because no one knows about my condition, no one can help me. “Look! Williams is going crazy! Crazy Williams.” I hear people snicker from the back and the attack gets worse. I hear something new in my flashback…. It sounds almost as a ringing. I realize the bell is ringing for the students to get to class. I come back to reality and hope for the best on my first day of Senior year. I mean after all, it’s just school. Nothing bad could happen right?

Helen Kudatsky

PEN-082a 694w Anne Frank, Bella and Me by Helen Kudatsky

At nine, I bought my mom, Bella, a birthday gift on June 12th, a magenta lipstick for 19c. I was so proud. First present I ever purchased. She made me return it; It was too extravagant, and besides, she said, “every day is my birthday.” I cried. I knew her secret though. although a proper Jewish woman, sometimes she longed to be a gypsy.

Now, 60 years later, I’m reading “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, here in the home where I live. Though nursed, I’m often blue that I can’t dance or paint anymore. But I love to read and write, and my friend, Julie, the librarian, kindly brought me Anne’s book, which I am now devouring.

Anne was an eloquent writer, describing her schoolmates and boyfriends. She began the diary at 13, disclosing her first period, having a special secret and becoming a woman. I too began to menstruate at 13, pondering the mystery. It’s horrid to imagine eight people in 1944, crammed into the Secret Annexe, handling eating, sleeping, hygiene and trying to stay alive, while whispering and tiptoeing to avoid discovery by the Gestapo.

To maintain normalcy, the adults set up a plan. The children continued their studies: Dutch, French, English, history, geography and art. Although Anne liked most subjects, she found algebra notably loathsome. I’m in that club too.

Her people have become my friends and family: Anne Frank herself, Edith, her Mummy, Otto, her beloved father, Margot, her sister, and the others hiding with them: the VanDaans, their son, Peter who was first, her friend, then later, her crush and confidant, Dr. Albert Dussel, the dentist and Moortjie, the cat. Four of Otto’s devoted employees provided food, supplies and world news, which kept them alive and boosted their morale.

After the war, Miep, a helper, found Anne’s diary in the demolished remains and rubble of the annexe. She gave it to Otto, the sole survivor of the group. He was stunned by Anne’s maturity and the breadth of her feelings. The Diary has been published in 67 languages, portrayed on stage and screen, and is considered one of the most moving accounts of the Holocaust.

For those of us beholding atrocity, Anne Frank is a beacon: humorous, inquisitive, forgiving, cheerful. Sometimes moody, though, she was nicknamed “the incurable chatterbox.” as she’d quarrel with others in the Secret Annexe they occupied for their 25 months in hiding.

My mom, Bella, shared a birthday with Anne Frank, June 12th, but didn’t know of it until years after Anne’s death. Bella lived to be 95. She loved reading as much as Anne did, and she wrote poetry and stories, but didn‘t start until middle-age. Anne, 15, died in March 1945, just two weeks before the war’s end, when she would have been liberated. In two years of hiding, Anne was devoted to writing in the diary, at times prosaic, sometimes distraught, frequently terrifying, but often funny, spiritual and uplifting.

If the war had only ended sooner, I imagine the writing that Anne could have produced and I envision Bella meeting her. Bella, born in 1913, Anne in 1929, 16 years her junior, they could have been aunt and niece; I see them sharing a Shabbat dinner, singing a Hanukah song; I picture them speaking one of their languages. They believed in the same things. Finally, I dream of them proudly sharing their writings, a mystery, a story of love and longing, a poem, and of course, on June 12th, their mutual birthday.

I dream of them walking hand in hand, pale wrinkled fingers holding a smooth teenaged palm. They come to a table set before them, on it matzoh brei with applesauce, a plate of potato latkes with sour cream. There are apples and honey, wine and rugalech. Bella and Anne eat heartily and shout for joy, no longer whispering or tiptoeing, no longer afraid to be Jewish women writers, no longer afraid at all.

PEN-082a-Anne Frank, Bella and Me.wps by Helen Kudatsky w:09/03/17 ei 09/19/17 694 wds 08 mn 99 Park St.#104 Brookline,MA 02446 C-617-939-3387 e-m: [email protected]

Luke Johnson

My story plot is of the fantasy/adventure type.

In the fictional town of Surron, Colorado (which is surrounded by high mountainsides from every angle, a tragedy occurs on September 5, 1963. Six-year old Robert “Bert” Aruson witnesses his drunken, abusive father murder his mother with a broken beer bottle. Advancing on him, the father sleeps on another discarded bottle and trips, impaling himself on the bottle with which he killed his wife. Robert runs off into the forest to escape his father to look of help, unaware of his father’s death. With his parents living far back into the woods, he ends becoming lost and spending the night in the forest. A mother bear, Dewa, with two cubs of her own, the boy Gemape and girl Biha, discover the young boy and adopt him into their family, christening him with the new name Nuun. Ten years later in 1973, Nuun has led a happy existence with his loving and supportive new family, having even made new friends like the crow Hai and the mouse Naeene. He even prevented unnecessary violence between his family and a wolf pack led by Dande and Gupa. Any hunters that come into the forest have their weapons stolen and permanently disposed of in the night by Nuun. By this time, Nuun and his actions have become something of an urban legend in Surron. Back in that town, the mayor Aaron Burdon (who resides upon a hill overlooking the town) runs the town, though he views it with contempt due to one incident. His younger brother, Reagan, was beaten by thugs hoping to steal money off of his rich person, leaving him with brain damage. Despite this, the townspeople started treating him and his brother differently afterwards, cruelly even. This has caused his hatred to ferment over the years until he comes up with a plan to destroy the town’s population with explosives at the upcoming July 4 picnic. His wealth and power make the workers unable to resist him, as they will become jobless should he imprisoned. “Nuun” comes across one of Burdon’s worksites and almost steals workers lunchbox, but is chased away. News soon spreads through the town and Nuun finds his happy life in danger of being shattered once again unless he can have assistance from friends both human and animal.

Luba

Nikita This is the story of me, Nikita, an orphaned girl, who didn’t know anything about her family. I was kept in the orphanage with a bunch of other girls. Ms.Keeper, the owner of the orphanage doesn’t tell anyone anything about themselves or their family. I didn’t know anything about myself, but everyone knew that in Ms.Keepers room there was a filing cabinet with documents of the real stories of our lives. Nobody ever dared to go in there though. Ms.Keeper looked like she was somewhere in the 30’s, she had grey hair, bags under her brown eyes, a slim body and a huge pimple on her long nose. She was not married. I have brown hair, brown eyes, freckles and a healthy, slim body.

I always thought of running away. I felt like I was in that orphanage forever. I remember growing up in there since I was a child and now that I’m 17 years old, I’m still here, hoping to find my family. But that, I thought was too unrealistic. I was sitting in an orphanage, hoping to find my family. No, I wanted to DO something to find my family. The only thing that held me back was Ms.Keeper and the thought that I really had no family. Ms.Keeper was always afraid of one of the girls running away, that’s why she made some workers put a stronger fence around the orphanage property. Ms.Keeper was also afraid of talking to the government. I thought so because the government will shut down her orphanage. One time, I overheard Ms.Keeper talking on the phone to the government and they said that it was illegal to not show the orphans their identity and who they are, but Ms.Keeper ignored them and kept talking about something else. Also, at 18 years old, you are free to leave the orphanage and become independent. I just turned 17. No one else was my age except another girl, aged 14 and all the rest were smaller than her. There was once a girl named Gabby who was the only person who was older than me. Just last year, she turned 18 and was supposed to go. On her birthday, Ms.Keeper made an announcement at the last moment that Gabby was leaving right now and is right by the door. Every girl ran out to give her hugs and goodbyes. Ms.Keeper didn’t even move. She didn’t even say bye. It was so cruel of her. We didn’t have a birthday cake with Gabby because Ms.Keeper threw her out the door on her birthday!

Everyday, Ms.Keeper lets us go outside for one hour, three times a day. We ate mostly sandwiches and drank water and sometimes juice. We also had some snacks, which were mostly fruits. We did school during the day too but this wasn’t real school. Ms.Keeper taught us everything. Ms.Keeper also bought us a TV, which was in the dining room. We mostly had everything we needed, except a family.

One day, when Ms.Keeper let us go outside, I was lying on the grass by myself at the farthest point from the orphanage. Then all of a sudden I heard someone coming. I looked up but saw no one. When I turned around, I saw a boy, looked like he was 15. He had brown hair, blue eyes and was tall. He said “hi” to me and I said “hi” back. We talked to each other for awhile until Ms.Keeper called us in. I really hoped that Ms.Keeper didn’t see me talk to that boy because she would punish me.

For the next three days, I talked to that boy over the fence every recess. He told me about his life and it really surprised me. He said he had a house as big as the whole orphanage (the orphanage is as big as a hotel). He said he had his mom and dad living with him, that he has money, any kind of drink, and lots of junk food. He played video games everyday and watched TV and also he quit school. His mom and dad don’t care about what he does as long as he’s home by midnight! When he told me this, I started thinking, is every life out there like his? What is everyone’s else’s life like? I couldn’t sleep that night or any other night after that day.

Soon, we became friends and he asked if the orphanage was boring. I didn’t even know what to say because it was alright living in the orphanage but compared to his life, it was nothing. I didn’t say anything and he asked if I wanted to run away to his house. I, of course, was surprised and didn’t say anything for awhile but then I said I would think about it. Ms.Keeper called us inside, and I don’t know why but she never caught me talking to him. Ms.Keeper usually stands by the door of the orphanage, looking into the field of how we are playing. I was farthest away from her so maybe she doesn’t see so well.

After those days, I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking of running away. But how was I supposed to run away? If I got caught, I would be punished and I would have to be a slave to everyone, washing dishes, sweeping, and cleaning. Besides, I couldn’t run away because we all slept in rooms with four people to each room. Our room was the farthest away from the exit. I would have to tip-toe (at night?!?) through the whole orphanage just to get to the exit. No, I couldn’t do it. I was too scared. But that boy kept assuring me that everything will be okay.

I talked it over with the boy and I decided to run away with him at night, at 11pm because he had to be home by 12pm. By 8pm, all the girls in the orphanage would be sleeping, but Ms.Keeper stays up till 10pm, listening to classical music in her favourite rocking chair. As not to wake Ms.Keeper, the boy suggested that he would come to my window at night and I would climb over. Our room was on the lowest level – level one- so it was the closest to the ground. It was supposed to happen in two days from then. I was very nervous and scared, and I kept looking at Ms.Keeper if she had any suspicions, but it didn’t look like it.

It was the day of the run. I packed all my stuff, which wasn’t really much. I put all my clothes in my pockets (it fit perfectly). I was wide awake that night, listening till Ms.Keeper turned off her classical music and went to bed. It was perfectly silent. You could hear every single breath of the girls. My tummy had a trillion butterflies in it and I couldn’t stop my heavy breathing. At 11pm, there was a quiet knock at my window and I knocked back. That was our signal for letting each other know we were ready. I then looked at everyone in the room. They were sound asleep. I opened the window and it’s super squeaky. I waited a moment to see if anyone woke up, but no one moved. I climbed over the window to the boy. I closed the window with a loud squeak and started running with the boy to wherever my feet let me go. It was a dark night and only the half-lit moon was our source of light. The boy led me through streets and streets of houses until we came to a huge house. It was so pretty. It looked like the orphanage but it had no spiderwebs. It was clean and super nice. It looked like they were rich to have all those diamond stuff on the door.

They boy opened the door and the light hurt my eyes. It was so bright in there, so big. The stairs were curved, like I only saw in fairy tales, and there was his mom standing in the doorway. She first smiled, but when she saw me, she made a confused face and came closer. I was so scared. What would his mom do? Did he tell his mom about me? My brain threw me a thousand questions to answer of which I didn’t know the answers for. The lady came closer and asked the boy slowly who I was. He told his mom that I was a friend from the orphanage. His mom got angry, her face started to turn red and she started to talk louder. She started saying that I’m filthy and that she doesn’t want to see me ever again and to get out off this house. I looked at the boy. He started to cry. I tear went down his cheek. He begged his mom to let her stay for the night but his mom didn’t budge. The boy’s mom shut the door on me and I was outside in the cold.

All of this was for nothing. This meet we had. All the recesses we talked, all the nights I didn’t sleep, and I couldn’t go back to the orphanage now. I was alone. I didn’t even know where to go. I got off the boys lawn and I sat down on the sidewalk, crying and I realized I didn’t even know what the boy’s name was! Suddenly, I heard a door open. I looked back to see if it was the boy’s mom. No, it wasn’t. I looked around and saw that the boy’s neighbor has opened the door and was calling me. The person at the door was a grandma. She told me to come in. I stood up and came inside. She told me that she heard the neighbors talking loudly so she went to see what the commotion was about. She asked me if I wanted to eat but I refused. She sent me to bed, not knowing anything about me. She was so kind to me. She sent me upstairs where I had my own room. I fell asleep very fast, and I slept till lunch the next day. I forgot all about the orphanage and went downstairs to meet my hero. She was making breakfast for me. We sat down at the table and she told me her name ( Grandma Laura ) and I told her all about my life. Every single thing. When I came to the part about the orphanage, her eyes widened.

Grandma Laura told me that many many years ago, she was the owner of the orphanage! The government fired her because they thought she wasn’t suitable for the job. When she went away, she made photocopies of the documents of the girls and kept them because the girls were so precious to her that she couldn’t just leave them. Grandma Laura stood up and went upstairs to go get them. When she came back down, she had a whole ton of documents! She found one by the name of Nikita.

That morning changed my life. She let me read my own document. It figures out that my real mom died while having me. My dad was still alive. My dad’s name was Walter Eggons. The grandma’s eyes widened when I told her the name of my dad. She told me that that was her husband! So Grandma Laura was my mom? She didn’t die? But Grandma told me the whole story. My dad, Walter, first married a lady named Agnes, and they had a baby named Nikita ( that was me) and during childbirth, Agnes died, but I lived. Later, my dad could no longer care after me so he dropped me off at the orphanage when I was 1 year’s old. For my dad, that was a hard decision. He had to work but he couldn’t leave me at home and there was no one to look after me. After my dad’s wife died, he married Laura. Laura was sitting in front of me, tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. She then told me the saddest news- my dad died of cancer a couple months ago. I started choking back sobs, and then tears. Grandma Laura was the only family I had. She was my stepmother.

It has been seven years since that happened and right now I am sitting with tears in my eyes, telling you this. I live with my stepmom and my husband, Jeffrey. Turns out that after that day, I lived with my stepmom for a couple months but then the boy’s mom found out that I was still in this neighborhood. The boy was so happy to hear that, and he told me his name- Jeffrey Jones. We soon joined our friendship together and a couple months later, we were married. Also,he wasn’t 15 years old, like I thought, he was 17.

-Written by Nikita Eggons-Jones

Nora

I hope you like this so far tell me what to improve on.

Gunnvor is the daugter of a powerful samurai but that is only thing that they have in common. Her father is a ruthless man who fights for war, on the other hand Gunnvor fights for humanity, no one can see her true colors because they want to believe she wants bloodshed as well like her father. She hates their thoughts, imprisoned in her fathers hand, the only way to escape, is for some one, like her, to save her in the outside.

As she swoon her sword with grace she sliced the broom like heads off. Her father and mother were observing her progress as a warrior, when she was do she went to her parents and bowed. She left leaving them behind a cold chill settled on them, the mother knew why the father ignored. Gunnvor loved to walk in the town down below her house, all the people were Good-hearted and kind in every way. She sometimes is jealous of the children for having such free lives. But she does not listen to her selfish conscience, she walked across the flower bridge as a gentle men suddenly bumped into her. “Oh sorry about that I didn’t see you,” Gunnvor quickly got up embarrassed for fall. She looked up and saw man that was strong but kind, she then noticed that he didn’t recognized him, he look like he was from another country. She then suddenly pulled her sword pointed it near his neck. the man was taken aback, he looked shocked and then said ” Yes did I say some thing offensive.”

“your not from here are you,” She moved a little closer, her sword started to dig into skin. “Yea I’m just traveling, I came from the neighboring kingdom, I thought they were in good terms…..right?” He backed away a little from the sword cutting his neck. Gunnvor then lowered her sword slowly, The man rubbed his neck just to find that it is bleeding “by the way what is your name,” she sheathed her sword in it’s case. “My name is gunnvor,” He quickly whipped his head to her “What the, Gunnvor, the daugter of the samurai.”

“Yes.” she turned and started to walk away and stop slightly turned her head ” And you,”

“Uh my name is Cota.” he said then Gunnvor walked away, when she arrived at home she swept past her father to her bed room. That night she could not stop thinking of Cota, she thought how strange he was dressed and the way he looked. The next how ever her father again trained gunnvor, the train this time was diffrent, he was pushing her to far.

Many days have past and Gunnvor noticed that Cota was spotted many times near her house. Then when she training with her father which was basically torture, Cota came up to her father ” You will stop hurting her,” He said slowly and manically. However he was not moved “My wife has convinced you to protect her,”

“No I came In my own accord.” The father then spun and grabbed his sword and pointed to cota. “Well then can fight me,”

“We”l see,” cota grabbed his sword and the two fought, they fought for a few hours and the father was vanquished. Cota then went to Gunnvor and asked her hand in marriage.

Luba Lishchenko

Nikita This is the story of me, Nikita, an orphaned girl, who didn’t know anything about her family. I was kept in the orphanage with a bunch of other girls. Ms.Keeper, the owner of the orphanage doesn’t tell anyone anything about themselves or their family. I didn’t know anything about myself, but everyone knew that in Ms.Keepers room there was a filing cabinet with documents of the real stories of our lives. Nobody ever dared to go in there though. Ms.Keeper looked like she was somewhere in the 30’s, she had grey hair, bags under her brown eyes, a slim body and a huge pimple on her long nose. She was not married. I have brown hair, brown eyes, freckles and a healthy, slim body. I always thought of running away. I felt like I was in that orphanage forever. I remember growing up in there since I was a child and now that I’m 17 years old, I’m still here, hoping to find my family. But that, I thought was too unrealistic. I was sitting in an orphanage, hoping to find my family. No, I wanted to DO something to find my family. The only thing that held me back was Ms.Keeper and the thought that I really had no family. Ms.Keeper was always afraid of one of the girls running away, that’s why she made some workers put a stronger fence around the orphanage property. Ms.Keeper was also afraid of talking to the government. I thought so because the government will shut down her orphanage. One time, I overheard Ms.Keeper talking on the phone to the government and they said that it was illegal to not show the orphans their identity and who they are, but Ms.Keeper ignored them and kept talking about something else. Also, at 18 years old, you are free to leave the orphanage and become independent. I just turned 17. No one else was my age except another girl, aged 14 and all the rest were smaller than her. There was once a girl named Gabby who was the only person who was older than me. Just last year, she turned 18 and was supposed to go. On her birthday, Ms.Keeper made an announcement at the last moment that Gabby was leaving right now and is right by the door. Every girl ran out to give her hugs and goodbyes. Ms.Keeper didn’t even move. She didn’t even say bye. It was so cruel of her. We didn’t have a birthday cake with Gabby because Ms.Keeper threw her out the door on her birthday! Everyday, Ms.Keeper lets us go outside for one hour, three times a day. We ate mostly sandwiches and drank water and sometimes juice. We also had some snacks, which were mostly fruits. We did school during the day too but this wasn’t real school. Ms.Keeper taught us everything. Ms.Keeper also bought us a TV, which was in the dining room. We mostly had everything we needed, except a family. One day, when Ms.Keeper let us go outside, I was lying on the grass by myself at the farthest point from the orphanage. Then all of a sudden I heard someone coming. I looked up but saw no one. When I turned around, I saw a boy, looked like he was 15. He had brown hair, blue eyes and was tall. He said “hi” to me and I said “hi” back. We talked to each other for awhile until Ms.Keeper called us in. I really hoped that Ms.Keeper didn’t see me talk to that boy because she would punish me. For the next three days, I talked to that boy over the fence every recess. He told me about his life and it really surprised me. He said he had a house as big as the whole orphanage (the orphanage is as big as a hotel). He said he had his mom and dad living with him, that he has money, any kind of drink, and lots of junk food. He played video games everyday and watched TV and also he quit school. His mom and dad don’t care about what he does as long as he’s home by midnight! When he told me this, I started thinking, is every life out there like his? What is everyone’s else’s life like? I couldn’t sleep that night or any other night after that day. Soon, we became friends and he asked if the orphanage was boring. I didn’t even know what to say because it was alright living in the orphanage but compared to his life, it was nothing. I didn’t say anything and he asked if I wanted to run away to his house. I, of course, was surprised and didn’t say anything for awhile but then I said I would think about it. Ms.Keeper called us inside, and I don’t know why but she never caught me talking to him. Ms.Keeper usually stands by the door of the orphanage, looking into the field of how we are playing. I was farthest away from her so maybe she doesn’t see so well. After those days, I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking of running away. But how was I supposed to run away? If I got caught, I would be punished and I would have to be a slave to everyone, washing dishes, sweeping, and cleaning. Besides, I couldn’t run away because we all slept in rooms with four people to each room. Our room was the farthest away from the exit. I would have to tip-toe (at night?!?) through the whole orphanage just to get to the exit. No, I couldn’t do it. I was too scared. But that boy kept assuring me that everything will be okay. I talked it over with the boy and I decided to run away with him at night, at 11pm because he had to be home by 12pm. By 8pm, all the girls in the orphanage would be sleeping, but Ms.Keeper stays up till 10pm, listening to classical music in her favourite rocking chair. As not to wake Ms.Keeper, the boy suggested that he would come to my window at night and I would climb over. Our room was on the lowest level – level one- so it was the closest to the ground. It was supposed to happen in two days from then. I was very nervous and scared, and I kept looking at Ms.Keeper if she had any suspicions, but it didn’t look like it. It was the day of the run. I packed all my stuff, which wasn’t really much. I put all my clothes in my pockets (it fit perfectly). I was wide awake that night, listening till Ms.Keeper turned off her classical music and went to bed. It was perfectly silent. You could hear every single breath of the girls. My tummy had a trillion butterflies in it and I couldn’t stop my heavy breathing. At 11pm, there was a quiet knock at my window and I knocked back. That was our signal for letting each other know we were ready. I then looked at everyone in the room. They were sound asleep. I opened the window and it’s super squeaky. I waited a moment to see if anyone woke up, but no one moved. I climbed over the window to the boy. I closed the window with a loud squeak and started running with the boy to wherever my feet let me go. It was a dark night and only the half-lit moon was our source of light. The boy led me through streets and streets of houses until we came to a huge house. It was so pretty. It looked like the orphanage but it had no spiderwebs. It was clean and super nice. It looked like they were rich to have all those diamond stuff on the door. They boy opened the door and the light hurt my eyes. It was so bright in there, so big. The stairs were curved, like I only saw in fairy tales, and there was his mom standing in the doorway. She first smiled, but when she saw me, she made a confused face and came closer. I was so scared. What would his mom do? Did he tell his mom about me? My brain threw me a thousand questions to answer of which I didn’t know the answers for. The lady came closer and asked the boy slowly who I was. He told his mom that I was a friend from the orphanage. His mom got angry, her face started to turn red and she started to talk louder. She started saying that I’m filthy and that she doesn’t want to see me ever again and to get out off this house. I looked at the boy. He started to cry. I tear went down his cheek. He begged his mom to let her stay for the night but his mom didn’t budge. The boy’s mom shut the door on me and I was outside in the cold. All of this was for nothing. This meet we had. All the recesses we talked, all the nights I didn’t sleep, and I couldn’t go back to the orphanage now. I was alone. I didn’t even know where to go. I got off the boys lawn and I sat down on the sidewalk, crying and I realized I didn’t even know what the boy’s name was! Suddenly, I heard a door open. I looked back to see if it was the boy’s mom. No, it wasn’t. I looked around and saw that the boy’s neighbor has opened the door and was calling me. The person at the door was a grandma. She told me to come in. I stood up and came inside. She told me that she heard the neighbors talking loudly so she went to see what the commotion was about. She asked me if I wanted to eat but I refused. She sent me to bed, not knowing anything about me. She was so kind to me. She sent me upstairs where I had my own room. I fell asleep very fast, and I slept till lunch the next day. I forgot all about the orphanage and went downstairs to meet my hero. She was making breakfast for me. We sat down at the table and she told me her name ( Grandma Laura ) and I told her all about my life. Every single thing. When I came to the part about the orphanage, her eyes widened. Grandma Laura told me that many many years ago, she was the owner of the orphanage! The government fired her because they thought she wasn’t suitable for the job. When she went away, she made photocopies of the documents of the girls and kept them because the girls were so precious to her that she couldn’t just leave them. Grandma Laura stood up and went upstairs to go get them. When she came back down, she had a whole ton of documents! She found one by the name of Nikita. That morning changed my life. She let me read my own document. It figures out that my real mom died while having me. My dad was still alive. My dad’s name was Walter Eggons. The grandma’s eyes widened when I told her the name of my dad. She told me that that was her husband! So Grandma Laura was my mom? She didn’t die? But Grandma told me the whole story. My dad, Walter, first married a lady named Agnes, and they had a baby named Nikita ( that was me) and during childbirth, Agnes died, but I lived. Later, my dad could no longer care after me so he dropped me off at the orphanage when I was 1 year’s old. For my dad, that was a hard decision. He had to work but he couldn’t leave me at home and there was no one to look after me. After my dad’s wife died, he married Laura. Laura was sitting in front of me, tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. She then told me the saddest news- my dad died of cancer a couple months ago. I started choking back sobs, and then tears. Grandma Laura was the only family I had. She was my stepmother. It has been seven years since that happened and right now I am sitting with tears in my eyes, telling you this. I live with my stepmom and my husband, Jeffrey. Turns out that after that day, I lived with my stepmom for a couple months but then the boy’s mom found out that I was still in this neighborhood. The boy was so happy to hear that, and he told me his name- Jeffrey Jones. We soon joined our friendship together and a couple months later, we were married. Also,he wasn’t 15 years old, like I thought, he was 17. -Written by Nikita Eggons-Jones

Retarted Stuff

Yoyoyo its generikb here and today we are playing roller coaster tycoon

John Smith

Anyone got ideas for a short story titled as Leornard’s Fatal Oversight. In need of help asap.

Mary M

Ugh, this is getting do frustrating! I thought to myself as I struggled through the streets. My ankles kept twisting every time I slipped. Heels are so not comfy. I shouldn’t have worn them. As if my struggle wasn’t enough, people were pushing me as they passed me by. I was being shoved left and right amidst the bustling sidewalks of New York. Feeling fed up, I decided to lean onto a nearby store to regain my balance. What an awful idea it was. Unfortunately, I have miscalculated the distance between me and the store and I ended up leaning on thin air. I tried to right my footing before it was too late but I ended up tripping on my own feet. With a loud oomph I slammed into a passerby. Papers went flying around us as we both fell to the ground.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry.” I tried to hurriedly stand up but I ended flat on the ground again. “I didn’t mean to! I was just trying to lean on the wall to regain my balance since it’s the first time to wear heels, and oh my god, it is very hard and painful.”

The person nodded quietly and started gathering the papers. I got to my knees and tried to help. “I was supposed to be looking smart for today’s meeting, but I don’t think it’s been working out so well. I bet I look as smart as a baboon’s butt.” I heard the person chuckle but I went on with my rant, “I also bet that I am a total mess; I don’t how will I meet everyone at work this way. Oh man! They sure will give me an earful of criticism!” I didn’t realize I had been holding on to the few papers I collected while he tried to pull them from my grasp. “Oh, I am so sorry, once again,” I said still holding on to the papers while I got up, “I didn’t realize I was holding on to the documents…it’s not like I’ve read them; I’m just guessing they were documents as your suit looks neat and yeah.” I tugged gently on the lapel of the suit and finally raised my eyes to his face. My eyes probably widened as I saw him for the first time. To cut it short, he was hot! Like smoking salmon hot; or more like hot chili pepper that Indians eat hot! Now I’ll give all the details, I know you want them…I would want them if I was listening to one of my friends telling me such a story. Anyways, he stood a good foot or so taller than me. He had light brown hair styled backwards. His angular, defined jaw was covered with a five o’clock shadow. Bright hazel eyes shone with amusement as a slight smile covered his lips. “I don’t usually talk to strangers as much as I do. God! I’m coming off as talkative! I am not usually the talkative type; I seriously don’t know what is wrong with me today. And whoa, you look handsome,” my eyes widened in shock as he raised both eyebrows, “Did I say that out loud? Oh my god, I said that out loud. I didn’t mean to say that…I don’t mean you’re not handsome, because you’re one hell of a man; I just mean…Ugh! Now I’m coming off as a weird man-gazing half-crazed stalker. That is if I’m not fully crazed. I don’t think I’m making any sense…I should probably get going.” I went to turn around when I felt a tug onto something I’m holding to. With a confused look I looked to my hands and found the stack of papers. With a not so faint blush, I handed him the papers, “I’m sorry again.” I threw my hand behind my shoulder pointing in the opposite direction, “I should probably get going,” I said with a sheepish smile. I turned to leave again, but I was stopped…again. He cleared his throat, “I think you’re forgetting something.” “Um…no, I think I’m,” I turned his way to find him holding my bag. I awkwardly stepped to take it and said, “Thanks. I’ll see you around, not that I know where you are…I’ll just get going.” I took my bag and headed off in the opposite direction before I could embarrass myself any further. As I waited for the subway, I recalled what just happened and face palmed. I took the short ride to the office to compose myself. I was in for a surprise once I entered the meeting room, though. The man I bumped into was standing at the head of the table. “Good morning everyone, before starting today’s meeting, I would like to introduce you to the company’s new CEO…” Well, I wasn’t expecting this. I sat rigidly on the chair once we were told to. “Good morning everyone, I am Nathaniel and I am looking forwards to working with everyone on this team,” he said with a smile on his face. “Mr. Nathaniel, I would like you to meet our best employee, Ms. Felicity Brown.”My boss pointed my way and I wish he hadn’t. Nathaniel’s eyes found mine. They were filled with amusement. Oh this was going to be a long day.

And this, kids, is how I met your father.

Joseph West

A great (and family friendly) writing site is http://www.storybird.com

I might write a story about a girl who was born a princess but all her family died on a ship except her aunt and cousin…she gets taken to an orphanage and everyone else thinks she died too and she gets adopted a few Years later she goes to school and everyone is talking about her…one days she finds out that… oh u want to know well I’ll probs write a story about it on wattpad so u can look for it, it will be called…A princess???

Dianelwnz

Four new members have a look at couch on top of Crestwood center ship

high school graduation sports activitiestrail Softballand therefore Swimmingbeach ball Tennismales adolescent girls info Field HS HS WrestlingCollege Pro Submit ScoresSubmit

WRIGHT TWP. In all perhaps had to be the most significant reorganization matching presented among Luzerne regional 11 institutions zones, Crestwood school panel swore located in four sign ups compared to the ne member, repairing incumbents which are either of them missing in action unique reelection tenders belonging to the primary or elected to get not to research another phase.

wayne Brogna, Stacey Haddix, Kimberly Spath and thus Lauren McCurdy got been sworn appearing in thursday night. The four bought conducted completely considering that the to produce enhancement community. really earning incumbent from a big part that do survived habitual grievance in past times two very long time came anna Hollock Bibla, which will garnered your ex first four year terms the particular snowboard. you become a member of in 2017 because of profitable an exclusive two year sitting.

The aboard had been proven a good solid director in just cost Jones deleted the primary. He extended in the direction this quite get-together ahead departing the barrier. But contact considering his or place for year isn an exciting new face. really 5 4 election with all four rookies in opposition of, james Costello vice president in the past year came branded president.

following the meeting, Brogna documented can lone even talk to gain themselves even so that he fully Costello ran into finished loads of dubious ballots the actual game board during the last two growth cycles. he explained he’s talked containing Costello together n’ your own questions that can the pup, but admitted no sign ups may possibly well most try out the us president job, if he or she. so which he wasn safe voting for Costello.

barry Boone is unanimously specified as vice chairman, Maureen McGovern came chosen assistant, and after that Brogna been recently branded as treasurer.

all of the reconstituted block have their first finding for normal establishment votes arrange for Dec. 19, Five days right after the contract over curious law firms in order to post proposals on a structured feasibility study, sense my blackboard can have to be able to merit a legal contract.

Four newbies your day Crestwood their school panel accept the promise of health care office at some stage in thurs reorganization talking. right between lead are actually Stacy Haddix, Kimberly Spath, Lauren McCurdy and as a consequence randy Brogna. 17 public speaking.

while prompt wednesday authorities chairman paul Belusko should become aware of if will probably be at center arena this booked careers class a better or at site of the event thus more people beautiful vietnamese women may easily give priority to.

Belusko proclaimed she will be polling an additional four authorities musicians in email’s over the past weekend on recommendation mayor choose George light brown undertaken especially during tuesday night time seeing replace the to and time production for the.

looking to you can keep them respond back to me made by the following thursday, Belusko considered that Friday.

maybe authorities decides to transfer an appointment it provides a week in order to place and with seating rather than a unique fourth area chambers.

was regarded as thinking that it is recently doing open talking long before the performance visit someplace (home buyers and thus local authority or council) may questionthings just to associated with us transfer to the author’s your job session. which unfortunately whatever i thinking about, Belusko claims.

you will most likely plumbing service in sunday night-time show results demonstrations that when local authority or council could not vote on awaiting the law. comments together with inquires are allowed even though council monday date the general public get togethers. timetabled start.

village owner david Gazenski suggested it authorities call on which direction to start.

over council if that they move this approach to a different store, Gazenski alleged.

nearly as Belusko may reaching out to authorities, so too will white because of main receiving area for the mans professional recommendation.

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We believe that the key to writing good short stories is reading good short stories.

Below, we have provided an ever-expanding selection of old and new short stories that are free to download.

Short story writers are listed alphabetically.

In 2020 we’ll be adding a wide range of new stories to read online.

Recently added stories will be fund at the top of the page.

Recently added

Aiken, Conrad ‘Silent Snow, Secret Snow’ (online read: c. 6000 words)

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That’s because we’re a very small, but passionate team who spend hundreds of hours curating resources such as these classic short stories. But we don’t just focus on the old. We’re also a paying market, publishing brilliant new work of fiction and non-fiction. Please do consider supporting us in whatever way you can, so we can maintain the work we do. Thank you.

Please support our work

Anderson, Sherwood ‘The Dumb Man’ (c. 500 words)

Ade, George ‘The Collision’ (c. 1500 words)

Ade, George ‘The Divine Spark’ (c. 1000 words)

Ade, George ‘The Juvenile and Mankind’ (c. 500 words)

Antsey, F. ‘Marjory’ (c. 8500 words)

Baldwin, James ‘Bruce and the Spider’ (c. 500 words)

Baldwin, James ‘The Bell of Atri’ (c. 500 words)

Baldwin, James ‘Casablanca’ (c. 500 words)

Baldwin, James ‘Antonio Canova’ (c. 1000 words)

Baldwin, James ‘Arnold Winkelried’ (c. 500 words)

Baldwin, James ‘Doctor Goldsmith’ (c. 500 words)

Baldwin, James ‘The Endless Tale’ (c. 1000 words)

Balzac, Honore de ‘The Conscript’ (c. 6000 words)

Balzac, Honore de ‘Innocence’ (c. 1000 words)

Balzac, Honore de ‘The Devil’s Heir’ (c. 6500 words)

Bierce, Ambrose ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek’ (c. 3000 words)

Bierce, Ambrose ‘Oil of Dog’ (c. 1500 words)

Brown, Alice ‘Bankrupt’ (c. 7500 words)

Brown, Alice ‘Heartease’ (c. 3500 words)

Brown, Alice ‘The Advocate’ (c. 4500 words)

Brown, Alice ‘The End of All Living’ (c. 7000 words)

Chekhov, Anton ‘The Bet’ (c. 3000 words)

Chekhov, Anton ‘The Lottery Ticket’ (c. 2000 words)

Chekhov, Anton ‘About Love’ (c. 4000 words)

Chekhov, Anton ‘An Actor’s End’ (c. 2500 words)

Chekhov, Anton ‘Art’ (c. 2500 words)

Chekhov, Anton ‘An Avenger’ (c. 2000 words)

Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Blue Cross’ (c. 7500 words)

Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Bottomless Well’ (c. 6500 words)

Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Eye of Apollo’ (c. 6000 words)

Chesterton, G. K. ‘The God of Gongs’ (c. 6000 words)

Chesterton, G. K.  ‘The Hammer of God’ (c. 6500 words)

Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Purple Wig’ (c. 5500 words)

Collins, Willie ‘A Fair Penitent’ (c. 4500 words)

Conrad, Joseph ‘An Anarchist’ (c. 8500 words)

Crane, Stephen ‘A Desertion’ (c. 1500 words)

Defoe, Daniel ‘The Apparition of Mrs Veal’ (c. 3500 words)

De Mille, James ‘The Artist of Florence’ (c. 7000 words)

De Quincey, Thomas ‘Love-Charm’ (c. 13,000 words)

De Quincey, Thomas ‘The Avenger’ (c. 19,000 words)

Dickens, Charles ‘The Black Veil’ (c. 4500 words))

Dickens, Charles ‘Criminal Courts’ (c. 2000 words)

Dickens, Charles ‘Down with the Taid’ (c. 4000 words)

Dickens, Charles ‘The Ghost of Art’ (c. 2500 words)

Dickens, Charles ‘The Baron of Grogswig’ (c. 4000 words)

Dickens, Charles ‘The Child’s Story’ (c. 2000 words)

Dahl, Roald ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ (c. 3000 words)

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor ‘The Dreams of a Ridiculous Man’ (c. 8500 words)

Eliot, T. S. ‘Eeldrop and Appleplex’ (c. 3000 words)

Eggleston, Edward ‘A Basement Story’ (c. 6500 words)

Eggleston, Edward ‘Adventures in Alaska’ (c. 1500 words)

Eliot, George ‘Brother Jacob’ (c. 17,000 words)

Field, Eugene ‘Daniel and the Devil’ (c. 3000 words)

Field, Eugene ‘Death and the Soldier’ (c. 1500 words)

Flaubert, Gustave ‘The Dance of Death’ (c. 3000 words)

Freeman, Mary ‘A New England Nun’ (c. 5000 words)

Galsworthy, John ‘The Knight’ (c. 13,000 words)

Galsworthy, John ‘The Stoic’ (c. 30,000 words)

Goldsworthy, John ‘The Silence’ (c. 8000 words)

Goethe, Johann ‘New Paris’ (c. 5500 words)

Gogol, Nikolai ‘The Clash’ (c. 4500 words)

Gaskell, Elizabeth ‘An Accursed Race’ (c. 6500 words)

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ (c. 6000 words)

Greene, Graham ‘The End of the Party’ ( c. 3500 words)

Gissing, George ‘A Capitalist’ (c. 5500 words)

Gissing, George ‘The House Of Cobwebs’ (c. 8000 words)

Gissing, George ‘The Salt of the Earth’ (c. 4000 words)

Hardy, Thomas ‘The Grave by the Handpost’ (c. 4000 words)

Hardy, Thomas ‘The Three Strangers’ c. 8500 words)

Harte, Bret ‘An Heiress of a Red Dog’ (c. 5500 words)

Harte, Bret ‘Under Karl’ (c. 6500 words)

Harte, Bret ‘Who Was My Quiet Friend?’ (c. 3000 words)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel ‘The Wedding-Knell’ (c. 3000 words)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel ‘The Ambitious Guest’ (c. 3500 words)

Henry, O ‘The Gift of the Magi’ (c. 2000 words)

Irving, Washington ‘Conspiracy of the Cocked Hats’ (c. 2000 words)

Irving, Washington ‘Little Britain’ (c. 5000 words)

Irving, Washington ‘The Bermudas’ (c. 2500 words)

Irving, Washington ‘The Birds of Spring’ (c. 2000 words)

Irving, Washington ‘The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow’ (c. 12,000 words)

Ing, Charles ‘Tight Squeeze’ (c. 6000 words)

Ingelow, Jean ‘A Last Want’ (c. 8000 words)

Ingelow, Jean ‘The Prince’s Dream’ (c. 3500 words)

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Jacobs, W. W. ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ (c. 4000 words)

James, M. R. ‘Lost Hearts’ (c. 4000 words)

Jerome, Jerome K. ‘The Man Who Did Not Believe In Luck’ (c. 3000 words)

Joyce, James ‘Araby’ (c. 2500 words)

Joyce, James ‘A Little Cloud’ (c. 5000 words)

Joyce, James ‘After the Race’ (c. 2000 words)

Joyce, James ‘An Encounter’ (c. 3500 words)

Joyce, James ‘Counterparts’ (c. 4000 words)

Joyce, James ‘Eveline’ (c. 2000 words)

Joyce, James ‘The Boarding House’ (c. 3000 words)

Kipling, Rudyard ‘How the Leopard got his Spots’ (c. 2000 words)

Kipling, Rudyard ‘Wireless’ (c. 6500 words)

Kipling, Rudyard ‘A Bank Fraud (c. 2500 words)

Kipling, Rudyard ‘Beyond the Pale’ (c. 2000 words)

King, Charles ‘Starlight Man’ (c. 9500 words)

King, Charles ‘Van’ (c. 8000 words)

Lawrence, D. H. ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’ (c. 7500 words)

London, Jack ‘Aloha Oe’ (c. 2500 words)

London, Jack ‘The Story of Keesh’ (c. 3000 words)

London, Jack ‘How to Build a Fire’ (c. 7000 words)

Lovecraft, H. P. ‘The Cats of Ulthar’ (c. 1500 words)

Lovecraft, H. P. ‘The terrible Old Man’ (c. 1000 words)

Mansfield, Katherine ‘The Stranger’ (c. 5000 words)

Mansfield, Katherine ‘The Garden Party’ (c. 5500 words)

Mansfield, Katherine ‘The Voyage’ (c. 3000 words)

Mansfield, Katherine ‘The Ideal Family’ (c. 2500 words)

Mansfield, Katherine ‘Miss Brill’ (c. 2000 words)

Mansfield, Katherine ‘The Singing Lesson’ (c. 2000 words)

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia ‘Eyes of a Blue Dog’ (c. 3000 words)

Maupassant, Guy de ‘The Kiss’ (c. 1500 words)

Munro, H. H. (SAKI) ‘The Mouse’ (c. 1500 words)

Nesbit, Edith ‘Acting for the Best’ (c. 4500 words)

Nesbit, Edith ‘Archibald the Unpleasant’ (c. 5000 words)

Nesbit, Edith ‘Billy the King’ (c. 5500 words)

Norris, Frank ‘A Deal in Wheat’ (c. 5000 words)

Norris, Frank ‘The Wife of Chino’ (c. 5500 words)

Norris, Frank ‘Two Hearts That Beat as One’ (c. 4000 words)

Orwell, George ‘The Shooting of an Elephant’ (c. 2000 words)

Osbourne, Lloyd ‘Ben’ (c. 6000 words)

Osbourne, Lloyd ‘The Golden Castaways’ (c. 3500 words)

Parker, Dorothy ‘A Telephone Call’ (c. 2500 words)

Poe, Edgar Allan ‘The Imp of the Perverse’ (c. 2500 words)

Poe, Edgar Allan ‘The Angel of Odd’ (c. 4000 words)

Poe, Edgar Allan ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (c. 2500 words)

Poe, Edgar Allan ‘The Black Cat’ (c. 4000 words)

Poe, Edgar Allan ‘Four Beasts in One’ (c. 3000 words)

Potter, Beatrix ‘Ginger and Pickles’ (c. 1000 words)

This page receives about 10,000 views a month and we are keen to continue expanding this resource, for our users. We have limited resources, but with your help, we can continue to build and support writers and readers, past and present.

Quiller-Couch, Arthur ‘Elisha’ (c. 1500 words)

Quiller-Couch, Arthur ‘The Burglary Club’ (c. 3000 words)

Quiller-Couch, Arthur ‘The Dark Mirror’ (c. 1000 words)

Roby, John ‘The Goblin Builders’ (c. 3500 words)

Ruskin, John ‘The King of the Golden River’ (c. 9000 words)

Skinner, Charles ‘The Barge of Defeat’ (c. 500 words)

Somyonov, S. T. ‘The Servant’ (c. 2000 words)

Twain, Mark ‘Luck’ (c. 2000 words)

Trollope, Anthony ‘George Walker at Suez’ (c. 8000 words)

Trollope, Anthony ‘Returning Home’ (c. 9000 words)

Van Dyke, Henry ‘Ashes of Vengeance’ (c. 500 words)

Van Dyke, Henry ‘The Art of Leaving Off’ (c. 2500 words)

Verne, Jules ‘A Drama in the Air’ (c. 7000 words)

Wells, H. G. ‘The Crystal Egg’ (c. 7000 words)

White, E. B. ‘The Door’ (c. 2000 words)

Wilde, Oscar ‘The Birth of the Infanta’ (c. 7500 words)

Williams, William Carlos ‘The Use of Force’ (c. 1500 words)

Woolf, Virginia ‘A Haunted House’ (c. 1000 words)

Yeats, William Butler ‘Out of the Rose’ (c. 2500 words)

Yeats, William Butler ‘The Old Men of the Twilight’ (c. 2000 words)

Yeats, William Butler ‘The Twisting of the Rope’ (c. 3000 words)

Younger, Charlotte M. ‘The Last Fight in the Coliseum’ (c. 3000 words)

Zola, Emile ‘Captain Burle’ (c. 11, 500 words)

Zola, Emile ‘The Flood’ (c. 8000 words)

Emilie-Noelle Provost

Author, Writer, Hiker

1000 word short story essay

150-Word Short Stories

*NO AI TRAINING

Although I primarily write novels , magazine articles, and essays, several years ago, I started writing very short stories, all of them exactly 150 words long, as a fun way to keep my fiction writing skills from getting rusty. It was also great to be able to write a story from start to finish in just an hour or so. Some of these stories are posted on this blog page . I’ve also included a few of my favorites below.

If you enjoy reading my 150-word stories, please also consider reading one of my books , and telling others about them, too.

Outside the funeral home, I heard a boy say that she had fallen off the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle. Broken her neck. She never knew what hit her, he said. I was 13. The dead girl had been a junior in high school.

The line to see her snaked around the building. Boys with long hair, wearing ties they’d borrowed from their fathers, and girls with thick blue eyeshadow smoked cigarettes in the parking lot. Someone passed a bottle of Jack. There were no adults there, just very old kids.

She almost looked like she was sleeping, except that she was too still. There was a puffiness to her face that didn’t seem quite right. They had dressed her for the prom; the crinoline sleeves of her gown like poofs of pink cotton candy. Some kids prayed, but I couldn’t. I just stared at the roses in her corsage.

“Come on! It’s starting!” Greg, my neighbor, hollered from the sidewalk. 

“What’s starting?” I said. Behind him, groups of kids hurried down the street.  

We’d moved to the neighborhood just weeks before. I was shy; a bookworm, waiting for school to start. Greg was the only kid I’d met.

“The magic show!” said Greg, exasperated. “At Mr. Hale’s house!”

At the end of the Hales’ dirt driveway, rows of kids were seated on the grass.

White-haired and very thin, Mr. Hale wore a black top-hat and tails. In his hand he gripped a wand, producing doves from an urn. He asked for a volunteer to be sawed in half. I raised my hand. No one breathed.

“Just relax,” Mr. Hale whispered. “There’s nothing to it.” I got into the box and held my breath.

A collective gasp went up. And when I emerged in one piece, I was a star.

Cat in the Wall

“How’d he get in there?” said Amy, peering into the opening in the basement wall with her hands cupped around her eyes.

“Got me,” I said, taking a look. Barney, our 18-pound Maine Coon, peered up at me with his yellow eyes. The cat had squeezed his massive frame through an opening in the wall that an animal half his size would have had trouble with. He was trapped. 

“What are we going to do?” said Amy. “We can’t just leave him there.”  

A metallic aroma, the scent of panic, perfumed the damp cellar air. She was right. We couldn’t leave him. But we wouldn’t get him out without tearing down the wall, and we were only summer tenants.

The cat let out a mournful meow.  

“Barney’s going to die!” Amy cried. 

So, I brushed the tears away from her little cheeks and grabbed the hammer from the toolbox.

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Short Story (to 10,000 words)

April 19, 2024

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Experimental Fiction (XP)||Gogol|”SMOKE”

March 20, 2024

Americana|Prose Discourse|Short Fiction to 5000 Words||Mike Murray|”MIDNIGHT AT THEIR OASIS”

March 8, 2024

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Kim Farleigh|”EXTENDING PRIVILEGES”

June 27, 2023

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Kim Farleigh|”Protecting Dreams”

February 25, 2023

Americana|Experimental Discourse (XP): Fiction|Flash Fiction||Jim Meirose|”An Appreciation for Statuary”

February 21, 2023

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||James Joaquin Brewer|”Juan and Donne”

October 8, 2022

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Experimental Fiction (XP)||Mike Murray|”RESIDUUM”

August 12, 2022

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Michael Mandlin|”Larks”

June 6, 2022

Experimental Discourse (XP): Fiction||Jim Meirose|”At Jesse Owens’ Grave”

May 10, 2022

Experimental Discourse (XP): Fiction|Flash Fiction||Jim Meirose|”The Keys”

September 29, 2021

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Sean Padraic McCarthy|”Topping”

September 24, 2021

Experimental Discourse (XP): Fiction|Short Story||Jim Meirose|”Deep Fry”

September 23, 2021

Featured Series: Experimental Discourse (XP)|Double Flash/Short Story to 2000 words|2021 theme: “1 of 24– the story of an hour”||Bruce Robinson|”Several Rooms”

May 24, 2021

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Cezarija Abartis|”The Angel Fairy”

February 24, 2021

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Alec Schmidt|”The Last Woman”

February 18, 2021

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Harriet Garfinkle|”The Ghoul and the Gunslinger”

September 16, 2020

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Mike Murray|”Salton Sea”

August 31, 2020

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Don L. Robishaw|”Bad Paper”

August 4, 2020

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Anne Whitehouse|”The Faith Healer”

June 13, 2020

Experimental Discourse (XP): Fiction|Short Story||Jim Meirose|”Auxx-Coo the Computational Man – ALIVE!!!”

March 11, 2020

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||J.D. Scrimgeour|”Say ‘Hi’ to Your Dad”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||jane snyder|”daddy hates jello”.

February 26, 2020

Featured Writer Erik Harper Klass|Prose Discourse: Short Story|”City as Museum (Turkish 1)”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||hermione laake|”black ink and anxiety”.

December 31, 2019

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Anne Leigh Parrish|”Moonlight on The Bay”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||john perilli|”please don’t push me away”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||j.o. quantaman|”hot wheels” (excerpt from wip).

December 24, 2019

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Tim Waldron|”Some Other Kind of Apocalypse”

December 23, 2019

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Christopher Stolle|”More Lines Left To Write”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||karen sosnoski|”un/hooked love story”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||mm schreier|”wednesday”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||terry sanville|”life drawing”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||tristan drue rogers|”the elder gentleman”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||elizabeth gauffreau|”esther on ebay”.

December 22, 2019

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Alex Muller|”The Last Original Thought”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||linda mcmullen|”elaine’s idyll”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||maria mcdonald|”histime”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||tracy debrincat|”velociraptor”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||chồn lười|”bin man”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||janine langley-wood|”good eating”.

December 21, 2019

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Heather Heckman-McKenna|”Target”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||william cass|”a stillness and a light”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||phillip hall|”flirting with reality”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||elaine feeney|”today i become mother”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||sandra anfang|”tie-dye”.

December 20, 2019

Prose Discourse: Fiction|Short Story||Scott Bassis|”Mercedes Evades Danger”

Prose discourse: fiction|short story||william auten|”transplant”, prose discourse: fiction|short story||ayo ajetomobi|”copies”, privacy preference center, privacy preferences.

1000 word short story essay

COMMENTS

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  2. How to Write a Narrative Essay

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  3. How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist

    Your short story is 1000 to 7500 words in length. The story takes place in one time period, not spread out or with gaps other than to drive someplace, sleep, etc. If there are those gaps, there is a space between the paragraphs, the new paragraph beginning flush left, to indicate a new scene. ... Expository prose (telling, like an essay) takes ...

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  5. How to Write a 1000 Word Essay: Length, Tips & Free Samples

    Main Body. The main body of a 1000-word essay consists of approximately 800 words, divided between at least 3 paragraphs. Each paragraph has 100-200 words (5-10 sentences) and 4 core elements. 1. Topic sentence. A topic sentence, or a key sentence, summarizes the paragraph's main idea and sets its focus. 2.

  6. How to Write a 1000 Word Essay: Structure, Steps & Examples

    1000-Word Essay Structure Regardless of the type of essay, there is a universal outline you should follow when crafting your 1000-word paper.It may differ slightly depending on specific requirements and instructions, but the overall structure of an essay remains the same.. The basic 1000 essay structure includes an introduction, body paragraphs (typically 4-6 in this case), and conclusion.

  7. Professional Guide for Awesome Writing

    Writing is barely half of the work. We want to share some pro tips to save time writing and make your essay genuinely outstanding. Write an Outline first: Most of the time, a 1000-word essay is an in-class assignment. Scribble an outline on a separate sheet of paper to keep you focused when writing.

  8. 1000 Word Essay

    Here are the steps to write a 1000 word essay easily: 1. Choose a topic. The first step is to choose a topic for your essay. This can be anything from a specific event or incident to a broader topic or issue. 2. Research your topic. Once you have chosen a topic, the next step is to research it in depth.

  9. How to Write a Short Story Essay

    A short story essay is a blended type of short writing that consolidates an essay's components and a short story. The word tally of a short story paper is generally between 1000 to 5000 words. This kind of article is not quite the same as a short story or simply a five-section exposition. A short story exposition consolidates the fiction in a ...

  10. 1000-Word Essays: Writing Guide + FAQ

    In Times New Roman, 1000 words are equal to four pages. One thousand words in a sans serif font (for example, Courier) with wide spacing and letters will make 4.5 pages roughly. Calibri provides 3.5 pages. Comic Sans MS makes 4.7 pages for 1000 words, and Verdana gives 4.4. pages. All the figures are given for 12pt font size.

  11. The Winners of Our Personal Narrative Essay Contest

    In September, we challenged teenagers to write short, powerful stories about meaningful life experiences for our first-ever personal narrative essay contest. This contest, like every new contest ...

  12. 1000-Word Essay Samples: A+ Paper Examples for Free

    Free 1000-Word Essay Samples. 620 samples of this type. A 1000-word essay is a standard undergraduate college assignment. You might need to write an essay of such a length on almost any discipline: marketing, psychology, political science, philosophy, social science, etc. While writing a paper of 1000 to 1100 words, you will need to demonstrate ...

  13. A Stranger's Kindness. A 1,000-word short story

    Laura didn't actually recall him handing her a business card, but that might well be because embarrassment meant she'd tried to forget the entire incident. Just over a week ago, Laura's ...

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    Posted on October 31, 2022. (1000 words) We'd come down to the stream to find there was no bridge. Instead, lumps of rock protruded from the water at semi-regular intervals. Stepping-stones. "We cross here," announced Eric. "Hang on a minute, it looks quite deep," said Jan. "And those rocks look slippery," said Petra.

  16. Contest

    The $1000 for 1000 Words fiction writing contest is open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12. Each entrant may submit a fiction piece consisting of exactly 1,000 words (not including title or author's name). The fiction piece can be on any topic, as long as it is not vulgar or offensive, does not use inappropriate profanity, and is the ...

  17. 75 Short-Short Stories

    Short Stories to enjoy when you have 5 minutes to spare, sorted by category so you can find what suits your mood. Stories average 1,000 words, including morality tales, feel-good/love stories, other-worldly stories, witty stories, dramatic stories, and farce/political stories. Featured authors include Mark Twain, Anton Chekhov, Kate Chopin, James Baldwin, H.H. Munro (SAKI), Virginia Woolf, O ...

  18. Top 150 Short Story Ideas

    We've got you covered. Below are 150 short story ideas for all your favorite genres. You can use them as a book idea, as writing prompts for writing contests , for stories to publish in literary magazines, or just for fun! Editor's note: This is a recurring guide, regularly updated with ideas, new story prompts, and information.

  19. Free Short Stories

    We believe that the key to writing good short stories is reading good short stories. Below, we have provided an ever-expanding selection of old and new short stories that are free to download. Short story writers are listed alphabetically. In 2020 we'll be adding a wide range of new stories to read online. Recently added stories will be fund at the top of the page. Recently added Aiken ...

  20. 150-Word Short Stories

    *NO AI TRAINING. Although I primarily write novels, magazine articles, and essays, several years ago, I started writing very short stories, all of them exactly 150 words long, as a fun way to keep my fiction writing skills from getting rusty.It was also great to be able to write a story from start to finish in just an hour or so. Some of these stories are posted on this blog page.

  21. Short Story (to 10,000 words)

    FictionShort Story (to 10,000 words)LITERARY ARTSProse Discourse: Long forms (to 10,000 words) September 23, 2021. Featured Series: Experimental Discourse (XP)|Double Flash/Short Story to 2000 words|2021 theme: "1 of 24- the story of an hour"||Bruce Robinson|"Several Rooms". FictionShort Story (to 10,000 words)LITERARY ARTS.