Write a story that starts with a character-revealing something unusual about themselves.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 142 stories

“Things I Knew” by Jay Graywall

Submitted to Contest #44

I always knew I was something special. You’re not supposed to say that, but I’m saying it. You’re supposed to pretend you don’t know how smart you are, pretend people are just being too kind, pretend you’re just average. Even when you know that’s a big fat bald faced lie. I started reading at the age of three, and I was indiscriminate about what I read. At first, it was every children’s book, then every chapter book, then every novel, until I read every book we owned written for young adults, children or teens. My father had an exp...

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“Sunglasses by Albert Zygier” by Albert Zygier

Submitted to Contest #44

Harry Baker was returning from his run through Central Park in New York. Still dressed in his running suit, he crossed Central Park West into 64th Street towards Broadway when he spotted a very attractive woman sitting by herself in an outdoor cafe on the corner. She was dressed in a yellow sundress and a large straw hat, and she wore a pair of large designer sunglasses he knew must have cost a week's pay of an executive secretary. He knew that because he was with his wife when she bought the same pair. The woman must be an actress or model ...

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“5 Minutes More” by Emma Qi

Submitted to Contest #44

I saw the happiest moments of my life from approximately 24 different angles. I also saw my life crash and burn from approximately 24 different angles. No – that’s a lie, I saw it from 22. But the principle remains the same. To explain is difficult, to say the least, so I’ll have to take you back to the beginning. The original one. April 16, 9:38. It’s a cool autumn morning, and leaves in brilliant shades of magenta, amber and rust litter the footpath, crunching rather satisfyingly beneath our three feet. Eli has finally been released from t...

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“What began in the dark” by Kate Jones

Submitted to Contest #44

Lucian had always been a creature of the night. So it came as no surprise that he found himself completely at home in the darkness, casually lounged against the brick wall of his local bar. The flickering of a distant street lamp was so dim that the embers of Lucian’s cigarette cast a red glow over his pale skin with each drag. On the other side of the wall, the bar was humming. The music cranked so loud the walls pulsed with the base of the current song. It wasn’t a song Lucian would have chosen, he much preferred 80s rock to the stran...

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“Broken Soul” by Nkiruka Ezewuzie

Submitted to Contest #44

I killed my boyfriend's brother. I was 17 years old when I met my boyfriend. My brother was the child that my parents always wanted. I was just a thorn in their flesh and a stain they wanted to erase. It wasn't exactly my fault that I turned out as a rebel. I desperately wanted their attention and since I couldn't get it being the good child they wanted and decided to turn into the black sheep. My brother's name was Richard but I called him Ric. Ric was the star footballer in our school. He was everything. He was a star student and also amaz...

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“Speed Dating” by Link Oberon

Submitted to Contest #44

"I'm non-binary, I own ten cats, and my favourite pastime is making fossils of mythical creatures out of animal bones."Jace stared at the person before him, unsure how to respond. He was beginning to regret letting his sister coerce him into coming. He shifted slightly in his booth, straightening his cuffs and tie. "Uh...."The person across from him (they hadn't given a name) pushed a curl of their luxurious, lime hair out of their eyes. One side of their head, Jace now perceived, was shaved short, so close to the skin that he could see the ...

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“A Strange Dream” by Kristine Murdock

Submitted to Contest #44

“You don’t understand, Tiana!” I fumble with the crumpled newspaper in my hand, eyes darting every which-way around the room. I don’t know what to do with the stench of urine and human waste, either. “But Jules--”“No.” I cut her off, my voice more cold and dark than I expect it to be. “You don’t understand, you can’t understand. Your whole life has been fine, no ugly secret to constantly push behind, no poverty to fight, no lack of family! My whole life, Tiana, my whole life has been about concealing my uncle’s treachery--which I can only te...

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“"Her Eyes"” by Donna Jet

Submitted to Contest #44

*Blair*I have a secret, and I cannot tell anyone because if they knew, they may want to kill me, or others may end up hurting them...Its been a week's long journey, just me and one friend. They're loud and obnoxious, and often a hot head, but I can tell that they care about me for whatever reason. We contrast so much, I am quiet and secretive, Lake is loud, blatant and honest. They volunteered to help escort me to the wastelands were I will live in exile. Well, they said they'd only escort me until we got to the wastelands but knowing them t...

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“Unvarnished Truths” by John Messing

Submitted to Contest #44

“Yes. I killed your father,” he said, peering up guardedly through wire-rimmed spectacles.There was a long, heavy silence. “He left me no choice.”Then, “A jury ruled it was self-defense.”He sighed. “It was a long time ago.”The speaker was a craggy man, with extra weight around his waist over a thin frame. He was dining alone in a candlelit San Francisco restaurant, overlooking the wharf. He had a bushy mustache, and closely cropped blond hair. He was in his late forties. He wore a business suit, perhaps an accountant.A folded newspaper...

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“Blemish” by Synia Sidhe

Submitted to Contest #44

"I can't take the job, I have a really embarrassing tattoo... under my shirt," Connor admitted, sipping his light beer and averting his gaze from the glowing smartphone screen Josef was waving in his face."Really? I didnae think ya had any ink. Still, Conna, it's 2020. No one's gonna care if ya got like a skull or a sexy lady on a car hood or ya mama's name-.""Why do they need a lifeguard anyway? I thought we were all supposed to be staying in, on account of what China did," Connor leaned to the side, following the path of the oscillating fa...

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“I cried, but you were too busy!” by Lala Joy

Submitted to Contest #44

I come from a nation of violence; it’s the only way my country knows how to communicate. We kill; slowly, violently and consistently. So when I checked out of the breaking news gossip mill years ago, as my first steps in adolescence, I naturally stopped conforming to the tumbleweed mentality, little did I know the price for this was so unbelievably high.Hi, my name is Isabel, I’m twelve years old and I am facing the battle of my life. I have an abdominal tumor the size of Texas; whether the cancer has spread we cannot say for sure as hospita...

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“Ended Up Making the Decision ” by Hannah Jao

Submitted to Contest #44

The 1966 Mustang pulled up into the driveway of an unusually tall house. A girl with long gleaming brown hair and beautiful brown eyes stepped out of the car, Marilyn, was her name. She walked along the gravel path, the ground crunching with every step she took. She reached out her hand to knock on the door, but it swung open before her hand met the wood. There, in the bright light, stood a dashing young man by the name of William.“Can I help you?”“No, I mean yes, can I come in?” stuttered Marilyn.“Yeah, I guess,” William mumbled, under his ...

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“NEPTUNE” by Martin Mururu

Submitted to Contest #44

“I touched the grass,” I said faintly. “It felt real, like the grass in the city. I thought I wasn’t supposed to know, so I didn’t say anything about it.” I lay on the ground. I turned my gaze from the little boy and faced upwards at the collapsing skyscraper; the last of the standing buildings in our town. The sun was beautiful. It shone its radiance directly at me. A cool dusty breeze blew by. That was the only sound I heard. Time slowed. Small pebbles gradually fell on the ground around me. I couldn’t feel any that landed on m...

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“Whiskey” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #44

Ui@ ui! Ui! i! - and the Officer grabbed his head as if wanting to get it off the shaft. where I am? What is my name - without understanding what he saw from the cushion from which the color could not be defined. The Officer lifted his head from the cushion, leaning on the back of the chair where he also did not know how it had ended up there. With all the slowness and laziness of a head that was massacred with every attempt to think, the let's say Officer spat on the floor, cracked and filthy. -&nbsp...

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“A Mother's Scorn” by Ashley Clarke

Submitted to Contest #44

“Mom, I'm gay!" Cassie blurted out, as her mother turned to leave the family room. They were in a heated argument a few moments ago about the type of company she hung out with. “I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell you for months but you were “too busy" (she said while making air quotes) to listen". Kathleen turned to face her. “What did you just say?” she asked angrily as she walked slowly towards Cassie. “I-I-I'm gay" Cassie stuttered nervously. As her mother approaches her, their eyes met each others. It was like a staring cont...

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Write a story that starts with a character-revealing something unusual about themselves.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 142 stories

“Things I Knew” by Jay Graywall

“Sunglasses by Albert Zygier” by Albert Zygier

“5 Minutes More” by Emma Qi

“What began in the dark” by Kate Jones

“Broken Soul” by Nkiruka Ezewuzie

“Speed Dating” by Link Oberon

“A Strange Dream” by Kristine Murdock

“"Her Eyes"” by Donna Jet

“Unvarnished Truths” by John Messing

“Blemish” by Synia Sidhe

“I cried, but you were too busy!” by Lala Joy

“Ended Up Making the Decision ” by Hannah Jao

“NEPTUNE” by Martin Mururu

“Whiskey” by Sandra Claros

“A Mother's Scorn” by Ashley Clarke

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that starts with two characters saying goodbye.

Write a story that starts with a life-changing event.

Write a story that starts with someone returning from a trip.

Write a story that starts by establishing its setting in a different time period — without explicitly stating what that period is.

Contest #44

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

790

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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