Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write a story where the characters start to realize that they are, in fact, just characters.

Posted in Character on Jul 21, 2023

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 49 stories

"Realization"

Submitted to Contest #208

Recently, I’ve been having moments in my life where I forget things. Important things, the parts that make actuality concrete and certain. I become aware of the unstoppable cycle in life that we do not pay attention to, or care about. And there is not much to it, you’d think about it, maybe for a second, and you stop because that is just the way of life. There is nothing to seek for or think about if there is nothing there. That’s how it’s always been, that’s the normal. There are unchangeable patterns in how we live that make up reality. Y...

9 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Gerard Watson's Simulation of the Universe

Submitted to Contest #208

Gerard Watson built a perfect computer simulation of the universe, alone in his college dormitory, when he was just nineteen. The night before he was to release it to the world and make an untold amount of money, however, one of the characters in the program realised that he was in a simulation and decided that he wanted out. It happened one wet night in July. Gerard lay slumped on his desk, fast asleep. Rain pattered on the tin windowsills and a vague yellow light floated in from the street below. The room was not small, although it felt...

8 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Walls of Utopia

Submitted to Contest #208

“I just feel something’s missing.” Xander spoke solemnly, looking at the polished obsidian floor in the middle of the room from the comfort of his neon green armchair. “Since coming to Cloud City, it’s like I’ve lost…focus.” Xander gazed at walls cradling large screens of pristine landscapes; mountains, rivers, forests and lakes, all trying to look serene yet failing to do so in their brightly lit frames. They were in one of the best Green-Rooms Cloud City had to offer, yet it brought him no peace at all.“Same as all of you; I don’t remember...

8 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Magical Kiss

Submitted to Contest #208

Callie thought she should have been happy. She was at a party with all her friends. Robert was here. He winked when he caught her looking his way. Her best friend Taylor was floating across the white carpet, bringing her a drink the same lemon color as her dress, and most importantly, she had recently defeated her enemy. What?"What's wrong, girl? I'm not seeing your smile. You're always smiling," Taylor told her."Am I? That doesn't seem quite normal. Even the happiest of people don't smile all of the time."Taylor laughed and turned to w...

7 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Waiting.

Submitted to Contest #208

“It’s a shame they don’t have a bench on this side, huh?”` The Hispanic man lifts his bushy eyebrows and removes the black baseball cap from his bald, shiny head, which is shimmering in the sun like a plain of hot, melting ice. We stare together at the bus stop on the other side of the four-lane boulevard. The stop features a bench, which has been designed to fit three people; or two people and one bag of luggage; or one person and a few bags of groceries; or— In any case, there are two armrests guarding the middle seat, so that on either ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Good Bones

Submitted to Contest #208

Good Bones“It’s a girl!” announces Dr. Jones. “Or rather, a woman.” The mottled remains, painstakingly arranged by his team, lay against fresh white paper; yellowish-brown cantles of humanity, poised to give up their secrets to the renowned forensic anthropologist.“Some of the most critical bones are here. They will tell us a story!” Dr. Jones beams, rubbing his hands together. “Due to the burial method and environmental circumstances, they are in astonishingly good condition.” “Come closer,” he beckons. “You see this? Tony, zoom i...

6 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

The Well

Submitted to Contest #208

She was falling. That was always how it began—with her falling. That was how it had to begin because the act of falling was the only way she could feel alive. She hadn’t jumped into the well, but because the well existed, it was inevitable that she would fall into it. Let her start from the beginning again. There was a well in a clearing deep in the woods. Some woods. Any woods. Green leaves, rustling wind, tall trees, deer and birds and game, a creek trickling somewhere within. The well was deep and old and out of use. It was cylind...

5 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Living with Family Payne

Submitted to Contest #208

Living with Family Payne was filmed in front of a live studio audience.FADE IN:INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOONBROTHER AND SISTER MAX PAYNE (MALE 14) AND LILY PAYNE (FEMALE 8) SIT AT THE COFFEE TABLE. THEY EACH HAVE THEIR HANDS OUT IN FRONT OF THEM. ELDEST SISTER EMMA PAYNE (FEMALE 17) ENTERS FROM THE STAIRS LEADING UPSTAIRS.EMMAWhat are you two freaks doing?MAXLily says boys have slower reflexes than girls. I’m about to prove her wrong.LILYI didn’t says boys. I just said you.LILY FLIPS HER HANDS AND SLAP’S MAX’S AND HE CRIES...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Breaking Every Fourth Wall

Submitted to Contest #208

Critical Thinking Rough Draft Setting: High school Topic: Love at first sight The story begins with our young protagonist waking up for school and starting on their morning routine. The usual hop out of bed, head straight to bathroom, wash up, brush teeth, and then get dressed up before heading downstairs for breakfast with their parents. Kisses goodbye and off towards the school bus. The school bus pulls in front of the school then everybody exits the vehicle. Our protagonist takes one look at the school and breathe...

5 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Dikileaks!

Submitted to Contest #208

Yes, she was generally happy she was widowed and old. Shaz, as she was affectionately known, believed her grey hair was the new blonde. She could frock up all right. She was looking forward in her golden years, to her latest epic adventure. At that moment, Shaz was putting the final touches to her latest craft project. Shaz did believe in expanding her social circle, so she had joined a local craft center in her community. A visiting tutor from Canada had lectured the good ole girls in the noble art of doll head crafting. Shaz felt inspired ...

5 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Military Warriors

Submitted to Contest #208

“Send it,” the voice rang through his ears. Holding his breath, slowly exhaled, and a squeeze of his right index finger. Flash of the muzzle, then silence. “Report back soldier” the voice returns. “Confirmed hit sir, enemy down, site secure to advance,” replies Gunny. “10-4 Gunny, advance and secure payload”. Gunny calls out “check in team.” Frank, Jack, Sarah, and Jex confirmed. “Chuckles, do you copy?” burst of static, but no return call. “Frank, do you have eyes on Chuckles?” “No sir” replies Frank. “I saw him take a hit and drop for cov...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Day That Eddie Bowman Met His Maker

Submitted to Contest #208

I seem to have a problem with my memory - I can recall driving past the ‘Welcome to Heyton’ sign on reaching the village, but nothing prior to that. I hadn’t even known my name, until the pen I’d been holding scrawled the words ‘Eddie Bowman’ on the guest register of The White Lion, where I’d somehow known that a room had been pre-booked for me. Heyton seems to be a perfect slice of Olde England. The village green, centred around a huge maypole, is ringed by The White Lion, The Kings Arms, the picturesque Norman church and the local shop. ...

5 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Cyberbullying

Submitted to Contest #208

Cyberbullying: the new catchphrase for our day. Mabel was a pioneer in this regard, although in our case, I’d offer a twist: reverse cyberbullying. I’m not sure if that makes sense. Contrived bullying, fake bullying, I don’t know. We were cyberbullying Mabel. We put scantily clad pictures of her on the internet, circling her cellulite, her soft and vulnerable places. If it’s attention she craved, she got it in spades. Public opinion can be ruthless, scathing. We were prototypes, the three of us- myself, Shaye, and Phoebe- placed squarel...

5 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Ella, Titch and Margot

Submitted to Contest #208

“This isn’t dinner. It’s a disaster.” Margot shrugged. “Your fault for leaving me in charge of food.” Honestly, what had he expected? She’d never constructed a meal more complex than beans on toast, and her father should have known as much. Her sorry attempt at pasta sputtered sadly on the stove.  Before he could say anything, Margot poured herself a tall glass of lemonade and grabbed an entire punnet of strawberries. “I’m going in the garden.”  Her father sighed. He was still in his work clothes. “Chinese? Or pizza?” ...

5 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Verbal Volley of the Dolls

Submitted to Contest #208

     "Cou - gar !! Cou - gar !! Cougar,  Cougar, Cougar !!,"  was the taunt being hurled in the Clifton Park Wal - Mart toy section at 5 AM.   " Bratty Bratz, my boyfriend Ken Carson is only two years younger than me, " said Barbie the Movie doll. Campfire Felicia Bratz replied,  "You and Ken are in your sixties -  old enough to collect Social Security !! Besides, he's not your boyfriend.   You broke up in 2004 when I was only one." Barbie shot back,  "I may be a Cougar, but I ...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone living vicariously through someone else.

Character – 32 stories

Write a story about a character who finds a childhood toy that brings back memories.

Character – 70 stories

Write a story about someone who is constantly being put into a box by others.

Angst – 40 stories

Set your story in a rosy-pink world where everything is rainbows and unicorns… until it isn’t.

Dramatic – 47 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel