Write about a character who has to grapple with something completely alien to them.

Posted in Character on Aug 4, 2023

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✍️ 46 stories

“Celestial Harmonies: Unveiling the Symphony of the Universe” by Turey Rosa

Submitted to Contest #210

Poetic. As I set up my campsite in the verdant heart of El Yunque, Puerto Rico's stunning rainforest, I murmured to myself, "Alex, you've finally made it." Nestled near the captivating Río La Coca, a waterfall's ceaseless cascade echoed the rhythm of this untouched wilderness, hypnotizing me with its majesty. This journey was my self-prescribed sabbatical—an endeavor to escape the mundane and lose myself in the arms of nature's raw beauty. When dusk arrived, the rainforest filled with the soft symphony of its nocturnal residents. It was then...

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“A Sunday Roasting” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #210

“Wot’s this, then?” “It’s my new smartphone, Grandad.” “Wot’s it do?” “Lots of things.” “Like wot?” “Like, read emails, search Cyberspace.” “Wot’s Cyberspace - when it’s at home?” “It’s a superhighway of information available to everyone.” “Like a motorway?” “Yeah, sort of.” “Where’d they build it?” “It’s not something you can see. It’s mostly underground. But lately, it’s up in space.” “They’ve got motorways in space, like the Jetsons?” “No, they’ve got satellites in stationary orbit that provide access to the superhighway. It’s like a big ...

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“The Apparatus ” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #210

“For God’s sake Mosley!”Jock Pendleton from Pendleton and Mosley ripped his spectacles from the bridge of his nose and mopped at his brow in frustration. Little Tim Mosley Junior stood before him with two halves of the whole apparatus resting in his open palms, his face a study of blank confusion.“If yer name wasn’t on the door, Son, I’d have given yer the boot long ago!”Tim’s munchkin face screwed up in dismay. His father had been a refugee from Oz in the early days of the Witch’s reign, and munchkin offspring stayed tru...

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“Boxing the Moon” by Kelsey H

Submitted to Contest #210

Jesse waited on the porch, time passing slowly. The moon rose high and unblemished. All through the long hours at school he had watched the sky, the clouds billowing, parting. He had watched the night come as he sat and ate dinner, the conversation of his father and brother passing over him.“What’s out there, Jesse?” his mother asked, following his gaze. The curtains were open, stars appearing in the purple sky. No clouds.“It’s an eclipse tonight, remember,” he told her, and she nodded and smiled, already standing to clear the table before h...

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“The Alcoholic Husband” by Melissa Behrend

Submitted to Contest #210

“Are you going to have another drink?” I say as he pauses The Lincoln Lawyer again. I hate it when he does that. He’ll pause it a dozen times; getting up to get a drink, a snack, to pee. Once or twice, sure, fine. But it’s never once or twice with him. “Yes, I am. What’s it to you?” he asks. “What do you mean, what’s it to me? I’m also here, watching this show, and I’d like to actually watch it.” He gets up and walks toward the kitchen. As soon as I think he’s out of earshot, I call him an alcoholic under my breath. He hears me, bu...

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“My Life as an Alien in Mississippi” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #210

Warning: racial epithets and violenceMy name is Brad Chao. I'm living in Chicago now but I spent my growing-up years in the Mississippi Delta. It’s now 2001 and I just turned 80 years and have been thinking lately about my early life down south. I never fit in there despite my goal of trying to be accepted. The worst thing that ever happened to me took place there when I was only a teenager. The events almost cost me my freedom and life. I ultimately had to flee for suspicion of murder with the sheriff on my tail. We Chinese were a handy tar...

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“Flowers Bloom In Desolate Places” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #210

Then there is the legend of the Heaven Flower, the flower that blooms only in the desolation of the largest desert in the world. This rarest of all flowers blooms in the dead of night and for one hour of intense daylight it lives, and in living provides more beauty than a human mind can comprehend. The Heaven Flower is an intoxicating distillation of all that is good. No one is built to behold it in all its glory. No one is pure enough to withstand its truth. Legend has it that once every hundred years, the flower emerges from the desert s...

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“Freckles” by Christina Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #210

Percy Phillips ate her lunch every day by herself in the park next to the pharmacy where she worked. On cold days, she tucked her frizzy hair into a wool cap and wrapped a hand-knitted scarf around her throat. On warm days, she held her ham sandwich in her left hand and an umbrella in her right to ward off the sun because of what her father told her as a child. “Freckles look like tiny chocolate chips,” he’d say to her before tucking her in each night, kissing each one sprinkled across her nose. One day that was neither too cold no...

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“A Tree Always Hears Itself Fall” by A.R. Eakle

Submitted to Contest #210

Splendid oak trees, porcupines, chocolate chip cookies, and sting rays. Maybe there’s something to life that I haven’t yet figured out. Maybe it’s less about thumbtacks and climate change and more about the Pyramids of Giza and the process of turning cherries into coffee. Post-it notes filled to the brim with words but lacking any real information line the bottom of my monitor, but really what in life can be summed up in a way to fit on a post-It note? Or is it just the opposite? That everything in life is meant to fit on a single note and t...

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“THE TASTE OF HUMANS” by Kristin Johnson

Submitted to Contest #210

“Do you know what I like best about eating humans?”The Silkenskin smiled at me, its voice soft and melodious and full of death in some lesser-known underground caverns near the cave of Lascaux. The place where Silkenskins had landed.I considered the Silkenskin’s remark progress in our encounter. An hour ago, the Silkenskin didn’t even acknowledge me, except to say, “Get out of my bed.” The pile of material like satin sheets I knew to be its shed skin apparently qualified as a bed.I reached out and casually touched the translucent ...

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“Missive in a Photograph” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #210

Brendan was laying on the couch with his son Brady, relaxing. Brady turned to his father with mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Smell my finger," he giggled mischievously. Brendan obliged without suspecting what lay ahead. As he took a whiff, an unpleasant odor invaded his senses. "It smells like poop!" he exclaimed in disgust. Brady burst into laughter before confessing that he had placed his finger in his bottom - an act that would make any parent cringe at its grossness. Brendan scolded him gently and asked where he had learned ...

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“Stich and the Man In Black” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #210

Stitch: If you are reading this, I have gone Home. I appreciate your assistance and patience, as my early entries show my naivete and unpreparedness for your world. I leave this journal and hope it will inspire your writing. Thank you, my friend. "Mibs" PREP: A med-tech applied patches to my skin to keep my body motionless and remove memories of the experience, which they learned was most unpleasant. The team used new coordinates and logistics to ensure I didn't end up inside a wall or at the bottom of a sea. I hate to think of what my prede...

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“Moon Unit” by Susan Israel

Submitted to Contest #210

Moon Unit Caroline suspected there was something awry even before she adopted the dog, her first dog ever, the dog she pictured accompanying her on long brisk walks and curling up in her bed, keeping her warm. Whereas the other dogs ran...

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“Daily, Except in Hurricanes” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #210

Ramone looked out his window at the ‘SOLD’ sign in the front yard across the street. He shook his head. Now retired, he’d lived his whole life in this house. He made mud pies at the foot of the driveway before they paved the street. He went to school with the boy who fathered the man who just sold his house. Ybor City, in Tampa, Florida, was once filled with people Ramon had known forever. So many lifelong friends had moved away or passed on. Ramon’s neighborhood was gentrifying. He’d only just learned the term. Now it was happening ...

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“Something alien inside of me” by Adriana Lopez De Pablo

Submitted to Contest #210

Sitting in class I bit my nails off while half listening to the substitute rambling on about something we have definitely gone over before he came along. I wouldn’t say I’m someone who gets easily distracted though maybe today something is different, I woke up fine and got to school okay but there is that nagging feeling in my stomach. Like there is something sinister moving around in there. I haven´t been able to stop thinking about my encounter last week. She’s sitting in this same class somewhere and I’m deathly afraid to look. I feel her...

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Write about a character who has to grapple with something completely alien to them.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 46 stories

“Celestial Harmonies: Unveiling the Symphony of the Universe” by Turey Rosa

“A Sunday Roasting” by Chris Campbell

“The Apparatus ” by Michelle Oliver

“Boxing the Moon” by Kelsey H

“The Alcoholic Husband” by Melissa Behrend

“My Life as an Alien in Mississippi” by Bruce Friedman

“Flowers Bloom In Desolate Places” by Jed Cope

“Freckles” by Christina Reynolds

“A Tree Always Hears Itself Fall” by A.R. Eakle

“THE TASTE OF HUMANS” by Kristin Johnson

“Missive in a Photograph” by Jonathan Page

“Stich and the Man In Black” by Patricia Merewether

“Moon Unit” by Susan Israel

“Daily, Except in Hurricanes” by John K Adams

“Something alien inside of me” by Adriana Lopez De Pablo

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story after aliens have officially arrived on Earth.

Write a story about a character who is trying to share groundbreaking news, but isn’t being taken seriously.

Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “We’re not alone.”

Contest #210

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

299

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: