Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write about a person who constantly has to put on a persona (e.g. at work, in their relationships, etc.) who can finally drop the facade.

Posted in Character on Jul 14, 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?

✍️ 80 stories

Speed Fate

Winner of Contest #207 🏆

To: Buck TuckerFrom: Speed Fate Team Date: 19th July, 2023, 12:47Subject: Your Speed Fate InputHi Buck! Thanks for taking part in the recent Speed Fate speed dating event and submitting your feedback! We hope you enjoyed the evening! Please find below a copy of the comments you left for each of your dates. You will receive feedback submitted about you in a separate mail. Should any of those you said “Yes!” to also say “Yes!” to you, we will forward each of you a copy of your contact information so you can get in touch.The very best of l...

135 likes 133 comments 133
Read story

Hunting with Hyenas

Submitted to Contest #207

Uncapping the large plastic bottle labelled Liquid Sugar, Jezebel deliberately twisted her wrist just inches above her chest, gripping the container tightly in her hand. As the sticky, clear fluid dripped down her torso, she made eye contact with the suited man in the front row before examining the rest of the room. The dim lights highlighted the thick cigar smoke wafting through the air, making Jezebel resist the instinctual urge to rub her eyes. She hated smoking almost as much as she hated drinking. “Pour some sugar on me. Ooh, in th...

48 likes 30 comments 30
Read story

The Times In Between

Submitted to Contest #207

I wake up and slide out of bed. I’m careful not to wake her as I tiptoe out of the room. I shut the door behind me.I’ve been doing this for years. She tells all of her friends how considerate I am. I smile and say something like, “I’ll try not to hurt my arm patting myself on the back.” Everyone laughs; they always laugh. Humor has become my job, my responsibility. I wonder what she would think if she knew that I sneak out of our bedroom so I can be by myself. Would she brag to her friends if she knew the truth? In my defense, it's...

35 likes 13 comments 13
Read story

Letting It Go

Submitted to Contest #207

NowShe stands before the mirror, staring blankly at the reflection of a woman she has never met. With trembling hands, she unclips the silver hoops from her ears and places them carefully in the jewelry box. The matching necklace is next. It slithers from her neck and crumples into a pile of links in her palm. She pours the chain into the box. Her rings follow. She wrestles each one over the knuckle and drops them all beside the chain. The jewelry belongs to someone else, a different woman, and she is happy to shed that woman, like...

29 likes 35 comments 35
Read story

Me, Myself And I Mayhem

Submitted to Contest #207

Me, Myself and I Mayhem I am a facade. I am pretending to be something I am not. Look at me, posing as something I will probable never become. I continue to put on a show believing others believe in me. How can I believe I can accomplish what I can not do? I go through all the right motions putting on the charade. I create a semblance of what I think I could be but I must face the truth sometime. It is all only window dressing to pose the masquerade. It's a simple guise to hide the lies. Am I hurting anyone by putting on this pretext? Wha...

28 likes 68 comments 68
Read story

The Eyes Have It

Submitted to Contest #207

TW-teenage relationship abuseEva found her seat and waited for Annie Mae to show up. She read through the instruction sheet at her table and pulled her wool sweater around her shoulders to help fight the bitter January cold. Annie Mae arrived, Allen in tow. His fingers laced with hers as tight as a corset. He offered Eva a smile before shoving his tongue down his girlfriend’s throat. Eva’s eyes flitted to the drying rack, the whiteboard, Ms. Wilson, hoping something would call attention to the awkwardness. “I love you,” declared Annie Mae. S...

26 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

The Millicent Boone Method for Ending a Bad Romance

Submitted to Contest #207

Millicent sat across from the interviewer, relaxed and confident. A man pointed a finger at the interviewer. Five cameras softly whirred into action. “We’re here today with Millicent Boone, best-selling author of the self-help book, Ending a Bad Romance. In this book, Millicent takes us, step by step, through the process of getting out of a bad relationship. So, Millicent, can you expand on this a little more?” “Certainly. But we have to understand where we’re going before we know how to begin. That is, we must consider the endgame. To achie...

25 likes 40 comments 40
Read story

A Child Lost in the Shuffle

Shortlisted for Contest #207 ⭐️

The Silver Serpent is far from the glitz and glamour of a typical casino and that’s precisely what its patrons prefer. Stale beer and spilt cocktails stain the worn-out carpet, giving it a patina that is more grit than grandeur. Fluorescent lights flicker intermittently, casting a cold glow over the battered slot machines and chipped roulette wheels. Amongst the cacophony, nestled through the maze of dingy gambling tables, a Friday night poker game has ensnared the attention of every soul in the room. A ring of onlookers forms a human barric...

24 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

When A Lie Becomes Truth

Submitted to Contest #207

When a lie becomes indistinguishable from the truth, is it really a lie? The lone man walked slowly down the snow-covered sidewalk, collar flipped up in a vain attempt to shield his neck and face from the blustering wind, hands stuffed in his pockets in a slightly more successful attempt to keep his fingers from freezing. The falling flakes were visible in the light cast by the street lamps placed at regular intervals along the road. They seemed to be lighting his path and his alone, not a soul was in sight. The usually bustling ci...

23 likes 20 comments 20
Read story

Dressed in Pink Seeing Red

Shortlisted for Contest #207 ⭐️

The house at the end of Beverley is enthroned with pink blossom trees. From the outside alone, a pale bricked driveway swept clean, I can tell this household likes to keep everything in order. Spring shivers through the branches as I bring my own ride, an ergonomic budget-friendly hatchback, to a stop. I wonder, gazing through the window if the party’ll be hosted outside.Spring is my favourite season, but sadly, it’s incredibly temperamental. I have vivid memories of enduring outdoor functions whereby all four seasons fought for centre stage...

18 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

My Life as a Currency Trader

Submitted to Contest #207

I was sitting on a bench in my favorite pocket park on East 59th street near my condo early one Sunday morning. Not doing much— just sitting there and lightly dozing. I had been up all-night fixing a glitch in the computer system that I use for currency trading. I needed some down time. I was actually the sole benefactor for this park but I had asked that my gift be anonymous. I use the same process for all of my other charitable donations, most of which have ­­involved substantial sums of money. I like to stay out of thelimel...

15 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

You Are So Very Welcome

Submitted to Contest #207

Ellen Berliner offered the caller a ready excuse that her system was incredibly slow that morning. What with the holiday coming up and Covid going around there were simply an awful lot of calls coming in. It rolled off her tongue like the lines from a well-rehearsed play. Ellen also rolled her bored eyes. “We’re experiencing unusually high call volume,” a quote taken directly from the Post-it permanently taped to her monitor. She apologized, per another Post-it, and moved to the topic at hand. “Now what date was the claim again?” An...

14 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Like Home

Submitted to Contest #207

2006I barely recognized him. I mean, there was no mistaking Craig’s long square jaw, the shock-blue eyes behind now-superfluous designer frames. His name was on a whiteboard under a bolted flatscreen, and the others loosely arranged about the tight, spare space would testify to the fact of it all.It was Craig, in rough sketch in a nightmare journal, deep lines and gaunt hints and his essence charcoaled in by a tortured artist wholly unfamiliar with the model. He managed a smile as I approached bedside. It was a flickering glint at the b...

13 likes 27 comments 27
Read story

Honey Trap

Submitted to Contest #207

Eira purrs on my lap, soft and light, and I lift her to my face. Her body is loose and trusting as I bury my face into her mottled fur and breathe in the warm scent of home she carries with her.My heart swells as she nuzzles my cheek, her rasping tongue drying the sweat from my morning run.— I think I’m starting to like Ellis, — I tell her as I lean back into the chair and lower her back into my lap. She pads at my thighs in approval.Ellis. My boyfriend of three years. The man I smile at every morning I stay over at his house, the man I lear...

13 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Just Wrong and Sorry

Submitted to Contest #207

When Cristine walked into their mother’s kitchen, Camille’s stomach lurched like a lilypad abruptly abandoned by a colony of frightened frogs. The sounds of the Bastille Day party came in with her from the garden, where Maman’s friends talked ever louder as their wine glasses drained either down their throats or onto the flagstones as their barefoot grandsons raced by, bumping their elbows. Camille knew Cristine was coming to mend fences. Still, without knowing if she should now expect a tepid truce, a bitter reckoning of past sins, or ...

13 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story on a film or TV set, starting with someone calling “Cut!”

Dialogue – 46 stories

A journalist has been granted permission to visit the premises of a lab carrying out top-secret work. They could never have anticipated what they’d find…

Science Fiction – 38 stories

Write a story about a magician who never reveals their secrets — until now.

Character – 29 stories

Set your story in the kitchen of a bustling restaurant.

Fiction – 38 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