Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 70 stories

“Hey 24!” by Chidimma Ezeogbuka

Submitted to Contest #146

I can remember vividly. Yes! I just came out from my lecture hall when I saw two presenters having a vox pop interview with students in my college. There was also a videographer recording them. The male presenter approached me immediately and with the microphone to the side of my mouth, he asked ‘’What would you do differently if you could become sixteen again?’’ I chuckled, thought momentarily, then smiled to answer ‘’ Oh well, I will do absolutely nothing! Everything that happens to us comes with a great reason. Besides someone that is six...

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“Future self, I think I can offer..Nothing” by Karen Reitano

Submitted to Contest #146

Hey Fancy Pants. It’s me and it’s what I still call you. Why not? I spend so much time thinking about the past. My marriage, my divorce, my daughter. It is so easy to think about all that has occurred and then focus on all the ways, the many many ways, that decisions were poor and moments were not super happy. The what ifs, the why, the what could I have done. Then the natural progression of could of, should of, would of. Really, what in the hell. I hate that almost as much as I hate, it is what it is. No. Absolutely not. It is NOT what it i...

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“You did it, baby girl!” by Ziya T

Submitted to Contest #146

Hey Baby C (Do I still go by that? Can I call you Baby C seeing as you are older than me?), I'm not sure how to address this letter. I'm not sure I'm committed to the idea, but I'm doing it. How are you? No, how are you really? Don't say fine because you want the questions to stop or you don't want to think about it. I know you, intimately, so don't bullshit me. I have a lot of questions and they're all heavy. Either I'm doing well enough to answer them, or I haven't thought about them in so long that I need this letter to kick me in ...

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“The Night I Remebered Her” by Cathleen A.

Submitted to Contest #146

My night alone with myselfThis was a very long night, it had much to do with thoughts, I don’t like those kinds of thoughts in which my heart seems to enjoy visiting time to time. It’s never mentioned how whimsical it has been while visiting these thoughts, but it endures its epiphany, it has its charm. There are many stories, but one in particular seems to repeat itself, the one in the mirror. The ONE, myself. I hear my voice louder than most as I simultaneously hear everyone else’s. It’s a strange moment to navigate through, yet it’s a fam...

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“I’M NO PATRIOT ” by Donoho Murphy

Submitted to Contest #146

I’M NO PATRIOT I, John J. Bethlehem, am an American by birth, a flake by reputation, and a nationless person by inclination. I was born in Schneneckty, New York, “upstate”, we called it, at the family summer home, where all Bethelhem's are born. My father, Derald Schwab, was born in Texas, son of a Baptist preacher who became an engineer for General Electric and then moved up North, where he met my mother, Diane Bethlehem. She was born in Schneneckty, one of the many daughters—both legitimate or otherwise to one Samuel Bethle...

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“The best description of myself.” by Marcie Peacock

Submitted to Contest #146

I feel like I have an innate ability to know I passed away from an insatiable thirst in a past life. While wondering through the proverbial desert that the King James version of the bible refers to as a place where Jesus conciliated during his wondering years. I have always had a thirst for life, a thirst for knowledge, always an overwhelming thirst for a higher level of knowledge and for pursuing an unknown and unreliquised desire to follow a calling, an occupation for which I’m qualified for. I’ve always had a hunger to do more, to b...

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“Hey Kid” by Annette Perez

Submitted to Contest #146

Hey Kid: It’s me, or rather you as an old person. After many years and many tears, I want to write this letter to that little, scared kid in there just wanting someone safe to take her hand. Maybe if I make that little girl understand the truth and she can heal maybe I will too. And the most important thing to say is that you were a KID! The things you went thru are cruel and twisted, attacking your body while your soul is eaten by shame. When Mom died you felt lost, you were lost. Now the only one here is dad and he...

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“Once and Future Me” by Jacquelyn Naylor

Submitted to Contest #146

Dear little one, You won't know who I am for a few years yet. Assuming this works the way I think it will, you may not meet me at all, but a version of me that exists in all worlds at once. And if you don't understand what that means yet, that's okay! You'll get it soon enough. I wanted to give you some pieces of advice. Things that I wish I heard or ways to work through things that I felt I couldn't ask anyone at your age. Hopefully this will help you out, but if it doesn't, just keep some of this in mind, okay? 1) Your best friend is an as...

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“Was that really me?” by Lori Church

Submitted to Contest #146

Dear Past Me, It's time to go over the past and try to understand what it all meant. I don't think I could have ever imagined that being a very strong, independent, California girl, it would be possible to change my whole life by making a simple decision? Or was it really a major, life-changing decision? I would not have thought that love would take me away from my home, my family and my faith. But, it certainly did the moment he entered my life. He was the first Egyptian man that I had every met. He was older, sophisticated, handsome an...

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“Dear Little Me” by Kimberley S Klein

Submitted to Contest #146

Dear Little Me(Mentions of Suicide and the story is about mental health) I hate waking up in the morning – especially nowadays. I have since I was young. I think it has something to do with the Pol-G disease or now that I know some more about medical shit possibly cortisol. High levels of it happen right as I wake up? Maybe, maybe… I just know that as soon I hear birds, it makes my bed feel like it’s so much more comfortable than it had been last night. Can you blame me? It’s kind of annoying too, actually, though because then I can’t ...

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“Better Days” by Gray Wolf

Submitted to Contest #146

Dear older Shaw, Good morning…is it, morning? I hope despite the success, you still read emails and letters in the morning. I wonder whether people still send letters in 2030. Well, regardless of whether you’re reading this or it’s being read out to you by some robotic voice…I just wanted to tell you that, you made it…you are on top of the mountain, heck if you managed to achieve even half of the goals you set for yourself…you are the mountain. Do you remember when this crazy fairy tale started, oh how l...

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“A Letter From the Past To The Future” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #146

To my future self, Marisol I don't know how the future came out for us. I hope it came out great. I hope you are having a lot of good times. We had great times during our younger years. I hope the future turned out better fo us, better than the past. Remembering the past is easy and I sure do hope you remember our past. Remember all the good times we had. The summers we spent with our family and friends. The vacations we took. Remember even the bad times. The lost friends, the lost family members, the lost jobs. Writing this letter, ...

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“Letters” by Shark Rider

Submitted to Contest #146

The tired limping boy, with one hand holding a pen, the other clenching his side, which was slowly bleeding out. With another explosion going off in the distance, the walls rocked and the ground quaked. The boy could only hope that ceiling would not crash on top of him. He scribbled his name on a handful of paper sheets. Then, in a hurried manner, the boy wrote his final words. * * * For whom this letter is found by, perhaps by a survivor or maybe another enemy soldier, it does not matter to me. Perhaps, maybe in the future if ...

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“Hector's Victory ” by Raizel Michelina

Submitted to Contest #146

That day, Una asked me ever so nicely- looking at me with those coy, puppy dog eyes. "Granny dearest...my teacher wants you to write a letter to the girl you were when you were twenty years old. You write such good stories, granny. So nice. You will write it, won't you?Another fluttering of those eyelashes. I was saying yes, nodding and kissing her before I had even registered what she was talking about. Una artfully slipped away with a big smile on her face. I beamed.A few awkward moments later, a dull realization of what I had gotten ...

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“Future Self” by Carter Swallow

Submitted to Contest #146

Trigger warning: depression and suicidal themes (in past) “Where are those scissors?” I mumble to myself, digging through my closet in a last-ditch effort. I have a particular pair that I like to use. It’s been with me since middle school, hence why I’m so attached to it. I’m making a last-minute gift out of paper for my friend’s birthday party. The corner of my eye catches a slender black notebook. Oh, wow. I haven’t touched that thing in years. It was the notebook I used to carry everywhere with me while I was in and out of psych wards...

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Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 70 stories

“Hey 24!” by Chidimma Ezeogbuka

“Future self, I think I can offer..Nothing” by Karen Reitano

“You did it, baby girl!” by Ziya T

“The Night I Remebered Her” by Cathleen A.

“I’M NO PATRIOT ” by Donoho Murphy

“The best description of myself.” by Marcie Peacock

“Hey Kid” by Annette Perez

“Once and Future Me” by Jacquelyn Naylor

“Was that really me?” by Lori Church

“Dear Little Me” by Kimberley S Klein

“Better Days” by Gray Wolf

“A Letter From the Past To The Future” by Melinda Madrigal

“Letters” by Shark Rider

“Hector's Victory ” by Raizel Michelina

“Future Self” by Carter Swallow

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character attempting to meditate or do something mindfully.

Set your story in an unlikely sanctuary.

Write about a character discovering a surprising strength in either themself or another.

Start your story during a team building exercise.

Contest #146

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: