Start your story with a character saying “Where I come from, …”

Posted in Middle School on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 85 stories

“Soul Delicious” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #164

Where I come from,…You need not be afraid to die tomorrow if you concern yourself with how you live this day. For die you will, if not this moment, then at a time that shall come. Life is the only thing I know of that we’ll take with us once we die, so live your life well. Squander not what you have before you today, for tomorrow you may not have what you had yesterday. The past is your legacy, and the present is a gift. But the future may betray you, so choose your course carefully.Life is often harsh. Yet it’s what tempers and forges and p...

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“Humorous-Man” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #164

(Content Warning: Language, Violence, Blood, Murder, Crude humor.) “Where I come from, the sun is shining, and the birds are chirping, but this evil place is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Nonetheless, a hero must always look on the bright side of things. My mission is of the utmost importance!” The guardians of the black gates looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn’t know if the stranger before them was talking to himself or them directly. Anok merged his spear with Trella’s to form an “X,” effectively blockin...

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“Smoke Detectors” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #164

Where I come from, you can’t put batteries in the smoke detectors. Mom smokes so much, it’s in the walls. It’s an everlasting presence in the air. There is no air. Not really. Just methanol and acrolein and hydrocarbons and other things that belong in cement and not in the lungs. On the kitchen table, there are playing cards. Mostly jokers. Nobody plays cards here. Nobody knows how to play cards, but everybody likes how they look splayed out next to overflowing ashtrays and tabloids stained with Diet Coke. “Somebody give Boo Boo a piece of...

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“Harmony” by A.T. Westbrook

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #164

Where I come from, no one locks their doors. We don’t even have locks. It isn’t that they feel particularly safe, or kind to strangers. We don’t have those either. Strangers, that is. You see, I come from Harmony. Yes, that Harmony. Before you ask, no, I don’t have a third arm growing out of my shoulder, scales on my skin, barbs out of my spine. I mean, my skin gets dried out if I spend too much time in the sun, but I think that’s true of anyone, even Beyonders. I wasn’t alive for the beginning, but I’v...

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“Romea and Julian” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #164

TW: Violence and domestic abuse.“Where I come from, you watch the water from the inside of the bridge, not the outside.” I said it as a joke. The moment Romea turned I saw that there was nothing to joke about. “Julian?” She asked. She had a bruise across her face in the yellow light of the streetlamps. “Stay back.” “What happened?” I asked her. My brown eyes absorbed the awful sight of a mark that was ...

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“A Fly On The Wall” by Melissa Rea

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #164

A Fly On The Wall Where I come from is dark, dank and no one lives longer than a day. Except for me that is. My name is Roscoe T. Fly. I am a fruit fly, by trade and watching humans is my game. Those whose faces I now find reflected in the shiny red facets of my compound eyes, are far more interesting than most. Perhaps you will watch with me a while? I can’t read human minds, but a fly sees things and learns. I think one of the...

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“Ice Cream” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #164

“Baby, where I come from, we don’t eat ice cream like that,” Derek leans in real close so I watch every word float from his perfect Cupid’s bow shaped lips.I think about kissing them.They’d be cool and I might just run my tongue over them, tasting the hint of peanut butter from his dessert. My mind is racing over the last 90 days with him as I play back all of our dates like a movie. There was our walk around the park when the sprinkler system went off so we had to run like crazy back to his car. It turned out alright because he gave me...

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“Rumors of Night” by Toni Suing

Submitted to Contest #164

Where I come from, no one stays out past dark. You don’t dare look in the mirror in the middle of the night or glance out the window when it’s pitch black. There’s stories and legends that there are creatures that like to wander around during those times. I’ve never witnessed any of these rumors before, but I’ve been told that when my grandmother was little, she experienced some of these firsthand. I remem...

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“It Rained That Day” by Shobana Gomes

Submitted to Contest #164

Where I come from, the rain either poured or danced under rays of sunlight. Rainy days crept up on me in silent acceptance of the ways of nature. They resemble the ire of human nature or the gentle reflection of beauty amidst tempest. Light streamed from the rooftop of an opposite building into my hotel room. The stretched beams bounced off the adjacent walls to project a smoky ambiance to the dull, now partially brightened room. I thought about how the lights shifted the drudgery of darkness to create an almost magical illusion fo...

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“Don't Die Young” by Danika J

Submitted to Contest #164

“Where I come from, we don’t die young.” She snapped her bubblegum. She said it so nonchalant – so plain – as if it was. I wrote her off years ago as pompous and self-aggrandized. Poetic. Gold and rubies birthed her, and wealth was a catalyst for that type. I hated the way she perched on my bed. I bet if she stood, my mattress wouldn’t remember her; she floated. Above us, she floated. Angelic, she floated. My mattress remembered me! It embraced me. She floated. Weightless and witchy and wondrous...

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“Making Real Memories” by Francois Kosie

Submitted to Contest #164

The Blue Eel restaurant’s majestic view of Ceres station's gently rotating wheel-like megastructures and, beyond them, the stars, had nothing on Sophie’s eyes, glowing warmly as she listened to him recount his memory."Where I come from, we lived in a quaint old house from the 1800s, down by a lake in Maine," Emmet said."Tell me again how dinnertime went," Sophie asked keenly, ignoring the increasingly urgent calls for her from further back in the kitchen area."Dinnertime was a special time for us. Sometimes, my aunt Maggie would come by to h...

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“Brigadoon” by Trebor Mack

Submitted to Contest #164

Brigadoon“Where I come from, people don’t prattle on about committing suicide.”That’s me saying that. Listen and I’ll explain what I mean.One only has to watch the news each evening on the idiot box. When I say that, I’m referring to the free-to-air news channels. Viewers dub their sets idiot boxes because the news editor of each commercial channel is an idiot.They’d have to be a brick short of a load to approve the rubbish the channels spew. I’ll wager London to a brick (I love my bricks, eh?) that those little men get their rocks off by in...

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“The Wisdom of Magic” by Keila Aartila

Submitted to Contest #164

“Where I come from, the land is magical because everyone believes. That’s why I am a unicorn. Mystical, mythological.” I gestured to the horn on top of my head. I knew he was only one of the very few who could see it. He believed.I glanced across the room and caught the reflection of myself in the mirror opposite. I could see my horn shimmering like a mirage.“Tonight, I will tell you the legend of the Tooth Fairy.”My beautiful little boy, curled up under the blankets and nested into his pillow now, turned his big, blue eyes toward me while c...

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“Who Says You Can't Go Home Part 1” by Laura Eliz

Submitted to Contest #164

“Where I come from, things aren’t always open late, so it can be difficult to get things done later in the day. Thanks for getting me in late”, I said to my hair dresser. “Glad to help. Have a great holiday”. “You too!”, I said on the way out. I was getting ready to go home for the holiday. Home, to Nashville, Tennessee, the place of my birth. My parents weren’t from there, but my mom was from White Plains outside of New York City and my dad was from Water Town. It is where I had been born, as both...

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“Drowning In Your Thoughts” by Tori Harrison

Submitted to Contest #164

Where I come from, you are completely alone with your thoughts. There is no one else in this world but you, or at least that’s what it feels like. Usually this is the part where I give you my backstory and tell you my name and stuff like that. This isn’t that kind of story, because backstories are overrated. I’m not gonna say my name or anything about my life because with the way this story is going it really won’t matter much but, if it really means that much to you, then you can just call me Ace. I’ll keep this short, I live in a pla...

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Start your story with a character saying “Where I come from, …”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 85 stories

“Soul Delicious” by Stevie B

“Humorous-Man” by Daniel R. Hayes

“Smoke Detectors” by Story Time

“Harmony” by A.T. Westbrook

“Romea and Julian” by Graham Kinross

“A Fly On The Wall” by Melissa Rea

“Ice Cream” by Amanda Lieser

“Rumors of Night” by Toni Suing

“It Rained That Day” by Shobana Gomes

“Don't Die Young” by Danika J

“Making Real Memories” by Francois Kosie

“Brigadoon” by Trebor Mack

“The Wisdom of Magic” by Keila Aartila

“Who Says You Can't Go Home Part 1” by Laura Eliz

“Drowning In Your Thoughts” by Tori Harrison

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which someone returns to their hometown.

Write a story about coming of age in a big city.

Write a story where a local takes a newcomer under their wing.

Think of someone who stood on the periphery of your childhood memories (a classmate, a teacher, a neighbor) and cast them as the main character of your story.

Contest #164

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

235

Contest entries

91

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: