Menu

More apps built by Reedsy

Assemble a team of professionals

The writing app for authors

Writing courses, events and memberships

Get your book reviewed

Weekly writing prompts and contests

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write about a character who has reinvented themselves, but realizes it's not always easy to outrun your past.

Posted in Character on Dec 29, 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?

✍️ 61 stories

No Junior League

Winner of Contest #231 🏆

You are sure you want to do this?   Running away. Starting over.  It’s not as easy as people think. You have to give up everything.  Oh, that part’s easy. Everyone thinks we are all traceable, that you can’t really hide. But, see, everything is tied to your identity. Your papers. If you change those, you are a different person.  Fingerprints? If they’re in the system, if you’ve ever been fingerprinted, it’s a little trickier. But it can be done.   Oh, tha...

134 likes 66 comments 66
Read story

Justice Will Be Served

Submitted to Contest #231

Sunrise painted the rain swept rocks of the castle gold as she poured poison into her husband’s morning whiskey. The fire of the spirit would mask the ice of the paralytic which had been crippling Lord Blackstone for months.Lady Gemma Blackstone had everything arranged for the death of her husband would be slow, deservedly so. Revenge was a dish best served cold and Algernon Blackstone liked ice in his whiskey.Gemma watched the chest of her hated husband rise and fall. His crackling breaths came in stutters. The poison had started work on hi...

76 likes 90 comments 90
Read story

Soulless

Submitted to Contest #231

A soul was a weighty thing to carry. Florien had never realised how heavy it was until this moment. Sarah Jane looked at him with luminous eyes that were sunken into her pale face, her soul shining through the shadows of pain and exhaustion. An uncomfortable shame churned in his gut. He’d nearly killed her. He’d gone feral, giving in to his primal instinct to hunt, and he’d hunted her.It had taken years, centuries even, to reach the level of clarity that he had today. He could almost pass for human… almost. He drank ‘stil...

27 likes 16 comments 16
Read story

One More Week

Shortlisted for Contest #231 ⭐️

One More WeekAfter three long years in prison, sleeping on that thin, pathetic mattress, a real bed has never felt so good. That being said, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to get up this morning to an alarm. It's the first day of the new year, and my first day at a new job, I’ve never really had a job before; I can’t really call selling drugs a job.It’s hard to believe it’s been just over a week since I got out. December 24th, what a crazy and amazing day to be released. My wife came to pick me up. By the time I was out the front...

24 likes 22 comments 22
Read story

The Nacho Table

Submitted to Contest #231

Margaret could smell fresh pizza dough, brushed with butter, covered in tomato sauce and mounds of cheese. Deep dish pizza, one of her favorite indulgences, sat on a table in front of her, steam rising off of the top of the gooey white mozzarella, the savory scent as real as the sound of the rain pattering against her office window. She kept her eyes squeezed shut and watched as the Margaret in her visions lifted a large slice from the pan, cropping off the stringy cheese that clung to the sides and plopping the pizza on her plate. She was a...

17 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

LateNight with Victoria Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #231

“People are fascinated by you and by your story. Do you want to share a little bit about it with me?” My eyes are wide as I look down at the table in front of me. I’m searching for the words to begin. Do I want to tell anyone about it? I feel strongly that I do. Why? Any time I’ve spoken about my life I’ve always said too much. I spend hours painstakingly going back over every word I said and replaying every glance and every expression I saw on someone’s face as I told my story to them.I take a deep breath in and let out the air in a te...

15 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

My Time In Hell

Submitted to Contest #231

Why do I write? What do I write?I was asked these questions recently. The answers are simple.There are times in life when the world purely sucks. We can either wallow in self-pity or do what we must to push through the bad times. The more this story is told, the better off this world will be. Don't believe me, read on."Nurse Tatum, I know I need to go to rehab. As soon as I get home, I will make the necessary arrangements.She glanced at my charts, shaking her head, before handing the paperwork to the hospital therapist. "You should stay here...

13 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

THE PHOENIX ARISES

Submitted to Contest #231

THE PHOENIX ARISES This story is true; compiled of facts from personal knowledge and conjecture derived from newspaper reports and there are three main actors.The first was a gangster from Chicago, name o’ Murray Humphreys, an associate of Al Capone and the brains of The Outfit, who, once Capone was imprisoned for tax evasion, left the windy city and settled in Norman, Oklahoma. Humphreys, a main player in Capone’s rise to the top, though he was not Italian, was revered for his money making ability.The second, another gangster, from New York...

13 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Echoes Of Time

M B

Submitted to Contest #231

The brown-furred Jackal opened his eyes. The dim light of dawn cast light on the interior of his small quaint cabin. His new modest abode consisted of a stove, bed, table, wash basin, and a chest. It was much smaller than the rooms he used to sleep in.  The jackal's ear twitched as he could hear the steady thunder off the coastline. He pulled back the covers, revealing his toned physique. As he eased himself out of his cot, the gray patches in his fur were revealed - gray patches from scars beneath. The young male then staggered to th...

12 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

The Quiet Game

Submitted to Contest #231

(sensitive content: implied abuse) “Let’s play a game.” Ryan’s voice is low and quiet, a whisper through the inky blackness of Finn’s bedroom. The room is only illuminated by a small sailboat-shaped nightlight, its blue threads of light sewing shadows on the walls. “The quiet game,” she says, “you remember that one, right?” Finn nods. It’s the same game Ryan asks him to play at night sometimes. Hide in the closet. Cover your ears. You only win if you stay quiet. Finn pretends to zip his lips shut and throw away the key. In the near-darkn...

12 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Old Canvas of Finn Vanderberg

Submitted to Contest #231

“The Old Canvas of Finn Vanderberg”Amsterdam, NetherlandsDecember 2018Finn slumped into his chair behind the reception desk. He closed his eyes and scratched at the discolored scar on his forearm. He tapped into the internal hit of adrenaline, buried somewhere deep in his mind. He ran, ducking in and out of traffic. He tracked his prey. Not too close but, not too far either so as to lose sight, he reminded himself. A feeble voice brought Finn back to the present. Just like that, the exhilaration vanished. The mundane settled back in.“Ah...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Oceanside Offering

Submitted to Contest #231

I open my eyes, only to find the sea. It’s crashing, bubbly sounds envelop me. I lick my lips- they taste of salt and stale breath. I feel the ache of the rubbery chair that acted as my bed deep in my bones, and I come to the conclusion that I fell asleep out here last night.  Since I lost her, these things happen more often than I’d like to admit. I uncurl myself from the position I’ve been in for hours and stretch myself up towards the sun. It’s a golden day, the kind where the sun warms your skin so kindly, it feels like you’ve b...

11 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

Longhorn

Submitted to Contest #231

Planet Ceramxylop - Northern Hemisphere, Yi Kon Region - 01.04.5054 - 15:23 hrsThey thought he loved the speed, that he was addicted to the tunnel, but Farrez never told them the truth. Most of the men chased the tunnel for the thrill, seeing how far they could push their Mech-Suits before passing out. These war machines were made for speeds that the pilots weren’t and some simply wouldn’t accept such limitations. There was also the purity of the moment, forcing yourself to be absolutely present because if you fell out, you would fall down.&...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Chrysalis

Submitted to Contest #231

“Ellis! Hurry up! We’re going to be late.”“Okay, okay,” Ellis called. He pulled on a hoodie and crossed over to his bedroom door. Hand on the doorknob, he paused, turning back to face the mirror. His eyes followed a now-familiar route. Mapping out the stubble that spanned his cheeks and jaw, the narrow set of his eyes, the harsh slope of his shoulders. He turned slightly, head tilted to admire the way his clothes clung to his flat chest.“Are you checking yourself out in the mirror again?” came the impatient voice from the hallway.“Wh–no! I d...

10 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

It didn't have to end this way.

Submitted to Contest #231

**This is not a story of redemption but of revenge. The main character is unreliable - you need to read the story to understand what I mean. Some passages imply sexual violence but it is never said outright.**I hate anybody who gets hung on their traumas, they’re weak, they are pathetic. They are the vermin that need to be exterminated. And it’s always the same people, have you noticed? And they can’t help but drag it on, from generation to generation. To make matters worse, these people are the ones multiplying like rabbits. Maybe my kind i...

10 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a list of New Year's resolutions.

Adults – 53 stories

Write a story about hope.

Short Story – 78 stories

Write about someone trying something completely new.

Character – 33 stories

Set your story on New Year's Day.

Holiday – 48 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