Mini Stories and One Shots

Trapped in a Book: Good or Bad?

Hello, I’m a book character.

I wander around the world of fiction. Actually, I’m walking through an empty long white corridor now. It’s blank – like a page without words. It’s empty. So I know what I need to do now – I need to walk through the wall and let it take me to my next story.

Sometimes I get taken to a really nice setting and meet some truly lovely people. They talk, but they only talk from the dialogue that is written – like me. Once I’m in the world of the writer’s mind, I am only a pawn in a game of chess; the writer's chess. I’m merely a character that cannot speak without being fed words.

Imagine this: meeting some new friends, living with them for ages and getting to know them and then when the book ends—being snatched away and put into The Corridor. The Corridor that’s always empty. I have no age, a face that always changes, and a gender (I’m a female).

 I’ve been in so many stories, from horror to romance, and let me tell you something: I hate them. You’re probably wondering how this happened – and how this is even possible. Well, it all started when I wished for a life that wasn’t my own. I had friends, family and people who cared for me, but all that deemed worthless compared to the exciting lives of the people in my books. I got a chance – one chance – to be a whole new person and live an exciting life. I’m ashamed to say that ... I took it.

I’m standing just in front of the wall in which I am supposed to meet my new friends – my new family. I cannot be saved. It is too late for me. But not for you. Don’t go down the dark paths I have gone down. Your life is special – even if you don’t know it. In one book I was a kidnapping victim. Worst time of my life.

Take a moment to think of all the goodness in your lives and write a list of every person – everything that is worth keeping. Look back on that list on the day when you read me again and remember that you should have a life where you can say as you please, do as you may, and act freely with no hassle. I’m a puppet, a puppet with rusty strings.

Pass this down to your children – and their children’s children’s children.  I might be in one of their favourite books; I probably will be. So it is now that I am going to walk through the wall, meet some new people, be changed into a new person and then move on. Ask yourself: Is your character’s life worth so much sacrifice? 

I'm walking.