Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#42: End of Story

Reaching the end of a story is a bittersweet thing. Upon reading the final word of a particularly good piece, you’re often hit with a sort of story-hangover: the ache of wanting to stay in the world of the tale, yet knowing there’s no more story to be read.

 

A truly excellent ending can mitigate that pain — which is why, as a writer, it’s crucial to nail the end of your own stories! Of course, this can mean different things for different pieces. A great ending might underscore a story's theme, or it might pose more questions than it answers; it all depends on context and execution. For more info, check out our tips for crafting a memorable ending here, and then dive into our ending-themed prompts below!

 

p.s. — We're hosting a Live Copyediting Workshop! On May 20th, Editors Tracy Gold and Julie Artz will take to YouTube to copyedit passages submitted by writers like you! For a chance to have your writing featured, click this link to register for the event and you'll receive submission instructions by email.

This week's prompts

Write a story that ends with the narrator revealing a secret.

Mystery – 162 stories

Write a story that ends in the past.

Teens – 68 stories

Write a story that ends with a character asking a question.

Narrative – 260 stories

Write a story that ends by circling back to the beginning.

Short Story – 214 stories

Write a story that ends with one character waiting for the arrival of another.

Kids – 199 stories

Stories

“Broken But Brave!!” by Dhyani Patel

Submitted to Contest #42

Many times, life brings us to a situation where we have been before. All that is happening has already happened before, and the seeds of what will happen in the future are sown today.“Enough, Anamika!! Just leave me alone…”, a voice pierced the walls of the bedroom.“What happened, Rudra?”, a sobbing voice asked.“I’ve already told you a million times…I don’t want you. I hate you!”“What have I even done?”“Exactly!! You have not done anything for me…It was just me always who cared; who cared for ‘you and I’ to be damn ‘we’!! You know why? Becau...

0 comments 0
Read story

“He'll Come Tomorrow” by Zane Safrit

Submitted to Contest #42

A blue corrolla sputtered past, its muffler sounding like a fart cushion squeezed soft and slow. I pictured a Shriner’s mini-car at the front of a Thanksgiving Day Parade, driven by a tassled fez hat-wearing driver. The morning’s parade had already started. There’re no homecoming-like tractor-pulled flatbeds with members of the high school Homecoming Court waving to cheering friends and family. There’re no floats of Mardi Gras Krewes festooned with lovely ladies and lads tossing plastic beads to screaming crowds. This 5-day a week parad...

2 comments 2
Read story

“There ain't no rest for the wicked” by Ophelia S

Submitted to Contest #42

Charlie, the man who never hesitated, hesitated. He stood in the other side of the street for a moment, while the merciless rain poured down over the neighborhood, taking in the gloomy image of that wooden sign. It had been over six years since he hadn't gifted the place with his presence; before that, he visited it every single night, sucking on his Lucky Strike as if he was the king of the world. Maybe he was, indeed, a king, and if he wasn't, that place sure made he feel like it. The italian suits, the finest cuban cigars, the respect of ...

5 comments 5
Read story

“A Dead Whale, or a Stove Boat” by Kevin DuPont

Submitted to Contest #42

           “There is no such thing as a woman on the internet. Every woman on the internet is actually a man pretending to be a woman.”           “So, you are saying she’s lying?”           “I’m saying he is lying.”           Lucie tossed her shiny blonde hair from one shoulder to the other to punctuate her point. From there,...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Shadow of the Maiden” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #42

It is 1789 and the French Reign of Terror is at the peak of its indifferent cruelty. A young and unworldly aristocrat is seized and she has only one brief dawn in THE SHADOW OF THE MAIDEN to wrestle with her conscience and discover why she must die. In fast-paced present tense, Kathryn Gabrielle rushes us through in little more than 1000 words from a sudden raid by revolutionary police to swift death by guillotine and the dawning of understanding in one victim's heart. It is 1789. The Reign of Terror. In France, a radical political group...

1 comment 1
Read story

“How come it's you?” by Madisson James

Submitted to Contest #42

I was a victim.I know it’s hard for most person’s in my position to admit it but it’s the truth.I was a victim, but today all that has changed. I just woke up one day and decided I wasn’t going to do it anymore. I wasn’t going to be their punching bag, their duffus, or the butt of their jokes anymore. I’ve had enough.But I couldn’t have done it by myself. I could not have stood up to those bullies on my own. Oh no! Someone helped me. But the mystery is, I don’t know who. Maybe you can help me figure it out. We’ll have to go back in time beca...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Fabric of Family” by Emma Knights

Submitted to Contest #42

Our families had been friends for generations. Our mothers were friends and their mothers were friends and their mothers were friends. If there was such a thing as a friend tree, like a family tree but for friends, then our family’s branches would be intertwined. Perhaps even down to the roots. The Majors and the Castles. The women have always kept their maiden name and passed it onto their daughters.My name is Alwyn Major, and I am about to turn fifteen in the year 1995. I used to play with Jasmine Castle all the time when we lived in the s...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Scars” by Sarah Demary

Submitted to Contest #42

"Miss Rachel, you ready to get your stitches out?" The nurse walks in and asks. My mom runs her hands through my curls and turns to face the nurse and answers for me. "She most definitely is." I've been in the hospital for a week, because of what happened to me last Friday, after my volleyball practice. I learned a lot after last week, especially when it comes to trust.How to start? Oh, well for starters, let's talk about scars. Now they run deep and are a sign of incomplete healing, either physically or emotionally. I got three that day: on...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Story of the Storyteller” by Anand Parikh

Submitted to Contest #42

Ali, a young boy about seventeen years old, a healthy son of a young couple Faizal and Shahida. His family didn’t possess much of materialistic happiness which I believe most ofthe people would love to have. He was quite popular in his town Kubra, a small town of about 10000 odd people located somewhere on the western coast of the country. “What an unfortunate child” were the words he used to hear when he passed by any mob. Ali belonged to a family whose ancestral possession was storytelling. The town didn’t have many educated people to rec...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Who are You? ” by Mary Lombardi

Submitted to Contest #42

I sit in one of the overstuffed chairs the Home Away From Home facility supplies. The heavily padded monstrous thing eases the constant pain of sitting as I sink a good three inches upon contact. Living in this home was my decision, I’ve been losing my marbles so to speak, but I still miss the little luxuries of home. Wooden chairs, for example, are uncomfortable in my old age, but I still want the option of sitting on one. Here all we have is padded. I suppose someone must have bumped into something and done enough damage to warrant the c...

1 comment 1
Read story

“come back to california” by Mollie A

Submitted to Contest #42

Jack sighed as he sat down at his desk with fresh new lined papers. His wooden chair creaked as he leaned forward to get in position. He took the cap off his pen and stared down at the blank sheets before writing. Dear Gregory, he wrote. Then he sat up and rubbed his face. Honestly, this was the hardest part. Knowing what to say. Jack didn’t know what to say, he never did, hence a million crumpled papers around his room with poorly written letters to Gregory that he’s never sent or even looked at again. It’s been about a year ...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Till Stars Meet ” by Harrehmat Singh

Submitted to Contest #42

Both were so young- Fairy of twelve probably; and Doll, a year younger. And they somehow managed to get to the black busy road where Lorries and trucks would pass so fast, taking the air away with them. Fairy led herself through those small bushes to this highway and Doll followed her. They waited there till some yellow lights’ couple could be seen pacing towards them, presumably of some car. Fairy asked her younger companion to wait while she herself went rushing to the other edge across the road when finally the pacing car hit her.&nb...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The End of the Tease” by Valerie Kaufman

Submitted to Contest #42

                                 Inside the dance hall, a tall, unsmiling stranger took my hand inside his much larger one and gently pulled me through the couples waiting for the music to start. When the blast of Duke Ellington’s trumpets announced a swing dance, we swung to the left, then the right. Then he raised his left arm for me to pass beneath, and his double-breasted jac...

2 comments 2
Read story

“THE CRAZY KID” by Julieanna Zhang

Submitted to Contest #42

The Crazy KidOnce there was a kid, a crazy kid. His name was Apple. A little crazy for the name, but that's just like this kid. Apple thought crazy thoughts, and did even crazier things. Don’t believe me? Once Apple wanted to be a fairytale, so he took some fairy wings and a cat tale and told his mom that he was a fairytale, and another time Apple’s dad asked him if he wanted Strawberries, and he said that he’ll make them. So Apple took a straw and some blueberries let’s just say it didn’t turn out well. If you still don’t believe me (but yo...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Behind The Cubicle Doors” by Aoife Chaney

Submitted to Contest #42

The ladies toilets are a safe place where we go to share stories, compliments, secrets. Concealed behind their doors are words too delicate for bar stools and dance floors, and truths too fragile for round table discussions with people we pretend to like. When Lucy finished her pint of Heineken and told the group she needed to pee, I knew it was time to tell her the truth. "Me too," I said. "I'll go with you." We fought our way through the packed dance floor where drunk strangers moved with the sound of eighties pop music. The smell of...

1 comment 1
Read story

$50

Prize money

903

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 22, 2020 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: The Firebird's Answer

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.