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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

“THE TOP SECRET-The Story of a Young Girl Revealing What God Told Her in a Dream.” by Edward Kwarteng

Submitted to Contest #42

I had this short story in a Dream , whiles I dreamt inside the Dream and its a factual story to tell the World Today because of the times and seasons we are in now.NOW THE STORYIt was one day and a young girl of an age 13(Not Angelica Zambrano) got a dream and it was so terrible and fears to her.In the dream before she waked up,was in it a heavy rain falling from the sky upon the whole town. Inside the rain and its causes were heavy storms and thunders flashing and lightening unto the town and everyplace the raining was found in the Village ...

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“Whoops!” by Riya Sabherwal

Submitted to Contest #42

The bell rang and we all ran out. Sid and Ray had bought their pet to school without telling their parents! He was in Ray’s bag all day. Just as I was entering our hideout, Sid stopped me at the door. Behind him Ray and Tim burst into laughter. ‘What’s wrong man? Why won’t you let me in?’ I asked. Was something on my face? Food stuck in my teeth?Suddenly goosebumps broke across my skin, as I felt a rather large and hairy leg on my forehead. ‘SPIDER! Get it of me!’ I screamt but no sound came out. My heart jumped and my vision blurred. Ray, S...

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“Always Waiting” by Tea Tea

Submitted to Contest #42

Whenever he walked around the neighborhood, he remembered Julia taking walks with him. Whenever he went to sleep,the lullabies he would sing to Georgie haunted him. Whenever he let himself outof his shell, someone mentioned one of them. And everything, everythingCameCrashingDown. The world fractured and little shards of everyone who had left him would tumble down. G-d knows how long he had tried, time and time again, to master his emotions. He truly hadn’t ever been an emotional man. In fact, many accused him of bein...

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“Fragile Things” by Autumn Peercy

Submitted to Contest #42

All this world is clear, and her present rolling tear evident to any that beholds it from the other side of the glass. Nowadays, their houses sit in a guideline, blocks of distance at least one mile away from the next. Inside of these sterile living spaces, there are wings sectioned off by glass but passing through together so that you can be in the same room, or the same hall without breathing the same air because, after the pandemic, they decided that they were fragile things. She smushed her tear, rubbing it into her cheek and scratc...

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“The lost dimension” by Whitney Boyer

Submitted to Contest #42

Legend tells of a castle that is so big the rooms are basically in countable. Within this legend there is a rumored to be only 1 pair of siblings that can find and live in the castle, for only the pure of heart can enter and remain there. Sydney and Bobby were twins who through no fault of their own, had problems staying on one foster home for very long. See even though the children were adorable strange things always seemed to happen when they were around. The electricity went out, the animals ran away and things disappeared from time to ti...

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“Art of a dreamer” by Lea Vida DEL MORO

Submitted to Contest #42

“If you open up your eyes you can see that sometimes dream can separate your soul into reality.” I dreamed of her every night where darkness arose in my room. A tall auburn hair woman with a small-shaped face, innocent gray eyes with long nose and full red heart-shaped lips. She’s the main attraction of my life. I insist in my head that she is my first crush and my first love. My heart sink in different kinds of joy and my body ascends in a very hot temptation. She’s more than a rose to smell, more ...

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“Life is a Roller Coaster” by Emma Mason

Submitted to Contest #42

Today is the first day of school. I just moved to a new town where I know not a single person. This is my first time moving schools and towns. Never in my life do I think I have ever been more nervous. As I walk in the doors of the school everything seems like a new world. Lately life has only shown me the downs. I would have thought that my mom would get time off to stay home with me after everything we have gone through the past month. The first quarter of school goes by in a blur. Every day I sit at lunch by myself. Nobody has tried to co...

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“Hallucinations” by Edith B

Submitted to Contest #42

“Please…please stop.” The little boy was a mess. His bruises on his face light up like a neon sign, and his bottom lip quivers. He makes pathetic hiccuping sounds that echo louder in my ears than they should. He looked so helpless, so alone, so…vulnerable. But I know what’s really inside of him. And he’s not going to get away from me this time. I bend down and whisper in his ear, “If only mom and dad were here to stop me this time.” I sink my knife into his chest and he slumps to the floor, his head making a sickening thunk! against th...

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“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...

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“Weathered, but giving” by Nitya Kamat

Submitted to Contest #42

Chapter OneHis Majesty Ananda Kumarasingha Thommandram Chettiarlooked out of his ornate Tanjore chariot and brushed invisible dust off his shoulders. His lips curved downward in the split second it took to roll out the red carpet. Even his shoes shouldn’t touch unworthy soil. The carpet rolled out like a giant red passport leading him right into the heart of his palatial mansion. Baby Sanath’s cradle.Baby Sanath gurgled and called out to granpa. The baby heard the chariot bells. He smelt the horses. His Majesty trotted down the carpet l...

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“Alone” by Anuj Bohra

Submitted to Contest #42

I am standing with a kitchen knife in my hand, which is all red with blood. I have committed a serious crime. Of murder. I don't know how I got to this point, how I lost control over myself. I am numb right now. Trying to feel my fingers, trying to feel the handle of the knife, just so that I can confirm it's a dream. I want it to be a dream. And to break my hopes, I listen to a loud honk. It came from the street, probably of a bike. But it was loud enough to break me out from the numbness. The knife was in my hand. And now, I can reme...

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“In Sickness” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #42

“George? Why are you still here?”“Oh, hey Simon.” With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, George waved at his wife’s hospital bed. “You know what Katie’s like. She doesn’t like to be alone.”Simon tried to smile back, but it was impossible not to notice the dark circles round George’s eyes. “Yeah, I know mate. How long have you been here?”“Oh, it’s okay. The nurses don’t mind me staying past visiting hours-” As George looked round the room, at the door out to where the nurses were busy doing their rounds, Simon realised his eyes weren’t focu...

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“Expectant father” by David Villaruel

Submitted to Contest #42

Jerry was comfortable in the chair and thought he would like to sit there forever. You see, where he sat already existed, he had already gotten to this point and felt it sensible he stay put where he knew how things were. If he moved, for any reason, he would only invite disaster. The phone in the main desk area rang and a nurse picked it up. She spoke quickly and made many hand gestures then she hung up. She leaned over to speak to another nurse and they both looked at Jerry. The floor security guard walked over with his hands in his p...

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“Time Waits for Some” by Mr Jingo

Submitted to Contest #42

There’s a rumor, oft spoken of amongst gossiping housewives, drunken vagabonds, and truant delinquents, that a back-alley doctor operates just out of sight from the public eye, one who performs miracles. The procedure one must perform to find him differs, depending on who you ask. Some ardently claim the doctor lives on an unmarked floor in a hospital, while others believe he resides in a forgotten room within an abandoned crack den.It’s a story that’s been circulating for decades, yet never subsiding like so many other urban legends. About ...

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“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...

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$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!

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