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

“ZODIAC SIGNS” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #42

Meena observed that her mother was late in returning home. Yet another day of late coming, long waiting. Of late she had been coming home late. Mithun, her brother, comforted her. ‘After all, she was working hard for our sake and we needed to empathise with her and not pester her when she returns home.’ “We do not know about her workload at her office. At home also she is working for us without complaining. Have you ever seen her fretting or getting angry with us? There could be some reason for her to come late. Don’t worry. She had taken ca...

Read story

“The Good and the Best” by J. H. Wollum

Submitted to Contest #42

Anthony sighed and leaned heavily against his worn, wooden cane. It had to be here somewhere in the mess of boxes. “Christmas ornaments… books to donate…” Anthony read the box titles as he walked deeper into the dark basement closet. Finally, his eyes landed on a box marked “Anthony’s Memories” with Meg’s precise, neat handwriting. He used to tease her about her need to label everything from the leftovers in the freezer to the plants in the garden, but today it came in handy. His stomach clenched as a tear welled up in his e...

Read story

“An Empty Goodbye” by Kaylee COOK

Submitted to Contest #42

It was an early July evening in Harney county, The summer of 1941 and the day America declared it's independence. It was the month were lots of joy and pride was spread. Evenings warm and romantic. July was the month were small town folk come together and celebrate the Red, White, and Blue. They were the kind of nights that were priceless. Harvey May had taken quite a liking to those warm July nights. She was only 18 that summer and was as gorgeous as ever. The boys in her town drooled over a gal like herself but Harvey May found no interest...

Read story

“Outlasting Autumn” by Aliza Thomas

Submitted to Contest #42

The leaves were already browned when I whispered my goodbyes. A uniform and a small square of paper labeled by the Selective Service and signed in the precious, curling cursive of my lover. I inhaled the strong scent of earth and tobacco in his strong embrace and exhaled to the emptiness of my own arms. Grasping at the air to find that I felt nothing else at all. I closed the brand new, wooden door and drifted towards the window. And as I stood in the midst of my most bitter parting in this world, I could never tell whether the numbness I fe...

Read story

“The Waiting Game” by Wesley Wu

Submitted to Contest #42

She opened the first e-mail in her inbox with a bolded subject line and silently read it to herself. Date: Saturday March 14th, 2020 From: admin@uoft.ca To: Kazuki.Edwina@uoft.ca Dear students, The recent situation regarding the developing global pandemic has been nothing short of unprecedented, and we believe that we must remain flexible to best fulfill our academic mission while also preserving the health and safety of our… She skimmed the rest of the e-mail; most of it was the typical trite wording that people threw in for no reason she c...

Read story

“M-U-R-D-E-R” by Maria Makeever

Submitted to Contest #42

He was a beautiful baby boy. Perfect, some might even say. We didn’t even clip his penis, every inch of him was perfection. I wouldn’t let a soul come near my son with those penis-snipping shears, or whatever archaic tool they were bound to use. His mother was indifferent, but I knew. I knew that he was complete and whole and didn’t need to be tampered with. The first time I held Jack, his hand grabbed mine, urgently, like he needed to tell me something. His eyes went wide and I whispered, “What is it?”, letting the words slip softly in...

Read story

“The Secrets of Molly” by Amy Kathryn

Submitted to Contest #42

It was a windy saturday evening when the trees began to sway. It was about the time when only the sun’s upper half could be seen above the horizon. The time when Molly Hill would go out to think. Molly was unusual and she knew that. Everyone around her knew this too. But one thing that no one knew was the secrets she has been hiding for years. Molly was quite mysterious and a little frightening to some, but deep down everyone loved her. Some people were just too afraid to show it. Molly walked over to her special thinking tree; a large green...

Read story

“How It Ends” by Julia Burrows

Submitted to Contest #42

I worked as a biohazard clean up tech. The blood, guts, and bodily fluids never really phased me. Most of the time, the customers I came across were older men and women who had passed away in their sleep. Those were okay. Occationally, I’d have a suicide victim that slit their writsts or swallowed some pills but a little bleach and elbow-greese and the stains were gone. However, there were a select few suicidals who thankfully blew their brains all over the walls. It would sometimes take up to 6 hours of deep cleaning to make sure every last...

Read story

“The Man in the Wide Brimmed Hat” by Juliet Clementine

Submitted to Contest #42

Julius would always see him on the edge of the farm, sitting upon a black horse, watching the land as the sun sunk past the horizon. The man was always wearing a Stetson and a mask over his face, so the boy couldn’t see his face, though it wouldn’t matter, as Julius never cared to get too close. He’d gown up seeing this man and when he was younger, he’d ask his Mama who it was. She’d glance over to where he was pointing, and every time, the figure would have disappeared altogether. His Mama probably though he was crazy, though Julius was det...

Read story

“Did I know? ” by David Edward

Submitted to Contest #42

DID I KNOW?After our plot, I and my brother Tony walked in to see the man. He was comfortably balancing on the upholstery chair at where he had made an improvised sit out; his bulging eyes running from our heads to toe and back; of course he was not a smiling type. We were not surprise, we already knew him. His fame had already sprayed through the neighborhood; Mr. Straight as he was called is one name that strikes terror in the heart of any man wanting in discipline andcharacter. Perhaps this is what fetched him the name. He ordered us...

Read story

“Arrival Gate” by Kathryn El-Assal

Submitted to Contest #42

Two people meet, come together, form a relationship; two gametes meet, come together, form a zygote; multiply that times two and you have fraternal twins… like my brother Stephen and I.As babies, Stephen took after our father with dark blond hair and grey-green eyes, while I resembled our mother with darker coloring. The summer before kindergarten our parents divorced, and Stephen moved out east with our dad. Mom and I remained in California where she was teaching at UC Santa Barbara. I was too young to remember details, but I knew that my p...

Read story

“The Time of Murder” by N K

Submitted to Contest #42

~7:56 PM, June 23rd, 2120 ~ “Jaylnn Brown, you are on trial for murder,” a human judge said. She pushed her polished wood chair back against the ivory walls. “Computing likelihood of events. Result in three. Two. One. Zero.” The AI judge said. It was nothing more than a screen, but it was the foundation of the criminal justice system. “Decree: Guilty. Reasoning: You have committed past offences, and the evidence points towards you. Multiple witnesses have seen you commit your crime. Therefore, the likelihood is 95% probable that this m...

Read story

“The Thing About Bif” by Shanti Hershenson

Submitted to Contest #42

Bif sat next to Callie in the display room. The General was giving orders for the operation Bif had been trained for his entire life. It was called operation "Overlord." It was a crucial part of the war his humans were fighting. Bif did not like war, but he did not know any other way of life. He was just happy to be done with the rigorous training he went through. Day by day, he faced challenges. He knew he was vital to the mission. At the same time, he wished he could be curled up on a chair next to Callie. He wasn't a lazy cat. He just did...

Read story

“Detective McKenzie’s Hobby Case” by Iam Danger

Submitted to Contest #42

It went viral. The Parish Priest from South Philadelphia was walking out of the rectory of Saint Monica’s Church Rectory when he saw the danger, and he acted. It was brave, it was unusual, but it wasn’t the most amazing thing that ever happened. It seemed like it in the viral worldwide headlines. With the black garb, good looks, and signature dark glasses even at night, Father Buzzetto resembled Neo from “The Matrix.” I am Detective McKenzie. I am not a fan of young dress-wearing geldings wanting me to call them father. I actually ...

Read story

“I love you best, Babe” by Ophelia S

Submitted to Contest #42

While Manhattan was drowing in the storm, so was Charlie. His toughts inundated his mind to a point where he couldn't even finish one properly. That morning, when he woke up, he was so sure that that day was going to be that day that changed his life for good, and yet now here he was, back at the old same ways.Louie, his boss, sent him to New York City for a quick trip in business and he, loyal as always, went, even though he was fully aware of the impacts that such a casual thing would have in his sanity.He waited for her that night in John...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

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 ⭢