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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

“And Then She Walked Away” by Ruqayyah Shabazz

Submitted to Contest #42

He had a routine. It was rather simple, yet complicated, yet done in a way that was his and his alone. He would wake up early in the morning and turn on the light in the bedroom. The morning sun would not yet have come up while he walked around his home for a while before exciting the front door with a wide yawn. He would stretch as he paced towards the front gate, and then crack his knuckles before beginning his run through the quiet neighborhood that was his own. That run would take an hour, sometimes two if he was feeling particularly ene...

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“The Nothing Something” by Bianca Orfila

Submitted to Contest #42

The air in my room turned stale, cold unlike the gentle summer’s breeze that blew my curtains from their resting drape across my open window. I opened my closet with a creak, stopping my movement when I could hear my parents stirring from their room. I tied on some shoes and hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and stepped onto the windowsill. With a steadily rising heartbeat, I stretched out onto a branch and held fast to the overgrown oak try beside my house. Carefully, I climbed down the trunk until I reached the ground. I landed with a ...

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“Wicked Dreams” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #42

My psychiatrist can’t figure out why I refuse to go to sleep. Sometimes I have the unique ability to stay awake for 7 days (168 hours) straight. Randy Gardner an American high school student from San Diego, California, who set the record for the longest time a human has gone without sleep. In December 1963/January 1964, 17-year-old Gardner stayed awake for 11 days and 25 minutes (264.4 hours), breaking the previous record of 260 hours held by Honolulu DJ Tom Rounds. But when I finally do fall to sleep and dream. I have unbelievable dreams th...

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“The Bearded Time Traveller” by OB Jato

Submitted to Contest #42

It is tough to love a man with a beard. It is tougher to love a man who travels through time. Don't get me started on how it feels to love a bearded time traveller. If not for my wedding ring, and a sink clogged with the rough edges of his facial hair whenever he tries to trim them, I would think I'm still a bachelorette. I do not know if it is the radiation from his time travel or the genes from his inheritance which give his beard an affinity for growth. I remain puzzled over his faulty memory too, even though I like to imagine i...

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“AFTER HIS DEMISE. ” by Wilson John

Submitted to Contest #42

Walking down the streets of my little home town here in Nigeria, the smell of the heavy rain filled the air. I loved that weird smell.... Especially the one after the first rainfall. It was the first rain of the year. Everywere was quiet with little drops of rain drizzling after the heavy downpour. Cool breeze blew gently from the East, I felt a swift shock of happiness, the evening was beautiful just like any other. But today was different for me. I continue walking down the street happily with a broad smile on my face u...

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“Cat Burglar” by Linda Rossi

Submitted to Contest #42

Burglaries were way up, no pun intended. The elite neighborhood of Marston was “the” place to live, if you had the money and wherewithal to afford the sky high, pun intended, rent. Rents could easily soar, pun intended, from $5,000 a month for a studio apartment to a cool million dollars a month to the penthouse with all amenities included, of course. Who would pay a million dollars a month and not expect their house plants to be watered every other day, right? It seemed the burglaries were all concentrated now on the high en...

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“A Comedy of Dragons” by Eve Chrysalo

Submitted to Contest #42

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” The sky was glowing with the last traces of sunset, and light was gently bouncing off of the rose-tinted dragon outside the castle window. Princess Elizabeth pouted. “Well, how else am I supposed to see if Sir Hotstuff likes me? It’s the only reasonable way to find out. As a princess, I should know.” The dragon just cocked an eyebrow, as Elizabeth looked very pleased and was complimenting herself on her intelligence. “You ...

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“The Aleah Chronicles: Queen of the sky” by Regan Black

Submitted to Contest #42

Aleah sat straight up, waking in a cold sweat. She couldn’t remember all the details from her dream, but she was terrified. She was at a funeral, and a couple were standing in front of the grave. They looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on where she had seen them. She stepped closer to the grave, and saw her name on the grave. That was when she had woken up. As she was walking down the stairs, Aleah smelled fresh muffins in the oven. Her stepfather looked u...

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“Special” by Tracy Felder

Submitted to Contest #42

Two days before her Baptism the boy at the top of the wall convinced Selia to run away. No one ever left the Farm, but it wasn't because they couldn't. Everything a person could possibly want existed within a scant three square miles. Daily they ate Mana, exercised, read from the books in the library, and raised their large families in peace. The people of the Farm were special, and Selia just knew for sure the Gods loved her because of it. The Farm existed for those of common blood that held the potential to have special abilities. Eve...

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“Dust” by Alex Cortes

Submitted to Contest #42

“Charlotte Santana—just the woman I was looking for.”Ted addressed me as I walked into 9 Lives, head hardly turned over his shoulder.“How did you even know it was me that walked in?” I asked, smirking as I took my usual seat to his right at the bar where we met. “Could have been anyone.”He smiled as he took a sip of his drink, letting a couple of careful seconds pass. “So, did you find anything?”I sighed, hardly surprised at his disregard for my question. “What do you think?”“Ah, a question for a question. I like it.” He finally looked at me...

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“Of shades, dark and grey” by Iman Shakeel

Submitted to Contest #42

Kavita was eight years old when she first saw her mother Neena sobbing and wiping away her tears in her cotton saree. Neena was a single mother who worked around the town as a maid after she was casted out of the house by her landlord Raj and his family due to an awful sin he had committed but never atoned for. This was when Neena realized the ordeals a woman encounters when she is trapped in the claws of a patriarchal society and how the woman always has to carry the burden of a man’s sin.Raj never called Kavita by her name. He would always...

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“The Bruised Boy” by Luly Mayfield

Submitted to Contest #42

Slipping in and out of consciousness. Footsteps. I try to scurry away, but they keep coming. Closer and closer. Louder and louder. The creak of the handle turning. The bang of the door against the wall. I cower in the corner, afraid of what’s to come. The luminescent light from the hall creates a vast, black shadow, the same color of Ma’am’s heart. I flinch when the face of my torment comes into view. Her ripe, red rage can be scented from a mile away. Gazing down at her shoes, I notice the woman is in her formal attire as per usual. He...

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“The Zoo Escape Plan” by Meghan Coley

Submitted to Contest #42

"Yeah, I have a plan.""Is it a good one?""I have a plan."Victoria made no effort to stifle her annoyed sigh. Those were definitely not the words she wanted to hear from a stranger who happened to be her only chance at survival. She was currently crouched behind a large feeding trough in the middle of a zebra corral. The zebras had long since run off, stampeding with the rest of the zoo's wild animals into the city. The cages had all somehow been unlocked and their inhabitants set free. The public had fled, mothers practically dragging t...

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“Butterflies” by Egg Shell

Submitted to Contest #42

“Look Jesse all I want to know is why you pushed Phillip at school today.” Hugh sighed, silently pleading for his seven year old son to reply. Jesse pouted and tuned in his chair not wanting to answer.“You`re not in any trouble you just need to tell me why, please?” This was getting him nowhere and he knew it, but he also knew how to make his son talk when he had no other options.“If you tell me what happened I’ll get you the newest issue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic.” at this his son perked up so Hugh knew now was his chance to...

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“They Say” by Lindsey Keen

Submitted to Contest #42

They say everything slows down when you're in an accident, like the world is running in slow motion. They also say you see your whole life flash before your eyes right before you die. Either I did it wrong or 'They' have as much of a clue about dying as they do about everything else. I didn't see the van that ran up the kerb because the driver was trying to read a map instead of the road. I didn't do some graceful bullet-time sequence before getting crushed into that beautifully crafted stone wall. My life did not flash before my eyes as my ...

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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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