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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

“Hopeful” by Kristin DeLong

Submitted to Contest #42

She sat at the coffee shop and nervously shuffled through the items in her purse. “Where was her lipstick?” she fumbled around in a panic. She had put some on before she left the house, but she couldn’t meet him without double checking that it was on perfectly. After a few minutes of searching, she finally located the shiny gold tube and her compact. She smiled as she looked into the mirror. After years of straightening every week, it was nice having her natural hair back again. Made her feel young. She had brought a book with her to pass th...

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“June” by Emily West

Submitted to Contest #42

I have visions of you throwing this letter away, maybe not even opening it, just ripping it up once you see my handwriting on the front. Will you recognise my handwriting? I hope you do, and I hope you feel something other than bitterness when you think of me. It’s bittersweet to think of you. I wonder if my name still has negative connotations in your mind. It kills me to believe this might be so, when I remember all the times I watched you say my name and your face lit up.I’m writing because I still care so much for you. You make an appear...

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“Summer Fruit” by Emma Rose

Submitted to Contest #42

The five-dollar bill looked small on the kitchen table, rumpled up, and folded in half twice. “For the ice cream man,” the mother said. “I heard the truck go past earlier, he’ll probably be back!” She smiled cautiously. “You always loved the ice cream man, Lucy. Strawberry shortcake, that was always your favorite.” Her daughter smiled a little and put the money in her pocket, mostly so she wouldn’t have to look at its dismal smallness any longer. She had been sitting at the table eating canned peaches when her mother made this offering. The ...

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“Mendacious Mind” by Raakhee S

Submitted to Contest #42

I don't understand how they didn't see it. It was not her. Whoever it was, it was not Julia. Something must have happened to her. All I know is that the person who came back...she was definitely not my little sister. Julia and I were always close. We even had matching brother-sister names - Julia and Julian. Yes, I know it sounds a bit lame. But I liked it anyway. We were not one of those siblings who always fought. Sure, we did annoy each other often but we've never really fought. I remember the day she was born. I was at school when Mom ...

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“Forty-two percent” by Pablo Mascaraque Glenn

Submitted to Contest #42

Marco turned the key and his entire body began to rumble in tune with the car. The motor purred playfully, like a cat getting its belly scratched, but he was well aware of how quickly it could turn into a roaring lion if he just put down his foot. The tiniest smile prodded at the corner of his mouth as he pictured waking up the beast. But his foot stayed where it was. He knew it wouldn't pay off.He looked down at the small clock next to the speedometer, not really sure if he wanted to know the time. Nine minutes to nine. Twenty one minutes h...

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“Waiting” by Jennifer Griffin

Submitted to Contest #42

“I don’t know how much longer I can wait.” Stephen said as he hunched over and put his head in his hands. “It’s been ten hours of waiting and there was only so much hospital cafeteria coffee that I can drink.” “It could be awhile longer, remember, we waited 23 hours for Lucy.” I reminded him as I checked my watch for the fifteenth time in the last 30 minutes. The waiting room chair dug into the middle of my back and I wiggled trying to get more comfortable. The fluorescent lights cast a harsh light on the eerily silent room, that just a...

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“"Three Triangles"” by IM SALAZAR

Submitted to Contest #42

Her long, wavy brown hair curled at her cheeks as each strand danced in a gleeful, melancholic way. Her stark red lips made her wan skin look paler. Her eyes were brown, but they possessed the blue of the sea and the green of the fields and the gold of the sun-- looking into her eyes meant you saw the whole world, as if from a spaceship up in outer space… up in outer space. All the way up there where there is only you and your thoughts and the thousands of stars to watch you dance naked in your mind, to scream as loud as you can, to cry at t...

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“Security” by Nevada Vector

Submitted to Contest #42

Do you know Security? I have heard great things about them but never seem to be in the right place at the right time to meet them. It’s honestly a little frustrating! So many people I know tell me Security’s great! I’m just not working hard enough to find them. Hearing those words though… They hurt. I am trying. I have been trying. I don’t feel like I’m doing anything drastically different than anyone else but circumstances are never the same for any two people and it feels like no one who has become good friends with Security seems to reme...

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“Minefield” by M Solarova

Submitted to Contest #42

“Coffee?” “Yes, please,” I answer, thankful to be distracted from my thoughts. “How do you take it?” “Do you have soy milk?” “Yes, organic.” “Great, lots of it then and no sugar.” “Are you sure? We have stevia and other sweeteners, too.” “Thank you but no, just soy milk.” My lawyer’s assistant comes back in a few minutes with my cup of coffee. “Jasmine will be just a few more minutes, let me know if you need anything else, okay?” “Thank you, James.” He smiles and head back to his desk. I lean back in the fancy office chair and look a...

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“ Stranger ” by Arathi Raghuveer

Submitted to Contest #42

Hey Neeta, wake up don’t you have college today. You are getting lazier day by day. You used to be so active in your school days. Neeta’s mother was trying to pull her daughter out of bed. Oh, Ma why don’t you let me sleep for some time, I was studying the whole night ma, she pulled her blanket and tried to couch herself. But Neeta’s mother pulled her out of bed until she woke up. Neeta with a frown on her face pulled her lazy legs into the bathroom. She rammed the door giving an angry look to her mother. A little later she barged into ...

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“The one that Got Away.” by Dawn Austin

Submitted to Contest #42

The one that Got Away By Dawn AustinI don't think I ever saw Stella without paint on her hands and a dash in her auburn locks. It was as much a part of her as the smile she wore whenever I arrived at her doorstep. In moments we'd be in her kitchen, her putting a coffee pot on and me producing something from the bakers as if it were all a big unplanned surprise.The girl was her...

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“The Salvation” by Cael Tsang

Submitted to Contest #42

A harsh, chilling wind sweeps across my cheeks, numbing the torturing twinge of pain. Blundering, I wrestle the invisible foe. My coat thrashes in my wake. The sun descends in the sky, collapsing into crimson horizons. Gales shriek in the distance. Daylight would soon yield and pave the path for the moon… I raise my head examining my surroundings as a grin etches itself on my face. I gaze at what stood before me: an abandoned building. Tiles encasing its frame, caving in some places, but the roof remains predominantly intact despite years of...

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“Missing” by A. Nation

Submitted to Contest #42

At the edge of town was a nondescript home built in the 1950s. The house needed paint but the owners put that task off. The neighbors saw old Mr. and Mrs. Worley every day in the garden, taking care of the lawn, and sitting outside on their porch during the summertime. Their dog, Jasper, a wired haired terrier, liked digging under their fence. It took all one summer to cement a barrier around their yard so their dog wouldn’t escape. One day, Mr. Worley decided to put a storage shed in the back yard. Neighbors, peering over the fence, were mo...

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“Who Did It?” by Alel Flor

Submitted to Contest #42

It is the 13th of May, 1988, 8:29 PM.I am a cop, or I guess I was. Only a few days, two weeks to be exact, passed since I went to my desk at NYPD and indulged with my favorite warm bagel. I can still clearly remember the sound of people coming in and going out of the office. The clicks of keyboards in each cubicle, the whiteboard with the photos of the faces of suspects in the criminal cases I handled and investigated, were all so clear in my memory.Now, all I hear is the air conditioner , my breath too. It is so silent here, I think I can e...

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“One Thousand Cranes” by Thomas Greenbank

Submitted to Contest #42

The day Julie and Simon came into my life (or was that the other way around?) was like so many other Aussie summer days. It was hot; it was humid, and it was definitely not ideal weather for my line of work.It was almost knock-off time, and this would be my last call before finishing up. The address I'd been given was a little way out of town and had taken me a while to find. As I pulled my van into the driveway all that was on my mind was getting home to put my feet up with a nice cold beer.The house was small and neat, and the gardens didn...

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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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