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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

“BEEP BEEP” by Rody White

Submitted to Contest #42

Dave let out a huge resolute sigh as he stared at the box. He held his mobile phone up to his head trying to use it's light to see the fuses in front of him. Beep Beep..shit 15% battery, that's all I need. He was tired. He had been up since dawn and that fact was starting tell on his eyes as they kept glazing over. He was struggling. How do I do this? How do I even start?, he thought to himself. Just a few short months ago, he had embarked on a change of career with a view to proving them all wrong. Maybe not the best motivation for doing it...

3 comments 3
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“The Orphan Catcher” by Ciaran O'Sullivan

Submitted to Contest #42

Jeffery farted. Smiling, he farted again, but louder. “Jeffery!” Sam’s teacher yelled “Stop farting in class, that will be one detention!” Sam smiled. It was March 31 and kids were beginning to prank already, even though it wasn’t the craziest day of the year, April Fools. Sam looked at the clock and saw it was 2:58.Across the class, Tom, Sam’s brother, passed him a note. Sam looked down, underneath his desk, and read it. It said “Meet at the tree, we walk home today.” Sam sighed and crumpled the note. Suddenly, the bell rang. Jump...

3 comments 3
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“Do you remember?” by Erick Mokamba

Submitted to Contest #42

Garth rose after the cock’s first crow. It was still early, but her mum was already preparing to do paid labour in the nearby farm. Having dressed up in his tattered shirt, which he did not mind wearing, with the black trouser he was ready for school. It was cold outside, he could not wear the sweater; his small siblings - who were still asleep were using it as a blanket. Silence reigned through the house except for the rats that had made their house a habitat. He rose to open the door only for it to fall apart, the hinges which were made of...

2 comments 2
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“Fate Accomplit” by Yvonne Clarke

Submitted to Contest #42

Everything depended on it still being there. They walked up the weed-peppered drive to a front door swinging gingerly on rusty, warped hinges. Cobwebs hung like gossamer in the porch, punctuated with flies wrapped up like black pearls, awaiting their fate. Anna and the agent sidestepped the jagged holes in the splintered porch, every step they took creaking mournfully. Empty birds’ nests, their job done for the year, hung precariously from the eaves. An umbilical cord of ivy wound up the sides of the house, creating a tracery of green over t...

2 comments 2
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“Dangling ” by A.J. Brown

Submitted to Contest #42

Greg sat in the chair that was placed a good distance from Tara’s desk. He thought her face looked pretty but also confident. He was already very nervous and this woman intimidated him. She was 28-years-old and was younger than anyone that had interviewed him in the past but she looked confident and powerful.Greg was 23-years-old and applying for the biggest job of his life so far with Tara. She wore a blue button-up sports coat over a blue dress that went down to her knees. Based on where he was sitting he could see...

2 comments 2
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“Peachy Keen” by Natalie Leinbach

Submitted to Contest #42

SCENE 1 - THE KITCHEN[BLEEEEEEP. BLEEEEEEP. BLEEEEEP.] (The fire alarm sounds. There is smoke coming from the kitchen. Marigold comes running in.)MARIGOLDWhat the hell is going on?!INGRID I got it, I got it, I got it!(INGRID waves her oven mitt around and covers her face with a towel. She opens the stove to remove a burnt pie.)MARIGOLDMom, what happened?INGRIDWell, I decided to make your Grandma’s peach cobbler.MARIGOLDBut then you decided not to pay attention to it?          INGRID [Agi...

2 comments 2
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“Picking up the pieces” by Victoria Vitale

Submitted to Contest #42

They are going to kill us all MIND CONTROL! The last things I heard before fading to black after a long day of being a normal 20-year-old. You know the stage where your parents nag at you about good grades and getting your degree, but you just want to enjoy your young years, cause hey you are only young once, Pretty sure I heard that in a song on the radio or on my daily shuffle. I arose with an eerie feeling, I have never felt like this before. I rolled over to check my phone like I always did before starting my day and was extremely confus...

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“What if...?” by Ash Hillton

Submitted to Contest #42

Warning!Mentions of:Self HarmDepressionSuicideSlight Mental AbuseIf you are uncomfortable with any of these, be wary.Have you ever thought to yourself, “What if I never meet them?” “What if I didn’t go out today?” “What if I was gone?” Well... I have... a lot... It started when I was around six. My dad took me to the park to hang out with some of his friends while I played. He was a single father but he was doing his best, looking back he was really overwhelmed. But anyway, I was playing in the sandbox, and I didn’t have any toys s...

4 comments 4
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“Love at first ride” by Jael Mandila

Submitted to Contest #42

I am a cab driver. Boring? Absolutely not. Like any other jobs, I have my good and bad days. My bad days are those when drunk people vomit in my car, my good days happen when I hold heart to heart conversations with my customers. I am a tall guy, Doug is my name, born and bred in the city. I like to think of myself as good looking with supporting evidence from my grandma and my few girlfriends. I dreamt of being a safari rally driver but I couldn't make it, that and the fact that mother had once stumbled in on us as we watched Fast and ...

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“A Small Gesture” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #42

An ant crawled down the wall slowly. I wondered how long it would be before he reached the floor. I thought about just squishing him, but why? It was my only entertainment since they cut the power yesterday. Linda walked in with a basket of clothes, she let out a frustrated huff as she saw me. “So I guess you’re not getting up today either,” she said sarcastically. “Why bother?” I asked. “Home sucks, life sucks, everything sucks.” “Yeah, yeah, Josh. You lost your job, we moved into your friend’s run-down rental. Get over it,” she sighed, sit...

2 comments 2
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“Missing ” by Kathleen Whalen

Submitted to Contest #42

Where are you?I hit “send” hoping my brief text would reach my roommate. Wherever she may be.I knew Michelle was always putting herself at risk. Going out drinking on weekend nights and going home with random strangers. She walked alone at night in sketchy areas when she should have known better. Michelle was naive and reckless. She’d come to Philly for college and after graduation three years ago she was still here. In many ways she still led a college life.Still, it wasn‘t like Michelle to fall completely off the radar. Even in her most d...

4 comments 4
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“Willowak: Dinner or Donner” by Cohle Sun

Submitted to Contest #42

WillowakDinner or Donner Throughout time, the greatest foe has been hunger. People go out, and the nights get cold and winter moves in. Hunger is the last of someone’s worries, yet it always finds its way to the front. Hunger drives a man, forces him to get on his knees and beg. The cold kills softly and quietly, hunger doesn’t let us sleep peacefully or unharmed. It's the non-corporeal knife driving deep inside your gut and ripping your stomach open, leaving your innards to become out. Hunger will be the downfall of mankind, but the ri...

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“THE BLACK PANTHER” by Supriyaa Sundar

Submitted to Contest #42

THE BLACK PANTHER    It all started with the wretched pub. Of all the time I’ve been in this town, why did I have to start frequenting it right then? Even then, why did I have to approach her? Why the hell did I even care? Because, a small voice inside me answered back, because you knew all too well how it feels to be alone. You were just trying to be helpful. Well, that’s too bad, isn’t it? Look where it’s gotten me now. You didn’t know! You just wanted to help. Well, of course, I didn’t know! If I’d known that offe...

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“THE MUST HAVE BIRTHDAY PRESENT” by DAVID A JONES

Submitted to Contest #42

It was Samm’s fifteenth birthday and she rushed downstairs anxious to get to the presents, which would surely be waiting for her. She looked at them with eager anticipation hoping to get enough money to buy the latest generation smartphone, which was solar powered, had high speed mobile broadband, a touchscreen user interface, superfast txt msg, a media player, a high resolution camera with laser focusing, zillions of aps - oh, and it had a phone as well. Or, better still, to actually get the phone itself as a present. The first envelope she...

0 comments 0
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“Wouldn't You?” by Danielle Vedrode

Submitted to Contest #42

A memory is small, but if someone you care about gave it to you, you want to stick around to carry it. I am here today to keep a memory alive for all of you.Let's talk about Mrs. Gonzalez.I remember her rosary. It wasn't ornamental, like some I had seen. But I had seen it in her hands enough times when she prayed, and she prayed frequently. As someone who wasn't raised in the same faith, it was always interesting to me to watch.I had walked into the church Mrs. Gonzalez went to just to sit in the quiet. She had been there, and when we met, h...

1 comment 1
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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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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