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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

“Her” by Laura Elliott-Blood

Submitted to Contest #42

The alarm went off as it did every morning at 5:30; a sound he loved and dreaded at the same time. It was time to get to work, but four hours of sleep a night was tough to live on. The weekend was coming though. He could finally see her, go on Bill’s boat for a few hours on Sunday and relax. “Only to start it all over again on Monday,” he thought to himself. As he started his daily five mile run, he began contemplating life. It definitely was lonely at the top. As the Senior VP of Overseas Operations, managing $6M in...

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“A lonely mother ” by Asma Writes

Submitted to Contest #42

Alone , all alone , the silence has killed every spot of happiness inside of me , and lowliness has vanished all the ashes that has left from that flame . I don’t think I remember how I look like anymore , never saw myself since I was alive , since I was free . All I see is darkness and all I can smell is iron , the iron of my prison bars that I’ve been stuck in it since more than three years . Forgot what it feels to walk under the sun and on the fresh grass breathing the air brought with the wind that keeps playing with my long black hair ...

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“The unknown” by Melissa Holewa

Submitted to Contest #42

Some say that you are supposed to know who you are by the age of eight-teen. You are also supposed to know what college you want to go to, what you want to do for a career, and even sexuality. I’m 25 and I’m not really sure what to do with my life, the first of half of my life I thought I love animals I think maybe I should be a vet, until I discovered needles. Then when my Dad when I was twelve, and the only thing that helped me cope was the magic of writing. I thought maybe I should be a writer, author, script writer. But then when I turn...

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“Helpless” by Mohib Ali

Submitted to Contest #42

A girls bangs in into a police station, she looks frightened and wants to file a report, the officer who files the report sees her, she is a really beautiful girl, blonde hair she is wearing a cute pink top and blue jeans, she goes towards the officer and the officer asks her to sit down, and says to calm down, the girl says "i have no time to stay calm, i'm here to file a murder" the officer asks "a murder? Where did you witness it?" The girl says "i did it, i murdered 3 people and i want you to arrest me before i kill more people" the offi...

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“INTO NOWHERE ” by Janna Marie Encina

Submitted to Contest #42

My hand is numbing. I've been gripping the control for more than an hour now. I wanted to sweep away the salty substance that's blocking my view of the system but I can't. I must not.The red button beep and flash its light. A sign that the ion thruster are now overheating. The ship I'm in will about to blow if I keep on pursuing the little ship before me.Damn!I was blinded by the sun somewhere at my right. And the moon was not helping me to stay focus.I have to stay focus. But how can I if I see my comrades' ships being blustered by those fu...

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“What did I do?” by Navya Jain

Submitted to Contest #42

It was that night of the school year that I had asked myself that for the first time. Kayden and I were best friends. Every freaking body knew that. We were always together, in school, in lunch, heck we even had dinner in each other’s houses.Some people in the school thought that it was weird that a guy and a girl who weren’t dating hung out with each other so much. Kayden was kind of popular and I was kind of not. But I wasn’t one of those people who liked to keep to themselves. I did weird stuff and I went to parties, I enjoyed my hig...

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“The Sweetest Morsel” by Dom Goodwin

Submitted to Contest #42

Abraham paces in his small home office. He seems nervous, which is different than his usual calm demeanor. Abraham isn’t the type of person to display his emotions but, in his solitude, it is clearly plastered on his face. When the door opens, Abraham nearly attacks the new occupant.“Juliet, what’s going on? Your text, it said...is it true then. Where did it come from?”Juliet tries to reassure him with her smile. It doesn’t work. “I currently have a team working on it. Don’t worry about that now, I have it handled and will continue to m...

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“Daydream” by Hope Everlasting

Submitted to Contest #42

His hair was extra springy today. He must’ve taken a shower after early morning Basketball practice.No, he had definitely taken a shower. I caught the faint scent of either Coconut or Vanilla Shampoo. He opened up his homework, it was so well done, I could even see he finished number 7. To put it into perspective I could only get up-to number 4. That was after making an international call to my Dad and consulting Uncle Google,the two most intelligent gifts to mankind in my unbiased opinion. He never failed to impress me. He diffe...

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“Slipping Through My Fingers” by R Saint

Submitted to Contest #42

Part OneWe met in New York City the day before I turned twenty-one. I wasn’t looking for love. After all, I had just broken up with my girlfriend of five years, and this was my first taste of real freedom. As the blonde’s eyes met mine, I realized that, whether I was looking for love or not, it had found me.You might be rolling your eyes at me. That would certainly have been my reaction at the words “love at first sight”. Yet there was no other way to describe the feeling that blossomed in my chest at the sight of her.Warning: what I say nex...

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“Don't Jump to Conclusions” by Eva Scott

Submitted to Contest #42

It was a surprisingly cold night for June as Toby the kitchen boy in Manon’s Tavern was doing his evening shift, serving tired men and cleaning beer-stained tables with an old rag. It was only around 11 at night but Toby was already exhausted after helping the farmer down the road, who’s wagon wheel had broken and together Toby, the farmer, and his donkey pulled the wagon into the village center. The kingdom’s most famous knight, Sir Jameson, had returned from a long, tiring journey home for the north. He sat in his usual spot in the center ...

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“Is that you?” by Kara Tschida

Submitted to Contest #42

I stepped out of the dark hallway, it was silent, no people, nothing. Except me. Of course this wasn't exactly what I had planned, who would have thought it'd be so easy. Something had to be off, just the night before the hallways were booming with voices. I had nothing but my father's compass in my arms. You many be thinking this is just another story of a girl with a dead dad, who is looking for who killed him. I can assure you that's not the case, I know exactly who did it. I folded my hair back into a bun. Here's the backstory, my name i...

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“Tabula rasa – A New Beginning” by Ashwini Bhalerao

Submitted to Contest #42

"Do you know what is worse than hating someone?"...She went into the coffee shop. It was her favourite place to unwind. How long it had been since her last visit? She mulled. She realized that it had been almost six months since her last visit.She did not want to do anything in particular today. No phone calls, no social media, no books, not even music. She did not even feel like writing her journal today. All she wanted was her favourite table near the window, steaming hot coffee, and a cigarette. Sometimes you just need to experience a vac...

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“WHY DID I LET HER GO” by RADIUS HAVWAALA

Submitted to Contest #42

Imagine you are Catherine, a landmine victim from war-torn Angola. Having lost both legs, loneliness has become your daily bread, and disgrace has stuck on you like a badge. While other kids of your age are ripping their throats hoarse sharing cakes of happiness within your compound, you are parked in a wheelchair sleeping like a dead body in a coffin. You quit playing with them because of the new names they gave you –cross-eyed invalid, stump- legged twit; the list was endless. You failed to stand that.You recently stopped going to school a...

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“The Birthday Party” by Dera N

Submitted to Contest #42

But now that Mum has placed a half iced cake on the dining table, Mary has barely begun to set the stereo speakers up. “Don’t forget to get the balloons”, she says to Kenny, who has just entered the living room, after getting the generator running – partially running, since according to him, its plug has developed a fault, therefore, can only power a few appliances at a time. “Go sit on the couch, Jerry”, she says to me. “You’re taking up the space we need to work here”. When I had woken up this morning to torrents of Happy Birthdays floatin...

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“Roses in the dark” by Maria Campos

Submitted to Contest #42

I had a new home! I had wondered what it would be like to be picked up by one of the strange creatures that came and looked at us every day and be taken away. Many of my siblings had gone in the last couple of days, and my turn had finally arrived. I had been gently laid on a weird vehicle that moved underneath me until we had reached tall looking towers. Finally, we arrived at a small and somewhat dark place."Hey Hannah, how are you feeling?", said the creature who had picked me up to another. This other creature looked different, like she ...

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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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