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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

“The Royal Tenant” by OB Jato

Submitted to Contest #42

I assume you haven't heard about Raja Ravindra Ravish Ranvit Rahan Renesh Rathore. But you've heard about the likes of him - people who carry enough names on their birth certificate to christen an entire family, and a royal lineage iconic enough for others to acknowledge whenever one passes them on the street.I also assume you haven't heard about our neighbourhood, or the new tenant who moved into its shabbiest house. It stood as an oddity on a corner of the road. The bricks on the wall which enclosed it were not where they should have ...

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“The Questioning” by Um Hi

Submitted to Contest #42

Lights flickered. “Questioning is in session.”Blinking rapidly, I glanced upwards to the man I loved. His ice-blue eyes studied me, not a single ounce of affection, worry, anxiousness or love reflected in his dark irises. “Why?” I cried. “Why would you do this to me, Zenith? You know that I’m innocent, right? You know I’m being framed right?”“Ms Gray, I suggest you refrain from being personal while I’m working.” He bluntly replied, taking off his round spectacles and placing them in his dirt-blonde hair, ice-cold words stabbing thr...

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“what is happening ” by Kinsey M

Submitted to Contest #42

i wake up. or at least i think i do. it might still be a dream because i’m not sure where i am exactly. the mattress i’m in does not feel familiar at all. the duvet covering my sore body reeks of a detergent i have never used before. my head aches because of it. the room is set up all wrong. i would never put my bed facing the window. it’s all wrong. i try to position myself to get out of the foreign bed so i can explore this stranger’s room, but i can barely feel anything past my knees. i try to swallow down my panic at the loss of mov...

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“Freedom” by GailD Prentice

Submitted to Contest #42

FreedomGail D PrenticeCory stood helplessly at the counter of the general store. Just under the scratched glass countertop was the rifle of his choice. The sixty-caliber long rifle, slightly used, and only two scratches on the hand polished stock was his dream. But for three dollars, it was far from his reach financially. With the revolution growing closer to home every day, he so dearly wanted that rifle that he might do his duty for his community and family.“It is a beauty,” Cory commented quietly as he gazed longingly ...

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“The Guillotine” by Theodore Benjamin

Submitted to Contest #42

Roger looked out the darkened tower windows of the old lighthouse toward the rain-glazed weathered guillotine swaying in the wind. Along the jetty, waves slammed on all sides into the rocks. Inside, Roger examined the old lens and used the remaining drops of oil to light the dying lamp. This bodes well for any approaching ships later, Roger thought. He spat on the floor. Execution days were seldom fun. He climbed down the ladder of the tower and walked to the kitchen. He made himself an Old Fashioned with the remainder of the whiskey in the ...

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“Seven Second Safari” by Tracey Locke

Submitted to Contest #42

Tracey Locke Word count: 1,439 The sky unfurled in a blue tapestry of nothingness. Fuschia bougainvillea climbed the stucco wall, swelled over the top of the twenty foot high enclosure and dropped behind the wall into the service alley where the help came and went. In and out. Up and down staircases leading nowhere. Others leading somewhere. Loose flower petals fluttered in the Beverly Glen breeze and dropped silently onto the pool—parachuting ballerinas taking their final bow. From my prone position beside the pool, the scent of ...

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“ISOLATION” by Lesley Christian

Submitted to Contest #42

I dwell in fantasy on a regular basis. However recent isolation has caused reality to sting me where it hurts. Funny how the mind and body accept difference – eventually. Isolat...

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“Love with if's..” by Gurpreet Bhatnagar

Submitted to Contest #42

A journey where they wanted to be together, but couldn’t be. I would call it an unusual love story. Story of yester years, story of two young beautiful people who were in love and everyone around them was happy about their love blossoming. Being in love is a bumpy ride they too had their’s.Fatima and Zaheer my love birds for both of them sky was the limit and both were drenched in the desire to be together. Fatima & Zaheer confessed about their love for each other. It’s been 11years last they met. Last meeting’s memory was fresh in zahee...

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“Betty” by Alex Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #42

“Betty?” I pause. Double take. No way. I backpedal, hesitant because it's just after 10pm and I am not in the safest neighborhood. I pause beside her. She seems frozen underneath the harsh white streetlight. I peek inside her untinted windows, only slightly aware of the fact that I look like I am casing this car right now. There’s the crack on the pleather dashboard, induced by too many days in the California sunshine. Her sky blue paint is also sun-faded, but besides that she looks completely unaltered. “That’s my Betty,” ...

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“Who Am I? ” by Reotshepile Mahuma

Submitted to Contest #42

First and foremost, I would like to thank GOD for giving me this opportunity to express how I feel, it was never an easy journey but I managed with his grace Remember "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measureWe ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous actually who are you not be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us and as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same"Who am I?I'...

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“Margaret the Thief” by Mphatso Nkhoma

Submitted to Contest #42

I am a thief, or as the French call us, ‘voleuse’. Additionally, you could also call me a yegg. I’m not sure if this counts as a secret because im sure the people closest to you are supposed to be unaware of such fact and I have no one to hide it from. So really, Im not sure if this counts. I’m trying to be authentic and funny, poignant while chilling. An apparently graceless combination that holds you to a task you created for yourself. I guess maybe what I hoped for was an apparent classic. One where you open you’re the first page and your...

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“Was It Worth It?” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #42

Mist rose over an open field to the East as John surveyed the scene. The battle raged for days in a vicious display of sheer brutality. Now it was over.His commanding officer told him that this was all “for the greater good” but John wasn’t so sure. Bodies lay everywhere. The ground was red with fresh blood of the men and boys that gave their lives in the fighting. He became sick to his stomach.As he looked to his left, he saw General Marshall walking through the rows of bodies. He was not wearing his helmet, but his uniform was immaculate i...

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“A smart cat and a scruffy scruffy dog sat on the step together” by Sean Carroll

Submitted to Contest #42

A smart cat and a scruffy scruffy dog sat on the step together. It was some time after breakfast and a while before the scruffy dog’s walk. They often spent this time together, especially when the weather was nice. “You know...You aren’t very clever..” The smart cat said matter of factly. It wasn’t a question. “Infact, you’re a bit of an idiot”.The scruffy dog, who had always thought of himself as a good boy, let his tattered ears drop in a dejected manner. “I’m a good boy,” he countered strongly. The smart cat arched its head up t...

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“Secrets” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #42

Linda walked up to the nurses’ station, bracing herself.“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Paul Harrington. I’m his daughter. I was told he’s been in an accident?”.“Ah, yes.” The nurse scanned the screen in front of her. “May I see some ID, please?”Linda handed over her driver’s license. The nurse looked at Linda as if about to say something, then stopped herself.“He’s in surgery. Please have a seat in the waiting room. We’ll alert you when he’s in recovery.” She handed Linda a buzzer. “Linda! Sorry I just missed you in the parking lot. How’s your ...

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“A pregnant city with a Catholic mind” by Sophie Dibben

Submitted to Contest #42

In the derelict depths of Donegal, Callum was tucking into his mother’s coffee liquor. She had left abruptly, so he decided to invite his old friends round for the weekend. The house was classically falling apart. A bit too empty and a bit too beige. He looked around at everyone around this table. They also played the same roles as they did four years away. Hector, with a farmers, squalid shirt hanging off him and ripped shorts, reveling in his own brutish banter. Will, smiling with his nicotine-stained teeth, pouring beer down his gullet, r...

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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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