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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 Bearded Man” by Cat Sparkles

Submitted to Contest #42

I grew up without a nice, warm family like almost every other kid in my grade did. I was taken into the orphanage when I was five, with barely any memories of my family. They disappeared from my life as quickly as they came. In fact, I had little to no memories of my childhood. All I could remember was a strange, bearded man with a jagged scar across his forehead visiting me on my first day at the orphanage. He told me that my parents were dead, but never told me how. He walked funny with one leg and a stump for the other.Fast forward twenty...

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“Like How the Sun Follows the Moon” by Nicole Ip

Submitted to Contest #42

To live in a world of uncertainties, people tend to hold onto the few truths no one can deny. We all desperately cling on to theories or discoveries that are the foundations of this earth. Just like the existence of gravity, the indisputable need for oxygen, or the collection of moments that make up our lives can only be relived through memories.The foundation of me, however, is the understanding of the sun and the moon’s infinite footsteps will always chase after the other, like soulmates with a tragically intertwined connection, destined t...

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“Papa's Mija” by Sylena Douglas

Submitted to Contest #42

“Thank you,” Sydney said after she paid the florist for the bouquet of roses. She hurried to her car and slid behind the wheel before she carefully laid the rose on the passenger seat. She used to have a hard time understanding why her grandfather always preferred roses. “Those are the flowers I gave your Nana,” he told her one afternoon in the living room as he rocked in his rocking chair. “Ever since then she has been all over me.” Her grandmother, who was in the kitchen preparing dinner, rolled her eyes. “Right,” her gra...

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“The Troubles With It All” by Anna Forsyth

Submitted to Contest #42

Colm woke to find he had once again he had fallen asleep in front of the paraffin heater, he had burnt a hole in his only pair of woollen socks and he was late for work. Great fucking start. He rushed out the door, gratefully feeling a Mars Bar he had left half-eaten in his jacket pocket as he reached for his keys. He did a cursory check under his car for bombs before starting the engine; one day he would regret not being more thorough. If Colm got too caught up in what could happen to him, a Catholic police detective in a Protestant town in...

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“Remember Me” by Emma Clint

Submitted to Contest #42

She walks into the room but can’t remember why she has. She turns around and walks back over the threshold. The same refrain plays again and again in her mind: What am I doing here? She can’t remember where she left her keys; but that’s normal, she tells herself for the thousandth time. (When an out-of-the-ordinary thing occurs a thousand times is it not now normal?) She didn’t need her keys, now, anyway, since the last time she had driven her car she had forgotten where she was headed before she had even managed to reach the end of the driv...

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“Friendship is the Real Treasure” by Braden Urion

Submitted to Contest #42

Felix leads the way down the valley where the map said the treasure would be. His friends trail behind him looking tired and exhausted. The hike through Lockwood had been exhausting and morale was low. Now they would see if their hard work was worth it. Their group consisted of four members: Long John, Stephen, Brucie, and Felix. The four of them had been close since preschool brought together by their mutual love of making fun of Brucie. Brucie put up with it because he was just happy to ...

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“Take Me Back To The Night We Met” by Ruqayyah Shabazz

Submitted to Contest #42

It wouldn't stop raining. The dark clouds that expanded the sky and darkened the town shook the world angrily when the thunder boomed through the sky. Lighting came silently as it usually did, and the rain pour matched the sound of a thousands horses running in a stampede. The gloominess was made just for the days occasion. It didn't get any more sad than this for a funeral. Though it did make the ones left alive think hard and long about what their final resting day would be like."Dad, its time." Cindy, his daughter said from the doorw...

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“Mindfully Mindless” by Abeer Khan

Submitted to Contest #42

I listen to your favorite song when I miss you. I wonder if you would be doing the same. You can’t feel it when someone is missing you nor can you make them feel it. Yet, you secretly want them to miss you too. I am listening to it while I type this. If you would be reading this, maybe you could imagine. Would you know it is you and not someone else?Mindlessly dancing free and wild. Capable of cruel and kind. I wish I could show you the world inside my mind. Stars shine brightly here, and not orbit bind. Will I someday, have the courage to e...

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“The Song of the Universe” by Jasmine Broberg

Submitted to Contest #42

Rain splattered daintily on the rooftop where she stood. No, not stood. She never stood still. Instead, she danced. She danced on the rooftop, letting the rain trace rivers down her skin, following the rivets and dips of her body. The only music she had to dance to was the steady rhythm of the rain, dancing to its beat from the sky. That was when I first met her."Excuse me?" I asked tentatively. She opened her eyes, which were a hazel color, shifting in the wavering light of the thunderstorm. Her feet never stopped moving, even as she spoke....

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“Sea Me Go Bye” by Nora Lange

Submitted to Contest #42

The ocean has always been my tranquility. The way she could be calm with gentle waves brushing against the shore, her salty air in the wind as a gentle reminder of the life she carried within her. Every morning, I went to admire, to paint her gentle waves, the white sea foam that floated on the top of waves,the way she would crash against the cliff I was on-like playful banter. However sometimes her waves were rough-like she was angry. The clouds were gray and the wind fierce, the waves were huge and sept through anything and everything. But...

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“II'm beginning to forget you.” by Harry Makawa

Submitted to Contest #42

As I open my house front door, my eyes picked up an image of a white envelope. Before closing the door, I picked it up. I recognized the handwriting on the envelope. It was Sheila. Three days had passed since I met Sheila. I wondered if she had just come in person or had sent the brown envelope through someone. This was so because the last time we met, I found Derrick, seated on Sheila’s laps, in her sitting room. Nonetheless, I opened the envelope and noticed a postcard.In part, these were the words written to me: “Dear Harry, I hope you ar...

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“Would you understand?” by Bec Stock

Submitted to Contest #42

I should have told them the truth. Maybe they would have understood, although, I doubt it. It wasn't something that was spoken about. It was taboo. I just hope that years from now they will all see and understand that maybe I wasn't an awful woman who cheated and left her husband. But what he won't tell you is how many times he broke my heart, with his receptionist, with his assistant, with his co-worker, with the girl at the bar... With my best friend. His deep golden eyes, and thick hair made it hard to stop looking at him, his toned chest...

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“All This Time” by Soumya Rathee

Submitted to Contest #42

She had been hospitalized for a long time when all of us decided to finally go and meet her.Actually none of us had the courage to see her individually. We were scared to see the fear in her eyes.Jay, being the idiot of the group, started the conversation. And what he said proved to be quite painful for him.He went close to her, help her hand and said."Siya, I wish I had cancer, I don't want to live anyway."Now, I understand why Jay would say that, actually the whole class does. He went through a breakup recently. But hey, he was already hal...

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“Lester's Adventure” by Pooja Gupta

Submitted to Contest #42

There was a small village called Ridgestown. In this town was a small family who grew crops. They lived in a small hut. The man’s name was Richard Owens. The woman’s name was Angela Owens. They were a very happy couple! One day, Richard and Angela were looking at the crops. Just a safe distance away from the crops, there were little kids playing a game of tag. Then Richard said, ‘I wish I had a child too, one who could help me take out the crops, one who I could call son.’ Ang...

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“Hand Knitted Gloves” by Alice O'R

Submitted to Contest #42

She sits quietly, silently, complaintive. Her body subtly vibrates as her pulse dances beneath the layers of skin. There is a hum, gentle and sweet, and it is unclear whether the sound is coming from the girl, or the air surrounding her. Specks of gold shine in her eyes as the sun tenderly hits her face. She shields her eyes from the intrusion, too transfixed on the words of her book to pause for a second and absorb the warmth. He admires her from two tables away. The café bustles and moves, everything vibrant and active, and yet he ca...

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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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