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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

“THREE'S A CROWD.” by Elle Moreau

Submitted to Contest #42

It was January in 1972, when he strolled into her workplace, a buzzing record shop where she had worked for the last year. He purchased a record by Melanie called Candles in the Rain which was the album that everyone wanted to add to their collection that summer. She was instantly attracted to him and as she served him he flirted with her, just enough for her to know he liked what he saw. He had a delightful twinkle in his eye that gave him a friendly approachable look. Ellie was used to men pursuing her as she was very attrac...

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“The Coldest Day in Hell” by Liz Leness

Submitted to Contest #42

It was 1967 and every Sunday afternoon in the Summer, my father would take me and my brother to the quarry. I didn't know it then, but my father was an alcoholic. All I did know is that he would be swigging out of a brown paper bag all afternoon, and a cigarette would never leave his fingers. He would lie on the banks as Tom and I would scramble up the rock face and dive into the turquoise water below. Smiling and laughing, splashing him with each cannonball, competing with each other to see who could get him the wettest. &nbs...

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“Barrel Scrolls and Broken Souls ” by Hannah Vargees

Submitted to Contest #42

She cried herself to sleep pretty much every night. The voices inside her head would never quieten down. She would be laying in her bed with her eyes closed, but her mind had never settled for once in a long time. How did she know that her mind was running way ahead? The tears running down her face showed it all. Ava’s life was way too different. Endless nights of wet pillows with muffled sobs and tossing and turning. Will the sun ever dawn on her, she always wondered. Days passed, so did months. Who knew she was having such a hard time...

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“Lorana” by Vincent Damico

Submitted to Contest #42

The air was soft and warm as it blew through the wire screen door. It wasn’t locked and the soft breeze made it bang intermittently against the door frame. The wind whirled around the still furniture, coasting over the wooden floor, snaking it’s around the dark red river of blood that was beginning to seep through the floor. A toddler bent over in the corner, fidgeting and trying to sleep, sucking on her thumb in hopes that someone would wake her from this nightmare. The home sagged into the land it sat on, the land Lorana had bought ov...

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“Nova” by Arandom Secret

Submitted to Contest #42

"Please, stay with me. Don't leave me here alone...." The girl's blonde hair glimmered as the sunlight lightly brushed upon her. Her tears fall out of her red eyes. If people were to see her current state, they would surely be mistaken those eyes to rubies. "......I'm sorry. But I'm sure 'the one' will come and save you from this hell. Then, you will be able to find happiness." The man laid before her spoke, trying to even his breathing while gently caressed her cheeks. His other hand clutched tightly onto the wound on his torso, trying...

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“Misconnection ” by Sarah Cassidy

Submitted to Contest #42

“81st street please,” I say to the cab driver as I throw myself and all my belongings into the back of the cab. It was a Friday night, the best time of the week, and thankfully the chaos at work would die down for a few days. We were in the middle of a business deal with a local partner and it was not going well. The last few days have been a cycle of conference calls, work meetings, and panicked conversations. Finally, I would be able to take a break and do something that I’ve wanted to do for so long. “Got it,” mumbled the...

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“A Day In The Life of Charlie” by Gail Walkowich

Submitted to Contest #42

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CHARLIE It was the Atlantic’s cold waves which washed over Charlie that startled him into a new day. The morning high tide was slowly encroaching onto his soft, sandy bed. Soaking wet, Charlie scrambled onto the Seaside Heights boardwalk in the fading darkness of night. His head throbbed from the shenanigans of the night before. Stumbling down Ocean Terrace, Charlie returned to his rusty Ford Pinto. After he grabbed a clean set of work clothes and a used t...

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“Naked Conversations” by Shenice Pierre

Submitted to Contest #42

They laid in the bed. One's eyes were closed, while the others was open. One thinking of the resent past. The other contemplating the future with a smile on her face. The conversation they just had was so revealing. He was truly made for her in every way. She could be her truest self with him... that very thought made a shiver course through her limbs - causing her legs to twitch slightly. Her truest self, honestly was a monster, and she knew it. It frightened her. What if she showed this...animalistic side of her and he rejected her...o...

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“Abduction” by Connie Clark

Submitted to Contest #42

I look around; no one’s there. I’m alone. My vision narrows; breathing slows; exterior limbs are frozen; everything’s in slow motion; my legs no longer hold me…. I’m falling…. Conscious, I find myself looking upon the world from the stars and basking in the beauty of the earth. Also, in my awareness is the devastation, poverty, and hatred that abounds. Contemplating, is humankind salvageable? “Wait a minute! What?! Where am I? Where is that voice coming from? There’s no one around…” The sudden realization: I am circling the earth and speak...

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“Invasion” by Adrian Tan

Submitted to Contest #42

Rapid footsteps interrupted the sound of a peaceful jungle with calls of the wild. A boy, drenched in sweat, was running for his life, away from the new king of the jungle and his minions. By his side was a lion cub, the heir to the old throne.A rival pride had attacked the lion kingdom and imprisoned the old guards. Years of betrayal and losses had moulded the lion at the head of this new pride into a cold and heartless beast. There was nothing left in his life but to conquer and destroy all things living. In the midst of the chaos, the boy...

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“I'll Always Come Back to You” by Lacie Nairn

Submitted to Contest #42

Rory stared at me through the window, pressing her hand to the thick plate glass. “You’ll come back?” she asked, her voice crackling over the speaker in the room. I nodded, not sure that I could trust my voice at that moment. I cleared my throat and smiled. “Always,” I promised. “I’ll always come back to you.” It was one of the few promises that I could make. Rory meant it in another way; I knew that. She meant after, but I could not promise her that. I looked beyond her, to the clock just visible over her head. We had less than a minute lef...

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“Ally of roaches” by Chiamaka Udechukwu

Submitted to Contest #42

The insecticide lingered all through the night but didn’t manage to defeat the squad of disrespectful cockroaches that tormented us in the kitchen. Knowing what to expect, I tiptoed through the court yard with my brown flip flops tightly gripped in my fingers, ready to smash the first few unassuming pests to catch my glance. I used the side of my hip to push the door open. I tried to be as gentle as possible but the rusty bolts had its way of betraying me; my other hand was too busy hoisting the kerosene lamp so I had no choice. My shoulders...

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“Fire and Silk” by Irsa Duka

Submitted to Contest #42

29 years old and I haven’t met Jake since then.That cold day of January.1998.It was actually quite funny how, over all the people in this world, I got the chance to meet one of my dearest friends in the small town of Canmore. After my dad was offered a job at the Canmore General Hospital in 1979, me and my family decided that it was best to move into a house that was near his workplace. Moving from Toronto to Alberta was quite a change in my life, and I didn’t like the idea of leaving my friends for a long time. I was 16 years old.I nev...

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“To Michael with Love, Sylvia by Albert Zygier” by Albert Zygier

Submitted to Contest #42

“I’ve got it...!” Sylvia cried out, waving a wedding ring she had just had engraved for her fiancée, who was across the street where he had picked up his tuxedo. Apparently, he had forgotten something and waved to her to wait as he started back to the store, but Sylvia, in her excitement wouldn’t wait and ran to him. It was the screech of the taxi’s brakes that made Micheal turn in horror as he saw Judy under the wheels of the cab. Dropping his bag he ran towards her but there was nothing he could do. She passed away with a smile and h...

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“Waiting in the Cold” by John Oakes

Submitted to Contest #42

A grandfather clock swung back and forth, filling the house with its long low clangs. It was cold in the house that Gacy Holmes resided in, and it was quickly getting colder. The wafting chill that whirled its way around the inside, like a serpent plaguing the comfort of the entire house, was most likely due to the several widows which now lay on the ground, smashed. Now, some might find that detail a little off, but that should not be the factor that you choose to focus on, the smashed windows have a perfectly reasonable explana...

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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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