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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

“Blank Page” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #42

Such a complex and mind boggling concept as infinity can be represented by something as simple as a blank page. You don’t need fancy equations that don’t include a single number in them, you don’t need to gaze up at the stars and ponder the meaning of life, neither do you have to go on a psychedelic trip to experience infinity. You can do so by simply looking at a blank page, in the comfort of your home, while sipping coffee from a mug.All that’s really required is a reframe of perception. Because what else is a blank page, but infinite pote...

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“Mysterious Colours of Life” by Rita Parekh

Submitted to Contest #42

"Chanduuu...,I told you not to leave dad alone",called out Sakha seeing her paralytic father-in-law struggling with his shawl."No didi,I am right here,had just gone to get some warm water for dad's sponge bath."soberly replied the caregiver."Okk..,after finishing with the bath help dad with the glass of orange juice that Kamala has kept ready in the kitchen,before you give him the medicines.I will be back by 12." Instructing Chandu Sakha left hurriedly in a chauffeur driven car waiting outside her 2 storey spacious bungalow.Today she wa...

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“Fallen Angel” by Dawn Austin

Submitted to Contest #42

Fallen Angel The first time I saw the Devil. The wind blew south, and the air hanged with metaphor. Fireflies stained the white sky green. Sparks lit and blood poured. The sun was on its way down and super eagles swept across the blue horizon.I stood watching the line where heaven touched the earth. It was like the frame of a taste...

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“" New Beginnings "” by Vickie Culbertson

Submitted to Contest #42

Once again the phone went to voice mail. Teagan leaves a message for Pilar, " I know you don't want to speak to me." "Please call me back! " As Teagan thoughtfully considered how to explain to this successful young woman that her life up to this point had been layer upon layer lies. Everyone in this family knew the truth, and everyone played their roles to perfection. At her mother's death a secret was revealed that Lydia Lunsford was not Pilar's mother, but in truth her grandmother. Teagan herself had been unwillingly persuaded to secrecy t...

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“That Final Dot” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #42

“Yeah, this sucks.”The two of them stared at the crackling flames and observed how they licked the leftover words of the story. Redundant adverbs, some passive voice and a whole detailed description of a love scene, all burning to cinder. “I don’t want to kill you any more than you wish to kill me,” said Kozech, a human war general. His gauntlets and helmet rested by his feet and his two-handed sword remained firmly planted in the chest of an undead ogre, who lay flat on the ground nearby. Kozech didn’t even bother to pull the weapon fr...

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“Diary of a Psychopath” by Helen Molly

Submitted to Contest #42

Entry #1Friday"What a perfect day," I thought as I crawled under my covers to go to sleep. As I closed my eyes, my mind recalled the events of the day. That morning, I got up as usual with my morning coffee and newspaper, ready to start another day. But as I was walking down to the bus station, I saw something that caught my eye. A red coat and purse walked by my side. It was striking, and I found it alluring. I decided to put a mental note to look out for it again for the rest of the day. When I walked into work, my boss dropped a pile of p...

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“The Writer Who Hated to Write” by Logan Feiler

Submitted to Contest #42

Whenever someone would ask me what my least favorite class in school was, my standard answer was always English. “I’m just not an English, history sort of person” I would tell them. Instead I would focus on math and science, subjects I actually enjoy. But one year something changed. English and History rose, while Math and Science fell. The one common link, the one reason for these sudden changes, THE TEACHERS!Let's start at the beginning: Grammar Class, 6th Grade: day 2 or 3: I was sitting in the back of the classroom listening to my t...

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“Water-demon witness” by Chloe-Ly Grimont

Submitted to Contest #42

There was a crackle and hiss. Faint though they were, I felt them down to my core, beckoning to me. I stirred from my prolonged sleep, latching onto the sound, searching for its source, and caught onto it. It flared up, the rush tingling through my limbs as they stretched out, like yawning babes waking from a deep slumber only they could muster. I licked at the air, the chilly evening far too cold for my liking. Far too cold for the man who stood before me too, apparently.He rubbed his palms together, the dry calluses whooshing together rhyt...

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“Hello, Darling” by Whitney Trang

Submitted to Contest #42

She stared at the man with tears in his eyes. He approached her slowly. “Genna?” He asked in a whisper. She nodded. He took her hands. “Do you know who I am?” She looked into the man’s familiar face. Of course, she knew who he was. They had spent over two decades together. He was Neil, the love of Genna's life. “Hello, darling.”~ ~ ~ “Aren’t you going to wear the earrings?” Neil asked gently. He was getting dressed to play a round of golf with his buddies. A radi...

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“Are You Ready? ” by Joshua Hopper

Submitted to Contest #42

“Are you ready?” Camilla looked at me with soft blue eyes. They were the eyes that could tell a thousand stories and hold a thousand secrets. I tried to hold her gaze, but my eyes kept falling on the cold, unforgiving sidewalk. I stood there as still as a statue as I considered the options before me. I had a decision to make and neither outcome seemed particularly desirable. The wind was cool against my face. Fluorescent lights were splashed across a dark blue sky. My neighborhood was quiet. From the looks of it, I was sure that most e...

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“Purple Flowers” by DJ Bundst

Submitted to Contest #42

Dear Saul,This is Virdra, and these seeds (see envelope), are from Katy. She wanted you to know something, and had meant to tell you when she got out of the hospital. When she got the bad news, she decided she wanted to write you a story. I received an envelope from her with her story, and a note to me saying, "Virdra, my dying wish is that you be my editor. Polish this and send it to Saul". You know her sense of humor. Here's her story....Once upon a time there was a Mother who gave birth to a smart and pretty ...

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“The Discovery.” by Marsha Webb

Submitted to Contest #42

Dianne opened the door of the flat, “I’m home” she called taking off her coat and shoes in the small hallway. “Oh Steven have you not done anything again today?” She asked aware her tone was winey and nagging. She looked around at last night’s dishes on the table, now added to with Stevens’s breakfast and lunch dishes and then to the clothing discarded all over the floor.Steven was sat in his pyjamas with his laptop in front of him “Is it that time already?” he yawned “Sorry I’ve been engrossed in this, did you know that a footprint on ...

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“The prophecy ” by Ivy Moonlit

Submitted to Contest #42

I could have spent years, lifetimes even, looking for the prophecy if it wasn’t for you, I could have wasted an eternity searching for something I had just heard, it might have just been a rumour, and I wouldn’t have stopped searching. You helped me, you don’t know you helped me, but once you did I lost you. You helped me retrive the prophecy, helped me set another goal for me to meet, you helped me grow, and for a while now I have been plotting, planning, trying to piece together the puzzle pieces. Attempting to answer my endless flow of qu...

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“Well Met” by Felicity Edwards

Submitted to Contest #42

They had critiqued each other's stories for some time before they moved onto chatting via email. They quickly worked out how to manage this as one was on the west coast of the States and the other in London. The American lady mentioned she was coming to visit the UK and while there planned to attend a conference for women only. May was intrigued and it did not take her long to check it out and also register for the same conference. They agreed to meet up at the venue before the sessions started. Holly felt worried. How would she recogni...

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“The Wedding Garden” by Rachel MacLean

Submitted to Contest #42

A woman in a red dress stumbled out onto the open lawn. The warm light behind her glowed like a fire and excited voices and jovial music seeped from the castle into the blue summer night. The woman stood for a moment, breathing, enjoying the soft, cool air soothe her hot skin. Her eyes searched wildly for the moon and when she couldn’t find it she glanced behind her, wondering if she should just abandon the night and drink until she was dizzy. Though, she knew what she was feeling now wouldn’t slip away so easily.“Fuck you,” she whisper...

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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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