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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#44: Just the Beginning

Two weeks ago, our theme was story endings. This week, we're circling back to the starting line and focusing on story beginnings.

From Zora Neale Hurston's "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." To Jane Austen's "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." And George Orwell's "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." Memorable lines stick with us because they're what propel us into the world of the story in the first place.

For more inspiration, check out our tips for crafting intriguing opening lines, and then dive into our beginning-themed prompts below!

This week's prompts

Write a story that starts with two characters saying goodbye.

Character – 248 stories

Write a story that starts with a life-changing event.

Novel – 175 stories

Write a story that starts with someone returning from a trip.

Character – 111 stories

Write a story that starts with a character-revealing something unusual about themselves.

Character – 142 stories

Write a story that starts by establishing its setting in a different time period — without explicitly stating what that period is.

Historical Fiction – 114 stories

Stories

“I Love You” by Sophia Fontaine

Submitted to Contest #44

“So, I guess this is goodbye?” Ally said looking down. Her blonde hair framed her pale face, falling down and hiding her electric blue eyes that were brimming with tears. How can I fix this? I need to fix this. I can’t lose her, were the thoughts racing around Ally’s brain. Nothing mattered to the girl except for the angel standing in front of her. Ally would give her life over to preserve a shred of the brunette’s happiness. And yet Ally couldn’t find the words to say. She couldn’t figure out how to tell her girlfriend how much she loved he...

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“IT BEGAN WITH THE END” by Scott Smock

Submitted to Contest #44

I remember it well, all too well. She was my best friend in high school. She was the alt chick of all time. She was Michelle Smith. And now, standing there in her cap and gown, she was the graduate, the valedictorian, the woman who knew where she was going in life and what she wanted when she got there."Michelle," I began, my voice catching "I'm going to miss you. You were the only one who didn't leave me alone all those years ago when I first got here and for that I'll always be grateful. You have been, and always shall be, my friend." We e...

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“A Shard of the Sky” by Link Oberon

Submitted to Contest #44

"Auf Wiedersehen.""Au revoir."The eyes were still open: blue and clear, like the sky should have been. But now they were a photographed sky, bleached with age, like a memento I would carry in my pocket. A picture creased in careful folds, stored then removed then stored again. A pale shard of memory against a muddy frame. He was covered with so much mud. It was on his hair and clothes and every inch of exposed skin, turning everything to a uniform brown. A more uniform look than the actual uniforms we were given.For some reason I found that ...

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“Hold on” by Bristol Messer

Submitted to Contest #44

I wonder what my life would be like now if I didn't go outside that night? Would I be dead, or find my way to him anyway? I loved him even before I knew him. Here's how it all started.He was facing the opposite way of the bus coming down the road and staring up at the beautiful night sky. I didn't blame him, the sky was almost as gorgeous as last night with my dad, but why wasn't he moving? I could clearly hear the roar of the bus over the blaring music outside. Why couldn't he? Then it hit me; there were a total of three ho...

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“A Window With A View” by Daryn Schvimmer

Submitted to Contest #44

There it was again. I was trying to sleep, and the man in the cell next door wouldn’t stop humming. I’d never had this problem back when I was in C-block, but for some reason they had decided to transfer me to cell block A, where it was just me and this man in the cell next door. It wasn’t like I’d even done anything to warrant the transfer. I was a model of perfect behavior. Of course, you’d behave well too if you weren’t actually a criminal, and were put away for something you didn’t even do. I know it seems sketchy, but it’s true. T...

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“Too Much Good” by Karen Kitchel

Submitted to Contest #44

Turning twenty-one should be a day of unbelievable celebrating. And it is for a short while. Being the first of triplet boys, I know I will be sharing my one-special-day-of-a-lifetime with my two brothers until I can escape to the real party with my best buddies.I gave in to Mom’s emotional pleading to have a family dinner with her. While I rarely show it, I understand how she has sacrificed a lot over the years as a single parent for her Three Muskateers. I will pretend to enjoy the company because I know the meal will be one...

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“Fly me to the moon ” by Giovanna Cezar

Submitted to Contest #44

The princess left the castle. She looked one last time to the stone towers she had called home for the past twenty years. There laid all her hopes of a future, a future with a prince who would rescue her and take her to his kingdom, a future where he would break her curse. Now, it was all in the past, nothing but fantasies of a young girl who dreamed too much. She turned her back to the Sky-Piercing Castle, confident and resolute. Still, a small tear ran down her cheek as she crossed the bridge over the lava pit and entered the woods.The Red...

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“Einstein’s Cognition” by Kamiko Tashiro

Submitted to Contest #44

He cracked it. He had really cracked the mathematical code for human and maybe even animal thoughts. The only thing Martin could think in that moment was that everything, from here on out, would change forever. But before he got ahead of himself he decided he had better retest the formula several times before submitting it to his peers.Stepping back from the chalkboard he took in the whole formula that spanned four fifths of the board in front of him. Looking at it in its entirety he could not believe something so simple could represent...

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“Fading path” by Juliet Oledibe

Submitted to Contest #44

QUEENETHIt all began on a rainy Wednesday morning when her parents, sitting across their family lawyer finally and unitedly signed their divorce papers. They have been going on about this for months now and finally, her mother lifted her hands in victory as she was granted custody of their three children. Queeneth couldn't understand why her mother had been so happy and joyous. At fourteen, she knows that divorce is a sad thing and shouldn't be mixed with any emotions of excitement.The events leading up to the divorce had been strange and co...

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“The Birthday Present” by David Adams

Submitted to Contest #44

It was my 45th birthday and, for the first time, it seemed I might get a present worth having. Only now could I hope that my work would change the future for my children, if not for me.Forty years of desperation, maybe longer for I cannot remember too much of those first few years. I do know that they were full of stress for my parents and I lost a brother, I never knew. But even in those early years I was already aware that my world was changing. Slowly the outer air lock opened. It always seemed slow but I had to remind myself that it weig...

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“Future” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #44

- eight weeks of pregnancy, said the doctor.In disbelief, I first smiled at him.Then I realized that I have broken up with my boyfriend, more than nine weeks ago! And hadji other in his place, as I was about to loose my job at that time.So....how could that be possible?- Are you sure ? – I asked the doctor - shrinking many “ nos “ in my inner soul, and anxiously promissi g to the God I hardly remembered to worship, in order to have a negative answer.He looked at me , show...

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“Forget-Me-Nots” by Kristine Murdock

Submitted to Contest #44

Near the post office, the one occupying the lot next to the black opera house, an old, worn wooden bench stood by a lamppost. Its arms were smooth as stone, but for the shallow indents made by nails and dog claws. Wrought iron legs twisted up the back. It was very obviously a bench that had stood there for some time, and seen many people walk busily past it. Its rusted feet molded to imitate a great cat’s paw told of the years spent in harsh weather. The beaten-down grayish colour showed also that the rain had not missed it over ...

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“Because Every Journey is a Story” by Rin Sadow

Submitted to Contest #44

Oliveria finished unpacking her things and wondered what to do next. Who am I kidding? It's 2330, she thought. She got into her pajamas and tucked herself into her bed. Waiting for sleep, she wondered why she was so clueless as to what to do in her own home. Maybe because she was never at home long enough to consider it her home. She had bought the house a little while after she graduated at a university nearby. After a week, she decided that she couldn't stay in the same town after all those awful years at the university. Almost i...

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“Eternally Screwed” by Rawn A Lynn

Submitted to Contest #44

Kenton and I just returned from our little trip to Maine. It was to celebrate his last day of physical therapy since waking up from his coma. He shot down our other suggestions of different countries. He never gave us an exact reason as to refusing to travel abroad, but I didn’t see the need to fight him. Lance had some business in Maine so we followed him. It was supposed to be like a vacation, but Kenton was tense the entire time. He constantly surveyed our surroundings all time, he did a perimeter check of the inn we were staying in every...

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“Just one life” by Maria .

Submitted to Contest #44

Standing here on this roof I realize I have always known that my body wasn’t my own, that I was living someone else’s life. I was always aware of the fact that I shouldn’t be here on this earth. I tried everything to escape this endless cycle of rebirth but every time I died, I came back as someone new. And I remembered everything, all my past lives, especially my first one. I am aware of the fact that I’m only a consciousness being stuck to the human race. But I don’t want this. I don’t want to live on forever, hunting different bodies, liv...

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$50

Prize money

790

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 05, 2020 EST

Won by D. Holmes 🏆

Title: A Gamble

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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