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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

“BANNED FOR LIFE” by Katie Myers

Submitted to Contest #44

What else was I supposed to do? Lara asked herself. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, a habit she picked up after sneezing. God, I hope no one saw me, she thought. She had to get to the front of the line. She had been waiting for over 2 hours. Immediately, she hurdled over the turnstiles, following the maze of metal bars to the front of the line. It was her favorite ride at Adventure Park. Hers and everyone else’s, judging by the length of the line. She covered her nose and squeaked the tin...

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“Basically, I'm the Spawn Satan” by Lauren Skemp

Submitted to Contest #44

I'm a demon. Are you expecting me to say "Sike!" because I've been waiting for that too. No really. My dad is Satan, lord of hell. And he is making me go to high school. High school. In the real world. Ok, so I pissed him off one too many times this millennium, big deal. Why does he think he can just send me to one of the worst places in the cosmos? And can I just say, Monday mornings are always my favorite. I really hope you can sense the sarcasm in that. I'm a teenager, the spawn of the devil, and in high school which automatically makes M...

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“VOICES IN JUNE” by Deborah Yakubu

Submitted to Contest #44

Three quick facts about me; my name is June, I am 17 years old and I don't like crowded places. Not because of a phobia but because it increases the chances of the voices in my head. Even now seated in class, I hear one or two which I won't bother you with. You see, the truth is, I can read minds. I know what you're thinking; I'm crazy, no pun intended. What I don't know is why I can. It started on my 13th birthday. I wish I could tell you I got struck by lightning, bitten by something or some other cool story that could offer some explana...

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“Whiskey” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #44

Ui@ ui! Ui! i! - and the Officer grabbed his head as if wanting to get it off the shaft. where I am? What is my name - without understanding what he saw from the cushion from which the color could not be defined. The Officer lifted his head from the cushion, leaning on the back of the chair where he also did not know how it had ended up there. With all the slowness and laziness of a head that was massacred with every attempt to think, the let's say Officer spat on the floor, cracked and filthy. -&nbsp...

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“Hawker Girl ” by Sze-Ning Chuah

Submitted to Contest #44

My name is Ai Leen. Yap Ai Leen. I grew up a hawker girl, helping my parents at our noodle stall.Mummy and Daddy sold their signature char kuey teow in a busy hawker centre downtown. They had other fried noodles too, but it was the char kuey teow that customers kept returning for. My childhood was filled with wonderful scents of stir-fried flat rice noodles tossed with eggs, cockles, fishcakes, prawns, bean sprouts and chives, all deliciously seasoned and spiced. Chilli available on request, of course. The hawker centre was open 7 days ...

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“I don't have a heart” by Briana Spring

Submitted to Contest #44

“I don’t have a heart,” I told the handsome stranger that had most generously offered to buy me a drink. He didn’t comment on my statement. Instead, he took a sip from his own drink; whiskey, neat. I would have called him pretentious if I had not often been told to refrain from being so judgmental. After he had swallowed it without showing any discomfort whatsoever at the burning alcohol making its way down his throat, he asked calmly, “What, you mean like you literally don’t have that organ or...?” I chuckled and answered, “N...

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“Sideways Heart” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #44

Sandra was born with a sideways heart. She lived 38 years of her life without any knowledge of that fact. Only after she’d endured frequent heart palpitations for months, did Sandra finally seek out a medical professional to ascertain her body wasn’t planning to kill her any time soon. Sandra waited for months before even considering scheduling a doctor’s appointment because, frankly, her life wasn’t ‘anything special.’ She went to work, she came home to her tiny studio apartment, and she took two weeks of vacation every year to go...

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“A Mother's Scorn” by Ashley Clarke

Submitted to Contest #44

“Mom, I'm gay!" Cassie blurted out, as her mother turned to leave the family room. They were in a heated argument a few moments ago about the type of company she hung out with. “I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell you for months but you were “too busy" (she said while making air quotes) to listen". Kathleen turned to face her. “What did you just say?” she asked angrily as she walked slowly towards Cassie. “I-I-I'm gay" Cassie stuttered nervously. As her mother approaches her, their eyes met each others. It was like a staring cont...

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“Mummy” by Journey Mohn

Submitted to Contest #44

Mr. Christopher Evans was a hermit. He minded his own business, and let others mind theirs. He read books, he drew comics, and, most importantly, he didn't interact with others. He was not quite old, but too wise to be considered young. His sight was just poor enough to require squinting, but not glasses. He had brown hair that was more pepper than salt and had started to fade at the hairline, just a bit. Christopher lived alone in a small cottage just outside the town of Alton, Hampshire, in the South of England. There was a lovely br...

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“A Lucky Quarter” by Emerson Fallin

Submitted to Contest #44

New York was busy as ever on Monday morning when Vincent Moretti stepped out of his apartment in Little Italy and began his daily commute to Park Row. It was another week of labor for the lad, but the thirteen-year-old was used to it by now because of his three year experience as a newsboy for the New York World. The pay was minimal, but it was enough to put food on the table. Plus, he knew for a fact that he would rather be at the World than the other newspapers in town. A friend of his from the Tribune always turned somber when he tr...

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“TALE OF THE PHARMACIST” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #44

I was seated in a comfortable chair in the terrace of the building. It was night time and a pleasant soft breeze was blowing causing the live coals in the hookah in front of me to glow. Someone came and put in something on the coals, and they glowed brighter for moments as smoke curled upwards. I put the inhaler from the hookah between my lips and drew the smoke in. In seconds I landed on a sea shore with my bag. It was morning. The sea was calm and waves lazily lapped the sand on the shore. Two fishing boats came in from the sea and emptied...

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“The Recess Bell” by Julia Gibson

Submitted to Contest #44

The sound of dripping water was driving me crazy. Drip, drip, drip! If it would just stop, then I could get back to my classwork. I sat at the back of the third grade row and I could see the whole classroom. All the kids in my row were busy with their times tables. The teacher was listening to fourth graders recite their spelling words and the fifth graders had their heads buried in their history books. It seems that nobody else noticed the dripping. I looked around, but I couldn’t see where the dripping was coming from. Final...

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“His words are mine” by Kristina Anderson

Submitted to Contest #44

A rooster crowed in the distance and carriage wheels scraped against the dirt road, birds chirped but she never heard it. Mariella scarcely heard any noises, while she slept or while she read. Words on pages, transported her to a world beyond the walls of her stoic home. Until the quiet tap on the door that morning. Next to her beloved bookshelf, the door stood ajar. She strained to listen for another sound. Did I imagine that? The noise came again and it startled Mariella. I must have fallen asleep again. She grasped her books from the maho...

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“Post-Human” by Matt Render

Submitted to Contest #44

When I look at Jake it takes me back to a much simpler time. I’m reminded once again of what it was like to be 13 years old— getting drunk when my parents went for a night out, chasing girls around, going to the movies, and my first kiss with Heather Bankley on a park bench and then getting teased the next day because she was taller than me. I’m reminded of what life was once like, before all this. Jake is the only thing I have to hold onto from the ‘real’ world I once knew. There are many things I’ve refrained from telling him about ho...

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“The Right Thing” by Shawna Williams

Submitted to Contest #44

I watched Ozzie walk out of the door worried it would be the last time I ever saw him. That this would be his last stand, his last fight. His eyes told me everything he wouldn't allow to come out of his mouth. He was saying goodbye and it took every ounce of self control I had to not fall to my knees and beg him not to go. He knew this was dangerous, reckless, stupid but his hand was being forced and he didn't have a choice. A deep breath and a quick swipe under my eyes, I turned to face the rest of the room. My eyes immediately found a litt...

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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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