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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

“In wake of man's anger” by Nolan Cox

Submitted to Contest #44

None of us are sure when they first arrived. None of us were ever aware they were there to begin with. When the first attack came, we were caught by complete surprise and suffered severe casualties. I was the only one, along with my youngest sister, in my village who survived the first onslaught. I walked from the remnants of my home, carrying my sister. Buildings burned to nothing but charred rubble in the background. Black smoke billowed up into the evening air as we made our way through the forest to who knew where. The only home we ...

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“The Seizure” by Angel Brookins

Submitted to Contest #44

I don't remember what was on TV that night. I sat in my recliner with my computer on a tray over my lap. I looked over at the window, and reality fractured. I saw the moments of my life, like playing cards scattered into the air around me. They jostled and overlapped like pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope. I stared, entranced, and then realized I could sort through them. As I watched, a moment would come closer, and then another would jostle it out of place and become clear. I tried to get a grip on reality, and instead I saw ever...

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“Just another Saturday night” by Iman Shakeel

Submitted to Contest #44

It was midnight and the streetlights were dim.The sky was painted lead and pink. A dusty storm accompanied by tiny droplets of rain gave Shalini a sense of foreboding. Shalini was walking alone, slowly down the lane in a part of town where no lone woman should be walking, especially at that time of the night. The place was completely dark, shadowed by tall buildings on either side. A few industrial-sized bins contributed to the inner-city stench—a simmering mix of grime and garbage, with a tinge of acrid summer ozone. Strips of light escaped...

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“The Empty Cocoon” by Kathy Villanueva

Submitted to Contest #44

Twenty six years old, twenty two months pregnant, and planning her husbands thirtieth surprise birthday party, Kate found herself denying the worst day of her life. She and her brother Bob entered the hospital and took the elevator up to Labor and Delivery, as her doctor had instructed them to. The cramps had her bending over every five minutes or so. "Are you here to deliver your baby?", asked the woman at the labor and delivery reception desk. "No" replied Kate, in between sobs. "Why are you here?" questioned the the stone cold, middle...

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“vita mutetur” by Diana Wilson

Submitted to Contest #44

He looked across the courtroom, caught his mother’s eye; caught the faint whiff of sweat from his underarms. “What the hell am I doing here,” he mumbled to himself. The courtroom was packed, he knew the jackal press were waiting just outside; waiting to crucify him, pacing outside like wild animals, pushing and shoving to get at the ‘prey’, to get the verdict out, be the first to trample his fine, upstanding reputation into the ground and scrunch it with the heel of their boot and their pen. He stood in the dock. He was dressed in...

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“How to Deal with Failure” by Mr Jingo

Submitted to Contest #44

The stainless-steel cloche was lifted in excruciating slow-motion; the appetizer hidden beneath revealed.Ben could smell the wasabi with which he’d accidentally inundated his dish. It’d taken him too long to realize peaches and wasabi were good together, so much so that he panicked when he’d figured it out, putting something together that he was not remotely proud of.Ben’s despairing gaze grew murky, cloudy. It wouldn’t be good if he cried, but there was no avoiding it. He wasn’t even listening to the host at that point.Ben was eliminated fi...

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“The Bubble Finally Burst” by C. Weisbecker

Submitted to Contest #44

Only a few days had passed since Adam left me, and pardon the cliché, but the truth was he left me at the altar. Mumbling something about not being ready for a lifetime commitment, mingled with repetitions of “I’m really, really sorry, Maggie,” before I knew what hit me, Adam turned away and stepped out of my reach. And, mere hours later, he stepped out of my life. Finding our apartment emptied of everything Adam owned, I stuffed my belongings into two worn duffel bags, tossed my keys down on the tab...

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“My New Son” by Rebecca Pelchat

Submitted to Contest #44

“I would like you to call me ‘Joseph’ now,” says Amanda.I stare at my child across the table at a local restaurant. Many, many memories fly through my thoughts filling my mind until, at last, I focus on the person sitting across from me. I tear up remembering the time that she loved wearing her pink cowboy boots even in the summer, to when she stopped wearing her girlie clothes, to when she cut off 18 inches of her hair, and then finally to this moment. The waitress comes by to ask how our dinners are. I mumble something positive hoping...

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“The Wound Inside” by Salony Shakya

Submitted to Contest #44

I have some secrets that I cannot utter to a single soul. Some secrets that kill me deep inside. That create wounds healing into scar and again wounds on the same scars. I will not lie. I have been trying to heal in the best way I can. I could say that I have been reborn as a newer self but I fail to recognize it is only an outer shell that cracks with each new arrow thrown right at the weak spot. What is life exactly? Who can you trust with all your heart? Who do you think is willing to listen without judgement? Who do you think will stand ...

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“Man Down” by Stella Elewa

Submitted to Contest #44

"Dear God" someone screamed"The man's been shot dead" another continued.The man laid lifeless on the floor of the bank. The receptionist whose feet were now stained with blood shrieked in horror. A woman fainted. The briefcase filled with cash the man had been holding fell tragically out of his hands and slid open. No one dared touched it. No one dared take a single dollar. How could they, the thieves hadn't and there was at least a mil in that case. But they hadn't made a move at it. The gunman pulled the trigger at point blank range. The b...

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“A One Act Play” by Barry Litherland

Submitted to Contest #44

He took a step back and slipped into darkness, like an otter in a midnight pool; then one step forward until the streetlight caught him, his face half-illuminated, trapped in a subtle spotlight, an actor re-creating an iconic role. For now, he chose to remain off-stage, so he stepped back again and pulled the collar of his coat higher, and the peak of his hat lower. He pushed his hands deep into his pockets and rehearsed in his mind how they would emerge later, in a choreographed gesture of sadness, when he said goodbye. He mouthed his words...

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“Pest control” by Lauren Tobin

Submitted to Contest #44

It was like a game of Clue – Lynette in the living room with the brass lamp. Except this wasn’t a board game, and this wasn’t Mr. Boddie laying in my living room floor. I, Lynette Whitesmith, just killed Craig, the pest control man.It had been so long since I’d slept this well. The knocking on the front door came faint at first and I thought I was dreaming. As it became louder, I became more aware, opening my eyes, seeing the break of morning light through my bedroom blinds. The babies would be up soon.The sound came again – a push on the d...

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“How Rachel Got Her Wheels” by Lari Levey

Submitted to Contest #44

As the movie ended, we rolled off the couch and stretched. "This must have been the third time we have watched the Thorn Birds this year," I yawned. "The book was infinitely better," I said as I hit Kyle with a pillow. This started an unrelenting pillow fight and even a more unrelenting clean up. When everything was picked up, Kyle announced he was going to take a shower. I went to the bedroom and looked over the new clothes I had just bought for my long-planned trip to London. I excitedly examined each piece and imagined what I would...

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“Estelle & Evelyn” by Amy Yeary

Submitted to Contest #44

Her iPhone had been buzzing in the pocket of her black dress throughout the service, and Estelle had been finding it increasingly hard to ignore. She knew it was Derek. He had been skeptical at first about her flying up to Boston to visit him, especially after 11 long years apart, but the excitement had been building as their texts and calls over the past few days rekindled, at the least, a friendship once lost. Next to her, Estelle’s mom, Barb, continued to openly sob in the pew. Her dad looked forward but not quite at her sister’s cl...

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“Lose Some, Win Some” by James Corporon

Submitted to Contest #44

My life was never the same after I lost my arm in a construction accident. OSHA will get you on the most minor crap, but for some reason, the more I think about it, my last workplace hardly ever had an inspection. A paid-off inspector, a delayed inspection, paperwork falling through the cracks: whatever it was, they were immune, in the short-term, to getting called out for their lack of safety procedures. I was installing some pipe and I had my arm severed by a tractor while I was working. It was the most pain I’d ever felt in my life. It wa...

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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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