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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

“No Vacancy ” by Clive Kerrell

Submitted to Contest #44

Juan couldn’t have told you the date to save his life, so luckily he's already dead. Now that’s odd, dead people don't think, do they? That’s what Juan had thought before he'd gone and died. He’d been a spirit for about a week now and he figured that this was it; he's doomed to walk the earth for eternity. Forever watching his mother cry, family visiting his grave with flowers, and random animals pee on his neighbour’s tombstones. If he's supposed to walk the earth forever it would be nice to walk somewhere other than in a circle around...

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“A blunt with a side of donuts to be taken once nightly by mouth ” by Anna Vahn

Submitted to Contest #44

Peter inhaled deeply and slowly let his breath out. He watched the smoke curl and drift slowly up towards the night sky briefly blocking his view of the starlit night sky. It was beautiful out here. He could see for miles from the roof over the Brooklyn landscape. The lights coming from different peoples apartment homes glowed warm and bright. They seemed to twinkle just like the stars in the sky. He found some comfort in knowing that most of the people of the city were tucked away safely in their homes. Some of them may be sitting in bars a...

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“The Dream Weaver” by Jane Horsman

Submitted to Contest #44

There are things you don't know. So, so many things. One of these things is how you get your dreams. Now, you might think you know how you get those, but you don't. You know the psychologist's reasonings, the way everyone rationalizes that you get dreams. But that's not how it works.You don't even really get dreams, per se, they are given to you. That is a dream weaver's job. They are beings that can only be seen when they so choose. No one knows their true names, only the ones they assign to a form. Their job is not only to give you your dr...

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“Easy on The Eyes” by Rudy Uribe

Submitted to Contest #44

She was easy on the eyes but hard on the heart. The Santa Ana winds had blown into town, and my throat was as dry as desert sand. She stood behind the bar, wiping it down in a robotic fashion. She had dark, shoulder-length hair and piercing blue eyes. Her ample bosom left an ache in my loins. Angie knew I was waiting for her to attend me, but she pretended I wasn’t there. I couldn’t blame her—Angie and I had a history. A month earlier, I mustered the courage to ask her out. Her gentle lips widened at the proposition, and her porce...

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“CLARA” by MaureenJ Poutoa

Submitted to Contest #44

CLARAThe 3 girls met together and told each other a secret they kept. “I’m a animal Lover and I have a cat named Ginger Pot” said Theresa“I’m a whizz at solving puzzles, and I have a high IQ” said Tessa“I’m a Witch and I like collecting door knobs, especially golden door knobs” said ClaraThey all were impressed with their secrets, Theresa and Tessa were really impressed with Clara’s secret. “So Clara, what's going on in Witch Land then” said Theresa. “Well first of all Theresa, it is not called Witch Land it is part of A...

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“Innocent?” by E S

Submitted to Contest #44

Jared hangs his head. “I’m the culprit.” I twitch uncomfortably, the horrifying realization ripping everything away. Life drains from my features as I collapse onto the dorm room cushions. I can’t do this. I can’t be his fallback every time something goes wrong. Bubbles of terror pop and twist like my insides are stirring in a boiling pot. He’s had a knack for getting in trouble, but never like this. Tight nauseating tendrils coil around my stomach, clenching my middle like a vise. “Anya, please, listen to me.” A muscular arm wra...

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“The Witching Hour” by John Blood

Submitted to Contest #44

“That’s known as the witching hour,” Sarah spoke to her younger brother as she fanned out a deck of tarot cards before him. The two were seated cross-legged on the hardwood floor of the sunlit dining room. Nicholas nodded and looked over the semicircle. Between them, flimsy motes of dust played in the air, glimmering among the mullioned shafts of light and shadows.“The time between three and four o’clock,” Sarah continued. “It’s when the supernatural is most apparent.” She drew back her long, blond hair with a wave o...

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“Eucomopia” by Hana J

Submitted to Contest #44

Thomas often quoted himself as a deliberation of the loner society, just by the way he walked around, the intimidating look on his face would somehow be a vouch for why he didn’t have many friends. However, watching by the way he dragged himself about in his garnished sneakers was probably worse than his menacing approach. Walking the streets of Eucomopia Thomas hung his head low, even under his hat the blistering heat managed to swelter him from the inside out. At first he didn’t notice anything, his eyes were so dry that it hurt to keep th...

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“To Kill A God” by Kimberly Kurzawa

Submitted to Contest #44

I've always wanted to know. What does it feel like to feel? What is it that brings so much movement and variety to people? What do they build smiles with? Where do the falls of tears come from? What does it feel like for a belly to flutter-flutter? Or for a heart to drum-drum? I've always wanted to know. What does it feel like to feel? And what does it mean that I don't? Stilla heard a crunch. Not her head, which had hit the cold stone floor as she fell, but off to the side. The man's dark leather boot was standing on her hair. And on t...

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“The Salem Witch Trial Files” by Riya Tom

Submitted to Contest #44

The Salem Witch Trial Files #34The foggy weather was highly unusual for hanging witches, but it had to be done. John was aware that his wife, May, was unjustly accused, but it was necessary. “John, do you so solemnly swear, on the Holy Bible, that you have seen your wife dabbling in witchcraft?” the priest asked sharply.“I do.”"Can you recount how you found out?" the priest inquired."Yes sir. When we were first married, around 3 years ago, I noticed strange things around the house, things that wouldn't happen before, when I was a bachel...

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“Times Re~written” by Sam Womack

Submitted to Contest #44

You know, there are days, where you wonder? Is there a reason my hair has to be so big and my make up so white? Why can't I wear pants instead of this huge dress with multiple layers? I wonder about it all the time. I get told all the time, "It is just how it is done." Yes, I know I am a woman and in this time I can't change what has been as long as it has been. So, instead I write everything down. History may change but, for me I can change it in my own way. I will tell how I would change things in my everyday life. How, you may think?, I w...

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“The village” by Benjamin Hubner

Submitted to Contest #44

Marcus was walking towards the village, because he knew he had to stay there if he wanted to survive the bubonic plague. It was a cloudy day, so he started to walk faster to avoid possible rain. He was completely alone, and he was very thankful for that because it reduced significantly the odds of him dying this week of the disease. As he walked, he remembered the faith of his family, and almost started crying again. He missed them a lot, and everytime he thought of them sad feelings and nostalgia got the best of him. He had lost everything....

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“Scotland's Girl” by Ellie D

Submitted to Contest #44

In St. Kilda Scotland, there were the wealthy residents, and the servants. The wealthy ones believed in hierarchy and good fashion. Servants were what were called humble, the word being frowned upon. In this time, there was a family that lived the wealthy lifestyle. The Railes. Many of the Scots had heard of their name many times. They took part in the Hierarchy beliefs. This family had a mother, a father and a child. The mother was a wretch, as well as the father: Bobland and Cellecey. They had met through their own parents marrying th...

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“Behind the Eight ball ” by Claudia Cook

Submitted to Contest #44

It was the era of flappers. Of speakeasies and prohibition. Of The great Gatsby and The sun also rises. The era Agatha Christie wrote her debut novel.It was also the era Kitty had twins with a man she thought she loved and who loved her. She didn’t marry Frank for money for Kitty’s family was rolling in money. It wasn’t for status either as Kitty’s family was well off. She thought Frank was the bee’s knees and she told her father soKitty’s father, Jonathan, owned a local speakeas...

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“Corday” by Link Oberon

Submitted to Contest #44

There are clouds gathering on the horizon, pregnant with the long awaited rain. Above, in the azure sky, the sun beats down, bright, sharp, and unforgiving. The air itself is hazy, thick, a miasma of heat and dust and tightly packed bodies. Sweat, the multi-scented salts from thousands of onlookers, clings to the nostrils and drips from perspiring brows. It sticks to the skin like bedclothes after a night of exertion, and yet you are almost thankful for its presence, its humane odor, for it serves, like lace bed sheets, to cover the rancid m...

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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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