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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

“Losing Christian” by Julia Hopkins

Submitted to Contest #44

Mary threw her clipboard onto the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel. I watched from the front porch as the silver Buick crept down the gravel drive to the street. I meandered back inside my house. The only home that my fourteen-month-old son had ever known. I had always been aware that this was a possibility, even though the social worker said it was not likely. Today, however, she informed me that this probability was now my painful reality. They were taking away my boy. My dreams of adoption were void. Once inside. I leaned ...

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“Once in a Lifetime” by Marianne Wieland

Submitted to Contest #44

Once in a Lifetime He had been outside tending to the flower beds that were so important to her, in another lifetime. He wiped the sweat from his brow and with an unsteady gait, walked into the sitting room where he could watch her. She was sitting in her rocker, handmade by him, staring out the window as was her custom at this time of day. He sat in his easy chair and closed his weary eyes. He remembered the day he first laid eyes on her over forty- one years ago. She was beautiful in spirit. A real lady. She h...

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“Misplaced Priorities” by Autumn Huizenga

Submitted to Contest #44

He took another long, deep drag off of his cigarette, and looked out over the vast expanse of concrete rooftops. It was mid-summer in San Francisco, the air sticky and humid. down below they could hear the music of the street performers playing their hearts out, just to feed themselves. They heard the car horns, people yelling, kids laughing. His face read no emotion, though the quiver in his voice begged to differ. He sat there, dangling his feet that wore the now beat up maroon sneakers she ha...

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“The Purple Fire Within” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #44

She stood there looking at herself in the mirror and wondering what happened. She saw herself but then I didn’t see her real self. She didn’t see that carefree girl who enjoyed life and all it had to offer. She didn’t see the girl who would take chances, who would love unconditionally and was in love with life. What she saw was a woman who was beat down by life. A woman who had let people suck all the life out of her. Her smiles had turned into frowns and griminaces. Her hair was greying like her personality. She coul...

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“The Last Night” by Julia Ransom

Submitted to Contest #44

“Goodbye?” Luke asked, confused.“I don’t want this life anymore Luke. I want to go home, sit on my gramma’s porch, smell her azaleas, listen to my mother yell at my uncle to stay out of her kitchen. I want to be Rosie again, not Amber Whittier, movie star. I just want to go home.” Amber buried her hands in her hair and walked towards the windows. Luke didn’t move.“This town, this life. It consumes your soul and spits out the ashes after it burns everything away. I’m tired.” She said, defeat filling her voice.&nb...

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“Operation Blue Star” by ML2012020 HARJAS SINGH SIDHU

Submitted to Contest #44

"Write a story that starts with two characters saying goodbye.""Goodbye, son."Little did I know, this would not be the last time I saw my father. The thundering of the helicopter's rotors grew louder and louder as us kids were rushed to safety. Through the mass of bodies, I turned and managed to catch a glimpse of my father grabbing a weapon before rushing off to defend our sacred and holy land, the Golden Temple. Later, I would find out that I had been caught in the middle of a covert military operation, nicknamed Operation Blue Star.That d...

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“Goodbye, Seeya” by Emma Knights

Submitted to Contest #44

“Goodbye”“Seeya”I turned and walked away. There was nothing emotional in our goodbye. There was no hug and no tears. At least not yet. I would not look back; it would be silly. We were not even friends, not really. We never really shared a laugh or a drink or a dinner or music. So, why was it hard to take these steps in a new direction? A new direction. There were many offers laid out on my table of life. Which did I want to choose? Which way did I want to go?I knew the way things had been were not working and that something had to change. T...

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“No Justice, No Peace ” by Cyan Villanueva

Submitted to Contest #44

“We’ve never been good at this, have we love?” He says solemnly, placing the tips of his fingers against the gentle warmth and softness of Olivia Barne’s cheek.This is her husband, Samuel Barne. They sit on a wooden park bench, surrounded by freshly cut grass, trees and the warmth of the sun. It feels like this could be a dream. And of course it is. It’s the only way Olivia can speak to her husband now. In short dream sequences, or nightmares where his smile haunts her memory; because she remembers the way it contorted into screams of h...

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“LITTLE HOOD” by Ricky Alvis

Submitted to Contest #44

This story starts out with a big crisis in my life, yes a crisis indeed. “Hi! I’m Little Robi Hood, a young and darn cute gray wolf dressed in green with a silly hat.” Speaking as Narrator again, which I’ll be doing from time to time: Now you may or may not have heard about Little Hood, who? Me. But at this point in time I’m sitting on a ledge up against one of the outer walls of the Nottingham Castle, near a steep drop, facing a forest – Sherwood Forest.“Guess this is goodbye Little John, I'm gonna miss you.” I said.“Did anyone ever tell yo...

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“A promise” by Bhanushree Agarwal

Submitted to Contest #44

That deafening gunshot was still ringing in my ears making the scene in front of me go blur, as I watched him fall to the ground with a final thud. I could not even say a proper goodbye to my brother. I look up and see a look of triumph on his killers face, I try to reach the killer, but his goons have held me in place. The killer laughed menacingly at me, and then he bent down to my eye level and said to his goons, "Release her, let her run to her dead brother". Then he looked at me and said " You saved him five years ago, you saved him whe...

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“Annie...” by Mahathi Sathish

Submitted to Contest #44

“Do you have to go Daddy?” squeaked the voice of a little girl. Her tone echoed with innocence and scarred the man sitting in front of her uncomfortably. His bright orange jumpsuit with an inked number on the front pocket was once quite bizarre to little Annie’s eyes, but she had grown used it over the course of the past 3 years. She used to question him on why he never wore anything else, but over time she gradually realised that in prison, people cannot choose what they want to wear and what they don’t. Yes, she was indeed wise for her age...

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“A Day of Goodbye's ” by Jordan Mae Hayes

Submitted to Contest #44

They stood three feet apart separated by a five foot tall fence. He could barely see her head above it. He had always loved how short she was and how every time they kissed she would have to stand on the very tips of her toes. A soft sound like something being dragged could be heard and he wondered what was going on. Moments later he saw her head and a bit of her shoulders pop up over the top of the fence. She giggled and said she had gotten a step-stool. "Surprisingly, I haven't used one of these since I was a kid," She laughed. He didn't k...

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“From the Ground Up” by Maree Black

Submitted to Contest #44

“It’s not much but it’ll get you a bed tonight,” Patrick’s mother whispered, discretely slipping a handful of coins and a few postage stamps into his jacket pocket. “I love you son.” She gave him a fleeting final hug before dashing back up the steps to their apartment. From the sidewalk Patrick caught a glimpse of his younger sister, Mary standing at the front window before their frantic mother whisked her away out of sight. There was nothing anyone could say or do that would change anything. Not this time. “Fuck you!” he yelled, spearing ...

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“Step Into My Story” by Kelsey Roberts

Submitted to Contest #44

Everything felt a bit detached. There I was walking the same paths, the same gravel that I always had, but this was different, because at the end- she would be gone.I started my day as typical as usual: coffee, clothes, hanging out with my cat- Yes, I'm aware how that sounds.But today was truly more riveting than my usual routine, I had prepared for this; I felt myself with every step, looking backward…Because today was the day I lost my girl.Step 1: I thought about when I met her in college… so many events leading to one. She wanted absolut...

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“A Candid Wind-up” by Anitha Sankaran

Submitted to Contest #44

The possible probabilities indicated it is impossible to look into his eyes when we part. My eyes echo the voice of my mind. So I loosened my brows and lowered my eyelids to move my eyeballs to face the ground. In that split second, I longed to know what's running in his mind. I saw his face from the corner of my eyes. He held a bright smile radiating all over his face like the rays of the early morning Sun between the oak trees. Is he happy to leave me? How could he be comfortable while I'm in pain? He is trying to bury himself under t...

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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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