Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

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

“Virtually Reality” by Ellie K

Submitted to Contest #44

My name is Ryan James Harper, and I live in a crazy, upside-down world. Actually, it's a normal world. It's normally perfect and perfectly normal in every way. In my mind, at least, that's abnormal. But it's only unsettling when you take the time to think about it. That's probably why no one ever does. The world I live in is what used to be called virtual reality. Now it's just called life. It's almost ironic that our world is completely fabricated, yet almost everyone accepts it as reality. I don't know what the world looks like, what it so...

Read story

“The Prima Donna of Vienna” by Margaret Gaffney

Submitted to Contest #44

Margherita took a deep breath, convulsively pulling at her stiff bodice and readjusting her powdered curls, though she knew Contessa’s skill too well to question her coiffure abilities. She listened to the sounds around her; the stage crew chattering away as they worked, their laughter drowned out by the orchestra. Beyond that, the din of the crowd was softer than normal, probably because Giuseppe was coming to his key aria. A shudder ran through her and she turned her thoughts away from the audience, knowing who would be out there, watching...

Read story

“WHAT’S FOR DINNER” by Russell Waterman

Submitted to Contest #44

Amok, squatted, his rear hovering above the hole in the ground, his feet buried in ankle-deep mud on either side. Normally, he’d be in such a compromising position for the exact reason rolling around in your head. But this time you’d be wrong. His stomach growled. He clutched his stick and cocked his head while his pea-brain wobbled. Ta (the woman who claimed Amok for herself) had a craving for water-shrew meat with her dino eggs. Amok knew his punishment for failure would be severe. His long matted hair hung down partially blocking his visi...

Read story

“The Men in Blood” by Philo Physic

Submitted to Contest #44

The young girl sat upon the edge of the dampened, wooden boardwalks that nearly circulated the cool harbor around him. The weather was reasonably warm for the early spring season, and the fresh wind driven by the lapping waters was a bitter refreshment in uncertain times. The large naval boats rocked gently, tied comfortably to the docks as they were vacantly cradled. There was not a man on these ships, and without them, the view was dark and mysterious. No cargo was to be released, and no human would leave these ships a friend to the girl’s...

Read story

“Road to Jenkins Ferry” by Jake Wishard

Submitted to Contest #44

April 28- Afternoon.General Frederick Steele winced as the rain began to seep through his widebrim hat, water droplets mixing with sweat from the humidity stinging his eyes with every drop. "Curse this Southern spring weather," he muttered as steam rose up from his dirty blue wool uniform, and from the mount shivering below him. This campaign through the Arkansas wilderness had been unkind to him and his men. They had resorted to foraging and had made many enemies on the road as they pilfered corn cribs and the very barns and homes of the lo...

Read story

“Tales of beauty” by Kornelius Sikongo

Submitted to Contest #44

September spring, a happy evening it was. My parents, siblings and everybody at that party were dancing in ecstasy. The mood was jubilant. The effect of two rounds of vodka made me speak to the prettiest girls at the party. At twelfth I had already secretly made up with four girls in the bathroom. It was the greatest Sunday of my life. The joy and excitement went on until two in the morning. That was the morning I remembered I had a DAT test to write four hours later. DAT was a test written to determine the probability of students likely to ...

Read story

“Three Bullets” by Oracle Ferguson

Submitted to Contest #44

The world was slowly adapting to the present changes, sounds of bullets and bombardments instead of birds, the smell of gunpowder instead of flowers and the echoes of the sobbing families, whose husband, son, brother or father had recently lost their lives in the frontlines, filled the atmosphere. The “Great War” as it was dubbed, had been continuing for over two years and no one knew when it would end.One day after the weekly meeting in the Town Hall, discussing the necessities of helping the families in these times and preaching how the so...

Read story

“The Night of Fire.” by Ellie Burrows

Submitted to Contest #44

The wailing siren rose to its eerie peak in the early evening air sending a chill down everybody's spine. 'They're starting early tonight.' Frank commented darkly to no one in particular. He jumped to his feet pulling on his tin hat and securing the strap under his chin. Nora and Betty manning the comms desk looked at him, fear gleaming in their eyes. It made no difference that they had been through this several times now, it was just as worrying whether it was your first night or your fiftieth. 'It's going to be a bad one isn't it?' Nora as...

Read story

“Whispers ” by Carol Keefer

Submitted to Contest #44

“Whispers”By Carol Ann Keefer The lake lap as it caresses the shore and her hair danced in the warm breeze. In the distance, a house surrounded by an assortment of trees giving rise to an illusion of an island. There Isabella lives, or shall I say more like a prisoner, locked in a room whose windows face the forbidden lake. Gone is her innocence, strip away, like weathered stones that make up the mountains that protruded against the horizon. Isabella...

Read story

“The Night” by Rebecca Shipp

Submitted to Contest #44

The night oozed across the sky, swallowing up the blue in an inky blackness. The bright orange ball of fire that lit the earth and provided it warmth and life, edged farther across the sky in an attempt to evade the overwhelming darkness. But to no avail. Within minutes, the night had swallowed up the sun. A tremble ran through the boy as he watched the sun’s descent and disappearance from the mouth of the cave he called home. His hand ran over the line of blood on the wall that marked the size he’d been when his father had left. He was...

Read story

“Disease” by CARLOS MANUEL EUSOYA

Submitted to Contest #44

Madrid had been a ghost town for 12 straight weeks. Today was the 21st of the month of snow, yet no one seemed to bother. The pebble-walled houses had no wreaths of any design. Not a single admirer whistled at the sight of the ladies' fur trim winter coats, their oxford boots, or large purple French-fusion hats. The men, who usually walked with pride and canes, did not light a cigar. They paced faster than usual and covered their smoke-tinted mouths with a white mask.The flu had been killing everything these times. The garbage collection, th...

Read story

“The Last Goodbye” by Sujanaa Srinivasa Raghavan

Submitted to Contest #44

“Goodbye.” As that word echoed in my ears, I realized that this really was the last goodbye. I would never see her again, hear her laugh. I reached out to touch her arm but stopped just before making contact. I looked into her eyes, hoping against hope that she would retract this declaration of separation. She seemed to know what I was thinking. I wasn’t surprised, given how long we knew each other. Seventeen years. And this was what we had to show for it. “Ana,” she sighed. “I think we’ve both had enough of this. I want to go to Australia. ...

Read story

“The Living Room Disco Ball” by Grace Dunnam

Submitted to Contest #44

The Fortune Teller“Farewell! Good fortune be with you!”The man, walking with far more of a pep in his step than he had when he entered, gives an exuberant full body wave before I shut the door. I can see his figure through the stained glass window skipping off like Gene Kelly and shake my head.Being a fraud was a delight.//The ManMy life had been catastrophically unlucky. I had been born on a boat in the middle of a tropical storm, and when we finally landed safely on shore we were robbed. When we were at last able to return home my father’s...

Read story

“Wrong Place, Wrong Time” by Gigi Delisi

Submitted to Contest #44

“So is this it? This is goodbye?” Her voice was so faint, he almost didn’t hear it. Looking at her like this pulled the strings in his heart. Her eyes were already sparkling with tears and she was clutching her own shoulders, seeking a comfort that he couldn’t provide. Worst of all she was wearing his sweater.Ben scuffed his shoe on the step looking anywhere but her, his fiancé Rose. “This is it.” He couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye yet but the longer he would stand here the more painful for the both of them.The crack in his voice...

Read story

“Hard Decisions ” by Gloria Riva

Submitted to Contest #44

I was driving, tears were running down my face, it was raining outside, it was night, I felt alone, and I have never felt such a mortifying pain. Was I the only one that was hurt by this? Was I just being dramatic, as every girl is? Was I just more invested? All of these questions did not matter, it hurt so bad I thought I could not breath, my emotional pain transformed into a physical pain. Just an hour ago I was driving home, a smile on my face, not knowing what was going to happen next. I do not want to think about the series of events th...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢