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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

“Hope” by Anna Clarke

Submitted to Contest #44

Hope It was late in the night when Hope sprang from the taxi, champagne bottle in hand. The driver put her suitcase at the bottom of the steps. Hope left it there and bounded up the remaining steps to the front door. She paused, breathed deeply to slow her heart, smoothed her pencil skirt; caressed her belly. She couldn’t wait to tell Mark. She unlocked the door, tiptoed into the house and down the hallway. A soft glow filtered beneath the bedroom door. She flung it open. “Surprise!” Her voice rang out, ...

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“The World Walker.” by Robert Cheng

Submitted to Contest #44

Ravens. Portents of death. He had been seeing more and more of their number as of late, circling, waiting. The priests called them the messengers of the gods, but all he saw were birds flocking to wherever the feeding was the fattest, no matter the land he travelled. Perhaps the gods knew where the most carrion lay and told their messengers to feast so they do not starve he thought, letting a small snort escape. Men called him Wanderer, World-Walker, Explorer, he never once paid them heed when they chanted his titles nor his name. He was cur...

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“Clear skies” by Pablo Mascaraque Glenn

Submitted to Contest #44

The space pod was still several miles up in the air, but it had stopped being a little speck in the sky and was now more of a semi-distinguishable blob. Lloyd squinted as he tried to recognise its shape through his wire-framed glasses, looking back down at the screen every few seconds, all the while trying not to let the queasiness from the rocking boat take over him. He would have sworn the parachute had not yet been deployed, based on the speed his brain was trying to estimate with the little data it was being given, but the numbers on the...

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“Last Dance” by John Meiners, Jr

Submitted to Contest #44

Last Dance by &n...

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“A Train Ride Away” by Bea Coleman

Submitted to Contest #44

The train creaked to a stop, smoke billowing from the pipe that protruded from the roof. The right heel, then the left, emerged from the opening doors of the train. Her bag hovered just inches from the concrete, and her emerald eyes squinted in the brightness of the sun. Locks of auburn hair fell over her forehead. She scanned the platform for a familiar face; her eyes settled on the soft, round visage of a 10 year old girl. Upon noticing the woman in heels, the girl stood straight and waved frantically. She leapt towards the woman, knocking...

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“Donkey and Me” by Zahidah Rabaab

Submitted to Contest #44

My donkey has laid an egg. I carefully took the egg onto my shaky palms and slowly paced towards the bedroom. I placed the thing on my bed and looked for more cushioning. Soon, I had found some pretty lace that had been removed from an old frock and some cotton and some satin ribbon. I made a nest out of these for my egg. Because it looked shabby, I wiped its face with a cotton ball dipped in Dettol. Now it looked like an Easter egg with lots of colorful freckles."Oh what a pretty thing!” I exclaimed.I slowly caressed my egg until it fell as...

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“Storytelling ” by Mary Margaret Perkins

Submitted to Contest #44

0400 hours, Sunday, June 12th, 2089 Hi. This is my first ever post on this app. I know it might seem strange, but I've never done this whole, I'm on social media thing before. You see, it's sort of been impossible for me to do so. I was born in the Beta, as in the illegal genetic modification institution that was supposed to have been shut down years ago. I know, you're probably thinking, how could I have possibly survived the tests, the chemicals, the riots. But, I did, so, here I am, and I'm making a blog post. Geez who am I. Anyways, bac...

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“Kanga Creek” by Lina Fulmer

Submitted to Contest #44

Kanga Creek's only watering hole was filled to the brim at high noon. The small town lay just east off the middle of the continent, conveniently far enough away from the main road to be an inconvenience for strangers to stop through, and also keeping them out of the war. Mika, didn’t care who said what outside of Kanga Creek. And if they called her a coward for not picking a side or not ‘choosing what’s right’, then so be it. She was a passionate advocate for people picking for themselves what to believe. And perhaps, it was for that sa...

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“Family” by Tim Benson

Submitted to Contest #44

“Family”Fully clothed, life size mannequins aren’t what you’d expect to see in someone’s home. A department store, sure, but not like this. When Maria greeted me at the front door and told me to go on into the living room while she finished a call, I didn’t think I’d have to compete with plastic people for a place to sit. All I could do was stand there in the middle of the weirdness and wait for her to return. Fortunately that wasn’t long and when she walked in I could tell she was a little uneasy.“Sorry, Luke, I had to wrap up that call. It...

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“Sienna” by Alexandra Riva

Submitted to Contest #44

I don’t know why I did it. Maybe because I was just done. Maybe because I wanted to stop overthinking things and thought that this was the easiest way. I always loved a thrill, that's what my mom said. Maybe I was tired of not being wanted, not being happy unless I had that thrill. Maybe I just didn’t want one more day of being that odd one, the retard. Some people would have turned to alcohol, drugs, but I wanted it to be done. So there were no sufferings, so I didn't have to face life when I was sober so that no one could change my m...

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“Phobias that Fly” by Cynthia Cronan

Submitted to Contest #44

REEDSY 05JUN2020Writing prompt #44Write a story that starts with a character revealing something unusual about themselves.Phobias That Fly by clcronan 2020You won’t believe me but I’m going to tell you anyway. I am a professional portrait painter, I paint my fears. That in itself may not be interesting, but my phobias make it ever so challenging. I have a Atelophobia which is the fear of imperfection and that leads to three sub categories: which are cacophobia the fear of ugliness and teratophobia a fear of disfi...

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“Outed.” by Ruth Cumiskey

Submitted to Contest #44

I was 15 years old when I discovered that everyone else had a belly button except for me. Looking back, I’m not sure how it took me so long to work it out. All I can say in defence of my baffling ignorance is that I was always a shy child, and there had been no reason in our isolated community for exposing my midriff or examining other local specimens. Crop tops were a few years off becoming fashionable, and swimming meant jumping into ice cold lakes. I could do without, thanks. I suppose if I ever saw one on television I must have assumed i...

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“Gus's Heart” by Phillip Allen

Submitted to Contest #44

Gus was thrust awake. It felt as if he had been kicked in the chest. The defibrillator implanted under his skin sent a charge of electricity to the probe within his heart.It only hurt for a second, but it was enough to awaken him. He gasped for breath and looked around. As always, he was in his room, all alone. His heart had been failing and there was nothing that could be done. His doctor told him if the defibrillator fired once or twice in a row, he should call the office but if it fired more than twice, he should call emergency services. ...

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“Into the Sunlight” by Karen L

Submitted to Contest #44

I’ll never forget the first time I conjured a flower.I was 13, standing in my childhood backyard. As I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, something took root in my mind and drew my attention into the ground. An actual root formed in the dirt near my feet. When I raised my hands and opened my eyes, there was a red tulip in the ground that hadn’t been there before. “Mom!” I called. Before she could dash into the backyard to view my accomplishment, our golden retriever Nugget already had it in his mouth, gnashing the petal...

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“True Lies” by Andy Miranda

Submitted to Contest #44

This is a story about a boy named Alexander. A son of the gods. “Hello Alexander, why don’t you read me your speech?” Said a young woman looking grimly at a boy standing beside her desk. She had blond hair that was pulled back into a bun, and she wore a matching blazer and pencil skirt. “Why should I?” Said Alexander, an angry frown on his face. He was a scrawny little boy with short, choppy hair and eyes so grey they almost looked white. He stood next to the seated woman, no taller than fou...

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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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