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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

“Leaving Scars” by Nicole Wake

Submitted to Contest #44

Leaving can either feel as freeing as summer break when you’re a kid or as painful as sawing off your own leg. This time it is so much more the latter. My hands grip the steering wheel as I gasp for breath and hot tears sting my cheeks. I feel as if my chest is being crushed by boulder. Every mile is another deep cut to my soul. I can still feel the sun, hot, on my pale skin. I can see the water hitting the rocks. And I can still hear his voice, a whisper, in my ears. Yet, metal surrounds me ...

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“Flowers” by Ella Jane

Submitted to Contest #44

There are two most famous seasons to visit Paris. One is in the spring the Other is the fall. The spring brings beautiful colors. Tall trees dressing in pale purple pink flowers. Flower beds of orange,white, and yellow stationed through out the city. Tall towering oaks lining the city roads. The green against the buildings astonishing. The weather perfect to sit on some beaches and possibly dip in. The only down fall is the lines; the amount of people who flock here every year. That is why they chose the fall. In the fall the air is co...

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“Time I Came Home” by Lia Divani

Submitted to Contest #44

I almost ran to the portal. I have been away from my family for too long. It was only a year but to me it felt like a decade. With my cap on my head and a suitcase at hand, I stepped through the portal and found myself standing before our front door. My heart was about to burst with happiness and I haven't even seen my family yet! I rang the doorbell numerous times as I was in a hurry to finally hold them in my arms. I waited impatiently for my daughter, Rina, to open the door. She would always race her sisters to the door and greet the visi...

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“IF ONLY FOR A PIECE OF MIND” by Seema Sharma

Submitted to Contest #44

These times are terrible. It used to be so much more pleasant back then. Open fields, even if not plenty, natural air, even when it was gassed and yes, most importantly: families. Though I have neither seen nor experienced any of these myself but have most earnestly heard it being described by my mother.I guess it’s too late to realise how much I would love socialising because now, there are just virtual rendezvous. I don’t have to leave my room for even a moment for any single thing. These 3D printers really are a thing. Within crojets (cro...

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“The Crash” by Mia Basulto

Submitted to Contest #44

Holy Alpha my head hurts. I groan, pushing something cold, hard, and definitely metal off me. I try and blink the fuzziness out of my eyes without much success. I sit up, ignoring the rush of pain to my torso, and lean against the wall of the ship to take in the damage.Everyone seems fine, if not unconscious. The ship’s automatic cushioning system must be the only thing that has kept us alive. It’s nearly completely destroyed, with several holes in the roof allowing starlight to shine through. Well, we are certainly not going anywhere for a ...

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“Just the Beginning ” by Kiana Grant

Submitted to Contest #44

Chapter 1It’s all I wanted. The disgusting hairspray, the overdramatic mothers and daughters, the ballet costumes only made for a size zero, the unbearable, intense lights in your eyes and the ruthless competition for the lead role that lasted less than fifteen seconds, just to impress a group of people that could make or break your future.Sound fun? It was me. I loved it. Every minute of it.Performing allowed me to say all the things I couldn't say. The movement was beautiful, the music was uplifting and the dancers were inspiring. We all m...

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“The Ring of Saturn” by Jania Robinson

Submitted to Contest #44

REFLECTION(s)I mounted my pink stool and stared into my 24-inch mirror. I gritted my teeth and fought back my tears for, despite the numerous applications of various ointments, treatments, and the multiplicity of at-home “remedies”, it was still there. Eczema! The dreaded skin condition that was as synonymous with my existence as breathing. (Self) hatred grew within me. Attention, NASA! We have a problem. The ring of Saturn is no longer orbiting its home. Instead, it can be found around my mouth, ten time darker...

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“Tom” by Kelly Rogers

Submitted to Contest #44

Cassandra clutched the frog in one hand. The water from the hose lazily gushed out into the dirt beside her. She felt her fingers tighten into a fist, the slippery skin exploding through the cracks next to her knuckles. Her feet sank into the ground, just far enough for the mud to cover her toes. She stared ahead, feeling the weight of the lump in her hand. It dropped into the mud. She turned around and walked back to the house.The house was old. Most of the houses in the neighborhood had been razed and rebuilt, huge sprawling mansions that ...

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“corona changed my life ” by Lee Peter

Submitted to Contest #44

Have you question yourself before how corona changed your life. It is time to think of it. Before corona strike South Korea. I never knew how powerful or worst the corona can be. Also it brings back times me to think how lovely and happy my life had been before corona came. Since many things are limited and have limit. It brings me to think how important and lucky that I can do such things without any limit. Also I found out self who am I and what I have to do and why I have to thanks for everything that happens around me. Corona strike all...

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“A Cigarette After Ages” by OB Jato

Submitted to Contest #44

He was a man who sang tunes rather than symphonies. His idea of life was governed by his childhood, which was spent in humble settings with minimal resources. His mother made a point to teach him the important things of life - he knew how to spend money, but he also knew he should not spend money without good reason; he knew how to be happy, but he also knew a poker face would take him more places than evident pleasure ever would; he knew how to live, but he also knew it was more of a priority to stay alive. He was the first person in t...

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“The Messiah” by Donald Baxter

Submitted to Contest #44

First, there's the light, like a thousand flashbulbs all going off at once, then the skidding as I panic, try to steer away from the light, the car losing control and nailing the guardrail, then the screaming of metal as the car goes over, tumbling, rolling, crashing, finally coming to a stop, me hanging upside down, held in place by my seatbelt. I feel horrible stuff going on all over my body. That was a shit-kicking if I ever had one, and I've had plenty. And yet, I have the feeling that the worst is yet to come.&nbsp...

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“The diary of lost hopes” by Aras Dapkus

Submitted to Contest #44

June 20th 2020 I’m on the school roof ready to jump off and end my life, but then… March 2nd the snow is melting and I was walking to school and listening to music. As I walk through the city center, I see her. I blush and try to avoid her. When I arrive at school, I see the same three bullies as always. I try to avoid eye contact, but they still see me and catch me. They take me to the bathroom, I tried to resist, but it didn’t work. When they take me into one of the stalls, they start to beat me up, they take away my money and s...

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“Harry and Ruth” by Erin McShay

Submitted to Contest #44

Summer began its reign without warning, with a blasting x-ray heatwave. New life abounded as the tulips bowed, making way for the roses, poppies, and irises. The days grew longer as birds chirped with felicity and like animals slowly awakening from their slumber, people trickled outdoors eager to feel the sun on their shoulders. I was inside looking out, planning my wedding day. I was in love and felt like the universe let me in on a mysterious secret. There was a quickening in my step, an urgency, but at the same time a harmony or symmetry...

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“With No Heart in his Chest” by Amelie Bennett

Submitted to Contest #44

“Orpheus,” she breathed. “It’s me.”And he was alone.Orpheus was a boy in love, who had never had to learn to be a man without someone else holding his heart. So when he lost his wife, he asked the gods to take him, too. They refused. He yanked on the door to the River Styx, and Charon flung him back out. He plunged a knife into his chest. He could not die. And, as he was to learn, it is very hard to learn to live with no heart in your chest. So here is what he did instead:The morning after he lost his wife, Orpheus took his lyre to King Hade...

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“Goodbye” by Christina Maharaj

Submitted to Contest #44

Rain poured down on the funeral, clearing all but a lone woman, Casey. She stared at the coffin covered in roses, her tears blending in with the rain. "Why?" she mumbled to herself, clutching her silver rose necklace. "Why did you have to leave me, too? Why do you always throw yourself into harm's way? You're all I had left, and yet you can't stop yourself from running in to try and save someone! Why can't you think about yourself for once?! Or about me?!" Casey screamed fell back into an open, wet chair. She stared listlessly into the sky a...

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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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