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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

“Pilar From Lugo” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #44

Pilar, as every good Catholic knows (a lot of bad ones know, too, most likely) is a woman’s name derived from Our Lady of the Pillar. At the same time, not many who come from outside Catholicism know that this virgin appeared in the area of Zaragoza in 40 A.D. to encourage Saint James, Santiago, to keep his commitment to Christ and Christianity. That is relevant to this story.That should mean Pilar should have become the main figure in Spain, and James the second place finisher.However, that is not what happened, but since it was so long ago...

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“The Pink-Eyed Wonder” by Aneka Williams

Submitted to Contest #44

“One of my eyes is actually a pale pink”My step-sister, Kayden, stared at me with a quizzical expression and I instantly knew she was having a hard time trying to process what I just said."You said you wanted us to be closer as siblings so I decided to tell you my secret" I explained.She sat up from her current position on the living room couch and gave me her full attention. We were still getting used to each other, even one year after my father married her mom, and she wanted us to be closer. I didn't really like the idea of having another...

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“Beyond” by Sandeep T

Submitted to Contest #44

I'm dead yet still living or maybe I'm living, now that I am dead would be a right way to frame this. What could be life changing than being dead? To live. Which I didn't or maybe I did. But I don't feel like I did, so I didn't. Then why didn't I if I knew I didn't. Because I couldn't. Why couldn't I ? Well, we'll just keep on circling. Let's get on with it. My body and mind finally feel light for one thing now at least.It has been a week since my little pathetic funeral and I'm still wandering in my town as I always did. Thought I...

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“Hallucination Prt 2.” by Roxie ...

Submitted to Contest #44

A/N: Please read hallucination Prt 1 before you read this. What would you do if someone you loved no longer existed? As if they never existed in the first place and were only a figment of your imagination. What if you were so sure they loved you, but then they vanish into thin air? What would you do? Cry yourself to sleep. Scream at the top of your lungs for no one else to hear. What if no one cared or if no one knew? How do you cope? Let the feelings be buried at the bottom of your heart only to resurface and tear you into sh...

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“The End that Marks a New Beginning ” by Mara C

Submitted to Contest #44

The stars were a form of new world, home.Theo and I loved to simply look up and stare. Stare, dream, wish... hope.The sky was a dark blue-blue color with highlights of black. Crickets could be heard nearby and I could smell the grass that surrounded us, as we sat side-by-side, without saying a word. We didn’t need to. All was said in the silence, and we knew it. Besides, the sight of the sky at night, with all its stars and having Theo next to me, was breath-taking. It was beautiful, safe. It was comfo...

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“Laurel's Big Day” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #44

The members of the department had worked together for going on twenty years, but now two of them were moving on to other jobs. Those remaining were planning a farewell gathering in which everybody would have the opportunity to say the usual formulaic things, say how much the two of them would be missed, wish them the best of luck. That was what you’re supposed to do on these occasions. It’s what polite, educated people do.Laurel, Amalia’s best friend, had been selected to give the main speech because she was good at addressing groups, good w...

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“Nostalgia in the Rain” by Aqsa Malik

Submitted to Contest #44

The downpour erupted so suddenly. It was as if one second Zeus was savouring his sweet ambrosia and the next the thoughts of his omnipotent mind came crashing in to remind him that the onus of Olympus and all of mankind lay upon him, causing a burst of heavy tears and lightning. I make way too many Greek mythology metaphors. Well, technically, were they even metaphors, really? Calling it that insinuates that there isn't a real possibility of the Greek Gods looking down upon us, creating and recreating our very world.The coffee coloured cafe ...

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“Bushington’s Pet Paradise ” by James Offenha

Submitted to Contest #44

Oh, boy!!! He’s back!! He’s back!! Daddy didn’t see what the big deal was. He’d only been gone for an hour, but him and the rest of the family are always happy I’m happy they’re back. And I’m happy he’s back and thank God that terrible smell is gone. And now I only go to the attic when I have to. Things are starting to settle down tonight, but then my family starts lookin...

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“The Last Goodbye” by Caitlyn Ash

Submitted to Contest #44

Dear Diary, “Bye!” was the last thing I said to Toryn. She had waved and called back, “See you soon!” I haven’t seen Toryn in a while, so it was nice going over to her house and having a bonfire. My whole family came and we hung out with all of her family. It was really nice to get out of the house. I was pretty excited to see her again soon. The trip home was a decently long one, about thirty minutes. The whole time I was staring out my window into the darkness outside. Before, I had see...

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“The Coral Lighthouse ” by Abby Irwin

Submitted to Contest #44

Opening the door she stepped in, setting down her luggage with a thud. “Finally, you’re home.” Mae jumped and swirled around as she heard the voice. “I need you to come with me.” “What are you doing in my house?!” Mae yelled at the man in the corner. Normally she would not have yelled but she had just gotten home from an emotionally exhausting business trip. On top of that she was quite done with other people and the annoyances they always seemed to bring to her life. “We need your help” Mae blinked at him dumbfounded.&nb...

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“FOR SOME, GOODBYE IS FOREVER” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #44

They say “goodbye” doesn’t have to mean forever but both of us are aware that our goodbye could be our forever. We sit together quietly, each with our own thoughts but I suspect our thoughts are identical. They will come for us soon so this brief time is our goodbye. I reach for Stacy’s hand, she rubs her thumb over my knuckles, we hear the elevator doors open and the cart being pushed down the hall, I feel a slight squeeze from her hand and she whispers, “Mark?”, “Goodbye darling!” “Yes”, I re...

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“Bee” by ℤ ℍ☮️

Submitted to Contest #44

Bee swirled in the grappling breeze like a fawn hopping through the stars. Her curls danced in the wind, forming a ribbon of fiery red. The trees were sewed into a cross-stitched blanket on top of her, giving a small glimpse of pale dusk light onto her fiery hair making the strands shimmer like rubies. A few pecan trees surrounded her, blue-breasted swallows hopped from branch to branch. Her eyes blended with the hazel brightness of the tree trunks, every aspect of her belonged. A brown shirt sat loosely on her thin arms; her pants were tied...

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“Hunger” by Iku Saari

Submitted to Contest #44

I had been hungry ever since I was born. There was no use feeding me, it would always come back, stronger and more virulent.I didn’t have any brain damage. It wasn’t a side effect of a medication. Nature made me that way. I suffered from an enormous appetite. I thought about different types of food every hour of my life. I got enough nutrients and my body could absorb them just fine. My blood sugar behaved in a normal fashion. I was healthy as a horse, except for this enraging quirk.The funny thing was, I had managed to keep myself quite thi...

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“The Girl Who Turned My Phone Off” by Ronda Everson

Submitted to Contest #44

After we came back from Romania, we were living in the country in Ohio on the old Everson farm. It was a place of green rolling hills outside of Belpre, Ohio. I had been teaching at the university, and my husband had tried to get a job as a chaplain in the prison system, but was unable to, so went to work as a prison guard. He met a prison chaplain who along with his wife had adopted a Romanian girl from a Romanian orphanage. She had long black hair, big black eyes, and beautiful mocha skin. She may have been of gyps...

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“When” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #44

I grew up in a time period when, the successors of Paleolithic humans adapted to the rapid global warming that constitutes the beginning of our present interglacial period, circa 9,600 BCE ago. Even back in them days we were will aware of Global Warming even if writing wasn’t invented not even on cave walls and surely not a Bic lighter. The earliest writing systems appeared c. 5,300 years ago, but it took thousands of years for writing to be widely adopted, and it was not used in some human cultures until the 19th century or even until ...

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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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