Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Posted in Narrative on Sep 15, 2023

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✍️ 111 stories

“Without Conviction” by Nell Korben

Submitted to Contest #216

The bus was dangerously leaning from left to right each time it encountered a pothole in the road. The sun was high and sitting by the window was unbearable. She looked around hoping to find an empty seat in the shade but there was none. Every seat was occupied by someone wearing an orange jumpsuit like the one she was wearing. She put a protective hand over her eyes and looked up in hope of finding some kind of blind, she laughed at her naivety. Why not a cart with refr...

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“Gemini” by Laura Ethington

Submitted to Contest #216

The doorbell rang, and Gemma jumped up from the couch, giddy with excitement. "Dean! People are here!" She yelled while running to the front door. Dean came out of the kitchen, beaming. He loved seeing her so happy. It had been so long since she'd been happy. But with this new chapter they were building for themselves, he hoped there would be countless more days to see that look on her face. He went to the door where Gemma was vibrating like an excited pup, ready to greet their friends. "They're here!" She said, grinning up at Dean. Ge...

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“We're Going Where?” by Hope Linter

Submitted to Contest #216

Tom sprawls on his couch, a bag of opened cheesies in his lap, and his hands covered in orange greasy dust. A ping-pong tournament is playing on his television. He’s content, relaxing, and doesn’t care who will win. He snacks and grows drowsy, and the bag drops from his hand, as he nods off to the intermittent drone of the commentators and the clacking of paddles fades from his awareness. With a start, he awakens when his front door is unlocked and his girlfriend, Jessica, calls out to him. “I knocked and knocked. You didn’t an...

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“A Tale of Two Competitive Friends” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #216

A Tale of Two Competitive Friends Who Got to Play in Goal Even though the two men were long time friends of a sort, it seemed like they had been competing with each other all their lives, something neither of them particularly liked, but did anyway. Tom had won the first challenge. He and Fred were both 10 years old, and each wanted to be the regular goal tender on their hockey team. That would leave the other to be stuck sitting on the bench just in case his competitor got injured or let in too many goals. Tom certainl...

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“Elemental Harmony” by Gary Phipps

Submitted to Contest #216

Griff couldn't remember a time when the forest wasn't part of his life. For as long as he'd been alive, the emerald expanse behind his home had been his sanctuary. His mother had always said it was because they lived on the edge of a National Park that the forest felt almost magical. The towering pines seemed to hold centuries of secrets, and the rustling leaves whispered promises of adventure. Every day after school, Griff would throw on his worn-out sneakers, grab a water bottle, and disappear into the labyrinthine woods. He cherished th...

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“Joe, A Mystery on a Park Bench” by Ramona Scarborough

Submitted to Contest #216

Joe Starks could hardly remember the time before he became homeless. Faded memories like old sepia photographs slipped away before he could fix them in his mind. His mother’s face was now a blur of indistinct features. The apartment they had once lived in together, where was it? What street? What town? Someone had locked him in a room there. Why? How had he got out? Maybe it was better to forget. But there was something he knew, something important that some people wanted to know, and maybe they would find him. Slowly he rose. Pain sho...

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“The fast and the furious” by Meva Rabe-Harinoro

Submitted to Contest #216

Trigger warning: contains sensitive language"Okay, keep calm," said Melanie, my best friend, in the seat next to me. "You won't get faster if you're angry.""No but I can show this motherf***r what happens when you mess with me." I tap rapidly my fingers on the wheel, trying to shake off the anxiety. "I mean, why does he cut in like that?""Seriously, Maddy, we talked about this. It's called having an episode of rage. You have to at least pretend to be normal around others.""And the f***ing policeman does nothing?" I honked my horn three more ...

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“A Premonition of Better Things” by E Moss

Submitted to Contest #216

It was not his intention for Jacob to leave his home behind this soon after his father had perished not long after he had shared another pleasantly benign and laconic dinner together, sitting across from the unclean heapings of hotly heated beef chunky in a canopy of canned vegetable aisles whipped downstream cheese-in-aesrolized can starch could not be used for a traditional trade in feigned tenderness shared between a single father figuring out who is even his son's best chances ahead but the dad did not want him back into a fitful game wi...

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“The Results” by Ben K

Submitted to Contest #216

(Sensitive content: terminal illness allusions)----------------------------------------------------------------Our world could be turned upside down. Lori and I sit alone on the cold, hard chairs. Uneasy, restless silence hangs between us. As we quietly shift in our places, rustling noises punctuate the heavy breathing and overwhelm the miserable patter of rain against the small windows.My shoes squeak on the floor as I fidget. The white-walled office is spotless, aside from the scribbled papers on the desk opposite us. The aroma of hand san...

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“House of Needles” by Mack Denver

Submitted to Contest #216

In the spring of 1929, the house was more beautiful than it ever would be again. It was on a property perfect for the two children. They could run through it without ever worrying about a rock. Soft grass was all their feet would touch. There was enough room to have a small garden. Tomatoes and lettuce and strawberries and watermelons would make a great addition to the family’s meals. Unfortunately, the Colinsons cared not for growing fresh fruits and vegetables and herbs. The purchase of the house was not an ordeal. Jeremiah Colinson...

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“Playa Love” by Rado Randriamamonjy

Submitted to Contest #216

EROSI awake. I look at Eveline. She’s still by my side. The woman looks like an angel who fell from the sky, too beautiful for the heavens, and wholly out of place here on earth. She somehow alighted on my life here in this burning desert and lit a spark in my sleepy soul.As I take in every soft feature of her exquisite coffee-colored face, I play with the idea in my mind, again, that that may not be her real name. It could be Allanah or Maya. Many people come here and take on whole new personas, whole new lives...

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“Transient Departure” by Liz Leness

Submitted to Contest #216

Weasel, still awake, lies motionless; the disturbing events of the evening before tirelessly dancing through his mind. He pulls the covers tightly over his head. He lies like this for several minutes, his comforter-coffin rapidly filling with hot and humid air. His heart beats faster and higher into his throat and the birds' relentless symphony grows louder still. Weasel can hardly take it any longer, and he throws the blankets off of him, gasping as he cools his burning, suffocating lungs, the fresh air a welcomed relief. He opens his eye...

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“Found” by Joy Allen

Submitted to Contest #216

Charlotte and a fellow beachcomber nearly collided as they strolled in opposite directions with their heads down, eyes scouring the sand. “What treasures have you found,” asked the woman. She wore her grey hair in two long pigtails and had the deeply baked-in tan of a year-round beach dweller. Charlotte opened her hand and the woman pointed to the whimsical shell in the center of her palm, “Ah! A limpet!” &...

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“Double Blind” by Tony Smith

Submitted to Contest #216

Double Blind By Tony Smith Balancing a tray in his arms Cecil mounts the stairs, muttering: ‘I’ve strangled the cat, poisoned the fish, put glass in the toothpaste and spat in the cocoa’. He pushes open the door with a shoulder. “I’ve brought your breakfast, dear. The cocoa’s just as you like it.” “Don’t stand there, idiot. Put it down . . . not there, on the table, fool.” “I’ve run your bath, dear.” “Don’t mutter. I’ve told you about muttering.” “Sorry, Agnes. The bedroom has that cloying fetid smell of sleep: a witch’s brew of unwashe...

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“Elizabeth” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #216

With her back to the door, she took a shot of the whiskey, grimaced and replaced it in the bottom drawer of her boss’s desk. Smoothing her skirt, she returned to her own desk just outside his office. “Order the wife some flowers, will ya, sweetheart?” The boss appeared behind her starting his morning demands. “Have them write something nice on the card for our anniversary. Use the company account.” He walked through his office doorway, leaving the stink of cigar hanging in the air. With the phone wedged in the cr...

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Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 111 stories

“Without Conviction” by Nell Korben

“Gemini” by Laura Ethington

“We're Going Where?” by Hope Linter

“A Tale of Two Competitive Friends” by John Steckley

“Elemental Harmony” by Gary Phipps

“Joe, A Mystery on a Park Bench” by Ramona Scarborough

“The fast and the furious” by Meva Rabe-Harinoro

“A Premonition of Better Things” by E Moss

“The Results” by Ben K

“House of Needles” by Mack Denver

“Playa Love” by Rado Randriamamonjy

“Transient Departure” by Liz Leness

“Found” by Joy Allen

“Double Blind” by Tony Smith

“Elizabeth” by Hannah Lynn

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story in a coffee shop without using obvious words to describe it (e.g. barista, coffee cup.)

Write a scene in which a character’s behavior or reaction to something is affected by a past experience — without saying what that experience was.

Include dialogue that shows that a character is socially awkward.

Include a scene in your story in which a character's body language conveys their hidden emotions.

Contest #216

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

115

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: