Your Story #120
Write the opening line to a story based on the photo prompt below. (One sentence only.) You can be poignant, funny, witty, etc.; it is, after all, your story.
Prompt: Write the opening line to a story based on the prompt above. (One sentence only.) You can be poignant, funny, witty, etc. It is, after all, your story.
Email your submission to yourstorycontest@aimmedia.com with the subject line "Your Story 120."
No attachments, please. Include your name and mailing address. Entries without a name or mailing address with be disqualified.
Unfortunately, we cannot respond to every entry we receive, due to volume. No confirmation emails will be sent out to confirm receipt of submission. But be assured all submissions received before entry deadline are considered carefully. Official Rules.
Entry Deadline: CLOSED
Out of over 250 entries, WD editors chose the following 12 finalists. Vote for your favorite entry using the poll at the bottom of the page.
1. The milky light from the full moon filtering through the towering pines provided just enough illumination for Naomi to dig a hole to bury her husband’s body.
2. In the rearview mirror, he saw the sun, disguised as the moon, setting over the smoke-filled forest, and as he raced to escape the flames, he flicked another cigarette out the window.
3. Ghost stories filled the foggy air above the campfire yet none was as heinous as the real-life Hatchet Man checking the door locks to each cabin.
4. Peering through the moonlit pines I watched the ghosts dancing on the water, my foot keeping time with their macabre waltz.
5. I’m not sure what caused me to wake up: the bright glow of the full moon, the screeching of an owl, or the empty sleeping bag next to me.
6. Whispered giggles of teenagers echoed in the theater as I took my seat; horror was a reprieve from the grief that made its presence known whenever I glanced at the unoccupied, adjacent seat.
7. After a lifetime of friction between the Lewis brothers, their final, violent split came down to one night, one girl, and a solemn blood oath broken beneath the light of an indigo moon.
8. The trees were the first to notice.
9. The full moon illuminated a lot of things: the brush of frost on the pines, the sickly shine of the empty Coors, even the little plus sign on the pregnancy test.
10. Spotlights carve into the darkness guarding the wild expanse and unveil my disciples as they reach for me through evergreen hills, laying bare my ascension.
11. This is what happens when you try to call an unknown number back.
12. It was the perfect night for summoning the dead, but I had an algebra test to study for.
Since obtaining her MFA in fiction, Moriah Richard has worked with over 100 authors to help them achieve their publication dreams. As the managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine, she spearheads the world-building column Building Better Worlds, a 2023 Eddie & Ozzie Award winner. She also runs the Flash Fiction February Challenge on the WD blog, encouraging writers to pen one microstory a day over the course of the month and share their work with other participants. As a reader, Moriah is most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook.
Learn more about Moriah on her personal website.
