Your Story #114
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 114."
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 nearly 400 entries, WD editors chose the following 12 finalists. Vote for your favorite entry using the poll at the bottom of the page.
1. "It's my fault, really," Gabriel sighed, "I told him salt pillars were too pedestrian; now people are smelting their neighbors."
2. When the sky over New Detroit began to boil, only the old-timers knew better than to stick around to watch what was surely the inevitable.
3. The International Olympic Committee was horrified to learn about how Olympic Gold Medals were being made after they were informed about the Island of Midas.
4. Clyde was rethinking how he had worded that third wish the genie gave him.
5. My favorite part of summer vacation was when we arrived at Earth and my mom let me pick out a few humans to preserve for my collection.
6. The thing about growing up in a cult is that you don't know you are one of them until you walk away.
7. Recognizing my brother in his dioramas, I realized he must have always felt a bit ostracized from society.
8. Cane dragging, the soldier's trembling hand, bruised and battered, reached for the rail as he boarded the train — his last hope to escape imprisonment.
9. I change those who double-cross me into miniature pyrite figurines; the profits help this warlock pay the bills, and lucky for me, this world is full of rotten people.
10. These are the citizens of Tarrytown, and I am their god.
11. At that moment, Edward Tassle, sku# 34A1, diecast metal or not, was self-aware.
12. The association of rejected monopoly pieces first meeting was to take place at the house on Ventnor Avenue that evening; at last, that mustached man was going to pay.
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.
