Your Story #116
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 116."
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 almost 400 entries, WD editors chose the following 12 finalists. Vote for your favorite entry using the poll at the bottom of the page.
1. Escaping the noise and crowd of the Mardi Gras parade, she ducked into the convenience store and was overwhelmed by the tantalizing aroma of Uncle John's chicken frying—and the unmistakable cologne of her second ex-husband.
2. Ours was an unlikely romance; him in the cold case, me collecting dust on aisle 3.
3. The danger of being a love addict is that you see potential everywhere, even in the greasy blue eyes of the man barging out of a rest-stop toilet with his pants unzipped.
4. My tummy rumbles as I walk past all these things I cannot buy with the seven dollars in my pocket, the seven dollars for her cigarettes.
5. He wandered the aisles deliberately in search of something he wasn’t looking for.
6. Seconds before the aftershock began, Jason finally had the isles spotless, and the shelves restocked after last night’s earthquake.
7. Aaron stood paralyzed in the aisle of 7-11, looking at the juices and milk behind the refrigerated glass doors, at the reflection of shelved items, and at the absence of his own.
8. Passing through aisle after aisle of dragon fangs and eyes of newt, Esmeralda longed for a bag of cheese puffs.
9. He turned, but only saw the empty aisles, canned goods stacked in neat rows, bags of chips, a cooler full of ice cream; she was gone.
10. This is what happens when you plan a last-minute holiday dinner party; you find yourself staring down an endless aisle at the local convenience store, only to find yourself fixated on the malt liquor selection in the cooler.
11. We fell in love reaching for the same tea and fell apart picking different ice cream.
12. Laurie walked slowly down the frozen food aisle, wondering if she should keep moving or stop to confront the person who took everything from her.
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.
