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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#10: Peanuts

On October 2, 1950, the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz made its debut in nine American newspapers. Bringing beloved characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy into our lives, Peanuts is one of the most popular comic strips ever published. In fact, with 17,897 strips published during its lifetime, it's been credited as "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being."

To celebrate Charlie Brown and his gang, this week's writing prompts are all inspired by characters from the comic. Can you guess who?

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who remains resilient even when things feel like they're constantly going wrong.

Character – 42 stories

Write a story about a character who is trying to create art but is constantly interrupted.

Funny – 38 stories

Write a story about someone who is unexpectedly wise.

Character – 18 stories

Write a story about someone who believes they are an extremely good judge of character.

Character – 16 stories

Write a story about two friends who have a knack for understanding each other better than anyone else.

Character – 26 stories

Stories

“Desperately Seeking Naomi” by Amy Wannenburgh

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #10

Matthew pushes open the door of the tiny apartment. Naomi’s leaning over a hamster cage by the far window, and she’s still in her nightgown, with her hair a tangled mess on her shoulders. Matthew frowns. “Door’s unlocked. You know that, right?” She shudders, and he sees the tears on her cheeks. “Naomi? Are you alright?” “It’s – it’s my hamster. Was.” “Was.” “My hamster died.” She mutters something under her breath and stands up briskly, seizing the cage by the handle. Matthew stands awkwardly in the doorway. “Well come in,” she says, an...

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“My Perfect Day” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #10

It all started on the Monday morning. That might seem cliché, the idea that Mondays are always terrible, but it’s not as if I decided that was when everything was going to happen. The clichés are there for a reason, and it just so happened that it was a Monday when everything started to go wrong. I pride myself on being a happy person. ‘Always look on the bright side’ is my mantra, and I’m known for my smile. It was a habit that I’d picked up from my Nan. Even at her husband’s funeral I can remember her smiling, reassuring everyone else as i...

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“The Pain-Thing” by Dylan Roth

Submitted to Contest #10

Gronk had been staring at the wall for some time. He was crouched on the cave floor, resting his arms on his knees, looking up at the jagged rock through a heavy brow. In the small hours of the morning, Gronk had woken from a deep sleep. Dreams had plagued him, images of himself doing things he didn’t fully understand. Before he knew what he was doing, he had set out of the cave in a fervour. There were things he had to find.The charcoal was easy enough, which he sourced from the remains of their fire at the mouth of the cave. He scooped it ...

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“Getting to the Unfinish Line” by Ed Friedman

Submitted to Contest #10

I wasn't worried I’m a deadline machine. As long as I know that a piece of writing had to be finished by a certain time I’m able to take the subject, the length the piece needs to be, and what else is on my plate, and my inner clock can calculate when I need to start writing.It was a fool proof formula. I’ve done this so many times that a 1000 word essay on "Unfinished Projects"should be easy. I spent some time thinking about it while doing the mundane activities of daily living like waiting on line at Dun...

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“So Many Words, So Little Time” by Veronica Carr

Submitted to Contest #10

So Many Words, So Little TimeTessa pulled her laptop toward her and took a deep breath. Her fingers hovered over the keys and just as she was about to start typing, she stopped. The keys were dirty. Well, they were actually just a little dusty. They needed to be wiped down and maybe some of the cookie crumbs needed to be removed from between the keys. That should be simple enough and only take about ten minutes. How had she ever typed on a dirty keyboard? Getting up from her chair, she made her way into the kitchen. “Now, where are...

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“Hair-raising” by Pauline Breatnach

Submitted to Contest #10

Earl James took a sideways glance at himself in his boudoir mirror. 'M-m-m, no jowls or dewlaps visible as yet,' he muttered. ''Thank heavens for that. The ladies are not fond of jowls.'Glancing through the window at the bare October trees, he shaved a few more hairs off his moustache.His footman, Harry, busied himself preparing the frock coat, dusting the lapels. 'Earl, do you plan on wearing the black frock coat this evening to meet Lady Antonia?' Harry enquired.'Why yes, of course, Harry, after all the frock coa...

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“Therapy” by Shannon Meyers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #10

It was the birds that woke me. Every morning at five, the brown sparrows that lived in my vent screeched. I lived on the third floor and sometimes rain or the occasional unlucky egg would fall from the vent and onto my bookshelf. I put a towel there so the wood wouldn’t get damaged and after the third egg I bought a tiny brush-the kind that girls use to put that pink stuff on their cheeks. I would brush the unborn birds into a paper towel and leave them wrapped up in the bushes outside my complex. Dead or alive, birds don’t belong inside. Th...

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“When Darkness Gave Birth To Beauty” by Vince Calma

Submitted to Contest #10

Once upon a time, there was a special mirror. It was said to have ears, for it could hear whispers of secrets. It was said to have eyes, for it could see through your reflection and unravel your desires. And it was said to have a mouth, for it could speak the truth.Half of the kingdom feared the mirror, claiming it was an object of magic. But the king saw it for what it was: an artifice, a way to deceive people through the superstitions. And so he hid the mirror away from sunlight, down to the deepest dungeon of his castle. There, beneath th...

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“The Story Of Jesse The Math Genius” by Sierra Woods

Submitted to Contest #10

Chapter 1By the time Jesse Mary was 6 months old, she was blurting out full sentences. You see, normally children would only be saying mama, dada, and short single words at this age. Doctors just thought it was because she was exposed to a lot of television at her age. Tyler, Jesse's 14-year-old brother was always watching his precious tv and playing video games in the living room, around Jesse. Tyler had to babysit Jesse pretty often, and most of the time he would just place little Jesse in front of an iPad screen and let videos play for he...

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“More than Barking” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #10

Astrid clomped down from the last step in the firetruck and then turned around to watch her best friend, Meteorite, descend and then hit the ugly beige and white speckled cement floor underneath the silver diamond-decorated stairs in front of Astrid and him. Once the firefighter and the Dalmatian were out of the firetruck together, she pattered tiredly but happily about the long day of shooting fire from two houses. When Meteorite looked like...

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“A Soldier's War” by Rima ElBoustani

Submitted to Contest #10

Fear pulsated through Gordon’s heart as the bullets from the guns ripped the air beside him. He was crouched behind some foliage, hoping against hope that his camouflaged attire hid him well. It had been three months of open fire. But despite, or perhaps because of, the fear, the war had made him wise. You wouldn’t expect that of a soldier. If he had been clever, he would have stayed at home. His comrade nudged him in the ribs and whispered just loudly enough to be heard above the fire, “You think we can make it?”“Same as any other time,” Go...

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“The Haven” by Jenny Toupin

Submitted to Contest #10

The sickening sweet September air was suffocating; it held the gravity of summer’s end. Junior year came and left so quickly, the thought of being in my final year of high school brought no feelings. Lethargy was my only company stepping through the double doors for my last first day. I used to be so concerned with having the best outfits, best hair, best makeup and the perfect friends and it was completely and utterly exhausting. Now it’s a miracle if I brush my curls all the way through and don’t give in to a messy bun. For once, I don’t c...

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“We Won't Give Up!” by Megan Phillips

Submitted to Contest #10

(Warner enters from right) Good morning America, and welcome to our show: What the Heck is Going On? In this episode, my coworkers and I will be talking about famous inventions! But first, I would like to introduce our special guest. Every please give a warm welcome to Lilly Rhodes!(Set man taps Warner’s shoulder through the curtain) It’s Lavender Rhodes, not Lilly.(Warner clears his throat) My apologies, please welcome Lavendar Rhodes. (Rhodes enters stage smiling and waving) Hello everyone!Warner: So, Lavender, please take a seat. (Bo...

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“Persistent Penni” by Chastity Rylan

Submitted to Contest #10

Today we are gathered to celebrate one of our friends.“Penni took everything that went wrong and somehow she managed to keep pushing through it. No matter how many curve balls life threw at her she kept going.” The crowd erupts in laughter. A few people make crude comments before her.“She would take everything bad and find a way to spin it into something positive. Her perception of how to handle like was not like that of most people our age. Being twenty is difficult enough. Throw on top of that everything Penni has been dealing with the las...

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“Touching the sky” by Fran Tracey

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #10

‘It’s a sign.’Lucy pointed towards the white feather fluttering to the ground, narrowly avoiding Freya’s coffee and landing on the table. It rested for a moment or two, rocking gently. Both young women watched as a slight gust of wind lifted it up, carrying it onwards.‘It’s not a sign. It’s those two pigeons, up there, look, on the balcony. It’s biology. They’re, well, he’s ruffling her feathers, so to speak, and…’‘Too much information,’ Lucy said, holding up what could have been either a conciliatory or peremptory hand. ‘It’s no wonder a fe...

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$50

Prize money

140

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 11, 2019 EST

Won by Andrew Grell 🏆

Title: To Suffer For One's Art

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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