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#132: Time to Blume

On February 12th, Judy Blume turns 84 — and her bestselling book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, is finally becoming a feature film this year. To celebrate, we’re featuring prompts based on the YA classic released over 50 years ago.

If you need a refresher, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret follows 6th grader Margaret Simon in her quest for a religious identity. Her mother was raised Christian, her father Jewish. They’ve decided not to impose one belief or the other on their daughter, but that leaves Margaret longing for a god of her own to talk to.

Dive into this blast-from-the-past and relive your childhood reading by writing a story based on one of our five Judy Blume prompts.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character saying “Are you there, God? It’s me…”

Dialogue – 108 stories

Write a story where a character is exploring their religious or spiritual identity.

Fiction – 59 stories

Write a story about a couple with fundamentally different beliefs.

Valentine's Day – 23 stories

End your story with a character saying “Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.” (sarcastically or not).

Dialogue – 44 stories

Write a story about a teenager whose family is moving.

Teens – 46 stories

Stories

“Seeking God in the Wahiba Sands” by Matty Roberts

Submitted to Contest #132

Are you there, God? It’s me; Gary. The one you seem to have forgotten about. I know you’ve always preferred a hands off approach, but I could really do with some of that divine intervention right now. Nothing epic, I don’t need you to turn water into wine. Although I wouldn’t turn down a small glass. Just a little bit of phone signal is all I'm asking for. Please. No bars. Useless prick. I think about launching my phone out of the window and into the desert. Maybe I should try Allah. This is his neck of the woods after all. Not sure how...

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“Moving Again” by Rick Mullholand

Submitted to Contest #132

Gary is a typical young boy, fifteen years of age, and thoughtful. He had a slight build, and his weight was average. He was very self-conscious of his body changing into an adult. On a good day, he thought of his life as filled with little adventures because his family was always moving to a new city. On a droopy day, the thought of moving made him sad. Their latest move was to Durango, Colorado where a small startup firm needed someone with his father’s, Harry, experience, and qualifications. They have m...

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“Who Moved My Life” by Lynn Tabor

Submitted to Contest #132

Who Moved My Life? He would feel it in the mornings; when he first woke up it hit him like a harsh blow to the stomach. He recovered marginally and creaked out of bed. Football practices had been particularly grueling lately, but nothing impacted his body, his whole being, as this thing did. It had a life of its own and it loved to overwhelm him, wrap around him and not let go. He would slowly descend the stairs, those same stairs that he used to practically tumble down, two, three at a time, so compelled to get down ...

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“Sent Him” by Justin R

Submitted to Contest #132

“Are you there god? It’s me,” he grunted. Then he heard a voice, ‘who shall I send?’ the voice reverberated in his head. “I give up. I’m done.,” he panted. Not even enough strength to lift his chin off of the ground. “Send Lucifer for all I care. The devil, satan, beelzebub. Whatever you want to call him. I’ve given up on the life you’ve handed me on this god forsaken planet. The Drakes, Vikes, Jures and Mares. All of the creatures and creations around that have gone against and disguised their judgment of me over something I hadn’t ...

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“Evermore” by Zi Poromon

Submitted to Contest #132

EvermoreTW: death, mental health, mature language, abuseLife is precious, love is a disease.God makes perfection, Esi made a mistake.Family is everything, and Olufemi is a sledgehammer barreling into them.----The aging, brown townhouses swelter in heat, even though the sun has fallen. Children run home in notice of the streetlights, mosquitoes follow them, craving to get a taste of their blood.Inside the small Okoro home, white rice and tasty African chicken stew is set on the deteriorating white stove.Olufemi plates first, dishing a large a...

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“A Breeze Of New Age” by Sushant Pandey

Submitted to Contest #132

"Hey God! are you there? it's me"....yes I am here you pig bastard, what do you want from me?... Why are you laughing bastard, just tell me what do you want? come school with me. Not again, how many times should I tell you that I am not a real god or something, I'm just an imagination of your mind! "I know that god but it's fun to go school with someone then going alone, it's fun to talk with someone than talk to no one, It's better to be with somebody than be alone and think about endless things which don't hold any meaning." T...

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“We Had Names” by B. Mather

Submitted to Contest #132

“It’s just wine,” I lied to Fang as he buried his face into my chest. To this day, I am unsure whether or not Fang truly believed a word I said or if he just nodded because he needed to believe. Either way, he nodded. Suddenly the blood dribbling off the ax-head was no more than liquor running down a drunkard’s beard. Father remained stoic throughout the whole ordeal. “The villagers have no dealings with wolves,” he had tried to explain once. “Those that live out West, our old neighbors even, know that wolves are a threat to lambs.” At first...

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“Are you there God?” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #132

Sensitive content: -violence -Mental health -Gore or abuse -„Are you there, God? It´s me; a forgiving spouse, considerate mother, and a most selfish human being. A sheep in wolf's clothing. is it ok if I come in here, and just sit for a while? I feel I need to talk to you. Until today, I never granted you much belief. I hope you won´t hold that against me. In fact, I´m not even a Christian. But this church seems like the perfect place to talk to you. I read somewhere, that churches are supposed to represent, the domed curves of the heav...

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“Heavenly Help” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #132

Are you there, God It's me Allie. I need your help. I know I have no right to ask for your help, but I'm desperate. I don't know who else to turn to. My life hasn't been going the way I want it to go, and it seems no one understands or cares. This all started when the love of my life Ryan left. Ryan, the only man I ever loved didn't leave me, he's in the military. Ryan left on deployment for six months to a year with the Army. I miss him so much. This isn't the first time Ryan left on deployment with the Army and every time he came hom...

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“Sleep Through Your Alarms” by Nova MJ

Submitted to Contest #132

WARNING: mentions of death He doesn’t really remember much of that night. Bits and pieces come back to him while he sleeps; they float through his dreams with piercing clarity, waking him to an erratic heartbeat and salt stained sheets. Some things are clear, and he remembers them so vividly that he feels as though he’s reliving them. Some things are blurry, and he doesn’t know how to explain to everyone that he feels as though he’s missing parts of his memory. These are the things he doesn’t remember: #1: what ...

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“Our Time in California” by Brian Thatcher

Submitted to Contest #132

Dear Diary Fuck everything We moved again. I remember when my mom had just given me the news months ago. Dad had been reassigned so we were moving, come the end of the school year and we would be gone. So, you might think, why write about it now, if you got the news months ago. Well to be honest, I am writing about it now because my therapist told me to, so here it goes. It was just another move, to wherever dad was stationed next, no big deal. I make it a habit to avoid tethering myself to a place because I don’t want to be heartbroken when...

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“Night Vision: Remembering the Future” by April Lillard

Submitted to Contest #132

I’ve been to such a place so unimaginable, that even after sharing my experience, you would not be able to fathom what I have seen, felt, or witnessed. But…this is my attempt to share with you what is beyond. Beyond comprehension. Beyond what we’ve been conditioned to believe to be real or fake. It was a Wednesday late afternoon, November 18th to be exact. I finally arrived home after a long day at work. My feet are throbbing, I’m starved, and ready to crash. Eat or sleep first? Those were the options that faced my evening. I could barely th...

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“Snowblower” by Darianne Echeverri

Submitted to Contest #132

I love the way she looks, Mary is very pretty. No matter if she just comes out of the shower, her hair wrapped in a towel, an old t-shirt, and the PJ pants I made her in 2021. I love her like that and want to kiss her but she pushes me away. Or she gives me a quick second kiss and says, “Okay that’s enough”, To which I say: “You look so yummy”. “No, I don’t, moron.” In the grocery store, people look at her. Men in particular. She doesn’t notice, but I do. And I know why: it’s her not-so-average way of dressing. It’s not offensi...

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“Downstate ” by Sam Wilson

Submitted to Contest #132

“Would you rather know when you’re going to die or how you’re going to die?” Cole quizzes me.He’s white knuckle gripping the steering wheel of his car and staring ahead through the cloudy windshield. He glances sideways at me, green eyes darting in my direction before returning to the road.The radio’s been off for over an hour. The only thing I hear is the low hum of the engine. The sun is sinking lower in the sky as we make our way downstate. I stare out the window at the passing trees, blurring into one inky green mass, and consider the we...

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“Are You There, God? It's Me, Henry” by Leslie Flemons

Submitted to Contest #132

Are You there, God? It’s me, Henry. Listen, Big Guy. I don’t really know You. My mom keeps telling me to talk to You. I don’t know why. It’s not like You’d listen anyway. You’re probably up there wildin’ with the angels or something. I haven’t been to church in years. I bet You’re mad about that, huh? Are You even listening to me? Are You even real? I don’t know who I’m even talking to. Probably just a puff of air. Oh, well. If You’re there, God, please let me get some sleep. If You’re not, then…I’ll just get some sleeping pills. Good night,...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

127

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 11, 2022 EST

Won by Adam El Nabli 🏆

Title: Inshallah

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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