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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#3: Calling All Bookworms

This week, each of our prompts is loosely inspired by some of the most beloved literature of all time. Can you match every prompt to the book it takes its root from? Hint: the five novels are included in this blog post of books to read in your lifetime.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a teenager visiting the place where they grew up.

Dramatic – 31 stories

Write a story about a matchmaker.

Romance – 27 stories

Write a story about a parent putting their child to bed.

Adults – 32 stories

Write a story about an ordinary day in a person's life. Use their internal dialogue to make the story interesting.

Dialogue – 26 stories

Write a story about someone who wins a contest and the prize of their dreams.

High School – 14 stories

Stories

“The King” by Ron Scott

Submitted to Contest #3

“Can I have a drink?” “Please.” “Pleeeeeease?” Sigh. I trudge over to the fridge to pour him his orange juice. But not too much. Just a splash, or else he’ll be up in the middle of the night to pee. Or even worse – he won’t wake up at all and tomorrow morning will be a fresh hell of wet sheets. Not like it would be the first time. And I shiver just thinking of what his mother would say. She’d definitely never let me hear the end of it. I give him his orange juice and he takes it without look...

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“ Nodding with Angling Piers ” by Daniel Talamantes

Submitted to Contest #3

“If you get bites, then I’ll get bites. If we get bites, then they’ll get bites,” explains the exuberant, graceless, and most-likely inebriated Jeremy Holden. Jeremy is the man who immediately assigned himself as mentor to my friend and debutant fisherman Jayme Tauzer when she, my sister Steph, and I first sauntered toward Eckly Pier on the Carquinez Straight in Crockett, CA some twenty minutes ago.Another, much older man, whose name I hadn’t caught, sitting cross-legged on a wooden bench fixed to the pier, diverts his attention from what so...

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“An Ordinary Day of a Military Wife” by Aafje Adkins

Submitted to Contest #3

“Mommmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy!” Is it six thirty already? Maybe if I pretend to stay asleep and ignore her, I could get in another ten minutes at the max! The door opened and a blonde headed, high pitched voice, little person walked in. Well to be fair, like I really expected that to work? Alright put on a happy face. “Mommy, mommy, are you up?” “I am! Hey sweet girl, come in here and snuggle with me!” “Okay!” She is getting so big! How is she four years old already? I’ll just stay here, snuggle her forever and maybe she won’t get any bigger. The ...

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“Night Owls” by AniE. Grimaudo

Submitted to Contest #3

She woke up not knowing where she was again. Upon a brief glance around the room, she remembered she had slept over and was in his bed. It was still dark out, they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, now they were sleeping with their backs to one another. He always had a distant feel to Jessie. He wasn't clingy, he was great in bed, and he had a calmness about his temperament. It made him not stressful to be around. Most of the time, he was able to soothe Jessie's anxious nature just by being around. But tonight it obviously hadn't work...

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“The Winner” by Carolyn Bayne

Submitted to Contest #3

Colourful shades light up the bright roof tops within the deep blue sky of the Caribbean, the weather is the hottest it has ever been for years. There has hardly been any birds because of the heat, the trees have turned from deep green to a cosy brown, looking over the roof tops again, seeing the exotic villas of pinks and yellows. Only the idle rich can afford such luxury, that was me, for the first time in my life, I can say, I now have it all.It all started when I finally finished my piece of writing, for the first time I had ho...

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“The Devil’s Advocate ” by Noah 🤟

Submitted to Contest #3

Alex inspected her fingernails and tried to pick out the dirt she’d accumulated underneath them. “That’s useless you know,” Stella said as she stretched out on the bed on the other side of the room. “You’ll be working the fields again in less than an hour.” “You can give up on personal hygiene,” Alex said, “but I’m going to do my best to stay clean.” Stella laughed. “You know, your half clean nails really accent your eyes, you are just so beautiful.” “Shut up,” Alex said with a tired smile as she got out of bed. She quickly got r...

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“From Where It Truly Began” by Angel Grace

Submitted to Contest #3

Fresh Beginnings. There was always a day to celebrate one of those. Just like how birthdays were a special occasion, so was New Years. But for Akira, that didn’t seem the case. Being born in the soothing countryside of Japan, the style of celebration meant something else. Instead of the wild parties with flashing lights with hazy smoke and mad deafening music, celebration here meant enjoying the company of your loved ones as you immerse yourself in tradition. Until this year, Akira truly did enjoy them, no matter how annoying it did get to...

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“Time!!!” by Lesley Correia

Submitted to Contest #3

When my mother called me last night, I never thought that the news would be so heart wrenching, but I guess finding out your dad has passed away kinda does that to a person. Me and my dad were never close. He liked books, I liked sports, he hated snakes, and I practically adored them. These were some of the reasons I would use to explain our distance from each other, but I never knew how stupid they all were until I went back home for his funeral. As soon as I walked out of the airport the hot Florida sun shone brightly in my eyes...

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“The story of her life” by Andres Guerra

Submitted to Contest #3

It was strange to her, the reality of space. She always thought the vast cosmos was a vast cluster of space dust and stars with the occasional planet dotting the universe when in reality there are hundreds of thousands of light-years in between each star. Just seeming endless darkness where light does not dare traverse. It's also cold but not like the cool walls of a dark, dank cave but cold like a crisp winters day. The silence also carries not a feeling of dread but a feeling of comfort like being given the opportunities of being alone wit...

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“A Little Piece of Heaven on Earth” by Narender Bisht

Submitted to Contest #3

I was born and raised in a small village in north western India called Dhapla. Mine was not a hospital birth with doctors, nurses and machines surrounding a sterile bed where my mother lay. Instead she was writhing and moaning on a bed that looked and felt more like a material covered board. Meanwhile village women attended her every need with consoling, soothing voices, urging her and encouraging my arrival. The hands that were close during this time were gentle in movement although calloused and rough from work on the v...

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“The Theory of Human Consciousness (Mister Scientist)” by Owen Hee

Submitted to Contest #3

Kong Min felt it in his chest where his heart should be: a sudden strain where all his muscles suddenly contracted resulting in a sinking feeling that literally sucked in all life and breath he could barely muster anymore: like an anchor docking a ship. He struggled to breath and he collapsed for a while, a little unsure of where he was and how he got there in the first place. He could feel the flush of his cheeks and the veins in his arm bulged out. A tight knot formed at his throat. Then, pin-drop silence. A stinging noise irritatingly b...

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“Unconscious” by Hassan Azi

Submitted to Contest #3

My brother, who had been in a coma for I don't remember how long, just woke up this morning. Mom called me in tears, barely able to form sentences."Johnny is awake !", she finally said in between sobs.I booked the first flight I could get.I got to the hospital the following morning. Little Johnny has changed to say the least. I wasn't not sure if I could still refer to him as "little" Johnny. He looked almost as old as dad, if not more. His once youthful face now had a gaunt taint to it. Sunken cheeks, eye bags, the works. Inactivity took a ...

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“Better Than Tulsa” by Brie Monetti

Submitted to Contest #3

“Ladies and gentleman, please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts, as the captain has put on the safety belt sign. We are experiencing slight turbulence”. I could barely make out the overly-peppy southern stewardess’ prickly voice over my music. Then a face appeared next to mine. Her scent of lilac choked me… did she shower in cheap perfume this morning? “Sweetie, you’re going to have to fasten that seat belt there. I don’t know if ya heard, but we’re experiencing slight turbulence”. ‘That’s one way to put it’, I remarked. “If by...

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“The Smiles We Left Behind” by Gena Ervin

Submitted to Contest #3

I felt like time was running out. I wasn’t a kid anymore and my last year of high school was upon me. Strange that I should be feeling so nostalgic about my past, or maybe it wasn’t. I’ve never been this old before. I looked through some old pictures hoping the feeling would fade but looking through the good times at my old house only amplified things. I missed the huge tree in our front yard. It was the largest tree for at least three blocks and the trunk split into a V shape as it grew to create a window for pretending to be a bank teller ...

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“The Incident” by Ricky DS

Submitted to Contest #3

I never thought I’d see my home again after the incident. I’ve been away for almost two years—running, screaming, and fighting. There is probably nothing left there. Nothing. Nothing at all. Even the word nothing carries no emotional charge. No worry or regret … it is what it is, and we all have to do deal with it. Well, everyone who is still alive has to do deal with it. The underground tube barely makes it to a halt, screeching and scraping to the platform.‘We’re here,’ I shout, pushing myself up from a tube seat and brushing off dust … or...

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$50

Prize money

130

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 23, 2019 EST

Won by Joshua G. J. Insole 🏆

Title: The Things That Do Not Float

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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