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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#36: Dear Diary

"April 4th, 1984." So begins Winston Smith's first diary entry in the George Orwell novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Of course, this dystopian tale isn't the only one to involve diary entries. Bridget Jones's Diary, Gilead, The Yellow Wallpaper, Dracula, and I Capture the Castle are among a long list of other books told at least in part through diaries or journals.

This week's writing prompts challenge you to write a short story in the epistolary format.

P.S — On April 3rd we're hosting another LIVE Write-In on YouTube at 4pm EST! We'll guide you through a series of 20-minute writing sprints to give you the boost you need to stay productive. During the breaks, you can share your progress, talk about your struggles, and ask our hosts any questions you may have.

Join us on YouTube HERE at 4pm EST. We hope to see you there!

🥇 Winner

“Kiss of the Snake” by Zilla Babbitt

🏆 Winner of Contest #36

Yellow Day Today is a yellow day. The sunlight sneaks in through the window, writhing on the floor like a snake. Outside, the leafy pecan tree shakes in the wind. To be honest, I do not write. When I do, it is facts and information. In the city I did not have time for poetry or pretty words. No one wanted pretty words or expected it of me. But now, alone with the cold stone and cold yellow light and snakes made from the sun, I have time. I can hear humming in the restless air. The entire compound is apprehensive. It is because we are expecti...

132 comments 132

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Dear Subconscious” by Harken Void

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #36

Date: June 2nd, 1991Time: 13:37;46Age: 39 seconds Dear Newborn I took the liberty of resetting your memories, knowledge, experiences, emotions, growth and all imprints or ‘stamps’ you might have received or collected prior to coming here. All your knobs have been dialed to zero, all scales calibrated, all bases for evaluation and differentiation erased. You are now a blank slate, clean and completely innocent. You are perfect.You may wonder why I have done this and who I am, and I’m sure you also have many questions regarding yours...

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“The Birds and the Stars” by Tanya M

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #36

Dear Diary: 3-18You’re brilliant teal-The color of the sea, right where it touches the sky. A leather band wraps tight around you,To hold your thoughts in, Mom said. I’ve never written in a diary before. But Mom thinks I should, she wants me to keep my feelings to myself. Like she does.I can’t-We all grieve differently. Dear Diary: 3-19You should expect these entries to be short. I can’t fill the space with writing-It’s not my thing. As if anyone has one thingThat defines them. I went into th...

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“Katie Milburn Is Alive” by Charlotte Poe

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #36

I, Katie Milburn, am alive. I’ve been awake nearly two days and I’m pretty sure I want to die, but I’m also pretty sure that right now, in this moment, I’m alive. So that’s terrifying. Lots of things are terrifying, I think. Which is kind of the problem. I mean, look at the universe. Nobody really understands the beginnings or the ends of it, or if it even has beginnings and ends, and I think, well, isn’t it kind of subjective?Like, before I was born, hell, even for several months after, nothing really existed for me until somethin...

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“Brain Soup” by Nat Chapman

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #36

April 2, 2020I tried Adderall for the first time today.This morning, I couldn’t get out of bed until 8:30, but I was able to cook a full breakfast with eggs and (decaf) coffee, take a shower, and read 100 pages of a book by 11am. I haven’t been able to sit down and read a book in years. Normally, it takes me all morning to build up the motivation to get in the fucking shower. And by build up motivation, I mean I’m standing naked in my bathroom doorway for an hour scrolling through my phone and making a Spotify playlist for this shower. ...

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This week's prompts

In the form of diary/ journal entries, write about someone who's just decided to take up journaling.

Adults – 117 stories

In the form of diary/ journal entries, write about someone on a long-awaited trip.

Holiday – 56 stories

In the form of diary/ journal entries, write about someone who's just experienced a big "first."

High School – 94 stories

In the form of diary/ journal entries, write about someone who's up late at night because they're having trouble sleeping.

High School – 237 stories

In the form of diary/ journal entries, write a story that provides glimpses into a person's life at different ages.

Character – 135 stories

Stories

“Kiss of the Snake” by Zilla Babbitt

🏆 Winner of Contest #36

Yellow Day Today is a yellow day. The sunlight sneaks in through the window, writhing on the floor like a snake. Outside, the leafy pecan tree shakes in the wind. To be honest, I do not write. When I do, it is facts and information. In the city I did not have time for poetry or pretty words. No one wanted pretty words or expected it of me. But now, alone with the cold stone and cold yellow light and snakes made from the sun, I have time. I can hear humming in the restless air. The entire compound is apprehensive. It is because we are expecti...

132 comments 132

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“Forever” by 🆇🅰🆅🅸🅴🆁 🅶.🆂. 🅵🅴🆁🅶🆄🆂🅾🅽

Submitted to Contest #36

ForeverBy Xávier G. S. FergusonJune 3 There comes a day when the stars which look down upon the people of the world must fall, as must I. If I die, time will keep going, just not for me. But one day, time itself must end. As everything mortal dies, so will time and space. The liars and blasphemers say that there is no forever, but they lie as we group them into their categories: liars and blasphemers. A liar would say that everything ends, and he is wrong, or is he right? Time will end. But… how? How will it end? Many a night, I lay po...

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“So This Is Love” by 💛🤍 L U N A N A 🤍💛

Submitted to Contest #36

October 26th, 20219:26 P.M.Dear Diary,Oh my gosh! This is like my 8th time telling this story and each time it feels more unbelievable! I still can't wrap my finger around the fact that today, at 3:06 P.M. under the Buck Lodge bleachers, in Adelphi, Maryland, Jeremy Fyers kissed me!Ok, so kind of a confusing story, so I’ll try to tell it in as much detail as I can remember. It all started early this morning on one end Cherry Street, which is only .2 miles from the bus stop. It was raining really hard out and I was running late because my lit...

105 comments 105

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“Tomorrow” by Riddhi Shedge

Submitted to Contest #36

Dear Diary,Hi! I'm Amberly, and Mama just bought you from the store. I can't wait to write in you every day. Tomorrow is the first day of second grade, and I'm super excited. I'm in the same class as my best friend, Rose. Our teacher is Mrs. Laila. Everyone says she is very nice. Well, I'm going to sleep.Nighty night,AmberlyDear Diary,The first day of fourth grade was so amazing! Rose baked the whole class delicious strawberry cupcakes, and our new teacher, Ms. Eastland, bought these pretty gel pens for the whole class! And guess what, I saw...

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“We're going to Spain! Or are we?” by Niveeidha Palani

Submitted to Contest #36

Dear Diary, FridayToday we had boring school again. But guess what!!!! Mum just told us that we were planning to visit Aunt Lynn in Spain! The last time since I saw Aunt Lynn was when I was seven. Nine years had already passed, and long before I had turned true sixteen. My sweet sixteen billowed away gently and Aunt Lynn hadn't come to it. As a pang of disappointment and hurt hit me, I realized that she wouldn't come for my sweet sixteen. "Wh...

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“Odysseus” by Phoebe Barr

Submitted to Contest #36

It’s been quiet here.I don’t mean the sounds. It’s just - all so clean,airtight,vacuum-packed and controlled.So careful.We with our treadmills, working our legs each dayso we don’t forget what it is to walkwhile we float through the star-drenched heavens -incredible thing, to land on rock againand know you’ve returned to a world that flows. - diary aboard Odysseus I, day 1 of contact(this is shit. i know it’s shit. i’ll edit it later. they’re really counting on me to turn out some god-tier poetry - everyone else here is a hardcore ...

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“Mina's Diary” by Ruth Porritt

Submitted to Contest #36

July 20th, 2019 (Saturday)I sigh, and throw the covers off of my second-hand bed. My body is slick with sweat, and it feels like I can’t breathe. I once read that the best cure for insomnia is to get out of bed and physically go somewhere else. (Easier said than done.) I stumble to the bathroom, turn on the sink, and splash my face with cold water. Glancing in the mirror, I see that one blue vein has popped out of my forehead a bit, but otherwise I don’t look too bad. I jog down the stairs, open the fridge, and select a carton of black cherr...

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“Sienna Hotel” by Lee Mar

Submitted to Contest #36

12:35 AMThe tapping on my window has kept me up past midnight. Of course, it’s probably just a tree swaying with the wind. But a fearful voice in my head is screaming at me to stay awake, begging me to. The dust-covered lamp beside me seems to be daring me to turn it off, to leave myself in utter darkness. The dirty Sienna hotel floor seems to be pressuring me into getting up, leaving my feet vulnerable to what I fear may be under the bed. Worst of all, the old grandma curtains keep moving slightly, threatening to show me what’s behind the w...

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“Reign of a Supervillain as Told by His Sister's Journal” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #36

June 6thYear 2090 Miss Piggy stands from her position on the throne, her bouncing blonde hair towering and spilling across the television screen. I glance around my living room and take a deep breath. My family and I are all waiting for the biggest announcement we’ve yet to hear. I sit by the chimney on a quilted blanket with my younger sister, Elmira, and our stuffed rabbit, Mr. Daisypants. I hold my breath now in anticipation. My mother clutches the side of the sofa. Father takes a large gulp from his bowl of chowder and my old...

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“A Young Diary” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #36

February 11th 2075 Dear Diary (I wanted to write dear Diarrhea but mom said no, Jimmy), This is my first diary and I’d like to say that I hate it, and would like to throw up beef chunks on it. It’s not even why you would think I hate it though. I hate my new diary because it’s very ugly. I didn’t want a diary that said, Follow Your Dreams on it! I wanted the sequined one that had a fat old unicorn on it but like always, my mom said no, Jimmy. That’s my name. Jimmy. What did you think it would be? Sarsaparilla? NO. It’s...

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“Feeling Fine” by 𝔸. Triangle

Submitted to Contest #36

Daily checklist:Brush teethGet changedBreakfast at 11 with LauraLunchGo for a walkDinnerMedicationJanuary 17, 1994 Dear diary, I woke up last night with a terrible pounding headache. It was one of the ones where you don't have to shut your eyes and focus on your heartbeat because it's already pounding in your ears anyway. I found my way to the medicine cabinet and took a couple of aspirins. And cholinesterase. And antipsychotics. I smiled as I felt all the pain wash away. It seemed as if it was never there at all. Like a wave. I trudged bac...

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“Land of the Luau” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #36

Hawaii, finally. Rainforests, volcanoes, powder-soft sand, palm trees, soft breeze. When I looked at the prices I thought, wow, the flight and the hotel are expensive by themselves with the added excursions it’s out of my price range.But it’s always hot in Hawaii so there’s always something to do. Or should I say the same things they do in the summer they do in the fall; or in the off-season. So I think I’ll combine my hotel and meals and simply go on a cruise. I’ll stop at every island: Maui, Oahu, Hawaii etc. And go on all the tours. And b...

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“R15-EN” by Joseph Ahart

Submitted to Contest #36

-scanning memory card- //beginning system operations/(Storage backup_COMPLETE)/(Neural connection_COMPLETE)/(CPU analysis_COMPLETE)//STARTING UP//Entry Log 01/01/0001Scanning…it is a painting. Red and yellow are mostly present. It is a depiction of fruits in a basket. Bananas, three of them. Apples, six of them. From analysis of texture and stroke pattern, it is an oil painting. Analyzing... temperature gauge indicates that the room is 20 degrees celsius. The room is 30 by 40 meters in length. All scans have been completed. This is...

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“At First Sight” by Elaina Wyrd

Submitted to Contest #36

Dear Diary— Oh, dearest, sweetest, most wonderful Diary! I write to you in such excitement. Please, you must forgive my handwriting— it is taking all of my energy to sit still, and I have none to spare to steady my hand. How I long to dance, or to sing to the air! But first, this. I must detail today’s events while the memory is still fresh, so when I’m old and grey and no longer quite so spry I’ll be able to look back and feel this way again. What is a memory but a door to the past? This should help to keep the hinges oiled and the han...

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“The Diary of Sunny” by Crystal Lewis

Submitted to Contest #36

Friday, 11th January BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER!!!I, Jonathan Clark, got a puppy! My very own puppy!I’ll call him Sunny.Mum says I should start a diary about Sunny and me.I’ll try but I don’t like writing very much.Saturday, 12th January Sunny is a very pretty kinda dog. He’s got golden fur and big brown eyes. They remind me of my favourite chocolate.He can’t really bark yet coz he’s only little. I try to teach him but I can’t bark either. He can still make noises tho like when I accidentally stepped on his tail. He is fine now. He likes snif...

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$50

Prize money

639

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 10, 2020 EST

Won by Zilla Babbitt 🏆

Title: Kiss of the Snake

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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