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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#41: Fuzzy Friends (or Foes?)

Hey, writers! I'm Tracy Gold, an editor, writer, and mom to a toddler, horse, and dog. And this week, I'm taking over Reedsy Prompts!

As an editor, I've enjoyed working on young adult fiction (like Amanda Searcy's Watch You Burn), non-fiction (like Gary Vikan's The Holy Shroud), and sci-fi/fantasy (like Nikki Richard's Demon in the Whitelands). Visit my Reedsy profile to learn more about me and my work!

My theme for this week is "fuzzy friends." From Hedwig in the Harry Potter series to Enzo in the The Art of Racing in the Rain, nothing captures hearts like a beloved animal. Animals can be powerful antagonists, too: just look at Jurassic Park! Perhaps what I love most about books featuring fuzzy friends (or foes) is that they mine the depths of the human heart by exploring how we interact with animals. I hope these prompts help you sniff out a good story!

This week's prompts

Write about an animal who changes a person's life (for better or worse).

Kids – 232 stories

Write about an animal species that doesn't exist in real life — an alien, new discovery, imaginary creature — it's up to your interpretation!

Middle School – 145 stories

Write about an animal who goes on a journey.

Kids – 69 stories

Write a story featuring an animal who subverts expectations (like a snuggly tiger, or something more magical, like a literal fish out of water).

Kids – 69 stories

Write about an animal who causes a huge problem.

Middle School – 99 stories

Stories

“Sea Loch Ness Monster” by Halle Schaffer

Submitted to Contest #41

Monsters don’t hide behind scales or hulking bodies. They don’t wait underneath beds or roam the deep blue for human victims to feast upon. I cannot tell you if Bigfoot is cruel, if Dracula enjoys tearing apart his prey, or if these creatures even exist at all. But, from my own experience anyways, there is more to beasts than their legends. As I gaze at the sleepy Sun, stretching its last rays on the Hawaiian sky, I rock myself to lull away the sleep settling in my joints. The ocean wind slaps my ...

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“J And J” by Maliha Mujahid

Submitted to Contest #41

Most of us are waiting for that one person, or for that one thing to happen to us, that will change our lives forever. We wait, and we expect that what is now a monotonous routine, will become something more – something exciting, something interesting. Of course, it’s natural to want good things to happen to you, despite the fact that we never really know what exactly it is that we’re asking for. Then, there are other people, people who’ve already had so much happened to them, that all they want is a glimpse into the normal life – a lif...

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“Hope, the dog” by Samadhee Ismail

Submitted to Contest #41

I stare myself in the mirror. My hair is in tangles, I can't remember the last time I had a bath. My cheeks have become hollow, my eyes are bloodshot. I look like a maniac. I scream at the mirror. Scream at top of my lungs. I scream until my voice becomes hoarse and then I start sobbing uncontrollably as I fall on the floor of the bathroom. I leaned on the wall, wiping away the tears. Depression is a mood disorder that involves a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It is different from the mood fluctuations that people regula...

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“Cat Intervention” by Heather Laaman

Submitted to Contest #41

When she left the house that morning, the cat was sitting on the hood of her car like it owned the place. She vaguely remembered seeing him last night as she stumbled in. At the time, Mary assumed it was her roommate’s cat, but now she remembered that her roommate’s cat had died a few months ago. She was glad she hadn’t remembered that last night, because she had just reached the level of inebriation where she began to believe in ghosts. A ghost cat would have made her unable to get the sleep she needed to confront Chad.Chad. What a dumb nam...

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“" For The First Time" - Navya Jain ” by Navya Jain

Submitted to Contest #41

I locked my apartment and headed out, my guitar slung over my shoulder. As usual, I looked awful, there were bags under my eyes and I slumped as I walked.I was in some serious shit, you could say. I was a struggling actor whose last gig was like two years ago, and the only source of income that I had was coming from the singing I did at the night clubs and some small roles that I did in movies, like a stunt double or something like that. I was in serious depression, my mother had just passed away like a year ago but I still missed her so muc...

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“The girl dressed in lilac blue” by Ananya Jena

Submitted to Contest #41

I woke up on a Saturday morning with my drowsy face and there was an aroma of homemade cakes. I got out of the bed with a delighted and got freshened up and had a quick breakfast that consisted of freshly baked banana chocolate chip cake and some oatmeal cookies. I got dressed up in my all time favourite Disney dress And lots of strawberries balm on my lips, that they started to taste like them, i wore my pink glittery shoes, i loved all of them.They meant so much to me, that even if someone tries to touch them I got irritated.I ran quickly ...

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“Young Man's Land ” by Luke Mott

Submitted to Contest #41

Young Man’s Landby Luke Mott It was my 13th birthday; one of the years my birthday landed on the weekend. My mom did the best she could to throw me a party. Somehow, she managed to round up the entire neighborhood and get the day off. She worked two, sometimes three jobs; usually, waitressing jobs or filling in as a receptionist. The ’90s weren’t a very progressive time for female employment opportunities. If they were, my mother would have ruled the world. “My little man’s growing up,” she said, holding back the tears in her eye...

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“The Nobel That Couldn't Be” by Dobby's Sock

Submitted to Contest #41

"I am not sure I understand."Sir Alfred blew a ring of smoke and contemplated it."Alright, I shall tell you something. But you, Sean, you must promise me...""Promise what, Sir Alfred?"Sir Alfred tamped his tobacco and sealed the pipe with the wind cap. Taking away his foot from the block of granite it rested upon, he got up and declared,"Let's take a walk, shall we?"Sean kept sitting where he was, rooted with an expression that clearly told Alfred that he was not going anywhere without having heard first what was going to be told to him. He ...

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“Slices” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #41

The first warm rays of the day were getting ready to clear the celestial firmament still twinkling diamonds to chase away the frost that slowly moistened the fresh grass of the announced morning.He traversed his shadows to the blossoming trees.Soon the man - a lord! - soft-mannered and honey-sweet looking, wearing a corduroy outfit - always smelling of olive oil! - and he will invariably remove the padlock from the stable gate carrying his smile extended from plump ear to plump ear, erasing the detail of his aquiline nose.Undeterred, he gree...

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“Billy Dozer” by Rob Streit

Submitted to Contest #41

BILLY DOZERby Rob Streit When I signed up to be a dog foster parent, I did so with the stated intention of caring for older senior dogs. But as I would watch the group’s website a dog caught my attention that, little did I know, would change my life dramatically. I had always loved animals. I’d had pets as a kid and the first few years of adulthood. But life’s travels and work were not conducive to having and caring for a pet of my own. So I would enjoy other’s pets I came to know. Now retired, with a nic...

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“Desperate Times” by Hope Michaelson

Submitted to Contest #41

The man sat on the hard steps of the liquor store, rubbing his nose against the dog's furry cheek. It was a mangy old mutt, dirty and skinny, not good for anything except eating your food. The man sighed. He knew the dog had to be sold, but how can you sell your best friend in the whole world? It had been a loyal companion who had stayed through it all - the rejections, the poverty, the eviction, even the cold nights sleeping on the bus station bench. His money was gone, his acting career nonexistent, and now the one thing that brought him j...

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“Shumba means Lion” by Hope Everlasting

Submitted to Contest #41

As I sat on the boulder, arms around my legs, I watched the sunset over the horizon, the entire sky brushed with mixtures of yellow, orange and red and the distant lone eagle circling above the river.I felt tears swelling up in my eyes. It had only been a month since my older sister Saru had been married off only one month ago but the time had passed slowly, and time spent had been woeful. It hadn’t been completely unexpected, since she turned 16 two years ago my mother literally spent every day saying 'any day now’ and when scolding S...

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“Running The Wheel ” by Walter Wright

Submitted to Contest #41

Man oh man I love the beats of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff.” Sings and teaches nothing but a truth to the people. Just barely mid-week, mid-school year too, and I couldn’t feel happier? No, the word might be fulfilled or maybe healthy. Most teachers get tired, start cutting corners, all that lazy stuff but not me. Nothing gets me more pumped than those 23 7th graders who line up outside my history class. Today I got them at the end of WW2 which should be very interesting. Given that as with the end of one war another one robotically fol...

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“Rose” by Danielle Burke

Submitted to Contest #41

Ava’s attention was held captive once again by the single blue egg that sheltered in the nest right outside the window. The mother bird had clearly tried. She had built a home for her baby, spread her wings and settled onto the egg, and kept a watchful eye when the cat prowled underneath. She had done everything right, but still, long after it should have hatched, the egg remained intact. Ava didn’t have the heart to throw it out. Please, she thought, please don’t let that be me again. She felt Rose, a mix of something or other (they had nev...

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“The Karma Cat Curse” by Marina Askari

Submitted to Contest #41

If you asked anybody who lived in Dronyon Town about cats, they for the most part would be okay with it. They would ask you what breed was your favourite, whether you were a dog or a cat person, if you had a cat, pretty normal stuff. But as soon as you started talking about white cats, they would stop talking to you. Now, to somebody who's never been in Dronyon Town that would seem weird. Why would the people of this town be scared of a white cat of all things? But if you did some digging and ask around enough, you'd find the answer.One day,...

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$50

Prize money

614

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 15, 2020 EST

Won by Jack Basson 🏆

Title: A Cat of Ganymede

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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