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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

“Mona Lisa” by B M

Submitted to Contest #41

It was sophomore year of college and I had just surrendered my puppy Mary Jane to the humane society because at the time, I just couldn't take care of her. If you've ever had a puppy, you know they're just like a baby. She was a handful and I soon realized I had bitten off more than I could chew. I figured that someone out there could dedicate more time to her and give her the life she deserved. I do miss her dearly and think about her almost every day and I pray that she went to a loving family. I severely regretted having to give her up an...

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“My Soul, My Moonshine” by Avyanna Power

Submitted to Contest #41

I wasn’t always this way. Lost, lonely, broken hearted. Sure, there have been moments within my life where it felt so dark and heavy that I could not see a future ahead, but I have made it so far. There comes a time though, when the pressure of the world overwhelms a person and no matter how hard you try and lift yourself up, suddenly it all crumbles down around you. I was holding on to hope, genuinely believing that perhaps there was a rainbow after the storm. Light at the end of the tunnel. All the metaphors for a silver lining. Losing mys...

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“A bear in the woods” by Micah Lewter

Submitted to Contest #41

One thing to remember when hunting moose in northern British Columbia -- always look out for bears. Nick knew that. He had grown up in the western province of Canada, and he had been going outdoors his whole life. His father taught him how to hunt, how to fish, and how to always be aware of those bears. Black bears you only really needed to know about during the spring. They didn’t tend to be aggressive. They were more interested in trash cans and beehives. But in the spring time, when the momma bears had their cubs, these bears could be dan...

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“Monique” by Anna Kleiber

Submitted to Contest #41

As a little girl, she was full of energy and resounding laughter. She always wore the biggest smile, and she surrounded herself with friends. The air was sweet, the sun always bright, and she never had a care in the world. Life was good.As a teenager, things changed. Her parents divorced, and her grades slipped. Friends turned to bullies, and teachers turned a blind eye. She no longer smiled. She sat in the back corner of the room, head down, wishing the day would end. She longed for these years to be over, and they had only just begun.The y...

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“My life with my dogs and mental illness” by Cassandrea Geesling

Submitted to Contest #41

Hello, my name is Cassandrea Geesling. I wish to warn you that this may trigger some emotion. If you or a love one are having problems please call the suicide hotline or 911.Before I go into my dog, Chaka, who saved my life more than once, I have to tell you how she saves me. But don't worry I'll have another dog on here but that is later in this.I grew up with animals. We had cats, dogs, rabbits, and chickens. I've loved the animals in fact I think we got all the animals from my late great grandma's house who also raises chickens and geese....

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“The Whispering Wind” by Bray L

Submitted to Contest #41

Papa handed me my first gun when I was three, or at least that’s what Mama always told me. “He always wanted a boy to hunt with, you know, but he saw you and he just knew that you would be his little country girl,” she would say with a laugh. “I remember him dressing you in camo the day we took you home!” I can hear her speaking them, her words echoing with the wind against the trees surrounding me, her Kentucky twang murmuring with the rifle in my hands. Though Papa always tried to get her to join us in our voyages for deer or squirre...

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“Secret Keeper” by Varuni Pragya

Submitted to Contest #41

I slouched back inside my makeshift dog house as I saw her jump from the first story window of the house and land with a thump on the ground. She brushed off the dust and grass blades from her blue faded jeans and turned back to notice the lights getting switched on inside the house followed by a low pitched mumbling of voices. Unfazed, Charlie took me in her arms and ran towards the front wooden gate of the house, got in the passenger seat of the dusty red Chevy which sped ahead. All the members of the Davis family had grown up in front of ...

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“Mr. Komiticki, Please!” by Steven Dall

Submitted to Contest #41

Mr. Komiticki, Please! My wife and I lived in cities, our entire, young, adult lives. Kay was a ballet trained, modern dancer and I was a musician. In pursuit of our passions, cities were where we needed to be. Once we began living together, we continued to share basement apartments, lofts in bad neighborhoods, and tiny, student, like rentals. When the time came to start a family, we borrowed...

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“Zeus” by Karen L

Submitted to Contest #41

Leah fidgeted in her chair, glancing at the clock every few minutes. A patient came up to the counter to return his forms. She pasted on her best smile and did the routine: make a copy of the insurance card, return the card. The patient took his seat to wait for the doctor.Marie finally came through the door, and she breathed a sigh of relief.“Finally,” she griped, standing up and collecting her things.“Damn, what’s the rush?” Marie asked, dumping her things behind the counter. “I was only a few minutes late.”“I wanted to get to the shelter ...

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“A Dog At The Door” by Vaishnavi Venu

Submitted to Contest #41

I lift my pen to write, but my mind is blank. And so I stop, my hand dropping down in defeat. I was diagnosed with depression... one of my friends recommended getting a therapist, or a pet at least but I can’t afford either of those. I was back home after a tiring day at work, settled in my favourite place by the window sill, a book in hand, legs dangling lazily. I peer out my open window, at the window opposite to mine, wondering who lived there. It was a favourite pastime of mine. Thinking, musing about life in general. But ...

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“A little friend by chance” by Duong Duy Khang

Submitted to Contest #41

Nino was a graduate from a prestigious university in the USA. During her time at university, she loved it a lot. She enjoyed a various of social activities on campus, made a lot of friends, joining a lot of parties. She met great minds and great hearts. It was such a great and unforgettable time that she would forever cherished. After she graduated from university, things didn’t quite live up to her expectations. She did got a well-paid job, however, she had to left her homeland, where she had lived for 22 years and attended the university t...

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“Lion, the Cat” by Rie Selene

Submitted to Contest #41

In a far away town at the City of Feline, there is a family who lives in between the rural and the city. They live in a simple life. The father of the family, named Nonnie works as a carpenter at the city and the mother named Madeline is a housewife who stays at home to take care of their children. This family loves animals so much, that their house is like a sweet home zoo. They have a dog who became their guard, an aquarium full of fish, a piggery with little pigs, poultry with so much chicken that wakes them up everytime the sun arise, a ...

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“Getting the Longhorn Home” by Carol Stone

Submitted to Contest #41

Getting the Longhorn HomeThere was a cow on the train line this morning. English Longhorn, rare breed. I know this because my Grandpa used to keep them before the bank forced his farms’ closure. Grandpa lived for his farm, his Longhorns especially. He had fire surging through his seventy year old veins and I believed every word when he said “over my dead body will they take this farm and my cattle away from me.” I assumed he never meant those words literally but the day before the bank took possession of Grandpa Oswald's farm, one of the far...

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“Meeting Memphis” by James McClung

Submitted to Contest #41

The day that I met Memphis I was at the lowest point in my journey, and frankly I was at home there. For two decades addiction had dragged me to lower, and lower lows, and hope was no longer within my nature. The resilience that every young addict has, fades with age, until it becomes acceptance of a fate worse than death.I hardly felt anything in those days, except a desire to use drugs. So I was as stunned as anyone when my first sight of Memphis elicited such a visceral response. Normally to be addicted is to be self cen...

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“The Prophet” by John Blood

Submitted to Contest #41

He was an old man who lived somewhere in New Jersey, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, and it happened to him one day that he would speak at length with a squirrel about the meaning of life. Now, the old man was tall, gaunt, and stolid, and in his face there showed a rather remarkable physiognomy – a furrowed brow, brooding eyes, an avian nose, and pouted lips, all of which spoke to a fretted mind. And, truly, beneath the surface of these sullen features was the spirit of a man who might well be called depressed.&nbs...

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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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