Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

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

“Pet Shop” by Sydney G

Submitted to Contest #41

“Ooh! Look! Look at this one! Her hair is funny.” Puff’s claw was hooked onto the ring of one of the cages holding a small, bright-eyed infant with curly, vibrant hair. “Eww! It’s hair is so long. Come on, let’s go!” Puff’s twin brother, Spec, pouted. Their mother leaned over her and peered through the bars at the baby. “Odd, odd creatures indeed. Well, let’s move along now sweetie, obviously one with such unique hues will draw far too much attention. We don’t want that now, do we?” But Puff and Spec were already sticking their paws into ano...

Read story

“Lady” by Vivian Eli

Submitted to Contest #41

*yawn!* the room was dark and no light was found anywhere, jumping off the bed to stretch out all of her limbs. Her long body was now ready for the day she just needed to awake her owner. “Girl it’s time to wake up!.” She lightly placed her chin to the bed, but the girl was still asleep a loud wimper was Herd as the girl that look to be 28 years old turn on her lamp to find her Labrador retriever waging her tail waiting for her to wake up. “Come on girl! I have to go!.” The girl takes her phone to check the time and sighs “ok lady let...

Read story

“Greater Than a Legacy” by Davi Nash

Submitted to Contest #41

Have you ever read a story about a tortoise that was faster than a hare? You couldn’t have because there has never been a tortoise that was faster than a hare. Though, a similar story you may recall is one about a tortoise that won a race due to a hare's arrogance.My great, great grandfather is the famed tortoise from “The Tortoise and The Hare.” Since I was a hatchling, the tale of Grandpa Ivor’s victory has plagued me. A burden I wish wasn’t mine. There have been crushing expectations for me to not only live up to his legacy but revive it....

Read story

“A Tiger Heart” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #41

«Kenzo! Grab it now!» The mother tiger yelled.The pack of tigers had circled around on a young deer, leaving no chance of escape. The scene was covered in a veil of silence as the suspense of the attack was rising.«Kenzo wake up! You need to move fast or its gonna run away!»Kenzo looked over at the voice.«Just snatch the damn thing!» called his bigger brother Edan.Little Kenzo looked at the deer without making a move. A few steps further and it could have it in a sheer moment. The little deer looked petrified. The law of the jungle was harsh...

Read story

“A Dream of Ink-Parrots” by BEATRIZ FREITAS

Submitted to Contest #41

Do not laugh for I have seen this creature myself and it is not laughable, the silly name was just a joke me and my companions came. In truth, no other species had ever sparked my interest likywise before I met the Ink-parrots. Ink-parrots would not differ from the ordinary Psittaciformes: the same colorful feathers, the same anoyingly inocculative voice. If distracted, one might even overlook the existance of an ink-parrot in surrounding areas, but that shall not be a problem for those who's interest is to find amusing stories. In fact...

Read story

“Move over Popover” by Celeste Kuun

Submitted to Contest #41

I have a pet dinosaur. Except no one really knows that it is a dinosaur.You see, scientists have it all wrong about what dinosaurs looked like. You can’t really blame them because they only have the bones of dinosaurs to give them a rough idea of what they looked like. The only thing bones establish is the size.My dinosaur is about the size of a really large dog, but he doesn’t have scales or rough skin. He doesn’t even have feathers like scientists are now imagining. No. My dinosaur is big and fluffy, with big blotches of purple fur all ove...

Read story

“The Lonely City ” by Ivy O'Liveon

Submitted to Contest #41

The lights are never turned off in this city until the sun rises, vehicles never stop, people are always busy and they don't have time for each other. They don't even have time to stop even for a minute as every second matters. The restaurants are always crowded, cafeterias are noisy yet you will find the loneliest souls here in this city. Making money seems to be everyone's passion here. I moved here for that same reason, to make money for my family so that I can provide my family best of things which my dad had once promised. There is not ...

Read story

“The Cliff” by Marjolein Maassen

Submitted to Contest #41

“This is never going to work, you know.” The voice came from behind him, but he didn’t turn around. He ignored the sigh that followed too. Instead, he shuffled slightly closer to the edge, until he could feel a cool breeze on the bottom of his feet. He took a deep breath. “I’m not going to patch you up again Carl”, his friend said. “You’re on your own this time.” Carl counted down in his head. Three… two… ONE. He spread his flippers and jumped, enthusiastically flapping them up and down, trying to get some traction. For a brief second he t...

Read story

“Worst Christmas Ever” by Pete Zenz

Submitted to Contest #41

It was Christmas morning at the Merten family household. Mom and Dad (Tom and Kate Merten) were in the kitchen making pancakes for breakfast. The kids - Felix, Brittney, and Louis (aged 8, 5, and 4, respectively) – were crawling around the tree, seeing which packages were whose, comparing how many each had, and trying to guess what treasure might be in each ornately wrapped box. The kids had been begging for weeks for a puppy; three puppies, preferably. Their hopes were high, as Kate had been dropping little suggestive hints that such a gra...

Read story

“The Elephant in the Sunroom” by Juliet Clementine

Submitted to Contest #41

Cordelia was a lively creature, full of the curiosity and adventure of her parade. They often bathe in the cooling mud and traipse through the tall savanna, but nothing intrigued Cordelia more than the little square hills. Though the other elephants acknowledged their surroundings, with careful attention used for lions, they did little to approach the square hills in the wild. Some hills had red caps and others black. Some were slanted and others flat. Cordelia could not yet leave her mother, as she was young but one day, she was able to mea...

Read story

“Cat Sullivan” by Romi Sigma-Beta

Submitted to Contest #41

We never gave him a proper name. He was “Cat” or “Le Chat”, or some silly variation of one of those names. We all felt free to call him by whatever name his face or his curled-up, sleeping body inspired. Cat lived in the ironing basket in a corner of the dining room, where he could keep an eye on Mother when she was cooking in the kitchen. He liked to visit the kitchen, especially when Mother cooked fish or chicken, and he also kept an eye, and a paw, on the colony of roaches that liked to roam the floors of the kitchen at night. We al...

Read story

“Charlie Brown: Our Rescue to the Rescue” by Keith Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #41

Charlie Brown: Our Rescue to the Rescue Charlie Brown – quite possibly the greatest dog of all time. A German shepherd rescue, Charlie quickly became both loyal friend and fearless protector to me and my four younger brothers. But this particular story starts in a garden. When you’re raising seven sons, it’s almost a necessity that you grow at least some of the food you eat. In addition to trading out work for a half a butchered pig, or a third of a slaughtered steer, Dad planted a garden just under an acre in size. We boys had most of the r...

Read story

“Giant Corona : Bats and Snakes” by Ansh Jain

Submitted to Contest #41

In this story , I have described how animals have become a huge problem for the whole world like due to bats and snakes , Corona Virus had taken many lives. So , story is as follows :-In China and in the entire world, it was the last day of the year 2019. People in the entire world were celebrating the New year party. In China, people were also enjoying it. Eventually, at 12 am happened a weird and scary event with animals. One day before 31st December 2019, on 30th December 2019, there was happiness and joyness in China and everyone was bus...

Read story

“An Absence of Wildflowers” by Taylor Pike

Submitted to Contest #41

For the first time in her life, Joan rode into her favorite campsite and found no wildflower in sight. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever looked out the window and didn’t see a Texas Bluebonnet or an Indian Blanket or a Brown-eyed Susan. Yet there was nothing, only a field of green grass and the clear blue lake ruffling in the wind. The campground was nearly deserted. A few loyal campers remained but were quickly packing their things into their RVs, attempting to beat the ...

Read story

“The Master of the House” by Sophie Clarke

Submitted to Contest #41

“... and then he picked up the slice with the coffee bean still on it and ate it. He was so drunk that he didn’t have a clue; he just kept eating!” All of the tall ones yipped and yelped and doubled over. One even clapped his paws together as he roared and another’s eyes made her face wet. The Master of the House was a people pleaser. My Girl titters along with them, but I know she’s lying; I can feel it. I can feel it in the way her paw tangles in the fur at my scruff. My Girl only cares about pleasing The Master. It’s safer that way. ...

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢