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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#7: Scrumdiddlyumptious

Did you know: September 13th is Roald Dahl's birthday — so a "gloriumptious" Roald Dahl Day to you!

Roald Dahl was a children's book author, best known for classics like Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Gian Peach, and, well, the list of his beloved children's books goes on and on.

Dahl not only created whimsical worlds within his stories, he also created new diction, inventing words such as "gloriumptious" (pure marvelousness), "biffsquiggled" (being confused or puzzled), "churgle" (gurgling with laughter), and "ringbeller" (a really good dream).

This week, our prompts are all elements pulled from Roald Dahl's phizz-whizzing (splendid) books.

This week's prompts

Write a story with a child narrator.

Kids – 37 stories

Write a story that mixes everyday situations with surreal surroundings.

High School – 26 stories

Write a story where a chocolate cake plays a significant role.

Funny – 34 stories

Write a story about a person longing for family.

Angst – 44 stories

Write a story infused with dark humor.

Funny – 15 stories

Stories

“The Bounce House” by Shawn Strande

Submitted to Contest #7

“Use the Fork Luke” was written in red icing across the half-sheet chocolate cake that was decorated with plastic miniatures of X-Wing Fighters, the Millenium Falcon, and the Death Star. Having parents that were avid Star Wars fans made the inscription an inevitability. There had been much debate about which birthday would be “the” Star Wars birthday, but no debate that there would in fact be one. In the end it was market forces and Luke’s enthusiasm for Rey that decided the matter.For the group of young kids, the cake was a marvel to behold...

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“Normal” by James Offenha

Submitted to Contest #7

Normal By James S. Offenhartz It hurts. Constantly hurts and it’s everywhere. I turn on the TV and see TLC’s show about planning a wedding. I go out to a restaurant to relax and I see the nuclear family. I can never have that, but feel the blood in my body longing for it. I go on Facebook and someone has made a birth announcement. I look at the comments: “Congratulations!” “Mozel Tov!” “We’re so happy. We’re finally going to be grandparents”. Birth announcements, wedding invitations, ...

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“The Light of Gary” by Harmony Rose

Submitted to Contest #7

Darkness. Complete darkness. That’s all Emma Brown saw during her life. No, she wasn’t blind in any way. There just wasn’t anything special about her life. She was just Emma Brown. However, her birthday was rolling around the corner. This year, she wished for something special. Emma had wished for a family. Everyday, she passed houses full of children running up to their moms. Warmth. Happiness. Emma wasn’t sure how a family worked at this point. She didn’t have one. Emma had wanted the warmth of a hug from a mom. She wanted love and a home....

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“A story about a person longing for a family” by Joanne Phanh

Submitted to Contest #7

It was a beautiful almost fall time of year. The air was crisp and the leaves started to fall. We were taking the eldest off to college, and very proud. She was extremely excited looking forward to growing up and being adventurous. The youngest was starting off in high school. Nervous and a little frightened of the new enormous new school the town built.We knew our family life would change forever. A few short days later there was a wind storm. No rain just a horrible wind storm. We lo...

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“A Family To Call My Own” by Jessica Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #7

Alarm blaring in my ears, I slowly roll over and turn off my alarm clock. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stand up and start getting ready for what today will bring. I feel good today, like today could be one of the best days I have had in a while. Today I think I will get to join in on the family fun. For once, I won’t get stuck at the house alone. However, I know that realistically it will probably be like every other day. I am just a foster kid that they are taking care of. They don’t spend any extra time with me or let me join in...

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“THE DILEMMA BETWEEN MOTHER AND MOTHERLAND” by Manisha Aggarwal

Submitted to Contest #7

CHAPTER 1 –THE HOPEThe day is January 15th, 1998, read the side wall calendar in the military quarters. Major Veer felt a plethora of emotions when he saw the encircled date on the calendar ‘January 17th’. He went down the memory lane, recalling the saccharine bond he shares with his baby sister. He envisaged his younger self in his late teens, dressed meticulously in his school uniform holding the hand of his younger sister, his doll who was about 4 years old then. He relished how astonishingly endearing she looked in her grey tunic, white ...

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“Carlotta (Desert Queen)” by Jay Kasperbauer

Submitted to Contest #7

Dear Reverend,In your entire life if you never experience true love or if you find yourself questioning love or the strength of your love for someone else, please read this letter. Its contents are entirely factual, I assure you. I have probably overshared many details but it is my best effort to explain things this way so that you can see that I am genuine and candid and so that you can understand the exact details, as best I can describe them, of how I found love (or how love found me). After presenting the information, I will discuss the ...

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“Happy Endings Require a Sacrifice” by Alicia Gilliam

Submitted to Contest #7

I am here to testify that what happened in Oakhill was no dream, nor even a daydream, but a mingling of hot imagination and cold reality colliding into a thunderstorm of story-telling that took even Juliet by surprise. This is her story.It all started on a typical Thursday afternoon at the close of 7thperiod English.“Due Friday: Three-page original fairy tail”Juliet winced at the spelling error on the blackboard. She had a few choice words, but her eyes dropped to the collection of buttons on the backpack sitting at her feet. “Be nice. Be ni...

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“Atakpamé” by Temilade Adetona

Submitted to Contest #7

Raged. The ofttimes silent sea threw its many berserk waves against the mammoth timbered ship, roaring as though an untuned choir. Moon was silenced, clouds staged a coup. The enslaved multitude swayed side to side bellowing chants of appeasement to Yemoja - goddess of the many seas. "Yemoja ooo, Alagbara... " they yelled. Sea fell quiet, Yemoja seemed pleased. The bestormed seas rose many heights hoisting the troubled ship soon smashed against a souless, arched islet. Land was mashy moist. Half buried by the umber sand, Ola, a child captive...

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“First Meeting” by Jen V D

Submitted to Contest #7

My whole life, I had waited for that day to happen. And how beautiful the day itself was, now that I’m looking back at it. Of course, that morning my head was full of other things. Worry and excitement, and emotions I couldn’t name yet, so I wasn’t focusing on the world outside the car. But even though I didn’t watch it, there was thick growth on the hedges we passed. Sunlight landed golden on the leaves. A rare cloud sat in a wide sky. My memory stored it away for years and I can look at it now.I was going to meet my dad. I was five ye...

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“Collywobbles” by Shelby Morrison

Submitted to Contest #7

It’s hard to say why people do things. I myself would never be able to tell you why I joined the Party. It’s been two weeks and I’m still bumfuzzled, unsure of my place here. That’s to be expected of a college student but it’s still disappointing. I regularly find myself peering from the corner of the room, imagining how others may think of me. I typically see myself as that leering, eavesdropping creature that no one wants to talk to, but in reality I’m much more likely the lonely girl who has intelligence in her eyes but a rubber ban...

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“Six or seven going on a hundred: to help you avoid making similar mistakes ” by Katherine M. Kean

Submitted to Contest #7

Now I am six, and will be so for ever and ever[1], it is time for me to write my autobiography – hopefully for your amusement. I only want to say one thing before I start: at school we have already learnt the importance of research for our writing and citing the results of this. Therefore, I have begun as I mean to go on in life.My life got off to a slow start. All I wanted to do was sleep, but my persistent parents pursued a policy of purposeful prodding and poking to waken me up to feed. I suppose it’s just as well they did really, otherwi...

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“New Year's Resolutions” by Geny Heywood

Submitted to Contest #7

New Year's Resolutions===========Midnight is approaching, today is the very last day of December .For the last seventy years of my busy and eventful life, I have made the very same resolution, year after year...I started that routine when WW2 was over, it was over for me, anyway, not for many other young girls in other countries. This was a time when finally life appeared to become more manageable for most young people of my generation. I was eighteen. Since that time, every year I go through the very same system of rules while my fellow hum...

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“Chocolate-Raspberry Blues” by Bianca Favors

Submitted to Contest #7

Last night, I wished death upon myself. Apparently, God ignored my request and decided to wake me up by pouring sunshine in my bedroom like coffee in a cup. Its blazing rays stung my swollen eyes, forcing me to open them to receive the new day. I didn’t ask to be here. I asked for a forever goodbye. Perhaps God saw a bigger purpose for me. As I lay still in my bed, I could feel the cold moisture from the tears I released throughout the night. My body was numb with no desire to ...

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“Birthday Surprise” by Leslie Arambula

Submitted to Contest #7

As we walked down our street, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of irritation. All night, Jeff had been on and off his phone. Even when we had gone out to one of the nicer restaurants in the neighborhood. Even when I had tried to touch his arm and speak in his ear. And even when I’d had three margaritas just to send the type of message that I wanted him to pick up on. And still. Nothing. Nothing but text messages and a phone call that he’d had to take half way through the appetizer. But I knew why. I knew the surprise he had been working...

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$50

Prize money

156

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 20, 2019 EST

Won by Adriana K. Maxwell 🏆

Title: Don't Drink The Stars

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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