Familiar Observations

Recently, I entered a short story contest on Reedsy. Not because I expected to win any kind of prize, but rather to keep my creative mind sharp and, at the very least, give myself a challenge in writing something in a genre I am unfamiliar with.

For the contest the challenge was to select one of the following, and write a short story between 1K-3K words. Given this was an exercise, I decided to constrict myself in having all of the elements present. Naturally, given the season, the contest encompassed Halloween.

• Write a story from the point of view of a witch, a pet, or a witch’s familiar.
• Start or end your story with a cat or another animal stuck in a tree.
• Include a scene in which a pet damages something that is precious to its owner.
• Make a character dress up as something unusual (a cat, a giant pumpkin, etc.) in your story.
• Write a story that includes (or is inspired by) the phrase “Look what the cat dragged in” or “Let the cat out of the bag.”

I confess that final bullet I didn’t exactly address, but that’s okay. At this rate four out of five is still a solid batting average.

To view the story you may click below, and feel free to drop me a comment on whether I succeeded or failed spectacularly.

Familiar Observations @Reedsy.