…I am asking, for some kind of creative writing, using the image above, and a random number hmm, lets see, 28.
So further to that, I want a piece of creative writing that is twenty-eight words onlynot more or less, but exactly 28, not including the title. And don’t get clever with the title, by making it a long one, the title must be of 5 words or fewer. It can be poetry or prose.
Well, hi there, everyone! In spite of my tendency to forget what day it is, I do know that today is Sunday. Not a posting day for me. But let’s face it. It’s freezing cold, there’s snow everywhere, and going outdoors is likely to cause loss of digits or possibly your nose to frostbite. Not […]
I have yet to even be a finalist in this contest (I’m just that good), but Susanna Leonard Hill is hosting her famous Halloween writing competition for a children’s story NOW. You have till October 31st at midnight to submit a story according to her specifications ON HER SITE:
THE CONTEST: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in word count) using the words glow-in-the-dark, goosebumps, and goodies.
Your story can be poetry or prose, scary, funny, sweet, or anything in between, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words. Get it? Halloweensie – because it’s not very long and it’s for little people
You can go under the word count but not over!
Title is not included in the word count.
Also, being super clear for this year, glow-in-the-dark counts as 1 word (even though it looks like 4 )
You may use the words in any form i.e. glowed-in-the-dark, goosebumpley, goody (“Oh, goody!”, goody-two-shoes etc.), whathaveyou
You are welcome to enter more than one entry – just remember you’ll be competing against yourself
No illustration notes please!
And yes, I know 100 words is short, but that’s part of the fun and the challenge! We got just shy of 300 fantastic entries last year, so I know you can do it!
POST: your story in the comment section [on her site] between right now this very second and Sunday October 31st at Midnight – the witching hour! Please include your title, word count, and byline with your entry so that if your posting handle is MomNeedsAVacation I’ll still be able to tell who wrote your entry
For those of you who would also like to post on your blogs, please feel free to do so! You are welcome to include the link to your blog with your entry in the comment section…so that people can come visit your blog, but all entries must be posted in the comment section of [Susanna’s Post] between now and Sunday October 31st at Midnight.
If you have difficulty posting your entry to the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may e-mail your entry to [Susanna] and I’ll post it for you! Contact button or [susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com Please place your entry in the body of the e-mail including your title and bylineat the top – NO ATTACHMENTS! They will not be opened.
I know how hard you all work on your entries, and how anxious you are to get them posted, but please try to be a little patient if your entry doesn’t show up immediately. Many comments have to be manually approved, and it sometimes takes me a little while to post entries that come in by email. I promise I will get to everything as soon as I can. I try never to leave my desk during contests, but sometimes it’s unavoidable
Side Note: WordPress will not properly format entries written in the shape of a pumpkin (or anything else!) or with fancy or colored fonts or unusual spacing. No matter how great it looks in whatever program you compose it in, be forewarned that when you post it in the comment section it is going to be basic and I am not able to change that for you, I’m afraid.
THE JUDGING: in a grueling marathon over the days following the contest close, my devoted assistants and I will read and re-read and narrow down the entries to a finalist field of about 12 which will be posted here for you to vote on I hope by Friday November 5th (though if the judging takes longer than expected it might be a little later – we will do our best!) The winner will be announced Monday November 8th (good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise )
Judging criteria will be as follows:
1. Kid-appeal! – These stories are intended for a young audience (ages 12 and under), so we’re looking for stories that children will enjoy and relate to.
2. Halloweeniness – the rules state a Halloween story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about Halloween, not just some random spooky night.
3. Use of all 3 required words and whether you came it at 100 words or less.
4. Quality of story – entries must tell a story, including a main character of some kind and a true story arc even if it’s tiny Entries must not be merely descriptions or mood pieces.
5. Quality of Writing: check your spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. If you’re going to rhyme, give us your best Use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics, excellence of rhyme and meter if you use it, PROOFREADING!
6. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.
7. How well you followed the Submission Guidelines – agents and editors expect professionalism. This is a chance to practice making sure you read and follow specified guidelines. If you don’t follow agent and editor submission guidelines, they won’t even read your submission.
Howdy, writers! It’s officially time to crack your keyboarding knuckles, sharpen your leather-bound journal’s nibs, and dust of that ole thinking cap.
Don’t you dare tell me you don’t enter contests. You’re entering this one! Why?
This is for Sue Vincent. She’s an amazing person, fantastic writer, and supportive blogger. The woman’s fighting cancer and has been the carer for her son for years. Whether you wish to donate or not (it’s voluntary), you can support this and/or tell others about it.
You can win prizes!! The first place grand prize is $100 and the five runners-up will “each receive one paperback from Sue Vincent’s collection of published books (those who live in a region where the paperback is unavailable may receive an e-book instead).”
It’s great writing practice.
There’s nothing to lose.
It’s fun!
The Carrot Ranch is a wonderful community.
So, work on 99 words of a story or 99 syllables of a poem. You can do it. I believe in you.
Have I convinced you? Just follow THIS LINK RIGHT HERE to enter, officially. Each person is allowed two entries. And, here are some more numbered items to keep in mind:
DO NOT PUBLISH TO YOUR BLOG. After you submit it all official-like, keep your entry locked up in a box under your bed with your spare socks and bikinis until the winners are announced.
Follow the word or syllable counts. You don’t want to be discounted on a technicality.
Tell all your friends! Tell your enemies! Tell your frenemies!
Cancer sucks. Did you know that? Its insidious cells just stole a close relative of ours; leaving behind her young children, older children, and grieving husband.
Since I know this, I’m helping to promote a writing contest in support of someone battling lung cancer: Sue Vincent.
I don’t know Sue very well but do know she does a lot of work, is one of the best writers and poets in blogdom and beyond, and helps many people in many ways. I followed her site awhile ago and have participated in her #writephoto prompts. Whenever she writes her #midnighthaiku, I read it.
Whether you have been inspired by her selfless encouragement and excellent writings or not, this contest will be a chance for you to challenge yourself, win a sweet prize, and help an amazing woman.
Here are the details:
It’s time for Sue to receive something back from the community she’s been a cornerstone of for a decade. Let’s bring the Rodeo into Sue’s house through her computer, and let’s come together with hearts full of joy. Join us for the Sue Vincent Rodeo Classic at the Carrot Ranch – a contest, parade, and celebration all in one! There are many ways to participate. One is to visit the prompt image, “Hidden,” at the Carrot Ranch. The prompt image and entry form will go live on Monday, February 1st, 2021. Enter a flash or a poem by Friday, February 19th, 2021, and you could win either $100 or a copy of one of Sue’s books. The form will allow you to give a small donation for Sue and her family, and a link can be found on the contest page. The winning entries will be announced at the Carrot Ranch on March 22nd, 2021.
If you’re not ready to rodeo, there’s always the “Parade.” Re-blog one of Sue’s posts from any of her sites (Daily Echo or France and Vincent) with a comment about why you found it special. Follow her blogs. Read one of her books, then leave reviews where you can. Several people are already gearing up for the parade – so feel free to check out other people’s blogs for suggestions.
Also, go ahead and reblog, tweet, Facebook, or somehow otherwise share the contest! 99 word literary art is a fantastic way to celebrate a blogging hero and very deserving person.
Saddle up, everyone! It’s time for a Carrot Ranch Rodeo like none ever held before. The Sue Vincent Rodeo Classic begins on Monday, February 1st, and it’ll be a TUFF prompt to fit within 99 words.
I apologize for the number of times you will see this announcement since a fair number of people love her.
They say Young Will came tearin’ into this here world like a bolt a thunder. His mama woulda agreed; ‘ceptin’ she’d add that he were more like bulls through china once his legs growed and ‘e started runnin’.
And run Will did! He just about run everyplace -walls notwithstandin’.
No; nothing or nobody stood in his way. I reckon that’s why ‘e didn’t ‘llow somethin’ as teensy as impossible to slow ‘im. When ‘e heard anyone could be prezident, he went right home and ‘nnounced he were next.
That’s why, on ‘nauguration day, his mama was the least surprized.
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Type and entered for Carrot Ranch‘s first Rodeo Contest: tall tale.
Charli’s presented her most challenging contest yet, one utilizing a writing process called TUFF.
TUFF is The Ultimate Flash Fiction; wherein you, the writer, submit a 99-word flash, then parse it down to 59, then parse it down to 9, then rewrite a 99-word iteration showing how the story improved in this process.
Here’s what she says about it:
Now things are going to get TUFF. Our final contest of the 2019 Flash Fiction Rodeo is all about having the guts to revise. As if writing weren’t challenging enough, we also have to know what to cut, what to add, and how to improve our stories. Revision is where the work happens. TUFF is an exercise in getting to the heart of a story and rebuilding it with that understanding. TUFF stands for The Ultimate Flash Fiction. In this contest, you will be asked to write one story with several reductions and a final revision. Your revision should be different from your initial draft. That’s where a writer has to gain courage and insight. TUFF will help guide you if you practice it.
Keep in mind that the TUFF contest is all about process. So far in this Rodeo, writes have tested skills of storytelling, craft, and creativity. Now it’s time to show how you approach revising an initial story idea. Your first 99-words should be a first draft and your final 99-words should be polished and improved. The word reductions in between help you find the heart of your story (59-words) and a punchy line (9-words). Judges want to see how you manage the entire process of TUFF.
And yes, beans are involved.
CRITERIA:
Your story must include beans (go where the prompt leads).
You will submit one story, retold through varying word counts: 99 words, 59 words, 9 words, and 99 words.
Your second 99-word story should show the evolution or transformation of revision. How is it different? How is it improved? Did the TUFF process lead to new insights that changed the final version?
The story can be fiction or BOTS (based on a true story).
It can include any tone or mood, and be in any genre, and don’t forget the beans.
Make the judges remember your story long after reading it.
CONTEST RULES:
Every entry must meet the word count requirements exactly. You can have a title outside that limit. Check your word count using the wordcounter.net. Entries that aren’t 99-59-9-99 words will be disqualified.
Enter this contest only once. If you enter more than once, only your first entry will count.
Do your best to submit an error-free entry. Apply English grammar and spelling according to your country of origin style. As long as the judges can understand the language, it is the originality of the story that matters most.
If you do not receive an acknowledgment by email WITHIN 3 DAYS, contact Charli at wordsforpeople@gmail.com.
Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on October 30, 2019.
You may submit a “challenge” if you don’t want to enter the contest or if you wrote more than one entry.
Refrain from posting your contest entry until after November 28.
Charli Mills, Lead Buckaroo at Carrot Ranch, will collect stories, omitting names to select the top ten blind. Please refrain from posting your contest entry on your blog. A live panel of judges from the Keweenaw will select three winners from the top ten stories. The blind judging will be a literary event held at the Roberts Street Writery at Carrot Ranch World Headquarters in Hancock, Michigan. After selections are made, a single Winners Announcement with the top ten in each category will be posted on November 28. All ten stories in each contest will receive a full literary critique, and the top winner in each contest will receive $25 (PayPal, check, Amazon gift card, or donation).
Charli over at the Carrot Ranch is hosting their third writing competition! Here’s what she says for the rules and such:
Now it’s time to craft a story!
CRITERIA:
Write a story that has Three Acts (they do not need to be labeled).
The story must have a discernible beginning, middle, and end.
The story must be about someone, set somewhere, and something happens.
The story can be fiction or BOTS (based on a true story).
It can include any tone or mood, and be in any genre, and there is NO PROMPT.
Make the judges remember your story long after reading it.
CONTEST RULES:
Every entry must be 99 words, no more, no less. You can have a title outside that limit. Check your word count using the wordcounter.net. Entries that aren’t 99 words will be disqualified.
Enter this contest only once. If you enter more than once, only your first entry will count.
Do your best to submit an error-free entry. Apply English grammar and spelling according to your country of origin style. As long as the judges can understand the language, it is the originality of the story that matters most.
If you do not receive an acknowledgment by email WITHIN 3 DAYS, contact Charli at wordsforpeople@gmail.com.
Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on October 23, 2019.
You may submit a “challenge” if you don’t want to enter the contest or if you wrote more than one entry.
Refrain from posting your contest entry until after November 28.
Use the form below the rules to enter [located on her site].
2019 JUDGING
Charli Mills, Lead Buckaroo at Carrot Ranch, will collect stories, omitting names to select the top ten blind. Please refrain from posting your contest entry on your blog. A live panel of judges from the Keweenaw will select three winners from the top ten stories. The blind judging will be a literary event held at the Roberts Street Writery at Carrot Ranch World Headquarters in Hancock, Michigan. After selections are made, a single Winners Announcement with the top ten in each category will be posted on November 28. All ten stories in each contest will receive a full literary critique, and the top winner in each contest will receive $25 (PayPal, check, Amazon gift card, or donation).
Aurora Jean Alexander of Writer’s Treasure Chest is hosting her 5th Annual Halloween Poetry Contest.
According to her:
Every author and poet are invited to participate and deliver a “Halloween-Poem” to my email address: aurorajean.alexander@aol.com, together with their picture and a link to their website and/or blog.
There are a few rules to follow:
Your poem needs a Halloween theme.
Your poem needs a minimum of 99 words.
Your poem has to be delivered to my email address between October 10 and Halloween, October 31, 2019, at 9 pm Pacific Time.
Your poem has to be delivered together with your picture and a link to your blog/page.
Please avoid violence, bad language, and sexual content within the poems. It would be disqualified.
Every poem that meets the rules and is delivered within the deadline will be published here on “Writer’s Treasure Chest” together with the provided picture and link.
The contest starts October 10, 2019 06.00 am and ends October 31, 2019 09.00 pm Pacific Time!!
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Brew something special and submit it within the 3 weeks she’s allowed!
Do you feel like writing a Halloween story for children? Do you feel like winning a fabulous prize for doing so?
Sounds like you need to check out Susanna Leonard Hill’s 9th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest!
Visit her site for full details. The basics, according to her, are:
The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in the 100 words), using the words potion, cobweb, and trick. Your story can be scary, funny, sweet, or anything in between, poetry or prose, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words (you can go under, but not over!) Get it? Halloweensie – because it’s not very long and it’s for little people 🙂 (And yes, I know 100 words is short, but that’s part of the fun and the challenge! We got over 235 fantastic entries last year, so I know you can do it!) Also, you may use the words in any form – e.g. potions, cobwebbed, trickery, whathaveyou 🙂 NO ILLUSTRATION NOTES PLEASE! (And yes, you may submit more than one entry if you’re so inclined 🙂 )
Post: your story on your blog between 12:00 AM EDT Monday October 28th and Thursday October 31st by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list that will accompany my special October 28th post. There will be no Tuesday Debut, Perfect Picture Book or Would You Read It posts for the duration of the contest so the links will stay up for everyone to visit and enjoy. If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, you can simply copy and paste your entry in the comments section of my October 28th post once it’s up (please include your byline if your posting handle is something like MamaWritesByNightlight so I can identify you.) If you have difficulty posting in the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com and I’ll post it for you. Please place your entry in the body of the email including your title and byline at the top – NO ATTACHMENTS! And please do not submit entries before the start of the contest!
The Judging: in a grueling marathon over the following days, my devoted assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to 3 top choices (hee hee hee – you know how much trouble I have with only 3, so we’ll see) which will be posted here and voted on for a winner on Monday November 5th (if the judging takes longer than we expect if could be later…but we will do our best!) The winner will be announced on Tuesday November 5th (good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise 🙂 ) If we get more than 25 entries, I will post 6 finalists and give prizes for 1st – 3rd. If by some chance we get the kind of turnout we’ve had the past couple years, I may post as many as 10-12 finalists and I’ll probably end up giving everyone a prize 🙂 But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it!
Judging criteria will be as follows:
1. Kid-appeal! – These stories are intended for a young audience (ages 12 and under), so we’re looking for stories that children will enjoy and relate to.
2. Halloweeniness – the rules state a Halloween story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about Halloween, not just some random spooky night.
3. Quality of story – entries must tell a story, including a main character of some kind and a true story arc even if it’s tiny 🙂 Entries must not be merely descriptions or mood pieces.
4. Quality of Writing: check your spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. If you’re going to rhyme, give us your best 🙂 Overall writing quality and use of language are also important.
5. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.
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Definitely go to her site to read over the prizes. They are always amazing!
Chel Owens 