What, what, what?

What’s “Flash Fiction”?  What’s “WON”?

Flash Fiction is a very short story.  It can be any length you like (but probably shouldn’t be more than 1000 words).  If you can write a 200 word short, go for it!

WON stands for Write On, Networkers! (a group I started on Linkedin.com).  You must be a linkedin member (it is free to join) and then you must apply to join my group here.

OK, so now that we all are on the same page, I want you all to join in on my contest!  I am offering a small prize to the winner, especially created for them.

This is a great chance for you to try your wings as a writer!  WON is a very safe place to share your work.  The members there all agree that writers should write and continue to write, no matter what their current skill level is.

So, come over, join WON and write away!

If you are on Linkedin, please vote for your favorite six word story!  I hosted a writing contest on Write On, Networkers! (WON) and we have a 5 way tie.  I need your help in determining a winner!

Go to this link: http://polls.linkedin.com/p/84075/ydzuu

I’ll close the poll in a day or two, so try to pop in soon!

Thanks!

Image via Wikipedia

A friend introduced me to a cool “Haiku Challenge” taking place on Twitter. @Baffled (a user there) started this concept. The idea is that you must write a Haiku each day around a word that he chooses.

For more information you can go to: http://haikuchallenge.tumblr.com/ .  You can also search “#haikuchallenge” on Twitter to see other entries.

I started playing a few days ago.  Here have been my contributions:

Word: "Pare"

leaves of many hues
pressed between worn white pages
pared from parent’s limb

Word: "dwarf"

tiny lions pounce
on fleeing prey that they dwarf
practicing their skill

Word: "barge"

winter winds barge in
swirling hail slams chunks from trees
chipmunks burrow in

Let me know if you play and feel free to submit your entries here in the comment section!

I host regular writing contests on Linkedin.com through my group called, “Write On, Networkers!”

We ran a contest last month, which invited writers to write an uplifting holiday story (or end of the year story). Our judge was Charlotte Babb, who announced Diane Hall as the winner a few days ago.

Diane’s winning story is “Jessica’s Wish”.  I wanted to share it with you here.  Diane is a freelance writer and qualified proofreader. Visit her blog to read more of her writing.

If you have any questions for Diane about her story, please feel free to ask her and she’ll be happy to answer here on my blog!

Jessica’s Wish

I struggled to read through my tears, my daughter’s letter to Santa. Above her entry of this year’s must-have toy (Barbie – whose 112th edition was accompanied by a magnificent prancing pony) – was her dearest wish:

"Santa…pleeeease can I have my Daddy come home. I need him to see the presents you get me. Please make him stay."

Her childish scrawl, which, on the whole, was steadily improving as she progressed through infant school, still took up most of the page. I stared across at my little sleeping angel and turned off her nightlight.

John had only been in the army six months when I met him, so it was a fairly new experience to both of us. It had been exciting at first, to follow him half-way round the world, though after a while all the barracks looked the same wherever they were. Once we became serious I made it clear I wasn’t prepared to drag any family we had round in the same way. We chose a great village in North Yorkshire to settle down in, turning this beautiful cottage into a warm and welcoming family home – something that would keep John wanting to return to us each time he left.

So life fell into a pattern. I got a job in a bank and gradually got used to sharing my husband with around fifteen other men – those of his regiment. Toby was born a couple of years after we settled and Jessica came a few years after that.

I felt another pang of guilt and pain as I held the letter to my chest. The kids didn’t usually ask after daddy; they just accepted it, and didn’t really know any different. To them he was a larger-than-life stranger who scooped them into huge hugs when he was on leave, only to disappear a week or two after. I was the mainstay, the one they could rely on – daddy was just a bonus.

I could tell that John’s last visit had been different. Jessica had been having problems at school with a boy who’d insisted on teasing her. He’d told her horrible things about soldiers (God only knows how he knew what he did) and had frightened the living daylights out of her. She’d become clingy and when John was on leave, she wouldn’t let him out of her sight. He’d returned back to his duties a few hours early, slipping away in the night; we thought it had been for the best, so as not to cause a scene. Now I can see that that idea had probably made things ten times worse.

I slipped Jessica’s note into my diary and tried to write down my thoughts. I needed to be able to tell her – and Toby – of the phone call I’d had that afternoon. John had been involved in an accident; he hadn’t been killed but he was badly wounded; he’d actually lost both his lower legs. He was being transferred to a local hospital as soon as was practical but was at a military hospital in Surrey for the time being, making visits extremely difficult. He had also been discharged from active service.

I found my moment the next afternoon. Toby, being the eldest, had guessed something was wrong and wouldn’t let up until I told him. Jessica sat on my knee as I explained in the simplest way I could what had happened to their father.
Toby sat quietly on the settee – pensive. Jessica threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tight. I hugged her back, just as fervently, hoping that I could ease her pain. As she drew away, I was stunned at her beaming smile.

"Santa has brought me my Christmas present early!" she said.

"Santa? What Christmas present?" I struggled to understand.

"Daddy! Santa has brought me daddy!" she said.

"Oh, sweetheart. Daddy will be home soon, but he’s very hurt. I don’t think this is your Christmas present" I said, trying to soothe her.

"It is!" she insisted, "If he’s got no legs, he can’t run away from us again….."

So politically incorrect. And probably a very warped way to celebrate her father’s return – but to a six-year-old girl, this was her greatest wish fulfilled. Daddy was coming home, for good this time.

Today we decided to start a new writing contest at Delphi Academy of Florida. It will be a 6 word short story contest.

The contest will be open to children of any age, as well as adults.

We’ll keep the entry fee very low, at $5 a story. $20 buys 5 entries (designed for creative families).

We will have cash prizes, along with other cool incentives along the way. The main purposes is to get people writing and to raise a little money for the school.

Above is a photo taken by my friend Simaen Skolfield at the wrap party for last year’s contest. Dozens of children attended and we all played various writing games. The kids are still talking about it!

If you are interested in joining us in the fun, you are very welcome. All the money raised will go to the school, helping to build a new science lab and high school!

Submit your 6 word story to:

Delphi Academy
1831 Drew St.
Clearwater, FL 33765
Attn: Writing Contest

Please make checks payable to “Delphi Academy”.  If you can, please email me as well and give me some heads up that you’re entering.  Thanks!

Image via Wikipedia

When I first heard the concept of a 6 word story, I couldn’t wrap my wits around it. How on earth could you actually tell a story in only 6 words?

Linda Anger, the president of The Write Concept, responded to my posting on Linkedin.com about short story contest ideas.  She said that Ernest Hemingway penned, “For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.” Well, that got me hooked!

I discovered that many writers had accepted the challenge and have written many 6 word stories over the decades.  A few of my favorites are:

“The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.” Orson Scott Card

“Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.” William Shatner

When the dust settled, after our last writing contest, the creative juices were still flowing.  As I had hoped, many people had caught the writing bug and were enthralled by the six word short story concept.

Two stories that came in after were:

Colin and his son Xane:

“Gladys Foambutt finally changed her name.”

OK, I loved that one.

And my six-year-old son and I came up with this one:

“Alien argued, ‘No, you’re the alien.’”

Do you have any six word stories you wish to share?

There were a lot of really amazing six word short stories created by the contestants of our writing contest at Delphi Academy of Florida.  Our judge decided on these winners:

Colin Taufer, adult: Bride: “I do!” Groom: “I do?”

Nova Steward (age 13): Baby. Child. Teen. Adult. Elder. Death.

And the overall winner, taking the age of the participant into account was:

Connor Steward (age 9): Kid meets father. First time ever.

There were many other excellent entries, ones I will feature in upcoming entries.  Overall the contest was fun and inspiring!

I started a new writing group on Linkedin.com early this year, called, "Write On, Networkers!" Our purpose is to create fun writing contests, encouraging writers to write and network.

We have over 300 members now and have run four contests and a few side games. I think the tandem ones are my favorite. The last was a 6 word tandem story, where everyone can add in a 6 word contribution to forward the story line. You can say a lot in 6 words!

The latest contest has no word limits (except for the word limitation of the comment box on linkedin). The theme is a holiday story (or an end of the year story). Each one is touching!

If you’re interested in joining our group, just visit linkedin and find our group and ask to join. We’d love to have you!

It is a a wonderful feeling to inspire others to write.

This last year I hosted various writing contests for children and adults and was rewarded by their enthusiasm for writing.  The six word short story concept is a very good place to start.  I found that even 5 and 6 year olds can get behind this game.

My 6-year-old son came out with a few entries that I really enjoyed:

“When its dead, scientists find bones.”

Here he’s talking about his love of dinosaurs without ever using the word.

“The plant escaped from the tank.”

My love of sci-fi makes my imagination run wild with this one.

One of his friends, Dane Skolfield, won for his class with:

“Santa rides in bus, summer Christmas.”

There were three other entries by their classmates.  Impressive!