Tiger eye and mandrake root! It’s finally time for
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| courtesy google images |
The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words), using the words pumpkin, broomstick, and creak. Your story can be poetry or prose, scary, funny or anything in between, 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 nearly 80 fantastic entries last year so I know you can do it!) Also, you may use the words in any form – e.g. creak, creaky, creaks, creaking, creaked. No illustration notes please!
Post your story on your blog between right now this very second and Friday October 31st by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list below. There will be no Would You Read It Wednesday or Perfect Picture Book Friday this week, so this post and the list of links will stay up all week for everyone to enjoy. (I hope you will all visit each other! :)) If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, you can simply copy and paste your entry in the comments section below. (Or, if you have difficulty with the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you!)
The Judging: in a grueling, marathon weekend, my lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to 3 top choices (hee hee hee – okay, who are we kidding? :)) which will be posted here and voted on for a winner on Monday November 3rd. The winner will be announced in a special Thursday post on November 6th. If we get more than 20 entries, I will post 6 finalists and give prizes for 1st through 3rd. If by some chance we get the kind of turn out we did last year, all bets are off. I may post as many as 10 finalists and I’ll probably end up giving everyone a prize 🙂 But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it 🙂
The Prizes: we’ve got some seriously amazing prizes! (words in color are links to more info)
– Julie Hedlund‘s fantastic new course How To Make Money As An Author, interesting, educational and suitable for writers at any stage of their career
– a 2015 membership to Children’s Book Insider, an absolutely fabulous resource for kid lit writers of all kinds, generously offered by Jon Bard and Laura Backes
– a picture book manuscript critique from the renowned Alayne Christian (prose only, 800 words or less)
Alayne Kay Christian is an award winning author of BUTTERFLY KISSES FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA. She is represented by Erzsi Deak of Hen&Ink Literary Studio. To read more about Alayne, her critique service, and her books visit her websites and blog.
– a picture book manuscript critique (rhyme or prose) from Penny Parker Klostermann who, after extensive experience critiquing for writing partners, members of various kid lit groups, and clients of Erin Murphy Literary Agency, is opening her own critique service!!!
Website: www.traceymcox.com
Blog: www.traceymcox.wordpress.com
– an e-pub or PDF copy (winner’s choice) of Linda Ashman‘s Nuts And Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books
– a personalized signed copy of I WANNA GO HOME by Karen Kaufman Orloff, the latest in the brilliant PB series that began with I WANNA IGUANA. (Reviewed HERE for PPBF)
– a personalized signed copy of I AM COW HEAR ME MOO by Jill Esbaum (reviewed for Perfect Picture Books HERE and HERE – yep, it’s so popular it got reviewed for PPBF twice :))
– a personalized signed copy of NINJA RED RIDING HOOD by Corey Rosen Schwartz, the riveting follow-up to THE THREE NINJA PIGS. (Reviewed HERE for PPBF)
– a PDF copy of Ryan Sias’s A Spooky-Doodle E-Book, “doodle pages, drawing lessons and writing prompts inspire kids to invent their own stories, characters and artwork.”
Now then. Time for my sample entry which I provide because I would never ask you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. Also, in case anyone is worried about the quality of their entry they have only to read my foolish attempts to be filled with confidence that their’s is MUCH better! I have to confess, I was really down to the wire this year (my schedule is a little bit nuts!), so, ahem, yeah.. I’ll be proofreading after I post since I’m out of time 🙂 (And I usually do one rhyme and one prose, but I don’t have a prose one this year… yet… if I have time maybe I’ll write one and add it during the week :))
So without further ado:
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| Haggie, as illustrated by the fabulously talented Julie Rowan-Zoch click for PORTFOLIO, DIGITAL, SKETCHBOOK |
you owe me a pumpkin pie!”
Pirate Ploy (100 words)
shouts, “Mrs. Johnson! Trick-or-treat!”
Everyone feeling better about their stories now? I should certainly HOPE so! 🙂
I can’t wait to read all of yours! I’m so looking forward to them! I hope there will be a lot – the more the merrier! And there are still 4 days to write, so you have time if you haven’t written yet. Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well.
Remember to put your post-specific link (not your general blog link or people will find the wrong page if you post again before the contest is over) in the list below!
Happy Writing and Happy Halloween!!! 🙂
There are already 57 entries in the comment section below that you won’t want to miss! (names are links):
Barbara – The Trick Or Treat Troll
Eric – Witch Poem
Lata – Halloween Colors
Nomie – Mabel’s Spooky Soiree
Tracie – The Misspelled Witch
Rachel K – A Home On Halloween
Suzy – Witch In My Hamper
Sarah C – The Moon Is Up!
Angela B – A Messy Halloween
Sue – Untitled
Kimberly C – First Flight Of Halloween
Ann – Off To See The Wizard
Susan – The Contest
Michelle V – The Halloween Sneer
Ashley – Pumpkin’s Plight
Abigail – Maddie’s First Broomstick
Jim – Jack
Melissa – Pumpkin’s Patch
Pia – The Green Witch’s Brew
Kathleen – The Littlest Pumpkin
Lori D – The Trick Or Treat Bag
Debbie – Halloween In A Box
Sharalyn – The Witch And The Pumpkin Contests
Jaymie – No Tricks, Just Treats
Jenifer – Broomstick Ball
Ellen – Emma’s Evening Ride
Beth – Halloween Night
Anne – What’s That?
Brandie – No Ordinary Witch
Marty – Winnie’s Spell
Michelle B – This Year’s Halloween Mascot
Jessica – Spooky Sharing
Alistair – The Raven And The Pumpkin
Kirsten – Family Re-BOO-nion
Jodi – Halloween Hide-And-Go-Seek
Anne B – The Pumpkin Patch Scarecrow
Carol – Halloween Night
Nicole – Black At Night
Hope – In The Wee Hours Of Halloween
Maggie – Arabella The Witch
Gina – Halloween Chase
Kelly – The Pumpkin King
Mandy – On This Night
Eric – The Scarecrow
Cat – Etty Bitty Belina
Julie A – Orinda Owl’s First Halloween
Donna R – The Witches’ Gathering
Kathy – Who Is It?
Robin – Kitchin-nastic Trick Or Treats
Sandy – Pete’s Pumpkins
Judy – Halloween Parade
Merry – Witch School
Victoria – Creaks
Amelia – Full Moon Rising
Colleen – Tell It To The Ghosts
Sydney – Midnight Critters
Stefanie – Monsters Rock
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Thanks Susanna! Yes, I guess the ending is for your own imagination!
Kirsten, this is clever! I love it! Wonderful images and really funny. Great job!
Mandy, I love this! Love the repetition and the all the spooky visuals!
Quash the squash is great. I love chubby orbs too. I have to remember that. 🙂
Thank you Julia!
Thank you Susanna! Was a lot if fun to write! Thought of the pumpkin coach in Cinderella lol
Full Moon Rising By Amelia West
Full moon rising in the sky,
Owls are hooting, bats fly by.
Mummies moaning in the night,
Goblins groaning give you fright.
Milo walking down the path,
Up the steps, he hurries fast.
Floorboards creaking,
Milo’s sneaking,
Across the moonlit porch.
Past the pumpkin,
Past the cat,
Past the broomstick,
Past the rat.
To the door where spiders lay,
Waiting for their cowering prey.
Milo hears a frightening sound.
He doesn’t even turn around.
Glowing eyes behind him stare.
Ring the doorbell, if you dare!
Door creaks open.
Better not run.
Trick or Treat!
Now, let’s have some fun!
Nice story! Do I know you?
Thank you, Tina! You're too kind 🙂
ENTRY POSTED FOR JUDY
Halloween Parade by Judy Dale
Halloween night is here
The hour is drawing near
Candy in bowls, Costumes donned
Halloween march is on
Ghosts, Goblins and Ghouls
Monsters who drool
Warriors, Werewolves and Wizards
Slimy slithering lizards
Broomsticks with flying Witches
Frankenstein busting his stitches
Pirates, Prisoners and Popeye
A Pumpkin with a bow-tie
Hobos, Hercules and Hulk
Devils who skulk
Medusa, Mad Men and Mummies
Beasts with bulging bellies
Sorcerer, Scarecrow, and Super Freaks
Skeletons with bones that creak
Tricksters push and shove for the door
Looking for candy to score
Trick-or-Treat, Smell my feet
Thank you for candy oh so sweet!
Wow! That is some parade, Judy! I'm not sure I'd want to run into that crew! 🙂 Love your alliterative lines with “pirates, prisoners and popeye”, “hobos, hercules, and hulk”, etc. And no thank you, I'd prefer not to smell any of their feet! 🙂 Thanks so much for joining in the Halloweensie fun!
ENTRY POSTED FOR MERRY
Witch School By Merry Bradshaw
The littlest witch failed her test,
She tried so hard to fly her best
The broomstick she rode proved hard to ride
It wiggled and jiggled from side to side.
The three older witches were proud at first,
Until she crashed and the pumpkin burst.
Orange stringy goo flew high in the air.
Everyone stopped, then laughed and stared.
Ghosts and goblins cringed at the sight.
What a spectacle this was on Halloween night.
Then everyone ran down the creaky old steps
Time to get busy and clean up the mess.
Poor little witch! She tried so hard! I'm glad she got help cleaning up the pumpkin goo! 🙂 Thanks so much for joining in the Halloweensie fun, Merry!
So funny, Kelly, because when I was in the early phases of thinking what to write for my sample, one of my ideas was to write about Cinderella from the pumpkin's POV 🙂
ENTRY POSTED FOR VICTORIA
Creaks by Victoria Aranda
Creaks on my front porch,
pumpkins at my door.
Girl in tiara
Glitter on the floor.
Lamplight is winking,
awakening my block.
Boys holding broomsticks,
standing on sidewalk.
Moonlight and mischief
I have been aroused.
Come trick or treat
I’m a Halloween House.
Wonderful, Victoria! What an original idea to write from the POV of a Halloween House! I love it 🙂 And what a perfect Halloween-y picture you have painted! Thanks so much for joining in the Halloweensie fun!
thank you!
Thanks for the great contest!
Ooh! Milo is very brave, Amelia! What a great job you did of creating a spooky Halloween mood! I love “mummies moaning” “goblins groaning”, and “Ring the doorbell if you dare!” I hope Milo got a treat 🙂 Thanks so much for coming over to join the Halloweensie high jinx 🙂
You do!
ENTRY POSTED FOR COLLEEN
Tell It To The Ghosts By C.E.B.
Haydee grabbed her broomstick and ran into the kitchen. “Pumpkin, where are you?”
Two brown eyes in a frog hat peeked out from under the table. “Are they gone?”
“Who?”
“The ghosts.”
She shook her head. “You know there’s no such thing.”
“Then you better let them know.”
Haydee sighed. ”They’re just costumes. Come, let’s go get some cand–”
Before she could finish, a green felt frog raced out the door. Haydee laughed and started to follow when behind her she heard a noise. CREAK!
She spun around. Nothing was there.
“Hold on, Pumpkin,” she said, racing out. “I’m coming!”
Ooh! Maybe the pumpkin was right! How delightfully spooky! I'm glad Haydee had some company as she raced away 🙂 Thanks so much for joining in the Halloweensie fun, Colleen!
My pleasure! Thank YOU for your wonderful entry! 🙂
Yikes! Maybe ghosts are real! Love the title!
This really sets the Halloween mood. Love the 4 lines that start with past…they're especially fun to read aloud!
I like hearing from the Halloween House's POV! Fun!
Poor littlest witch. I hope next Halloween goes better for her! Cute entry.
Love that you got the “Trick-or-Treat, Smell my feet” in there. I remember chanting that over and over again as a child. It still tickles my funny bone! Smelly feet are just plain funny!
🙂
I can just imagine how cool the illustration would be for the end of this story…all the carved pumpkins would be amazing!
I didn't think about what the utensils would do for Halloween. Seems they like to party, too. Cute!
Eeeeekkkkk! Skeletons of rats and bats! She sounds like a perfectly scary Halloween witch!
Flying beds sound wonderfully fun to me! I would even be willing to meet a witch if she would put a spell on my bed. Fun story, Donna.
Cute! I love stories about owls. I can just see their big owl eyes! And I love that the moon dressed up, too!
Love the name Belina for a bat! Really cute story.
I adore cute scarecrows but thinking about scarecrows with saw-toothed grins coming to my door is especially Halloweensie! Good job!
Thanks Pia!!!
You captured it all! All that would happen “on this night”. Nice job, Mandy.
“lamplight is winking” is such a great line to evoke nostalgia and spookiness. nice!
Glad scarecrow found a friend!
Poor Frankenstein, but that line made me laugh!
Fun mess, Merry!
Love that you gave the house a voice!
Orinda…great name. Love the rhythm of this piece too.
Wish I could have read this through my letter-slot fot the last batch of trick-or-treaters! Nice one, Amelia
Thanks Penny!
Thanks so much, so glad it sounded fun!! 🙂
Cute!
Amelia, this is Halloween in 100 words alright! Great!
Wonderful Sandy. Nice, new approach to pumpkin, creak and broomstick.