Last year, a bunch of folks asked for a contest to cheer them out of the winter doldrums!
The result?
The First Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest!
(Valentiny because, like the Halloweensie Contest, it’s not very long and it’s for little people 🙂 )
We had so much fun that it seemed a good idea to go ahead with the 2nd Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest! I mean, winter doldrums are winter doldrums and must be conquered 🙂
So here we are!
Announcing . . .
The 2nd Annual Valentiny Writing Contest!!!
The Contest: since writing for children is all about “big emotion for little people” (I forget who said that, but someone did so I put it in quotes!) and Valentines Day is all about emotion, write a Valentines story appropriate for children (children here defined as ages 12 and under) maximum 214 words in which someone is confused! Your story can be poetry or prose, sweet, funny, surprising or anything in between, but it will only count for the contest if it includes someone confused (can be the main character but doesn’t have to be) and is 214 words (get it? 2/14 for Valentines Day 🙂 You can go under the word count but not over! (Title is not included in the word count.) If you are so inclined, you are welcome to enter more than one entry – just remember you’ll be competing against yourself 🙂 No illustration notes please!
Post your story on your blog between 12:00 AM EDT Friday February 10th and Tuesday February 14th by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list that will accompany my February 10th post. There will be no Would You Read It that week, and no PPBF, so the post and the list of links will stay up all week for everyone to 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 that post once it’s up. (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! Please copy and paste your entry into the body of the email – no attachments! And please do not submit emailed entries until the contest begins on Feb. 10!) Please only post your entry ONCE! Either on your blog and the associated link list, or in the comment section of my post! Otherwise it gets confusing 🙂
The Judging: over the next several days, my lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to 6-10 top choices depending on number and quality of entries (hee hee hee – you know how much trouble I have with the narrowing, so we’ll see) which will be posted here and voted on for a winner on Monday February 20th. The winner will be announced by Friday February 24th. (And there will be no WYRI or PPBF that week either so that everyone will have time to read and vote and so that we don’t confuse PPBF with announcing winners.) The dates of the judging/voting/winner announcements are subject to finagling depending on how much time the judges actually end up needing!
Judging criteria will include:
- Kid-appeal/Kid-friendliness – remember, this is a story for kids!
- Creativity in using confusion and success in making us feel the confusion!
- Valentine’s Day appropriateness – this is a VALENTINE story!
- Quality of story – we will look for basic story elements and a true story arc
- Quality of writing – use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics
- Originality – surprise us with something new and different! 🙂
The Prizes: yeah… as usual I’m still working on the prizes 🙂 Feel free to chime in in the comments if there’s something you’d particularly like to win! 🙂 Or if you have clout with anyone who could offer a good prize please contact me at once! 🙂 So far prizes will include:
– A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Critique from “Dear Editor” Deborah Halverson!!!
“Dear Editor” Deborah Halverson
– A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Critique from children’s literary agent Jodell Sadler!!!
Agent Jodell Sadler
– A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Critique from Andria Rosenbaum, author of the forthcoming Trains Don’t Sleep (May 2017) and Big Sister, Little Monster (September 2017) as well as others!!!
– A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Critique from children’s author Jodi McKay!!!
– A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Critique from Amy Dixon, author of Marathon Mouse, Sophie’s Animal Parade, and the forthcoming Maurice The Unbeastly!!!
– A Picture Book Manuscript Read and Critique from children’s author Jason Kirschner!!!
– A Query Letter Read and Critique from SubIt Club founder Heather Ayris Burnell!!!
– a personalized signed copy of Jodi McKay’s delightful Where Are The Words?
– a personalized signed copy of Diana Murray‘s wonderful (and very seasonally appropriate!) Groggle’s Monster Valentine
. . . and more to be added . . .
So sharpen your pencils!
Get your butt in that chair!
See what amazing, knock-your-socks-off story you can dream up!
It’s a chance to hone your writing skills, practice your craft, write to specifications and a deadline, win amazing prizes, AND get to read and enjoy the wonderful stories written by all your fellows 🙂
Many, many thanks to Deborah, Jodell, Andria, Jodi, Heather, and Diana for their very generous prize offerings! Please help me to thank them by visiting their websites, buying their books and recommending them to friends who might be interested, suggesting them for school visits, hiring them for critiques, writing book reviews on Amazon, GoodReads and other sites, following them on social media, or anything else you can think of to support them!
I literally cannot wait to read your stories!!! 🙂
Have a Wonderful Weekend everyone! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
I just have to tell you how excited I am that its Valentiny time again! I literally just finished reading an old Valentine’s story idea from last years PiBoIdMo/now StoryStorm notebook when your post showed up on my feed. I’ve got a first (ok, and my second) draft done already! Good luck to all who enter! I can’t wait to read all the entries! Thanks for hosting the fun Susanna! 🙂
Wow — what fantastic prizes! And what a fun antidote to winter doldrums! Thank you, Susanna!
We all thank you so much, Susanna, for keeping our winter-fogged brains in writing form…hurray for the Valentiny Contest!
I’ve already added your link to today’s Will Write for Cookies interview with Andrea J.Loney. 😉
Thanks for spreading the word, Vivian.
I haven’t entered one of Suzanne’s Pretty Much World Famous Writing Contests in ages . . . but (since Valentine’s Day was my dad’s birthday) I think I’ll give it a GO!
Sounds like a fun contest. Only 214 words? Whew. That is a challenge. Bring it on!
The brain gears are already churning! Thank you!!!!!!!!
Hurray! I’m so excited you’re doing this Valentiny contest again. I can’t wait to get started. So much fun! Thanks for all you do.
So fun! Pencil sharpened and ready to go! Thank you for this fun challenge and opportunity.
YAY! 😀 I am really going to try this one. Now that I am retired as a Scholastic reporter, I have more time. I miss entering!
Yay, yay! I’m pretty darned excited to read all the entries! Currently working on inspiration….
Reblogged this on Housewife Hair and commented:
How fun is this?? Feel free to participate, it’s open for everyone. Halloweensie was a fantastic learning experience and even if you don’t win, you are winning just by playing 🤔😉
Super! I will see what I can dream up! Thank you for spurring us on toward creativity! And happy Groundhog’s Day to you!! I’m anxiously waiting shadow or no shadow!
Awesome! I’m excited to read all the entries!