Roses are red

Violets are blue

Valentinies rock

And so do YOU!

Hang onto your chocolate everyone!  It’s time for . . .

The 4th Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest!!!

~ for children’s writers~

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 feels guilty!  Your someone can feel guilty themselves or make someone else feel guilty.  They may feel guilty for good reason, or just because they think they should!  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 guilty (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 right now this very second and tomorrow Thursday February 14th by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list below.  There will be no Would You Read It or PPBF for the duration of the contest so this post and the list of links will stay up all week for everyone to enjoy. If you would like to enter but don’t have a blog you are welcome to paste your entry in the comment section below (please be sure to include your byline so that if your posting handle is writesbynightlight1 or something I’ll be able to tell who you are!)  If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email your entry to me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com and I’ll post your entry for you. But please don’t send attachments!  Just copy and paste your story including byline into the email.  Also, please only post your entry once – either in the comment section of my blog or on the link list or by emailing me and asking me to post it.  Multiple postings of the same entry get confusing. 🙂
P.S.  Although I try to stay glued to my computer 24/7 I am sometimes forced to leave my desk.  If you haven’t commented on my blog before, your comment won’t show up until I approve it.  It may take a little while if I’m away from my desk.  Likewise, if you send me an entry to post, I promise I will do it as soon as I can!

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 Wednesday February 20th (or possibly a day or two later if the judges need extra time.)   The winner will be announced Friday February 22nd or Saturday February 23rd depending on judging and voting time needed.  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:

1. Kid-appeal/Kid-friendliness – remember, this is a story for kids!
2. Creativity in using guilt and success in making us feel the guilt!
3. Valentine’s Day appropriateness – this is a VALENTINE story!
4. Quality of story – we will look for basic story elements and a true story arc
5. Quality of writing – use and flow of language, correctness of mechanics, excellence of rhyme and meter if you use it.
6. Originality – surprise us with something new and different! 🙂

The Prizes:  Oh, the awesomeness!  Such great prizes to motivate you!  With thanks to all who donated!

– “Skip The Slushpile” AND get a Query Letter Critique from Charlotte Wenger, associate editor at Page Street Kids, the picture book division of Page Street Publishing. She earned her Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons University (then College) and is a board member of the Mazza Museum’s National Advisory Board of Visitors. She enjoys working with debut picture book authors and illustrators and is excited about the 19 Page Street Kids picture books pubbing in 2019.

Charlotte will read the winner’s picture book manuscript of choice, then send an email letting you know she’s read your story and including one thing you did well and one thing you might work on to improve the manuscript.  In addition, she will give you a query letter critique.  Like all editors, she has a hectic schedule, so she will aim to fulfill the prize within 2 months of receiving the manuscript.

– Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the incredibly talented, multi-published author/illustrator Iza Trapani!

 

– Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the Queen of KidLit411 herself, Elaine Kiely Kearns, author of Noah Noasaurus, forthcoming April 1, 2019 from Albert Whitman!

 

 

– Query Letter Critique by Heather Ayris Burnell, creator of the Sub It Club and author of Bedtime Monster, Kick! Jump! Chop! The Adventures Of The Ninjabread Man, and the Sparkly New Friends early chapter book series from Scholastic!

 

– 2-Pack of Personalized Signed Picture Books from amazing author Melissa Stoller – Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush and Ready, Set, Gorilla!

 

– The Writer’s Tool Box: Creative Games And Exercises for Inspiring The “Write” Side Of Your BrainAND a $10 Amazon Gift Card

– Children’s Writer’s And Illustrator’s Market 2019 – by Robert Lee Brewer AND a $10 Amazon Gift Card (2 available)

I can’t thank these authors enough for their incredible generosity!  Please visit their sites, buy and recommend their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, write them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you’ve read and liked their books, and show your appreciation to them in any way you can!

Now.

The time has come for my sample.

It could have really benefited from the 65 words I had to cut out of it to make the 214 word limit! I’m warning you now – have some chocolate handy to help ease the pain of reading it 🙂

Valentine Fair and Square (214 words)

Flora and Miles liked all the same things.

Climbing trees.

Fishing.

Baseball.

And peanut butter ice cream with marshmallow sauce.

Unfortunately, Miles didn’t know Flora existed.

But Flora had a plan.

For days she toiled, making the Best Valentine Ever.

Valentines morning, she put her valentine on Miles’s desk.

Miles would notice her now!

But then Isabella put hers on top!

It was HUGE.

It was FANCY.

It came with a whole box of candy.

DISASTER!

There was only one thing to do.

When Isabella wasn’t looking, Flora grabbed the huge, fancy, pink valentine and hid it behind the bookshelf.

During Attendance, Flora’s middle felt pinchy.

She hadn’t stolen it, she told herself.  She’d only moved it!

But during the Pledge, her heart felt twingy.

She so wanted Miles to like her. He had to like her valentine most!

But by Morning Announcements Flora’s thoughts were poking her in the brain.  Sharply.

Isabella probably worked as hard on her valentine as Flora had.

Flora flooded with guilt.

She didn’t want to hurt Isabella.

She didn’t want Miles to like her when she’d been deceitful.

So she put Isabella’s valentine back.

“Hey!” said Miles, holding up a valentine.  “This is the Best Valentine Ever!”

It wasn’t fancy pink.

It was a climbing-tree-fishing-peanut-butter-cup-and-mini-marshmallow-covered baseball-glove heart.

Flora’s.

❤

Alrighty then!

I feel GUILTY for writing such drivel 🙂  But surely you are all feeling a surge of confidence, emboldened to share your stories, now that I have posted this travesty for all the world to see!  Never let it be said that I’m not willing to make a fool of myself for you, my friends!  🙂

I can’t wait to read all of yours!  I’m SO looking forward to them!  I hope there will be LOTS – the more the merrier!  And you still have until midnight tomorrow to write, so you have time if you haven’t written yet.  Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well.  And your reading friends – parents, teachers, etc.  The more people who read and enjoy your stories, the better!!!

So!

Contest Entrants, remember to add your post-specific link to the list below so we can all come read your awesome stories!  (Post-specific means not your main blog url, but the actual url of the post that has your story in it – otherwise if you post again before the contest ends, your link will take readers… and judges!… to the wrong place!)  Please allow a few minutes and possibly refresh your browser before deciding that your link hasn’t posted and adding it a second time or emailing it to me.

Eager Readers – click on the links in the list to visit the blogs and read the stories.  And be sure to read the 92 fabulous entries posted in the comment section below!!!

Happy Valentines Week, Everyone! ❤

Scroll through the comments to find these wonderful stories!

1. Valentine’s Day Confession – Juli
2. Prince Froggie Went A’ Courtin’ – Sherry
3. Valentine’s Remorsel – Joel
4. Sophie Builds A Bridge – Corine
5. Charity’s Chocolate Bath – Johanna
6. Candy Hearts – Glenda
7. Cupid’s Valentine Scrabble – Jill
8. Momo On Valentine’s Day – Shariffa
9. A Valentine’s Party At School – Anneberly
10. Secret Mission Valentine – Ramona
11. It Wasn’t Me! – Susan
12. The Little Piggies Celebrate Valentines Day – Sarah
13. Messy Valentines – Sarah
14. Wilfred’s Valentine’s Day – Cheryl
15. A Box Full Of Love – Anne
16. No Sweethearts – Marcia
17. The Missing Pupcake – Jill
18. Cupid And Bob – Jessica
19. The Important Pink Washcloth – Marcia
20. Valentine’s Day Smiles – Katie
21. A Penny For His Thoughts – Charlene
22. The Girl With The Dragon Choo-Choo – Anne
23. Where Does Love Go? – Aixa
24. The Sucker – Megan
25. I Was Wrong – Nina
26. Alex & Apple Solve The Case – Nicole
27. Tamu, The Thieving Cat (Paka Mwizi)! – Ketan
28. Late Night Snack – Mary
29. A Way With Words – Susan
30. A Spiny Valentiny – Rachel
31. Love Bug At The Zoo – Chambrae
32. Stan’s First Valentine’s Day – Jessica
33. Tom’s Dad – ???
34. The Lovebird’s Valentiny Ball – Barbara
35. Love LOVES Love – Rebecca
36. Sasquatch: In Search Of A Valentine – Mary
37. The Case Of The Missing Valentine’s Candy – Sherry
38. My Muddy Valentine – Jennifer
39. Sometimes To Always – Jan
40. The Heart-Shaped Balloon – Amy
41. Tater Tot Tilly’s Valentine Treat – Kim
42. No Ordinary Thursday – Emma
43. Alma’s GREEN Valentine – Amy
44. Ahava’s School Valentine Surprise – Amy
45. An ImPURRfect Valentine Surprise – Deborah
46. Last Valentine’s – Tonya
47. Vivi’s Heart – Pai
48. A Valentine For Papa – Keely
49. A Valentine Party To Remember – Judy
50. A Valentine For Prince Donald – Jim
51. Tiny Crush – Amy
52. The Valentine’s Day Mess & Cure – Joyce
53. Hillary’s Heart – Deborah
54. The Perfect Valentine – Susie
55. Change Of Heart – Jeannine
56. The Presents – Kirsten
57. Teacher Valentine – Rosemary
58. Happy Valentine’s Day To Everyone – Michele
59. Conversation Smarts – Lauren
60. Twenty Chocolate Kisses – Patricia
61. A Little Heart – Lynn
62. Guess Who? – Marty
63. Big Sister For The Day – Alison
64. Puneet’s Valentine Birthday – Johannah
65. Ella And Emma And The Valentine Verdict – Cindy
66. A Valentine For Valentina – Lara
67. The (Not So) Great Revenge – Darcee
68. The Glass Heart – Gabriella
69. All Wrapped Up – Mia
70. A Valentine’s Day Breakfast “Trip” – Susan
71. Raisins Or Frosting – Ashely
72. Buffa-lonely Love Day – Jennifer
73. Bookworm’s Valentine – Dee
74. The Saga Of Cupid – Linda
75. Celebrate Every Day With A Poem – Kathy
76. Puppies Can’t Eat Chocolate – Jan
77. Something Special – Deb
78. Spoon In Hand – DL
79. The Unkeepable Promise – Juliana
80. Guilty As Charged – Michelle
81. Valentines For All – Marjorie
82. Mom’s Valentine – Scott
83. How It All Began – Linda
84. The Coconut Covered Chocolates – Carmen
85. Valentine Dilemma – Ranessa
86. Who Will Be Mine? – Susie
87. Blue Whale’s Big Heart – Susan
88. Chadwick The Zombie Cooks Up A Valentine – Katrina
89. Noses Are Red – JC
90. The Tattle Tale – Karen
91. An Extra Special Valentine – Margaret
92. Operation Chocolate Hearts – Lucretia