I know, I know!
You’ve been up all night, wearing holes in your carpet, nibbling your nails to nubbins, refreshing your browser every 10 seconds in case the blog notification you’re waiting for somehow needs a nudge to load, picking the clock up to make sure you read it right because YIKES! how long can it BE until MORNING!
And when at last it is actually time for that blog post to arrive. . .
. . .it DOESN’T! (You had to wait until 11 AM!)
(Gnashing of teeth, tearing of hair, rending of garments, howl of frustration! GAH!!!)
I know. I understand. I really do.
Because here, on the other side of the blog post, the other judges and I have spent the past several days (and nights) reading and re-reading 252 amazing, wonderful entries, trying to narrow them down to a mere handful of finalists when there are SO MANY we’d like to choose. It is agony, I tell you, sheer AGONY!
It makes me realize that apparently I am a glutton for more than chocolate! Who knew? I must also be a glutton for punishment to put myself through this every contest!
Because every contest you guys amaze me with your talent and creativity. Each time I think I can’t be more impressed with the entry pool, you prove me wrong.
So. . .
. . .gnashing of teeth, tearing of hair, rending of garments, howl of frustration! GAH!!! and consumption of a LOT of sustaining chocolate and caffeine đ
Because entering a contest is a kind of practice for submitting to agents and editors, I thought you might be interested to see a bit of breakdown so you know what you’re up against when you submit. This contest (popular as it is đ) got 252 entries this year – a mere drop in the bucket compared to the number of submissions agents and editors get. Approximately 240 entries had to be cut. Only the tiniest percentage of entries make it to the finalist list. It is even more competitive among agents and editors. I do not say this to discourage you! But it does show how important it is to submit your best work. When making a choice, it is much easier to cut the ones that didn’t follow the submission guidelines, weren’t proofread, have subpar writing mechanics with mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word usage, or simply don’t feel special enough to stand out from a crowd of excellent entries.
This contest the entries seemed to fall into topic categories more than usual.
We had many groups of 2 or 3 entries relating to robots, spiders, bees, lions, seeds/flowers, snails/slugs, color blindness, dragons, and zombies.
Then we had bigger groups about:
Birds (4)
Cats (5)
Chickens (5) (I think that was because of the bravery theme đ)
Grumpy/Scary Neighbor (5)
Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity (6)
Fear of Public Speaking (7)
Nursing Home/Elderly/Ill/Dementia/Dying/Dead Grandparent (8)
Sick/Injured Child (particularly cancer) ((9)
Dogs (10)
(and I don’t claim to have counted exactly right đ there may have been a few more in each group)
I thought it might be helpful to you in your continued writing so see how many writers’ minds go in similar directions in order to help you distinguish your writing from that of others by looking for ways to make those topics fresh and new, and to write them in ways that truly enhance the topic and make it shine so that a judge, agent, or editor can’t get it out of her mind. What (for example) will make your dog story funnier, more heartfelt, more original, more…whatever, than the other X number of dog stories it’s up against?
Anyway, with apologies for being unable to winnow the finalist pool to 12 and therefore settling on 14 (which is the number of Valentine’s Day after all đ) (and yes, I will see if I can scare up two more prizes!) I present to you the finalists in the 2021 Sixth Annual Pretty Much World Famous Valentiny Writing Contest! Â Please read through them carefully, take your time, think it over, and vote for your favorite in the poll below by Sunday February 21 at 5 PM Eastern time.
To help with objectivity, finalists are listed by title only, not by author.
And I’d like to be very clear about the voting process. You are MOST welcome to share a link to this post on FB, twitter, or wherever you like to hang out, and encourage people to come read ALL the finalists and vote for the one they think is best.  Please do that.  The more people who read and enjoy these stories the better, and the more objective votes we get the better.  HOWEVER (and I want to be very clear on this) please do not tell people you are a finalist.  Please do not ask people to vote for a specific number or title, or for the story about the brave little alien who faced certain peril at the launch of the Valentine Roboblaster 2000 or whatever.  Trolling for votes or trying to influence the outcome is counter to the spirit of this competition which is supposed to be based on merit.  We operate on the honor system.  I thank you in advance for respecting this. Your win will mean more if it’s honestly earned.
So now, here are the 2021 Valentiny Contest Finalists!!! 7 rhyme, 7 prose (total accident!), some for younger readers, some for older (but still kid) readers, some funny, some sweet, some sad, some thought-provoking but all fabulous! đ
The 6th Annual Valentiny Writing Contest

~ FINALISTS!!! ~
#1 – Percy’s Valentine
âHello NASA, Percy here,
Iâm on approach to Mars.
Iâve come to meet my valentine
out here among the stars.â
Suddenly his dash went dark.
He lost communication.
The rover now was on his own
to reach his destination.
âThe next ten minutes are the worst.
Itâs called the time of terror.
Iâve calculated all the risks
and have no room for error.â
He used an extra thruster burn,
to slow his rate of speed.
He changed his orbit, pitch, and slope
to plot the course heâd need.
But then alarms began to blare.
He cried, âIâve overshot!â
His heat shields glowed a brilliant white.
âIâm coming in too hot!â
With only seconds left to save
his Valentineâs Day mission,
he saw âRange Triggerâ on a knob,
âThatâs how I change position.â
He pulled the knob and felt a thunk,
the parachute deployed.
The sky crane lowered him to Mars
beside another droid.
He smiled at Curiosity.
âI had to persevere.
Please say youâll be my Valentine,
now that I made it here!â
âYour entrance was spectacular.
It won my heart and soul.â
She said, âWeâll be the best of friends.
Come on, letâs rock and roll.â
#2 – Valentine Delivery
Mail Truckâs engine flutters with nerves. Today is Valentineâs Day and his mailbags are overflowing.
But⌠snowflakes swirl and twirl around him. Mail Truck has never driven on snowy, slick roads before.
Wheels spinning, he begins his route.
He slips to the left,
then slides to the right.
His shocks shake.
He fogs up in fear.
He carefully shuffles back and parks.
The snow will melt tomorrow. Iâll deliver the valentines then, he thinks. Iâm sure nobody will mind.
Across the street, a child darts to her mailbox. She slips in a homemade valentine for pickup. Mail Truckâs tires deflate with guilt.
Further down, an old lady trudges to her mailbox. Seeing it empty, she wipes away a tear. Watching her, Mail Truckâs lights turn red in shame.
Determined, Mail Truck fills his tank.
He turns on his brightest lights.
His wipers zip back and forth.
âMy job is to deliver the mail â snow or shine!â
Bravely, he rolls down the street. His heart races as he inches from mailbox to mailbox.
The child runs outside, yelling âHappy Valentineâs Day, Mail Truck!â
When the old lady sees her mail delivered, her face lights up.
On this cold and snowy day, Mail Truck feels warm insideâŚ
and remembers why he loves his job.
#3 – Most Valuable Valentine
This year Iâll make baseball cards instead of valentines,
to honor a brave player who transcended racial lines.
Henry Louis Aaron batted well above his weight,
his legend soaring over those who needled him with hate.
Henry grew up poor but loved, down south in Mobile Bay.
Thwacking bottle caps with sticks, heâd pop them far away.
Though he had no bat or glove, he had great strength within,
but he was barred from Little League because he had dark skin.
Henryâs high school had no team, so he went semi-pro.
When he unspooled his mighty swing, he made the crowd go âOh!â
Henry slid into home plate, and heâd sew up the win,
yet some hotels and restaurants would not let Henry in.
Henry Aaron never quit, his hopes pinned to his dream,
working hard to do his best, to always help his team.
With his eyes glued on the ball, heâd shut out racist jeers,
and with the cracking of his bat came loud, wholehearted cheers.
Henry was the Home Run King, a diamond for his court.
He rose above the foul done him and championed good sport.
My ball-entines will be a hit, a home run, no debate,
because theyâre threaded through with love and not a stitch of hate.
#4 – Stella & Hank
Stella was the perfect cat:
Gorgeous,
And charming,
And oh-so-soft.
She was loved by all,
Especially Hank.
Hank was the perfect dog:
Huge,
And drooly,
And oh-so-playful.
He was loved by everyoneâŚ
Except Stella.
Hank tried to win
Stellaâs affection
With rope-pulls,
And slobbery bones,
Even his favorite stuffie.
But Stella flattened her ears,
Wrinkled her whiskers,
And turned her tail.
When Hank came near,
Stellaâs claws came out.
When Hank whimpered,
Stella HISSSSSSSSED.
When Hank howled a love tune,
Stella SMACKED.
And when he tried to give her a bathâŚ
YIKES!
Poor Hank.
Then, one February day,
Stella
Went
Away
And
Hank
Sighed
And
Waited
And
Sighed
And
Waited
UntilâŚ
She finally came back
With a big plastic collar
That went up instead of down.
Stella was sore,
And sad,
And sleepy,
And it broke Hankâs heart.
He gathered his courage,
And his bones,
And his stuffie.
He risked a HISS,
And a SMACK,
And even a SWIPE,
To put his offering at her feet.
Stella opened one eye.
She considered him closely.
And
Scooted
To
The
Right.
Enough room for a large dog
(If he stayed very quiet). Hank barely dared to breathe.
Stella started to purr.
It was the best Valentineâs ever
Because he spent it next to her.
#5 – Octopus Hugs
Octopus was floating by,
when a flyer caught his eye.
Clown fish, dolphins, sting rays, slugs,
are you good at giving hugs?
A Valentineâs Day hug contest.
The prize, a sunken treasure chest!
Contestants, meet at Aqua Park.
Test all your hugs on me!
Love, Shark.
âA treasure chest? Oh what a prize!â
But hug a shark, would that be wise?
With 8 strong arms heâd be the winner,
or he might wind upâ sharkâs dinner!
He squirmed his way to Aqua Park
to see who dared to hug a shark.
But not one creature stood in line
Only sharkâwho held a sign.
Hug contest. Enter, please!
Iâve never had a single squeeze.
Sharkâs head hung low, he looked so blue,
Octopus knew what to do.
He swam up slowly feeling wary,
shark was big, and very scary!
He stretched his shaking arms out wide,
and whispered, âHere shark, swim inside.â
He wrapped shark up, all tight and snug,
and gave him the most perfect hug.
âOh what a hug! The very best!
You win this sunken treasure chest.â
But Octopus had fixed his eyes
on something else, a shark-sized prize!
âThough the treasure chest looks great,
Iâd rather winâ a new best mate!â
#6 – Untangled Valentines
This Valentineâs day is
tangled
like my hairâŚ
like
my
thoughts.
One last time,
I brush
my bangs.
Put on
the gift
from my sisterâ
a new red
headband.
Sheâs been
in the hospital
a lot.
My sister
worriesâŚ
no one
will want
to be her
valentine.
My sister
worriesâŚ
no one
will think
she is
pretty
anymore.
Clumps
of her hair
fall outâ
rest
on her pillow.
Today,
we leave for
another
appointment.
I promise her
âcross my heartâ
I will hold
her hand
the whole timeâŚ
First,
they tie her hair
into ponytails.
Scissors
snip,
snip.
Then clippers
buzz,
buzz.
My heart beats
ba-boom,
ba-boom,
ba-boom.
Whatâs left
of her soft curls
fall
to
the
floor.
I clutch her hand.
In minutes
her little head is âŚ
bald.
I blink fast.
Squeeze
my eyes
closed.
And swallow
hard.
Her small mouth
quivers
into a half smile.
âWant to rub my head for good luck?â
I exhale.
Slowly,
I take off
my new headband.
The words
untangle
on
my
tongue.
âBetter than that,â I say softly.
âIâm next.â
#7 – The Ballad of Bad Bart
High noon
Western town
Bad Bart stares the sheriff down.
Empty street
Dusty square
Tension crackles in the air
Spurs jangle
Fingers shake
Bad Bartâs heart begins to quake.
Overhead
Buzzards fly
Shadows in the clear blue sky.
Down below
Bad Bart stands
Lasso twisting in his hands
Palms sweaty,
Mouth dry,
Bad Bart catches Sheriffâs eye.
Hesitation â
Can he do it?
Deep breath inânothing to it!
âTell me, Sheriff Caroline,
Will you be my Valentine?â
Buzzards pause
Wind stops
Bad Bartâs stomach flips and flops
Sheriff frowns
Seconds drag
Bartâs high hopes begin to sag
Sheriff brightens
Hope revives!
Bad Bartâs dearest wish survives
Sheriff says
to her cowboy
Words that fill his heart with joy:
âPut aside your life of crimeâ
Then Iâll be your Valentine!â
#8 – Someone Special!
âYoo-hoo, Blowtorch,â Danny calls into the cave.
A dragon appears. âYAWN! I was nappingâwhatâs up?â
âTomorrowâs Valentineâs Day. I want to show someone special Iâm brave.â Danny waves a striped bag. âPretend to fight me and these fireball-jawbreakers are yours.â
âOooâmy favorite.â
Next dayâ
âDanny,â Princess Dawn says, âare you sure about this? Your Valentine card, flowers, and candy were plenty.â
âBut I want you to see Iâm brave.â
CLINKâCLANKâCLUNKâ
ârattles Dannyâs armor as he approaches the cave.
âCome out, fiery dragonâbrave knight Sir Danny challenges you!â
Blowtorch appearsâ
ROARRRR
Dannyâs silver sword flashesâBlowtorchâs golden claws rip the air.
âOh myââ Princess Dawn gasps.
All day they fight like tigers.
âOH MY!â Princess Dawn squeals.
Blowtorch rises onto his back legs, andâ
WHOOSHHH
âgiant flames flare from his nostrils.
âYYIII!â Danny shrieks.
The flames melt Dannyâs armor and burn away his clothes. Stumbling backward, he sprawls on the ground in his charred, smoking underpants.
âOHHH! Blowtorch, why did you do that?â
Blowtorch winks at a dragon with glittering pink scales standing beside Princess Dawn.
Giggling, she waves her silver claws and flutters her violet eyelashes at him. âMy handsome, brave dragon-hero.â Blowtorch sighs and flames flare from his nostrils, forming a heart. âI have someone special too!â
#9 – Charmadillo
Charmadillo sniffed the air
And smelled the lovely Shelly there.
She snorted dirt while pigging out.
He loved her soft pink digging snout.
He should say âhiâ or âwhatcha eating,â
But his heart was loudly beating.
Too shy to speak, he hatched a scheme
To tell sweet Shelly sheâs his dream.
He would write some words of love
And pass the note from up above.
âYour snout is pink, your bands are fine,
Wonât you be my Valentine?â
He watched the letter fall belowâŚ
But then his fear began to grow.
He tried to snatch it back again,
But it was deep inside her den!
The situation turned him pale.
He rolled himself and hugged his tail.
His armor wasnât tough enough â
Inside he felt all squirmy stuff.
He tried to dig a hole and hide,
But something stirred from deep inside.
What if his dreadful doubts were wrong,
And sharing feelings made him strong?
He paced nearby for her reply,
Jumping when he heard her cry:
âCharmadillo, I canât read.
You want a candied centipede?â
The lunch of termites he prepared
Showed his love how much he cared.
She didnât know the words he wrote,
But showed her love and⌠ate the note.
#10 – Valentine’s Gotcha Day
Valentine sat in her kennel, nervously thumping her tail against the floor.
Was today the day? Sheâd gotten her hopes up before, but everyone always said her fur was too scruffy, her nose was a funny shape, and her size was just too much to love.
Day after day, she remained at the shelter, watching families adopt her friends and hoping one day it would be her turn too.
Just then, Valentineâs ears perked up. She heard a girlâs voice. Her heart beat faster as the girl approached.
âLook, Mommy!â The little girl squealed. âHer fur is red! Her nose is shaped like a heart! And thereâs a lot of her to love! Sheâs perfect.â
The little girl knelt down and smiledâthe prettiest smile Valentine had ever seen.
Valentineâs eyes pleaded with her. Could this be my Gotcha Day? Iâm too scared to even hope. Be brave! She trembled, but she held the little girlâs gaze.
As if the little girl understood, she reached out her hand and gently whispered, âSweet Valentine, will you be mine?â
Will I ever! Valentineâs fears faded in a split-second and she lunged into the little girlâs arms, peppering her face with wet kisses.
The little girl giggled. âYouâre the best Valentine ever!â No, thought Valentine, you are.
#11 – Lemur In Love
Trevor is an AYE-AYE and heâs ready for some love.
But sadly heâs so SHY-SHY, hiding in the leaves above.
Heâs got his eyes on Rita, it feels more than just a whim.
But what if she wonât love a scruffy GUY-GUY just like him?
Trevor knows that AYE-AYEs arenât the handsomest of males.
He gives a great big SIGH-SIGH as he polishes his nails.
But maybe looks arenât everything, he needs to make her see
The fluffy little TIE-TIE wearing GUY-GUY up the tree.
Trevor must impress her but an AYE-AYEâs skills are few.
He gives a mournful CRY-CRY. He just hasnât got a clue.
But then a lightbulb moment, Trevorâs great at French cuisine!
Heâll bake a splendid PIE-PIE, soon sheâll be his jungle queen!
Trevor looks up HIGH-HIGH where the moon is shining clear.
He makes his way to Rita, trying hard to show no fear.
He offers her his PIE-PIE, Rita smiles then takes a bite
And hearts begin to FLY-FLY on this very special night.
#12 – Valentine’s Day Rocks
âTime for show-and-tell!â Ms. Carla announced. âWho wants to share their Valentineâs Day craft first?â
Arms sprang toward the ceiling like balloons. But Rogerâs hands stayed hidden inside his sweatshirt.
Dylan held up a homemade flower. âI painted pasta for the petals and used a pipe cleaner for the stem.â
Then Jade chimed in. âMine is a clothespin butterfly with glitter tissue paper for wings.â
Rogerâs fingers fidgeted inside his pocket while the others went around the circle â each project more colorful than the last.
Marjorie nudged Roger. âPsst. Your turn.â
His face turned as red as the rose on his teacherâs desk.
âRoger, did you forget yours at home?â asked Ms. Carla.
He cradled something in his palm, weighing what to do next.
Marjorie leaned over and whispered, âItâs okay. I donât have craft supplies at my place either.â
Roger took a deep breath and showed the plain rock to the class. âI read a library book about penguins who give out pebbles like people do with candy when they like somebody.â
When the students giggled, Marjorie jumped up to distract them with her project: a bent and twisted paperclip.
âThis is my heart,â she beamed. âIâm giving it to the bravest person I know.â
Roger scooted closer to Marjorie. âPsst. You rock.â
#13 – Brave Little Friends
Little raccoon spent all afternoon
making cards that heâd soon give away.
For tomorrow at three, the forest would be
all a twitter for Valentineâs Day.
He put names on each card and tried very hard
to make certain that all were included.
Then Raccoon had a thought that maybe he ought
to give one to his friend whoâs secluded.
Poor Mr. Bear, was quite unaware
of the Valentineâs Day celebration.
He was curled in heap, in a winter deep sleepâ
his annual bear hibernation.
Little Raccoon arrived around noon
to deliver the card to Bearâs cave.
He shivered and shook as he took a quick look;
he knew that he had to be brave.
He set the card down by the bearâbig and brown,
then left in a tippy-toed dance.
His friends all stood near shaking with fear,
âWhy would you take such a chance?â
âCause heâs my friend, too, and so wouldnât you
like to make a kind gesture toward Bear?â
The rest found their âbraveâ and went to the cave
to leave goodies and cards everywhere.
When Bear opened his eyes and saw the surprise,
he knew the exact words to say.
âFriendsâŚ
Iâm very elated to wish you a âBelatedâ but
Most Happy Valentineâs Day!â
#14 – Jana’s Valentine Visit
Almost there.
Mom sings along to love songs on the radio as she drives.
Jana stares down at her sparkly red fingernails.
They match her Valentineâs Day dress.
She thinks about last time,
even though she doesnât want to.
How scared sheâd been.
The strange smells,
scary sounds,
sad faces.
Jana shivers.
She doesnât want to go back there today.
When the car stops,
Jana feels her breath catch.
âIâm scared,â she whispers.
âIâll be with you,â Mom says.
Jana carries her valentine in shaking hands.
They step
up the sidewalk,
through the sliding doors.
Inside.
The strange smells,
scary sounds,
sad faces.
Again.
Jana swallows.
She slides behind Mom,
tries not to breathe,
or hear,
or see.
Outside Gramâs room, they pause.
âSee? Youâre OK,â Mom says.
Jana nods, her face hot.
She goes to Gramâs bed.
âHappy Valentineâs Day,â she whispers.
Gramâs same small smile.
Jana places the valentine in Gramâs hands.
âThank . . . you,â Gram murmurs.
She grabs Janaâs hand and squeezes.
Jana gasps.
âPretty. . . nails,â Gram whispers.
Jana smiles. âSparkly red like valentines. Itâs your favorite holiday.â
Gram nods.
âGram?â Jana says. âWant me to paint your nails, too?â
Gramâs face lights up.
Janaâs hands donât shake at all as she begins to paint.
Please vote for your favorite in the poll below by Sunday February 21 at 5 PM Eastern time.
Tune in Monday February 22 to see THE WINNERS!!!
Thank you all so much for taking the time to write (if you did), read, and vote! These contests simply wouldn’t be what they are without all of you!
I can’t wait to see who the winners will be!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. . . . đ´ đ´ đ´
(right after I see what I can do about 2 more prizes so all these well-deserving finalists get they’re just desserts đ)
Have a thrilling Thursday, everyone!